The fight to keep Jim Thorpe in his namesake town got a boost during the Jim Thorpe Borough Council meeting Thursday.

Representatives from the Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame presented a check to Mayor Michael Sofranko for $7,820 to help the borough in its ongoing lawsuit."We have a passion for Jim Thorpe, the guy that's up on 903," said Hall of Fame President Jack Kmetz, who stated that the not-for-profit organization raised the money by soliciting its members over a six-week period late last year.The borough is appealing a decision rendered last year by Judge A. Richard Caputo in the U.S. Middle District Court, Scranton, which held "that the borough should be considered a 'museum' under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act."Caputo acted on a lawsuit filed by the athlete's grandchildren John Thorpe, William Thorpe and Richard Thorpe, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma.The borough and the two of Thorpe's grandsons are challenging the federal court's decision that the plaintiffs are entitled to return the late athlete's remains to the tribal home of the Sac and Indian Nation.At issue is whether a 1990 federal law designed to protect the rights of Native Americans by ending the plunder of graves and cultural sites and returning artifacts to the tribes applies in this case.Thorpe's body was brought to the community in 1954 when the town was known as Mauch Chunk by his widow, Patricia Thorpe.An agreement was made between the community and Patricia Thorpe, with one of the provisions being that the town would be renamed after the athlete.Thursday Kmetz appealed to those in attendance to help raise funds to help the lawsuit, which is currently in the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals."The money is out there. You have to go get it," he said.TrafficSofranko gave his thanks, then launched into his report on traffic, noting that there were 133 traffic citations given out in the last month, owing the high number to a crackdown on speeding.The borough worked with state police and beefed up patrols, thanks to grant money from Buckle Up PA that runs through June 7.Another grant is expected to come in after that to keep the patrols going through the summer.The police concentration is on Center Avenue and North Street, though the mayor said there were problems with cars being clocked at nearly 100 mph on Lentz Trail.Cleaning up on Flagstaff was another hot topic, as local developer Jake Arner brought up that he had been cleaning both his and borough properties of illegally discarded automobile tires and junked televisions.So far he has collected more than 100 tires and is in the process of collecting more to help keep the area clean, but he and residents want to put up video cameras to catch offending dumpers.The borough thanked him for his efforts and said it would look into helping pay for the disposal of the televisions and tires."I'm glad to do it because I don't want the area to become a dump," Arner said.Some of the tires will be taken to a tire pickup, scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the borough garage, behind Memorial Hall on 10th Street. The tire cleanup is open to all Jim Thorpe residents with proof of residency.Other upcoming events include a youth fishing contest for kids at Roger's Grove on May 17 and a Special Olympics Memorial Day run on Monday, May 26.Mayor Sofranko added that there is now a pharmaceutical drop-off box to collect any unused, old or unwanted pharmaceuticals, no questions asked, open at the borough office every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Borough council President Betsy Ahner gave a quick update on the progress of working with the Pennsylvania Rural Water Associates regarding fixing the utility billing issues."I think it's going to prove that there is a problem, and that our money is being well-spent with them," she said.