Fishers families now have a local place to donate and pick up donor human milk.

The Fishers Health Department and The Milk Bank held a ribbon-cutting Thursday to open the city’s first Milk Depot and Milk Express. The site is at the health department, inside the Fishers Community Center.

Approved donors can drop off frozen milk there. Parents and caregivers can pick up pasteurized donor milk they have ordered through The Milk Bank.

“This is a super exciting day for The Milk Bank,” said Freedom Kolb, the organization’s CEO. “To bring together a depot and express site in one convenient location is such an incredible gift to the babies we serve and to the community.”

Kolb said pasteurized donor human milk is one of the most effective tools for protecting medically fragile babies and reducing infant mortality.

“Similar to blood banking, it’s considered a standard of care and life-saving medication,” she said. “We step in for all those who are born too small, too sick or too soon.”

Donated milk supports hospitals and families, including premature and medically fragile infants in neonatal intensive care units. Families may also use donor milk to meet a medical need, to bridge a gap in the early postpartum period or to support breastfeeding goals.

Kolb, who lives in Fishers, praised the city and its health department for “prioritizing all of their residents, even their tiniest citizens.”

She said the new site also helps protect the regional supply of donor milk. That supply serves more than 120 hospitals, including the local hospitals where Fishers babies are born.

“We hope that it’s meaningful to moms who choose to donate and make that life-saving difference,” Kolb said, “but also meaningful for the babies in our community that need that milk, that we can step in exactly at the moment of need and remove those barriers.”

Milk Express pick-ups and approved donor drop-offs are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hours run until 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and the site is also open on select Saturdays. Milk Express orders are coordinated directly through The Milk Bank.

Federal legislation named for Fishers teenager Hailey Buzbee has support from Indiana’s entire House delegation. It has yet to receive a vote.

The federal indictment of the man accused of sexually exploiting and killing 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee marks another development in the criminal case. A separate effort to change how authorities alert the public when children disappear remains unfinished in Washington.

The HAILEY Act, named for the Fishers teenager, would broaden federal AMBER Alert standards to include children considered high-risk missing persons, even when an abduction cannot immediately be established.

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Indiana, introduced H.R. 9236 on June 10. As of Sept. 24, its latest recorded legislative action remained its referral that day to the House Judiciary Committee. Congress.gov lists no subsequent committee action or passage by either chamber.

The proposal addresses a concern raised by Hailey’s disappearance: a child who appears to have left home voluntarily may nevertheless be in serious danger from an adult who has cultivated a relationship online.

Hailey was initially classified as a runaway, and neither an AMBER Alert nor a Silver Alert was issued, according to WFYI’s reporting. Her family subsequently advocated for changes to alert systems and stronger protections against online exploitation.

On Sept. 23, a federal grand jury indicted a 39-year-old Columbus, Ohio, man on nine counts, including kidnapping resulting in death. Prosecutors allege he met Hailey through online games, attempted to entice her into sexual activity beginning when she was 15, and later transported her from Indiana to Ohio and killed her.

Some charges carry potential penalties of life imprisonment or death. That does not establish that prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty. The accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The indictment follows federal charges announced through a criminal complaint in February. The criminal prosecution and the legislation are separate proceedings.

The bill’s full name is the High-risk Alert Improvement for Locating Endangered Youth Act of 2026.

Its operative provision would amend the PROTECT Act to require federal minimum standards addressing AMBER Alerts for people younger than 18 whom law enforcement reasonably believes are high-risk missing persons.

The legislation is brief. It does not define “high-risk missing person,” establish a new Pink Alert system, mandate school lessons, create criminal penalties or provide a specific appropriation. It also does not set a deadline for implementing the new standards. Those limits distinguish the federal measure from broader proposals advanced in Hailey’s name.

Yakym’s office describes the objective as giving police greater ability to issue alerts when a missing child faces serious danger but an abduction cannot immediately be confirmed. In the announcement introducing the proposal, the Buzbee family expressed support and urged the House to pass it.

An important qualification lies in the law the bill would amend. Existing federal AMBER Alert standards are adoptable voluntarily, and H.R. 9236 leaves that provision intact.

That means the proposal would change the federal standards framework, while practical implementation would still involve federal guidance and state and local alert plans. It would not automatically require an alert whenever any child is reported missing.

Current Justice Department recommendations call for a reasonable belief that an abduction occurred, imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, enough descriptive information to make an alert useful, and entry of the child’s information into the national crime-information system.

