The Fishers Police Department arrested an Indianapolis man after authorities say the man rammed a police car and tried to escape.  All the details are contained in a news release from the Fishers Police Department below:

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Around 10:30am, this morning, Fishers police officers were called to the McDonalds parking lot located at 9611 North by Northeast Blvd (96^th Street and Interstate 69) after an employee observed a suspicious man parked in a black Jeep Cherokee. Officers arrived, identified the man, and began to investigate.

As officers were checking the status of his driver license the suspect suddenly placed the Jeep in reverse and rammed into a police SUV nearly striking an officer. The suspect fled a short distance before striking a curb and disabling the Jeep. The suspect exited the Jeep and attempted to carjack two occupied cars. After a brief foot pursuit the suspect was taken into custody. Officers discovered the Jeep was stolen during a carjacking last night in Marion County.

No officers were injured during this incident. The suspect complained of wrist pain. Paramedics from the Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services responded and treated the suspect at the scene. The suspect was then transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident.

Suspect:       Gregory S. Gardner II

                        25 years old

                        Indianapolis, Indiana         

Charge(s):    Robbery Level 6 Felony (2cts)

                        Resisting Law Enforcement in a Vehicle Level 6 Felony

                        Receiving Stolen Property Level 6 Felony

                        Possession of a Controlled Substance Level 6 Felony

                        Possession of a Syringe Level 6 Felony

                        Reckless Possession of Paraphernalia C Misdemeanor

                        Criminal Recklessness B Misdemeanor

Held:              Hamilton County Jail

Andrea Davis spent years as a reporter before becoming a free lance write.  She talked to Larry about those and many other subjects.

A Fishers Police officer stopped a car near 96th Street and I-69 to investigate a possible auto registration violation, when the couple in the car fled, leading to a chase that endeed near Exit 214 along I-69.

Below is the news release from the Fishers Police Department:

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Shortly after 1:00am, this morning, a Fishers police officer observed a Hyundai passenger car traveling in the area of 96^th Street and North by Northeast Blvd. The officer initiated a traffic stop for a registration violation. As the officer approached the car he observed a strong smell of burnt marijuana. During the stop, the driver refused to provide the officer with any form of identification. When the officer instructed the driver to exit the car he refused and speed away.

Officers pursued the Hyundai, for a short time, before losing sight of the suspects. Dispatch relayed information to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and shortly thereafter IMPD officers located the Hyundai and the pursuit continued into Hamilton County on Interstate 69. The vehicle pursuit ended near the 214 mile marker after the Hyundai ran over a tire deflation device and became disabled. The driver attempted to flee on foot, but was quickly apprehended by an IMPD K-9. The driver was treated for a minor bite wound and transported to the Hamilton County Jail. The female was also arrested without incident.

Suspect:       Danurell Blair

                        38 years old

                        Kendallville, Indiana          

Charge(s):    Unlawful Possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon

                        Resisting Law Enforcement in a Vehicle

                        Resisting Law Enforcement

                        Possession of Marijuana

                        Carrying a Handgun without a License

Held:              Hamilton County Jail

Suspect:       Tionna Crouch        

                        33 years old

                        Indianapolis, Indiana

Charge:         Possession of Marijuana B Misdemeanor.

Held:              Hamilton County Jail

The filing period for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board began July 27th, and as of the close of business July 28th, there is only one candidate filing paperwork. –  that is incumbent Board Member Howard Stevenson.

Even though Stevenson is the incumbent, this is his first election.  He was appointed to fill-out the remaining term of Daren Sink, who resigned from the board after accepting a job outside Indiana.

The last HSE School Board election in 2012 featured candidates from 4 districts within the boundaries of the school corporation.  The election this year will be a contest within the three townships contained in the district – Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships.

Stevenson resides in Fall Creek Township.  Bradley Jones, a fixture in the audience of school board meetings recently, told LarryInFishers he is putting together his forms to file in Delaware Township.  The current board president, Karen Harmer, is the board representative of Delaware Township and has indicated she will not seek reelection.

The current board member representing Wayne Township, Sylvia Shepler, has not said whether she plans to file for reelection.

So, there are three HSE School Board seats up for election this November, one board member each from the three townships.

Candidates must file by noon, Friday, August 26th, to have their names on the November school board ballot.

One of the biggest events of the year in Fishers is coming up September 9th, and you can buy VIP tickets, while helping to support Hamilton Southeastern Schools at the same time.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation is once again providing a VIP section for the big Mudsock Game, pitting arch-rivals Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High School.  The game is being played this year at Hamilton Southeastern.

Tickets are $50.  Also, in buying a VIP ticket you enter yourself in the “best seat in the house” contest.  Even if you don’t want to buy a VIP ticket, any donation made to HSE Foundation in the month of August automatically secures an entry into the contest.

For more details, see the news release below from the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation:

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When the Hamilton Southeastern Royals host the Fishers Tigers on September 9 under the Friday night lights nearly 10,000 spectators will be cheering for their favorite team. 

The highly anticipated Mudsock Game is not only one of the premiere football rivalries in the state, but has also become a charitable tradition for local schools. The game recognizes teachers of the year for each of the 21, raises funds for the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation (HSSF), and is the culmination of the annual PastaBowl drive benefiting local food pantries.  

