Now that I am no longer covering the daily news beat in Fishers, I am trying something new.  A brief podcast about what happened that day and perhaps more than that, posted late in the evening.  I would aspire to post every day, but realistically understand it may not be posted every single day.

Please try my new brief blog.  It’s called Larry’s Log because it’s just what I am considering that day, like a log one would keep for one’s self.  But in this case, it’s on the Internet for all to hear.

Here is my first episode of Larry’s Log.

There is no easy or gentle way to say this so allow me to be direct.  LarryInFishers.com as a local Fishers news blog ends as of this post on Sunday, March 29th.  This Web site & podcast series will continue in a different way moving forward.  In addition, I am issuing a challenge to leaders & citizens in the Fishers community. Trust me, I made this decision well before the novel coronavirus disrupted our lives and economy.

Allow me to take some space and explain all this.

I moved to Fishers in 1991.  I had lived in my apartment at the Indy east side neighborhood of Irvington for seven years and enjoyed living there.  What brought me to Fishers was my marriage to Jane.  She had already built a ranch home in the Sunblest neighborhood, and she talked me into coming to Fishers.  It will grow, she said.  My wife is always right and she was certainly correct about that.

So, I moved to this sleepy suburb of Indianapolis called Fishers, with a population under 10,000.  I watched as the town, later to become a city, started to grow, just as Jane predicted.  When our twin daughters started school, it was about the same time the giant growth spurt hit Fishers and the HSE Schools, which many say happened 2000-2010.  Census figures showed a Fishers population in 2000 as 37,835….in 2010, it was 76,794.  That was more than a 100% increase over ten years.

There was a newspaper that had been publishing for over 100 years, the Noblesville Daily Ledger.  I subscribed and was very glad I did.  The Ledger not only covered Noblesville and the county, it did a very nice job of providing news about HSE Schools and the Town of Fishers.  When the news business began its major downturn 12-14 years ago, the Ledger eventually disappeared, much like many local newspapers everywhere in America.

When it was gone, I missed the Ledger.  The Current in Fishers, a weekly newspaper mailed to everyone with a Fishers postal address, did its best publishing once a week but could not update us on daily developments.

As background, I worked in journalism as a radio reporter and anchor for about ten years.  That ended in 1983 when I switched careers and joined the federal civil service.  In 2011, I retired as a federal employee and wondered what might be next.

I am no tech wiz, but had some help from a friend who writes about technology nationally (thanks, Scott Fulton!) and started a fairly simple blog with the Web address of LarryInFishers.com – I have no idea why I chose that name but it was all I could come up with at the time.

I had a very simple goal in January of 2012 – just sit through town council and local school board meetings, take notes, then post a story about the meeting.  I suspected a few government nerds such as myself would have any interest in my writings.  My goals were modest.

Then, I began to realize something was happening.  To my surprise, people were reading in numbers I couldn’t imagine.  Some town council members were wanting to get to know me.

The only reason for all this attention at that time centered on the fact that I was the only reporter doing daily news coverage about Fishers.  There were people in Fishers wanting local news and I was giving it to them on a timely basis.

That was the start of LarryInFishers.com.  I have just completed eight years writing this blog.  Even when traveling the state instructing for Indiana University, or on vacation in Florida, my laptop was always with me and I wrote many a story out of a hotel room far from Fishers.

I was shocked that my blog was getting so much attention.  The one thing that bothered me was that I had to attach my name to it.  If only we were back in the days when Benjamin Franklin could make up a lady’s name and write under a pseudonym.

I never wanted LarryInFishers.com to be about me, I wanted it to be about the events I was covering and the people I wrote about locally.  I was never comfortable with celebrity, even a low grade form of celebrity.

As LarryInFishers.com continued, I was able to cover some historic stories about Fishers.  That included, in my first year, the referendum campaign that switched Fishers from a town to a second-class city.  I watched and wrote about the first mayoral campaign that included six candidates. The scariest evening of that campaign for me was moderating a candidate debate.  I was told by others that it went well but was too nervous that evening to even judge for myself.