The guidance permits police to make a prompt judgment based on available evidence. The standard should not be confused with requiring a conviction or eyewitness proof of a physical abduction.

Indiana’s published AMBER Alert plan similarly requires a child under 18 who is believed abducted and in danger of serious harm or death, along with sufficient descriptive information and a recommendation from the responsible law-enforcement agency.

The broader concern about missing teenagers extends beyond this case. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children describes children who leave on their own as potentially highly vulnerable and identifies online enticement among the risk factors associated with running away. A runaway classification does not establish that a child is safe.

Support for the federal bill has grown since its introduction.

Congress.gov lists 10 cosponsors: eight Republicans and two Democrats. Eight represent Indiana, covering every Indiana House district other than Yakym’s own. Together with Yakym, that means all nine members of Indiana’s House delegation have formally supported the proposal.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana, whose district includes Fishers, joined June 22. The most recent additions, on Sept. 16, were Indiana Democrat André Carson, New Jersey Republican Christopher Smith and Mississippi Republican Mike Ezell. The other cosponsors are Indiana Reps. Jefferson Shreve, Erin Houchin, Mark Messmer, James Baird, Frank Mrvan and Marlin Stutzman.

That record supports the three-state sponsorship map appearing in advocacy materials. It represents support from individual House members, rather than approval by the states themselves.

Why, then, has Congress not passed the bill?

The available record establishes the procedural answer: it has not advanced beyond introduction and referral to Judiciary. It does not establish the reason for the committee’s lack of further action.

A review of public legislative records, sponsor materials and published reporting did not identify a bill-specific explanation from committee leaders. There is no recorded vote showing lawmakers rejected it. Nor does the record establish that a particular party, lobbying organization or senator blocked it.

Cosponsorship signals support but does not itself schedule committee consideration or a floor vote. Congress.gov also lists no related bill; no Senate companion has been identified.

The usual committee process allows lawmakers to hear testimony, consider amendments and decide whether to recommend a bill to the full House. A session to consider changes is known as a markup. The House and Senate ultimately must approve the same legislative language before it can be presented to the president.

There are policy questions worth examining as the proposal moves forward: how authorities would determine high risk, what information would justify an alert, and how broader eligibility would affect alert volume and public response. The bill does not resolve those questions in detail.

The Justice Department’s existing guidance warns that overuse or inadequately supported activations can weaken an alert system’s effectiveness. That is relevant background, but it is not evidence that those concerns explain Congress’s handling of the HAILEY Act.

Indiana has already enacted related changes.

House Enrolled Act 1303 expanded the state’s missing-child and Silver Alert framework and addressed other child-safety and sex-crime provisions. Gov. Mike Braun signed that measure on March 4; an April 1 ceremony brought the family and lawmakers together to recognize it and another measure, HEA 1408. Those state laws did not enact the federal HAILEY Act.

The broader “Hailey’s Law” campaign also seeks a Pink Alert system and recurring education about online grooming. Those goals appear in the advocacy petition but are not provisions of H.R. 9236.

Behind those efforts is a teenager remembered for more than the circumstances of her death. An advocacy remembrance describes Hailey as a Hamilton Southeastern High School student who loved music and books, worked at The Kitchen on Main in Fortville and hoped to pursue journalism.

Her family’s push for reform has secured state changes and a federal proposal backed by Indiana’s entire House delegation. The next unresolved question in Washington is when — and whether — that support will translate into legislative action.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools officials presented a proposed 2027 spending plan Wednesday night that is approximately $15 million below the district’s 2026 budget, as declining enrollment and rising employee benefit costs continue to put pressure on school finances.

Tim Brown, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance, outlined a predicted budget of $323.9 million. The advertised budget is approximately $325.9 million, providing a cushion for adjustments before the final budget order.

Brown explained that districts typically advertise higher amounts because state officials reviewing budgets can lower those figures but cannot raise them.

The proposal reflects spending reductions identified through HSE’s Budget Task Force, changes in revenue, declining debt payments and a proposed replacement operating referendum, according to a district news release issued after the meeting.

“We’ve spent a lot of time over the past year looking at where we can reduce costs and operate more efficiently,” Superintendent Matt Kegley said in the release. “That work is making a difference. We know there are still financial challenges ahead, but we’re bringing forward a budget that is about $15 million lower than last year while keeping our focus on students and the classroom.”

The district said the Budget Task Force identified nearly $8 million in projected savings that helped balance the 2026 budget and allowed HSE to reduce planned spending in several areas for 2027.