Susan Binford, District Leader of KI who sponsors the event, says “KI continues to be proud of our involvement in Mudsock. What began as a chance to give back and make a difference for local teachers and students has evolved into an incredible community movement. Last year, we raised awareness of food insecurity in our own schools as well as an astonishing amount of pasta to address that hunger.  And funds generated from the VIP event supported our students in areas like STEM, literacy, mental health and more.”

HSSF will be selling a limited number of VIP tickets which include exclusive, adult-only end zone seating.  VIP guests will enjoy complimentary goodies from Coca-Cola, Aurelio’s Pizza, Moe’s and Sundaes in the Citizens State Bank hospitality tent.

To make your charitable $50 donation which includes the ticket price of both the game ticket and the VIP pass, visit www.hsefoundation.org.  Each Mudsock VIP ticket purchase also is a free entry into National Bank of Indianapolis Best Seat in the House contest and the Horizon Bank VIP Parking drawing.    

The subject was failure and an audience of business people heard stories of how one can learn from failure and turn it into future success.

Fishers High School was the site of the third annual FailFest Thursday.  Launch Fishers Founder John Wechsler put together an impressive list of speakers for the event.

Inside Indiana Business TV anchor Gerry Dick opened the Fest with comments about the entrepreneurial atmosphere Fishers has created.  Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told those on hand how Fishers has worked to create on atmosphere where businesses can start and grow.

Here is a partial list of the FailFest speakers and a summary of what they discussed:

–Attorney Jonathon Polak explained his work with the Goldman family in their efforts to collect on the civil judgment against O.J. Simpson.

–Former NFL player Brandon Gorin, a franchise owner and area representative for Marco’s Pizza, talked about overcoming both business and personal setbacks (listen to the link below for my brief interview with him).

–Jared Ingold, owner of Vardagen in Fishers, argued that failure is a way to learn.

–JJ Thompson, founder and CEO of Rook Security, told the story of how he had to learn the art of dealing with people, after paying the price when he didn’t.

–Teresa Sabatine had a rising career in the entertainment industry, but told the crowd she finally answered the voice in her head telling her to come back home to Indiana.  She is now the Film Commissioner for the City of Indianapolis.

–Chris Baggott, founder and CEO of ClusterTruck, listed his many business ventures and broke down how each has performed in a number of different ways.

During this year’s FailFest, I talked to a number of people attending, and my final talk was with Brandon Gorin.  You can listen to those interviews at the link below:

I have known several people that have graduated from the Fishers Police Department’s Citizens Academy.  If you have not experienced the academy, police officials are accepting applications.   Check all the details in the police department news release below:

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The Fishers Police Department is hosting its 31st “Citizen’s Police Academy”. The Citizen’s Academy is scheduled for 13 weeks and offers “police style” training to our citizens.  Some of the training will include: Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch, Bicycle Patrol, Criminal Law, Police Canine, Traffic Stops, Weapons Familiarization, Self Defense, Criminal Investigations, Evidence Collection, and Narcotics. The instructors will be police officers from the Fishers Police Department.   Participants in the Citizen’s Academy are eligible complete a ride along with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.

    Our Fall 2016 Citizen’s Police Academy will be held at the Fishers Police Department every Wednesday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. starting August 24, 2016. The academy will be open to individuals who reside or are employed in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  You must be sixteen years old or older to participate in the Citizen’s Academy.

It is our goal to build on the relationships we have established in the community. The Citizen’s Academy consists of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer. The Citizen’s Academy will give community members the opportunity to ask questions about law enforcement and other related activities.

Apply online at www.fishers.in.us/police  or apply in person at the Fishers Police Department.  Applications will be accepted until March 28th.  If you have any questions contact Officer Rob Thompson at thompsonr@fishers.in.us  or (317) 595-3300.

Just over 50 people turned out at Fishers Junior High School for an update on the construction schedule for the major State Road 37 upgrade in Fishers.

Officials told the crowd there will be some work starting in 2018, particularly with drainage, but the big construction project will begin in 2019.

The State Road 37 intersections at 131st and 146th Streets will be closed for construction in 2019.  In 2020, the State Road 37 intersections with 126th, 135th and 141st Streets will be sealed off for construction.  Officials said having the completed roundabouts at 131st and 146th Streets completed will take some pressure off the traffic flow during 2020 construction season.

There were several questions from the audience about plans to control drainage along 141st Street during and after construction.  There are also plans being drawn-up by traffic engineers to find ways to best control traffic taking alternate routes on other roadways in the area while construction is being done.

The next update session will be scheduled in October.

I talked to two of the most active Democrats in Fishers, asking what the future holds for local Democrats

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced some overnight lane closures in the Fishers area.  The details are below in an INDOT release:

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Walsh Construction Company plans to close lanes of Interstate 69 this week between 82nd Street (Exit 201) and 116th Street (Exit 205) for construction of the new 106th Street interchange.

Crews will close the left lane of northbound and southbound I-69 on Thursday and Friday nights (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) to move temporary concrete barriers near 106th Street in preparation for a traffic shift scheduled for next week.  Shifting northbound and southbound I-69 traffic lanes to toward the median will allow construction to continue on the end supports of two bridges, which will each carry one direction of traffic on 106th Street over I-69.

Weather permitting, multiple-lane closures in both directions should be expected each night next week as lane markings, signage and temporary concrete barriers are set for the next work zone traffic configuration.

The speed limit near the construction zone is reduced to 55 mph and may be reduced further to 45 mph when workers are present.  Motorists are advised to pay attention to work zone warning signs, follow posted speed limits and keep a safe following distance from other motorists.