That election installed the Town Manager Scott Fadness into the new office of mayor.  Covering Scott Fadness has been quite a job.  The mayor is always thinking ahead, challenging his staff to do the same.  Scott Fadness treated me with more respect than a small local news blogger likely deserved.   Mayor Fadness and his staff have been great to me.

The old town council and current city council members have always been responsive when I ask questions.  That also applies to the local school board and school administrators.  There are always a few isolated exceptions, but by-and-large, they have always treated me with great respect.  I did my best to return the favor.

As an old radio guy, the emergence of podcasting began to fascinate me.  Once again, my friend Scott Fulton provided some learned advice.  In February of 2016, I posted my first podcast.  I tried a series of tax podcasts but that didn’t attract much of an audience, so I stuck with interview podcasts with local people and added the Arts&Fishers podcasts with film reviews and other arts reviews.  I still team up with Adam Aasen from Carmel and post film podcasts when we can both get together.

The number of people listening to my podcasts has surpassed any goal I had.

I want to explain, the best way I know how, why I have made the decision to end the local news blog.

First, I am not getting any younger.  I find myself making more errors than just a few years ago and find myself not as sharp as I once was in handling the podcasts.  I have high standards for myself and haven’t been meeting those standards lately.

Another factor is that my mother and my in-laws are getting up in the years and I need to be available to help when called upon.  Jane & I know how lucky we are to have them and want to do all we can to be of assistance when needed.

Then, there is the news that I will become a grandfather in August.  This is exciting.  My daughter & son-in-law live in South Dakota so Jane & I are planning even more visits north & west of Fishers.

There is something else that bothers me and I hope all my readers understand.  Doing this blog alone has not been easy.  Even relatively small news organizations have other people to consult.  When I work on a story, it’s all up to me.  I make the decisions.  That is a large burden, especially with the size of the audience reading this blog and listening to my podcasts.  The burden is starting to wear on me after eight years.

I want to be clear that the only reason I am ending the news blog is due to the points I made in this piece.  I am angry at no one and reiterate that, with very few exceptions, I have been treated with professional courtesy by all the people I cover.

Every time I contemplated ending the blog, I kept telling myself that I do not want to make Fishers a news desert, where local news is hard to find.  More pressure will be put on people like John Tuohy, MJ Slaby and Holly Hays of the Indianapolis Star…..Kurt Christian from the Indianapolis Business Journal…Anna Skinner of Current…..Jeff Jellison of the Hamilton County Reporter, as well as the many editors and other decision makers at those news organizations and others.  I would hope all will cover Fishers more completely in the future, even with the economic pressures these businesses are enduring.

Allow me to thank the news outlets that allowed me to do some writing for them.  For a few years I wrote commentaries for Current in Fishers.  I have also done some writing for the Indianapolis Business Journal, a journalistic institution that commands great respect in Central Indiana.

Last, but not least, my sincere thanks to the productive partnership formed with Jeff Jellison, publisher of the Hamilton County Reporter.  Jeff & I were able to grow our audiences together and I wish Jeff all the best.

Let me say this once again – subscribe to your local media!

I do not plan to abandon LarryInFishers.com.  I expect to continue film reviews and reviews of other arts events.  I will continue producing podcasts, although not as many as in the past.  The plan is to feature the work of nonprofit groups locally and people in the local arts scene as part of my Arts&Fishers podcast series.  If Adam Aasen wants to keep our film podcast going, that is good with me.

Expect some news commentaries on this blog – how many and how often is unknown at this time, but watch for some posts all about what is happening here and elsewhere.  It is the daily news coverage of local events that will end with this post.

I suspect there will be some that will miss reading this blog…to you I say, God Bless you!  But if you want daily local news coverage to continue, there is a way.  Fishers could do what local communities have done around the nation – start a nonprofit news organization.

Let me be clear, there are many in this community with ties to the nonprofit world and could step-up to the plate and get this going.  I will be willing to help, but after eight years of blogging, I am only in a position to be supportive and can help if asked…I cannot take the lead.