Compared with 2026, the proposed spending plan includes:

• A $7.4 million reduction in the Education Fund, which pays for teachers, instructional staff, supplies and other classroom expenses.
• An approximately $8 million reduction in the Debt Service Fund, primarily because some debt obligations are ending.
• A $1.1 million reduction in the Operations Fund, which supports transportation, maintenance and central office operations. The district attributed that reduction to savings and shifting more expenses to general obligation bonds.
• A $1.3 million increase in the Referendum Fund, including additional money budgeted for behavioral health and traffic control.

The referendum levy included in the budget depends on voters approving the replacement operating referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Despite the lower overall spending proposal, the district projects a maximum tax rate of $1.1912 for 2027, compared with $1.1476 in 2026. Brown cited declining net assessed valuation and said the proposal maintains the same Debt Service Fund tax rate while reducing the Debt Service Exempt rate.  Property values are increasing in the district, but increases in deductions under state law result in lower net valuations for tax purposes.

Enrollment is another challenge. Preliminary figures show HSE has 394 fewer students than last school year. Brown attributed the decline to demographic changes, including residents remaining in their homes after their children have left HSE schools.

Brown said lower enrollment means approximately $500,000 less in state funding for the current school year. He also said HSE ranks 378th among 384 Indiana school districts in per-student state support, pointing to the state funding formula’s complexity factor as a reason suburban districts receive less.

Brown praised staff members and other district officials for their work to reduce spending. He also indicated he anticipates teacher pay raises as HSE prepares for contract bargaining with the local teachers’ union.

Teachers received no raises in the previous school year, and higher health insurance premiums reduced take-home pay for many teachers.

Health care costs remain a concern. Brown warned of further increases and said he is prepared to examine ways to address them. The district also faces higher mandatory teacher retirement contributions.

HSE operates a self-funded health care plan administered by Anthem. If the district receives acceptable bids and sells its property at 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road, proceeds would be used to partially pay down an $8 million debt to its health benefit trust.

The board is scheduled to vote on the budget Oct. 28.

In other business Wednesday, the board approved Tyler Roberts as interim principal and Suzanne Olson as interim assistant principal at HSE Intermediate & Junior High.

A federal grand jury has indicted a Columbus, Ohio, man on charges including kidnapping resulting in death in the case of 17-year-old Fishers resident Hailey Buzbee, prompting Mayor Scott Fadness to praise Fishers police and reaffirm the city’s support for her family.

The nine-count indictment, announced Wednesday, Sept. 23, includes charges that could carry the death penalty, according to WIBC’s reporting on the announcement by U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II.

“Today’s indictment brings us one step closer to justice for Hailey Buzbee’s death,” Fadness said in a written statement.

“Without the dedication and integrity of the critical work of the Fishers Police Department, today’s indictment would not be possible. We will continue to stand in support of Hailey’s family to see that justice is served.”

The indictment marks a significant development in a case that began with Hailey’s disappearance from her Fishers home in January. Federal prosecutors initially filed exploitation and interstate-travel charges in February. The new charges address her death directly.

According to reporting by The Columbus Dispatch, republished by AOL, the 39-year-old defendant faces charges involving kidnapping resulting in death, an offense resulting in death, obstruction of justice, interstate travel for illicit sexual conduct, enticement of a minor, transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Dispatch reported that the grand jury also issued special findings making the defendant statutorily eligible for the death penalty. That does not establish that prosecutors have decided to seek a death sentence.

The charges remain allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Hailey was last seen at her home Jan. 5. The defendant has been in custody since his Jan. 31 arrest, according to the Dispatch. Her remains were found Feb. 1 in Wayne National Forest in Perry County, Ohio. eged movements between Indiana and Ohio through cellphone records.

In its Feb. 10 announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio said the defendant allegedly met Hailey through online gaming, including Roblox and League of Legends.

Prosecutors alleged that he traveled from Columbus to Indiana overnight Jan. 5–6 to pick her up and take her to Ohio with the intent of producing child sexual abuse material. Authorities said cellphone analysis placed him at a short-term rental in Logan, Ohio, on Jan. 6 and near the North Country Trail trailhead in Wayne National Forest the following morning. Hailey’s remains were later located in that area.

The federal criminal complaint unsealed Feb. 10 charged sexual exploitation of a minor and interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. At the time, Gerace emphasized that those charges did not mark the end of the investigation.

The investigation has involved Fishers police, the FBI’s Indianapolis and Cincinnati offices, Columbus police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, sheriff’s offices in Hocking and Perry counties, and the U.S. Forest Service. In a Feb. 4 statement, the FBI said the case spanned multiple locations and jurisdictions and asked for patience while investigators gathered and processed evidence.

