When we as adults watched the events at the United States Capitol building on January 6th, we have one way of evaluating something that historical.  But what about students 13 and 14 years of age?  How do they process such an event?

Mike Fassold has years of experience teaching junior high school students social studies.  I asked Mike to appear on this podcast and talk about teaching junior high school social studies when a major event such at the riot at the Capital building happens, and how he discusses such an important date in American history as it is happening.

Here is the latest compilation of road construction around Fishers.

Note that there  will be lane restrictions at 116th & Hoosier Road beginning January 18, for 3 or 4 days,

Here is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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Hamilton County Reporter

The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to allow Hamilton County to create a new superior court, according to State Rep. Donna Schaibley (R-Carmel).  

Schaibley, the author of the bill, said Hamilton County’s population has grown exponentially over the past decade, leading to a backlog of cases in the court system. According to the latest census data, the area is the fourth most-populous county in the state and is projected to be Indiana’s second-largest county by 2050.

“As our community continues to see rapid growth, our courts have been strained as they try to manage an increasing workload,” Schaibley said. “In order to serve our community effectively, our judicial system must be equipped to work through cases in a timely fashion.”

State Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero), a co-author on the bill, said the addition of another court would help alleviate some burden on the local court system.

“Hamilton County is an attractive community, and our hope is that more Hoosiers will choose to call this area home,” Cook said. “Our local government must be able to handle the growth and hear their cases in a reasonable amount of time.”

State Rep. Chris Jeter (R-Fishers), who is also a co-author on Schaibley’s bill, said Tuesday’s vote comes after the Interim Study Committee on the Courts and Judiciary recommended the creation of a new court in Hamilton County.

“This past decade has been an exciting time for our area, as more and more people are choosing to put down roots in one of our many communities,” Jeter said. “However, our judicial system must expand to keep up with the growth. As a local attorney who frequently appears in Hamilton County courts, I know there is more work that needs to be done and we must find a way to move these cases more efficiently through the process.”

State Rep. Jerry Torr (R-Carmel), a bill co-author, said if approved by the General Assembly, the judge for this court would stand for election in 2022 and take the bench on Jan. 1, 2023.

“A new court allows the judicial system to hear more cases and reduce Hoosiers’ waiting time for matters making their way through the legal process,” Torr said.

House Bill 1042 now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

Hamilton County Reporter

County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt has been elected president of the Board of Commissioners. He will serve during 2021 under the annual rotation system used by the three board members. Christine Altman served as the president in 2020. Steve Dillinger was elected vice president, and he will also serve as the chairman of the County Drainage Board.

The board held its reorganization meeting Monday.

Michael Howard will continue to serve as the board’s attorney and Dan Stevens remains as director of commissioners’ administration.

There were no changes in department heads under commissioners’ jurisdiction. Bradley Davis continues as highway director and Jim Neal as county engineer.

Sheena Randall was reappointed director of human resources.

Also reappointed was Stephen Wood as director of buildings and grounds, Chris Martens as manager of information systems, Steve Nagy as Weights and Measures inspector and Lisa Charles as Veteran Service Officer. Sean Fleck continues as representative to the county alcoholic beverage board.

There were two new members appointed to county library boards: James Hunter for the Hamilton North Public Library and Jake Bates for the Hamilton East Public Library.

Dr. Bradley Sutter was reappointed to the county Board of Health and Steve Holt and Greg Murray will continue as Riverview Hospital trustees.

Larry Roudebush was named to a new term on the county park board, and Frank Habig remains on the county planning commission.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board approved the appointment of Rosalie Nataki Pettigrew as the new Equity and Inclusion Officer for the district Wednesday.  She and her husband have three children, one in college and two enrolled in HSE Schools.

Ms. Pettigrew had been serving as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and directed Special Services at Vanguard Collegiate of Indianapolis.  AT HSE, her duties include leading efforts aimed at diversity among the staff and students.

“This position does not require me to take this movement by myself,” Pettigrew told the board.  “I look at it as a position that facilitates a lot of the change that we want to see.”

Pettigrew will serve as a member of the Superintendent’s Cabinet.  She will report to her new position Tuesday.

