When Dr. Allen Bourff took his turn on the school board agenda Wednesday night, it started out as a normal update about Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  He thanked everyone involved in the “nearly flawless” high school graduation ceremonies held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.  He explained how the district is trying to “celebrate” the many successes and strides toward life goals among the student population.

But this was not a normal board meeting for Dr. Bourff.  There will be one more board session later in June, but he will not attend.  Allen Bourff is retiring at the end of this month.  June 9th was Allen Bourff’s final HSE School Board meeting.

He counted about 720 school board meetings during his time as a school administrator.  He has signed about 18,000 graduation certificates in his career.  He has worked with 44 board members.

“Thank you to the parents who have entrusted their kids to the school districts where I have been,” Bourff said.  He also complimented the many parents that  spoke at the Wednesday board meeting, many critical of board policies.  “I know you are here for your children…I appreciate that.”

In a previous podcast interview with LarryInFishers, Dr. Bourff said he and his wife plan to remain Fishers residents once his retirement is official in July.

A new York City setting for a film musical is nothing new.  But “In The Heights” takes cinematic dancing, singing and storytelling to a new level.

Here is my review.

The construction of Deer Creek Elementary School is moving along, but there are some issues that Harry Delks, Facilities Director for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, explained to the school board Wednesday night.

This school building will be within the city boundaries of Noblesville.  Other HSE Schools, other than Durbin Elementary (which Deer Creek is replacing) are located in the city of Fishers.

According to Delks, Noblesville would not issue the required permits to begin construction on Deer Creek Elementary unless HSE Schools agreed to foot the bill for Duke Entergy power line & pole relocations.  The City of Noblesville plans to expand Boden Road in the future and wants the poles & lines relocated in anticipation of that project.

Delks says he is hoping the cost of the relocation will be in the range of $400,000 to $500,000.  If an unforeseen emergency were to happen, such as a tornado outbreak where Duke would need to send their own crews to respond, the project would be outsourced and could cost as much as $1 million.

HSE Schools agreed to pay for the Duke relocations because Noblesville would not approve the necessary permits without that assurance.  “We really had no choice,” Delks told the school board.

Mike Holtkamp of the Hagerman Group told the board the Deer Creek building project is currently on budget.  However, the expense of moving the Duke poles & lines was not included in the original budget.

“There has been work from the team to make sure that this comes in under budget,” said HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff. “In order to do so, we’ve had to adjust our design plans…it’s still going to be a beautiful building.”

Holtkamp told board members the school district is fortunate that Deer Creek’s construction began early enough that it has not been plagued by construction material price hikes and shortages other projects are experiencing.

Thursday was an early morning rise for a mostly retired guy (me).  But when the mayor offers to show you the construction of the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel underneath 116th Street, how could I say no?  I’ll have more on that excursion in a future story.

Once returned from the hard-hat tour, I joined Mayor Scott Fadness and Stephanie Perry of the Fishers communications department to mainly talk about the summer in Fishers.  The warm weather months are normally busy in our fair city, but there is something special about 2021.

We are emerging from the worst pandemic in nearly anyone’s memory.  We were locked down for months.  The summer of 2020 saw one event after another either canceled or greatly modified.

The city is clearly sounding the message that Fishers is once again open for business.  There are ways to enjoy downtown Fishers this summer, even if you need to adjust your route a bit due to 116th Street being closed at the Nickel Plate Trail.

There was plenty to discuss when I sat down with Mayor Fadness and Stephanie for this podcast.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will take comments online, then post an in-person instruction plan, on the coming fall semester beginning in August.  School officials say once the comments and other data are in, the plan will be posted online June 24.  This is a federal requirement and all must be done within a 30-day period in order for HSE Schools to be eligible for federal money totaling just under $3 million.

According to a document on the Wednesday night’s school board agenda, “HSE Schools must include in its plan specific information that addresses how it will maintain student and staff health and safety and how it will ensure continuity of services for academic and social-emotional needs, as well as how it meets CDC guidance, to the extent practicable.”

Several speakers addressed the board on this agenda item Wednesday, strongly urging the board to have student mask-wearing optional in the fall semester.  Some speakers criticized the board for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and for the diversity and inclusion programs.

Citizens are allowed to speak for up to two minutes on any item listed on the board’s agenda for that meeting.

A Cicero man died Saturday in a 9:12pm crash involving a motorcycle and SUV, at the Noblesville intersection of Boden Road and 146th Street, near the area of Hamilton Town Center.

According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, a 2021 Chevrolet Equinox was facing northbound on Boden Road in the left turn lane and was preparing to turn left (west) onto 146th Street just prior to the crash. Witnesses told police the driver of the Chevrolet turned left into the path of a southbound 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle traveling through the intersection. The driver and passenger of the motorcycle were thrown from the vehicle as a result of the crash.

The driver of the motorcycle was identified as Matthew D. Cooper, 37, Cicero. Cooper was transported by ground ambulance to I.U. Health Saxony Hospital in Fishers. He died a short time later.

The passenger on the Harley Davidson was identified as Mya D. Cooper, 29, Cicero. Cooper sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis and was reported to be in stable condition.

The driver of the Chevrolet Equinox was identified as Deborah A. Dunn, 65, Noblesville. Dunn did not suffer any injuries in the crash.

The intersection of Boden Road and 146th Street was closed until approximately 12:41 a.m. Sunday as investigators from the Noblesville Police Department Accident Reconstruction Unit collected information for the crash investigation.

At this time, it does not appear that alcohol, drugs, or weather contributed to the cause of the crash.