Before the case drew public attention, Hailey was a Hamilton Southeastern High School student with an interest in journalism. She worked as a server at The Kitchen on Main in Fortville and enjoyed music, books and time with her family, according to her family’s obituary.

Her family held a celebration of her life Feb. 12 at ITOWN Church in Fishers, inviting those attending to wear her favorite color, pink.

“The changes we make together will be rooted in the love Hailey brought into the world during her time with us,” her father wrote in the obituary.

Hamilton East Public Library will hold an all-day celebration and ribbon cutting Tuesday, Oct. 13, to show off newly renovated Youth Services spaces at the Fishers Library.

The renovations were designed to make the children’s area more welcoming, flexible and engaging for families. They are part of a series of projects at both the Fishers and Noblesville libraries.

“Our Youth Services areas are generally some of our most-used spaces, where we see children and families spending a lot of time,” said Library Director Melissa Loiselle. “We wanted these renovations to create an environment where families can feel comfortable staying awhile, whether they’re choosing a book, playing together or simply enjoying time at the library.”

The biggest visible change is in Fishers Youth Services. The updates include expanded children’s program rooms, new treehouse-inspired reading nooks, an updated play area and more child-friendly seating throughout the department.

Celeste Swanson, Fishers Youth Services manager, said families have reacted strongly to the new space.

“The common word we keep hearing from families as they enter the newly renovated youth area in Fishers is ‘Wow!'” Swanson said. “Since the space first opened, families have quickly embraced each new area. Whether it’s creating designs on the light-bright wall or cozying up with a stack of books in one of the new treehouses, patrons are truly enjoying this beautiful and functional space.”

The public is invited to visit throughout the day Oct. 13. Families can enjoy special toys selected for the new department, along with snacks and giveaways.

The official ribbon cutting is set for 4 p.m. Loiselle and Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness are scheduled to speak.

Other improvements at the Fishers Library include new furniture in meeting rooms, study spaces and seating areas, along with new meeting room flooring. At both the Fishers and Noblesville libraries, service desks were updated to improve visibility, accessibility and service flow, and new wayfinding signs were added to help visitors find their way around.

If you go

• What: Fishers Library Youth Services Renovation Celebration and Ribbon Cutting
• When: Tuesday, Oct. 13, all day; ribbon cutting at 4 p.m.
• Where: Hamilton East Public Library – Fishers

For more information, visit hamiltoneastpl.org.

The Indy Fuel announced Tuesday that they have re-signed goaltender Ryan Ouellette to a standard player contract for the 2026-27 ECHL season.

Ouellette, 25, is heading into his third season with the Fishers-based club, which plays home games at the Fishers Event Center.

The Colorado Springs, Colorado, native joined Indy late in the 2024-25 season after his college season ended. He went 1-3-1 in six regular-season games, with a 3.22 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage. He also appeared in one playoff game and did not allow a goal.

He improved last season, going 3-2-0 in five games with a 1.61 goals-against average, a .936 save percentage and one shutout.

The 6-foot goaltender played junior hockey with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He then played in the NAHL with the Minnesota Wilderness and in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm and the Lincoln Stars.

In college, Ouellette started at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2021-22. He went 17-6-1 there with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in 24 games. He spent the next two seasons at Niagara University, then played 32 games at Northern Michigan University in 2024-25, posting a 2.95 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

The fifth leg of the roundabout at Olio Road and Southeastern Parkway will close to traffic for good by the end of this week. It’s the next step in the City of Fishers’ $6.7 million project to rebuild one of the region’s busiest intersections.

For years, drivers near the Interstate 69 interchange have called the five-leg roundabout confusing. City officials say the new design will add capacity, ease congestion on nearby roads and make the intersection easier to get through.

What drivers need to know

While work continues, the city says:

• Olio Road is down to one lane in each direction from the roundabout to just south of 136th Street.
• 136th Street west of Olio Road is closed for about three weeks. Traffic is detoured to 134th Street.
• Drivers can still reach IU Health Fishers from I-69 using the bypass lane. Emergency access will stay open for the whole project.

Businesses in the area remain open and reachable in every phase. Drivers should still expect delays and follow the posted detours.

What comes next

The city says Phase 2 is still on schedule to start in mid-October. That phase, running through early November, will bring major closures to northbound, eastbound and southbound traffic at the roundabout, with detours in place.