Ms. Pettigrew replaces Erica Buchanan-Rivera, who now serves at equity and inclusion officer for the Washington Township schools in Marion County.

Michelle Fullhart handed the gavel to Janet Pritchett Wednesday night as  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board president.  “Never, in my wildest dreams, or nightmares, could I have imagined all the challenges we would have,” Fullhart said, referring to the COVID pandemic.  Fullhart served 18 months as board president, first after Mike Bottorff resigned his board seat in the summer of 2019, then through all of 2020.

“It is my goal to lead with Integrity, empathy, kindness and a driving focus on students,” said Pritchett as she assumed the role as president.

Brad Boyer will serve as board vice president during 2021 and Julie Chambers was elected board secretary.

All three newly elected board members were sworn-in virtually by Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Paul Felix.  Suzanne Thomas, Sarah Parks-Reese and Sarah Donsbach all took the oath of office with family members and friends at their sides.

The three outgoing board members were honored by the board for their service.  Sylvia Shepler and Clint Wilson accepted their awards.  Amanda Shera was honored at the meeting but was not on hand to personally accept the recognition.

After going to an all-virtual class schedule since November 19, HSE Schools will go to 100% in-person classes grades preK-6, with a 50% hybrid class system for grades 7-12.  This will begin on January 19.  The school board voted unanimously to approve the revised operation plan Wednesday night.

Under this arrangement, Fridays will be e-learning days for the remainder of the school year.  Superintendent Allen Bourff told board members the e-learning Fridays will allow teachers time to consult with students, have planning time and use the Fridays for professional development as well.

Administrators told the board the availability of substitute teachers has improved since November, with a number of substitutes nearing completion of their certification.  The lack of subs was a major reason cited by school officials for implementing the all-virtual class schedules November 19.

Dr. Bourff says administrators will be watching the data, including attendance which will determine any changes in the plan.  The ability to safely distance will also be monitored.

The establishment of e-learning Fridays will require a revised school calendar.  You may view the calendar at this link.

To view Dr. Bourff’s presentation to the board, use this link.

The Fishers Arts Council has announced that the work of Hugh Syme will be on display at Fishers City Hall the first three months of 2021.

Here is the announcement and news release from the Arts Council:

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The Fishers Arts Council will present three exhibits by noted JUNO Award winning artist Hugh Syme in January, February and March on the 2nd Level of The Art Gallery at City Hall.

Hugh is a painter, illustrator and graphic artist. Drawing and painting began at an early age, but his formal education came from the New School of Art in Toronto and York University in York, England. Hugh has studios in both Toronto and Indiana. Hugh may be best known for his artwork and cover concepts for many rock and contemporary artists and has created some of the most memorable album covers in music history. He is also an accomplished musician and has appeared on albums by Rush, Tiles, Jim McCarty (of The Yardbirds) and was a member of the Ian Thomas Band for several years.

He also created Rush’s iconic Starman logo, “though we never imagined the band would adopt it as their key brand for decades to come, nor that it would become so internationally recognizable”. In 2015, Hugh published his 276-page signed and numbered tome, dedicated to his 3 daughters (“my three suns”), and celebrating 40 years as art director for the band Rush (“Art Of Rush / Serving A Life Sentence”).

Apart from producing his own ever-evolving personal body of work over the years, Hugh is probably best known as the man responsible for Rush’s album cover art, which began in 1975 with “Caress of Steel.” He has designed and created artwork for hundreds of musicians including Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Celine Dion, Meatloaf, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Styx, Warrant, Jimmy Paige, Asia, KISS, The Band, Chick Korea, Indiana’s own Carrie Newcomer and Krista Detor, along with many more.

Hugh is as versatile as his art, having designed and created the graphics for Steve Binder’s “Elvis ’68 Comeback Special” book and all ancillary elements. He has designed Meteor 17 and Fathom Events ventures with Diana Ross, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix: The Acoustic Experience, along with multiple film, television and book enterprises. Hugh designed covers for all of Neil Peart’s books – currently completing what will be Neil’s only posthumous publication, “Sports Cars of the 60’s.” He has recently finish illustrating and designing Graham Nash’s new book, “Our House.”