There is always the chance someone or a group could form a for-profit business to produce local news, but that will be a tougher path.  Frankly, I am in favor of any plan that would get the job done.

There is always a chance that not enough people in key places will support any local news organization, and if that is the case, so be it.  This is a choice our local leaders and citizens must make.

In closing, I want to sincerely thank all of you.  The readers of this blog are the people that kept me going for more than eight years. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

This has not been an easy decision but one I had to make.  Now is the time.

My last message is this – be an active citizen.  Attend community and government meetings.  Engage your elected officials.  Do your part.

Thank you, Fishers.  I may end this news blog but continue to reside in Fishers and still care about my local community.  That’s why I started this blog in the first place.

Changing a name can be a difficult decision.  The organization that called itself HSE SPORTS from 1987 through the end of 2019 felt a change in name was in order, which officially went into affect on January 1, 2020.  Now the local youth sports organization wants to remind everyone that what was HSE SPORTS is now called Mudsock Youth Athletics.

“Effective branding helps people connect positive experiences to an organization,
fostering trust and confidence, said Scott Spillman, Executive Director, Mudsock Youth
Athletics. “We collaborated with a local branding company who talked with our board,
staff, coaches, parents, and other community members. Through extensive research, it
became clear that a rename and new logo was necessary to reflect how our
organization has evolved and to more accurately highlight the services and programs
we offer.”

Where does the term Mudsock originate?  Local historians mostly say it goes back to the late 19th century when Fishers consisted mostly of swamp land, and people frequenting the area often had mud on their socks.  There was a famous “Battle of the Mudsock” in the late 1800s that was so violent and rare it made the New York Times.

The annual HSE-Fishers football contest is named the Mudsock Game, as are most games between the two high schools located in Fishers.

“Our mission has stayed the same since its inception in 1987; to cultivate an organization that provides all kids in our community a chance to actively participate in the
sport they choose, said Beth Lawrence, Assistant Director, Mudsock Youth Athletics.
“We are constantly evolving to provide new sport offerings, access to greater
education and highlighting our community commitment in all we do.”

Mudsock Youth Athletics’ new logo reflects the organization’s recreational
and competitive team sports that promote character development, leadership
and physical fitness. The Tigers’ red is used to represent Fishers High School and the
Royals’ blue represents Hamilton Southeastern School. The athletic sock is featured
prominently dipped in mud as a tribute to the history of the community. The sock is
slightly slanted to mimic the shape of the state of Indiana.

“We chose a modern feel with a retro look that portrays what we do in the best way
possible, said Spillman. It was important that the design of the logo evolve with us over
time while nodding to elements of our past.”

Unlike other youth sport organizations in Fishers, Mudsock Youth Athletics serves as
the umbrella organization to individual member leagues and provides the leagues and
families a centralized way of registration, communication, scheduling and field/
facility distribution.

“Our volunteers play a critical role in our success and we are fortunate to have members of our community who pour their time, talent and efforts into their league and
most importantly into their players, said Lawrence. “Our focus is to create an
experience that enriches our kids’ lives with a volunteer base made up of neighbors,
family, community members, teachers, and more. We have full confidence that our
rebrand is reflective of this.”

Look for some lane restrictions on State Road 37 in the area of 141st & 146th Streets in coming days.  Details are provided below.

With spring-like weather returning, road construction is also ramping-up in the Fishers area.

Below is the full listing up road construction as provided by the City of Fishers:

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

That famous quote comes from Charles Dickens’ classic book, A Tale of Two Cities.  Dickens’ words came to mind while searching my mind on what I would write at this juncture of our stay-at-home life, with the novel coronavirus taking over our lives.

There is plenty of pain to consider.  Local businesses are struggling.  COVID-19 positive tests are rising and there have been deaths in our area.  Health experts say we have not seen the worst of it yet.  All we can do is stay home to the extent possible and wait out the pandemic.

I will not dwell on this pain.  We all know it and the news media is doing an excellent job informing us with accurate, factual information (more on that later).