In Phase 3, from early November to mid-December, the roundabout reopens except for northbound Olio Road on its north side. A new connector road between 136th Street and Southeastern Parkway is also part of the project.

The city expects the work to be done in January 2027.

E&B Paving LLC has the construction contract, with a bid of $6,725,304. Federal dollars cover 80% of the cost and the city pays 20%, through the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s federal funds exchange program.

Current traffic impacts and detour maps are posted at FishersIN.gov/Olio.

With early voting set to begin Oct. 6, the Hamilton Southeastern Schools operating referendum heads toward the Nov. 3 general election with an organized campaign behind it and, so far, no organized opposition.

The measure asks voters to replace the district’s current operating referendum, approved in 2023 with about 70% of the vote, with a new eight-year levy. The ballot question sets a maximum rate of 36 cents per $100 of assessed value and caps annual collections at $47.5 million.

District officials say the first-year rate would be well below that ceiling. Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown has recommended a 2027 rate of 22 cents. That’s down from an earlier estimate of 22.75 cents, after Hamilton County assessed values came in higher than projected. The school board is scheduled to vote on the rate in October. The current rate is just under 20 cents. The district projects the median homeowner would see about a $26 increase on the 2027 tax bill, roughly $2 a month.

Voters will see a much larger figure on the ballot. State-required language says the tax bill on a median $400,000 home “would increase by $700 per year.” That number reflects the full referendum levy at the maximum rate, not the difference from what homeowners already pay.

Why now

The 2023 referendum runs through 2031. District leaders say they are returning to voters early because of Senate Enrolled Act 1, the 2025 state property tax overhaul that phases in larger homestead deductions. Those deductions shrink the assessed value the referendum rate applies to. HSE projects losing about $45.3 million from 2026 through 2031 without a new levy.

The law also limits school referendums to general elections in even-numbered years, making Nov. 3 the district’s only chance before 2028.

What it pays for

According to the ballot question, the money would cover:

• salaries and benefits for about 275 staff members
• the behavioral health contract that places therapists in school buildings
• shared costs of school resource officers
• the director of school safety
• traffic control and after-school event security
• safety supplies and equipment

The superintendent’s case

Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley makes the case for a yes vote in an op-ed offered to local publications. He cites:

• three HSE schools reaching 100% proficiency on this year’s IREAD
• a districtwide third-grade passing rate of 97.3%, a six-year high
• a projected 99% graduation rate
• both high schools ranking in the top 5% nationally in U.S. News and World Report

Keeping those results, he argues, depends on keeping teachers. “There is no substitute for having talented, capable professionals in front of students every day,” Kegley writes, adding that “the educator pool isn’t growing quickly.”

He also highlights the Ascension partnership that places therapists in schools, and the resource and safety officers who cover arrival, dismissal and large events. And he names learning experiences he wants to expand: elementary programs at Conner Prairie, AgriPark and Hub & Spoke, and a precision-machining pathway with Ivy Tech and SMC.

“We should be proud of the excellence HSE students and educators demonstrate today,” Kegley writes. “But pride in what we’ve accomplished can’t become complacency about what’s next.”

The campaign

Advance HSE, the political action committee backing the measure, kicked off its campaign July 8 at Hub & Spoke. Chair Laura Cole has recruited volunteers to work community events, including football games and the Geist Half Marathon. At the kickoff, campaign consultant Robin Winston said the effort would need to reach 25,000 to 26,000 voters. He based that on 30% turnout among roughly 83,000 registered voters in the district.

No local group has formed to oppose the HSE question. Statewide, Americans for Prosperity-Indiana has said it plans to engage in Central Indiana referendum races, and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith has publicly criticized the measures.

HSE is one of five Hamilton County school districts asking voters for more money in November, along with Carmel Clay, Noblesville, Sheridan and Westfield Washington.

U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has fired back at Democratic challenger J.D. Ford, telling him his allegations about her stock trades and campaign spending stem from an “inability to understand financial disclosure statements.”

The Republican congresswoman’s letter, dated Sept. 22, answers the 495-page response Ford’s campaign released a day earlier. Both are seeking Indiana’s 5th District congressional seat, which includes Hamilton County.

“I will give you the benefit of the doubt and attribute your accusations to your inability to understand financial disclosure statements rather than an intentional attempt to misrepresent them or fabricate allegations,” Spartz wrote.

On the stock trades, Spartz says there is only one TD Ameritrade account holding stock, and it already held cash before she took office, as reflected in her candidate disclosure filed April 2, 2020. Candidates are not required to file periodic transaction reports, she wrote, so activity in that account before she became a member did not appear on PTRs.