In addition, Syme has worked on advertising campaigns for Accenture, Denon, Xerox, AT&T, The David Geffen Company, The Washington Post, Virgin, Bausch & Lomb, Universal Studies, Miramax, Forbes, Panasonic, Paramount, MGM Grand, Microsoft, Sony, Alpine Audio, Disney, Time Warner, Eli Lily, Pfizer, Samuel Adams Beer, and numerous international advertising agencies. He has also contributed his vision and artist style to a wide range of video game and DVD/Blu-ray packaging designs.

Hugh’s January exhibit in Fishers, “The World at Large” will feature 13 prints while the February exhibit, “Music and Cover Art,” will feature another 13 prints. In March, the exhibit will conclude with “Music Art of RUSH” with 25 prints exhibited. If COVID protocols allow, we will have a live reception with Hugh on March 19th from 6-8 pm at the gallery.

Hugh now lives in New Castle, Ind. where he is in the process of building a new house. His three daughters live close by. He is also a co-host of Music Buzzz Podcast, www.musicbuzzzpodcast.com, part of Pantheon Podcasts – the podcast network for music lovers.

The Art Gallery at City Hall, One Municipal Drive is open daily Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm excluding holidays and Saturdays during Fishers Summer Farmers Market.

The contract for the next phase of the Nickel Plate Trail has been awarded to Meyer Najem.  The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety voted in favor of the $3.2 million public-private partnership Tuesday. Mayor Scott Fadness says the agreement calls for any cost savings to be split, with 80% going to the city and 20% to Meyer Najem.  This agreement includes a pedestrian bridge, according to the mayor.

The board also voted to acquire vehicle license plate readers for the Fishers Police Department.  Chief Ed Gebhart told the board 95% of the cost for this technology will be underwritten through grants.  The Chief also said there are specific regulations on how this information is used.  It will not be recording every vehicle at a given location and all data will be wiped clean after 30 days.

A change order of $433,000 received board approval to handle unforeseen issues in replacing the concrete streets in Burberry Estates.

Finally, the board voted to allow the Department of Public Works to purchase a radio controlled mower for just under $50,000.  The department told the board this mower will save the city roughly 600 hours a year, with a return on investment in about a year.

The City of Fishers is preparing for events honoring the memory of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15-19.

Below are the details, as provided by the City of Fishers.

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I Have a Dream Driving Tour
Fishers Parks is distributing 500 fill-in-the-blank style yard signs and markers on a first-come, first-served basis for residents to fill in with their dreams and display in their yard during the celebration. The final pickup opportunity is today from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Fishers Parks office (11565 Brooks School Road). Participants have the option to submit their home to the online driving tour map, so others can travel around the community to see the decorated signs. After the celebration, residents can recycle their signs by dropping off at the Fishers Parks office between noon and 6 p.m. on January 20 and 21.

MLK Memorial Spotify Playlist
Check out the MLK Memorial playlist on Spotify, curated by Fishers Parks, to listen to famous speeches, hymns, and period music inspired and related to the life of Dr. King. Listen to it at your convenience or play it to accompany the I Have a Dream Driving Tour.

#VolunteerFishers Pledge
Celebrate the national day of service and give back to your community with a pledge to #VolunteerFishers. Visit ThisIsFishers.com/MLK to take the pledge and share how you plan on giving back in 2021. Residents can find a list of volunteer opportunities with local nonprofit organizations, register to volunteer with the City of Fishers, sign up for the City’s volunteer newsletter, and more at ThisIsFishers.com/Volunteer.

Volunteer with Fishers DPW
Join the service efforts this weekend and help Fishers Department of Public Works spread recycled Christmas tree mulch at Billericay Park from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, January 16. Volunteers can register at PlayFishers.com/Volunteer.

Virtual Celebration
Visit ThisIsFishers.com/MLK to find blog posts related to racial equity, a list of suggested readings from the Hamilton East Public Library relating to Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, and information on other MLK Day celebrations around the community.

Learn more at ThisIsFishers.com/MLK and follow #FishersMLK on social media.