What I will dwell upon are the many heroes in this time of crisis.  We should all be thankful for our first responders here in Fishers.  We have some of the best, and they respond to every call and always take risks.  Think about the police officers taking gunshots aimed at them recenlty on what should have been a routine welfare check.  They responded to resolve the situation.  Sadly, two people died in that incident but no police officers were injured.

Yes, I’ve seen some of the crazy posts from a few people on social media during this time, but in this day and age, I suppose that is to be expected.  But I will focus on another group of people.

Many more have utilized social media to offer their help to those in need – offering their neighbors delivery service of food and medicines.  Those local residents are offering to help and are following-through with those requests and doing what is right.  So, to all the individuals out there helping others, my hat goes off to you.

The medical professionals in our community and elsewhere are nothing short of amazing.  They take risks to save others, and in part of our nation, nurses and physicians are dying.  Let’s take a moment and just think about them, and if your faith allows, say a prayer for them.

We have a city government and school corporation with a goal of always making decisions in the best interests of our children, families and all those residing here.  I know some in the community take issue with some of the local actions, but I’m not going there.

I have covered news in this community for over eight years and I may not have been in agreement with every decision local officials have made.  Here is what I do know….every decision is made with the goal of helping every individual and every family living here.  A leader shows her/his colors when a crisis arises.  So far, in my view, our local leaders have passed that test of leadership.

Let’s not forget other parts of our community stepping forward.  There are private businesses putting all employees on full pay and benefits even when they cannot come into work.  Other employers are doing what they can for their workers.

The local school district donated a large number of masks for medical professionals to use because school has been out of session.  Navient and IKEA have been donating masks as well.  I am sure there are many more in the private sector helping-out and have not sought publicity for their actions, but let me recognize you, in general, anyway.

The City of Fishers has setup a COVID-19 hotline…317-595-3211.  If you have friends or relatives living in Fishers without Internet, please let them know about this hotline.  Any assistance you need should be directed to people answering this line.  If you need mental health assistance, call that number.  If you need other help, or want to offer help, call that line.  It is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With all the bad news, I once again plead with everyone to subscribe to your local media.  News organizations live off subscriptions and advertising.  Ad revenue is already falling.  If you want accurate news from professional journalists, support your local media outlets!

One more thing.  With the abundance of bad news, I am so heartened by what I see regular people doing….offering help, looking out for their neighbors.  Overall, I am proud to be a part of the community we call Fishers.  Let’s keep it up!

HSE Schools sent a message Thursday afternoon, informing families that two people working in school district buildings have tested COVID-19 positive.  School officials say they are providing this information “out of caution.”

March 13th was the last date either person testing positive had contact with others in the school district.  With the 14-day quarantine period, March 27th is the key date of what the statement describes as “final date of concern.”

Below is the full statement sent by HSE Schools:

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Please be aware that that a staff member at Hamilton Southeastern High School tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, March 24. As of this afternoon, we have been notified of a second individual, who works in various buildings, testing positive for COVID-19. It is unknown when these individuals contracted the virus; therefore, out of caution, we are sending this notification.

The last known date these individuals had potential contact with anyone in the district was on March 13, 2020. As a reminder, all HSE schools have been closed since then and if one factors in the 14-day quarantine, the final date of concern would be Friday, March 27.

If you or anyone in your family is experiencing symptoms in line with COVID-19, contact your healthcare provider for guidance. We encourage you to monitor yourselves and your family for the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Body Aches
• Shortness of Breath

Per the Indiana State Department of Health, you should proceed as though everyone has been exposed to COVID-19 by continuing to practice social distancing and remaining at home. Remember hand washing and respiratory etiquette for coughs and sneezes, especially if you have to report for work or travel to obtain essential items.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an excellent resource to find reliable information. We encourage you to educate yourselves on what you can do to protect yourself and your family. As more information is released, it will be posted on our dedicated COVID-19 Information webpage.

Please know that we face this public health concern together and we must all take care of ourselves and one another. Thank you for your efforts to promote responsible and safe practices.