Ford’s response had noted that Spartz’s earlier transaction filings did not identify the trades as her husband’s. Spartz says that notation is not required, but that after discussions with the House Ethics Committee in August 2021 it was suggested she add the information for clarity, which she has done since. She says she initiated a call with the committee to confirm her report was filed properly and was later advised to mark the IRA as her spouse’s account.

“It should be self-evident that if there is only one account disclosed as owning the stock, and subsequent transactions involving that stock are identified as occurring in Jason Spartz’s Roth IRA, it is the same account,” she wrote.

She enclosed a May 2021 TD Ameritrade statement for an account listed under Jason Matthew Spartz’s Roth IRA. It shows the Alaska Air Group and Southwest Airlines sales Ford questioned, and a Simon Property Group position purchased Dec. 11, 2020 — before she took office — with a market value of about $1.1 million. Her husband bought that stock with proceeds from sales of smaller farmland parcels, she said, and sold most of it in 2024 to buy a larger parcel at public auction.

Spartz devoted much of the letter to the Moontown Road property in Westfield. She said she and her husband provided the property as campaign headquarters for more than six years “essentially for nothing,” other than reimbursement of direct expenses such as utilities, taxes and insurance. A nominal in-kind amount was reported, she said, and in 2025 her finance team suggested establishing a rent payment based on market-value estimates.

The rate is $2,500 a month for a 2,829-square-foot property on three acres. For comparison, Spartz said her official congressional office about five minutes away pays $2,834 a month for 1,790 square feet with no garage or acreage.

“Your suggestion that someone is enriching themselves by receiving $30,000 in rent payments in total for six years of use by campaign of a prime rental property in Westfield by Grand Park is completely absurd,” she wrote, adding that Federal Election Commission rules require campaigns to account for use of candidate-owned property.

Campaign materials, signs, a sign truck and a parade vehicle have been stored there for years, she said. She is discontinuing use of the property after this election and has listed it for sale.

Spartz also took a personal shot at Ford, noting he “just recently rented a house in Carmel to run for this office,” and arguing that “public service should be a tour of duty, not a career.”

She closed by saying she looks forward to the public debate. The letter was copied to election attorney Jason B. Torchinsky.

Anthony Wren, a Libertarian Party candidate for the Hamilton Southeastern School Board of Trustees in District 1, says school safety is the main reason he is running. He talks about it in the latest LarryInFishers.com podcast.

Wren said news reports about guns in schools, including recent incidents in Noblesville and at North Central High School in Indianapolis, pushed him to run.

“I made a promise,” said Wren, whose daughter graduated from HSE. “If I can do anything to stop this one time, I’ve done my job.”

His main proposal is weapons-detection scanners at every entrance of every HSE school, like the ones used at the Fishers Event Center. He also wants the district to eventually form its own police department instead of relying on school resource officers from the Fishers Police Department. Wren said he has met with the HSE superintendent to discuss his concerns.

Wren praised the education his daughter received at HSE. She played in the marching band and served as drum major in her senior year.

He is skeptical about the operating referendum on this fall’s ballot. It would fund teacher salaries, class sizes and school safety. Wren said he is torn on the question and wants an audit of district finances before more money is requested. He also questioned whether HSE applies for grants. Lannan noted that the district regularly applies for grants, and that most Hamilton County districts are pursuing referendums after state changes to property tax law.

Other positions Wren discussed:

• Cell phones: Students would have to keep phones in their lockers, and school Wi-Fi would block social media. He supports the medical and disability exemptions in state law, as long as they are not abused.
• Academics: He wants more focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, including handwriting and cursive.
• School meals: Wren raised concerns about folic acid in enriched flour, citing YouTube personality Gary Brecka. Lannan asked him about Brecka’s qualifications. Federal health agencies have required folic acid in enriched grain products since 1998 to help prevent neural tube birth defects.
• Discipline: Wren said teachers he has spoken with feel they have lost control of their classrooms. He acknowledged that the examples he cited came from outside HSE.

Wren said he left the Republican Party because he was frustrated with both major parties. He does not agree with every Libertarian position, including on the death penalty and abortion.

In college, Wren served as vice president and then president of student government. He said that experience taught him how to organize and get things done.

“We may disagree on how to get there,” Wren said, “but I will work to secure our schools.”

The LarryInFishers.com podcast is sponsored by Citizens State Bank.

Listen to the full conversation at this link or the link below.