Ever since moving to Fishers in 1991, the spring neighborhood buzz was always – what road construction is happening this season?  As a growing city, road construction is an annual thing for local residents.

I recorded a podcast with the City Engineering Director Jason Taylor.  He provided a rundown of the major projects planned.  Those include the State Road 37 reconstruction, closings on the west end of 96th Street, a roundabout at Ford Road & 126th, the status of Lantern Road construction and plans for the Nickel Plate Trail.

Jason talks about that and more in the podcast, available at the link below.

Normally, LarryInFishers.com podcast recordings are done in person at my  insistence.  However, in the era of social distancing, I agreed to start conducting interviews via telephone.

My first such podcast featured HSE School Board President Michelle Fullhart and Superintendent Allen Bourff.  Both had a lot to say.

With school buildings closed and e-learning in full swing, after some initial glitches, the e-learning system appears to be running as well as could be expected.  As things stand now, teachers are delivering the e-learning lessons Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday each week.  Monday and Friday are treated as building closure days, with Governor Eric Holcomb allowing up to 20 such days for the remainder of the school year.  Dr. Bourff says systems are up Monday and Friday if students choose to do homework on Monday or Friday.

Fullhart praised the district’s teaching staff, which changed their way of teaching in a matter of hours.  Dr. Bourff says the administration is working on “hot spots” allowing Internet access to students without a home connection, with some already in place.

Hourly employees are being paid their regular wages, even though classes are not in session.  All hourly workers are on call during work hours and many have been called to work.  Bourff says this will continue as long as the district can support the policy financially.

What about the graduation ceremony scheduled for May 30th?  If it cannot happen on that date due to social distancing, Fullhart is in favor of having the graduation ceremony wherever it can be held, possibly in June, July or early August, in the football field facilities if needed.  She believes this year’s senior class deserves a chance to graduate with their friends after 13 years in the school system.

President Fullhart and Superintendent Bourff had a lot more to say in my podcast interview, which you can access using the link below.

Two people are dead following an hours-long standoff at the Woods of Britton Apartments, near 141st Street and State Road 37, based on a news release issued by the Fishers Police Department.

According to my news gathering partner, The Hamilton County Reporter, Hamilton County Coroner John Chalfin identified the two as Derrick Upshaw, 49, and Tiffany Plummer, 34.

Around 2:30pm Monday afternoon Fishers Police Officers were called to conduct a welfare check at the apartment unit located at the 13900 block of Ashlake Lane .  As officers approached the apartment building, police say a suspect began shooting from a second-floor apartment. Officers immediately took cover and secured the area.

Emergency Response Teams and Negotiators responded. Attempts to establish communication with the suspect were unsuccessful. Emergency Response Team members made entry to the apartment. Once inside, officers located the two bodies, both suffered injuries believed to be from a firearm. Both died at the scene.

Police say it appears to two found in the apartment knew each other.  The investigation confirms there is no threat to the community and officers are not searching for any suspects.

Fishers Police thanked the following nearby agencies for their assistance: Carmel Police Department, Noblesville Police Department, Westfield Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police.

This investigation remains active. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Robbie Ruble at 317-595-3319.

I suppose we should all become accustomed to doing things differently in this age of the novel coronavirus and social distancing, but this month’s Fishers City Council meeting was like none I had seen before.

There were only three city councilors in the council chambers Monday night, yet all nine council members were voting on every agenda item.  The remaining five were on a telephone setup, allowing them to vote and comment if they so desired.

Council members voted unanimously to approve two resolutions extending executive orders already issued by the mayor.  Under state law, such orders by a mayor may only last 7 days.  The City Council must vote in favor of extending the mayor’s authority to issue orders.

The council resolutions continue for as long as Governor Eric Holcomb’s orders remain in force.  The mayor’s actions include a travel advisory for what the order describes as unessential travel and a delay in storm water payment deadlines.

The council also unanimously voted to refinance city bond debt,  taking advantage of lower interest rates.