I still remember moving to the then Town of Fishers in May of 1991.  The 1990 census had pegged the town’s population at just over 7,500.  The town hall was in a building now housing an art gallery on 116th Street, just across the street from where the Depot building is now located.

It was not long after my move to Fishers when the new town hall opened for business.  The town staff was excited to have much more room for a growing community.

In a recent podcast interview with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, he says the town never expected the structure to be the center of municipal government for a long period of time.  The town council at that time constructed the building not with steel, but with a wooden frame.

“It’s built like…a large house,” the mayor said. “That’s a lot of wear and tear on a commercial building.”

The town and city tried to deal with a building that has been sinking.  The mayor said city hall is “falling apart.”

Fadness made it clear to the city council and to me in the podcast that building a new city hall was never a priority for him as mayor, but “there does come a point when you’re putting money into a building that really is not a sound return on investment.  I think we’ve reached that point on a variety of levels here at city hall.”

So, it would appear that the city of Fishers will be conducting a study on how to build and finance a new city hall.

“I think there is a good chance this (city hall) building will go away in the foreseeable future and we will build something different here,” Fadness said in the podcast interview. “I don’t think you are going to see any Taj Mahal because, frankly, our footprint hasn’t grown that significantly.”

This is not a matter of a need for more space, Fadness says, just a need to stop the financial bleeding from the constant requirement to handle the structural issues with the current hall.

In Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren’s presentation to the city council’s recent work session, estimates on the cost of a new city hall range from $18 million to $21 million.

The mayor says he is working on a financial strategy to build a new Fishers City Hall without burdening the city’s taxpayers.  At the same time, Fadness is working an a financial plan to create a city community center as well.  One proposal would have the new City Hall contain a performing arts component within the plan.

The mayor expects a busy summer as he works with city staff and consultants on how a new city hall would be built and financed.

The Fishers Police Department Citizens Academy is in its 39th year and is accepting applications for the 2021 program.  It is 14 weeks on Wednesday nights, 6:30-9:30pm, at the police headquarters building downtown.

In order to qualify, you must be at least 16 years of age.  The first session is August 11, with the graduation ceremony November 17.

If you are interested, apply soon because the class is limited to 30 participants.

Fishers Police say the purpose of the academy is to provide participants with an opportunity to better understand the role of police officers and, more specifically, to strengthen the relationship between the officers of the Fishers Police Department and the community.  Officers will provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of FPD Officers and insight into some of the specialized units and skills within FPD.  Topics will include how to make a traffic stop, how the K-9 Unit works within the agency, the role of the Fishers Dive Team, how Crime Scene Investigators process scenes, and how to safely navigate social media and the internet. Students will have some classroom instruction and practical role play training each day.

Each applicant is subject to a screening process; advanced registration is required.  Walk-ins will not be accepted.  Begin the registration process by submitting interest at this link.

Once pre-registration and the background screening have been completed, applicants will receive an email from FISHERS, IN with final registration information details.

Registration is open until the class fills or until July 7, 2021.

Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs and Larry Lannan ask the question – do recent box office numbers indicate movies are back at theaters?  Also, we review “IN the Heights,” Spare Parts” and “Oslo” in this edition.

I was having a conversation the other day about the serious crime problems in the east side of Indianapolis.  My mind went back to the 1960s when my aunt and uncle built their first home in that area.

The eastside was economically thriving at that time.  There were Ford and Chrysler auto plants.  Western Electric manufactured telephones for AT&T.  There were lots of smaller companies around supporting and supplying those operations, along with many small businesses in general.

But the Indianapolis east side is not what it once was.  Chrysler, Ford and Western Electric closed years ago.  Many of the small businesses have also left the area.  That has led to poverty and crime.

Changing economics brings changes and sometimes those changes are tragic.  The Indianapolis east side is one example.

Something is happening at the national level that not only impacts jobs and the economy, but our democracy as well.  To state it bluntly, local news is economically dying in the United States of America.

There has been a lot of hand-wringing and talk about what to do about local news sources just going away.  But there is a possible solution that may surprise you.

Steve Waldman is president of Report for America, which places journalists into local newsrooms and also chairs the Rebuild Local News Coalition.  He makes a compelling argument that any infrastructure legislation should include provisions strengthening sources of local news.

I know many have argued that proposals within the infrastructure plans being considered on Capitol Hill already do not meet what many consider genuine infrastructure.  I am not here to take a side on that debate, but I would ask you consider the arguments Mr. Waldman presents.

He says local news is part of our democratic civic infrastructure and that infrastructure is crumbling economically.  Here is one number that must be considered – there are 60% fewer local news reporters today compared to the year 2000.

That means a newsroom staffed with 100 reporters in 2000 now employs about 40 journalists.  That also assumes the newsroom is still in business today.

Senator Maria Cantwell is from the state of Washington, and as chair of the Commerce Committee, she has proposed spending $2.4 billion on news infrastructure.

I know many journalists will say, whoa, having the government subsidize news could be a slippery slope.  Could the news media remain independent in this scenario?

News organizations have, in fact, been subsidized in the past.  One example is a better postal rate for news.  News operations are also entitled to all sorts of tax breaks available to other businesses.

One idea that is being explored would allow every American to buy $250 worth of news subscriptions and provide a refundable tax credit to pay for it.  This would be available to all taxpayers, not just those itemizing their deductions.

I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I know the local news business is in serious trouble, with news deserts growing throughout the nation.  Something needs to be done.

I do try and play a small part with this news blog.  Here in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis, we have many sources of news.  There is the Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis Business Journal, Hamilton County Reporter, Noblesville Times along with local television and radio news operations.  Special kudos to public radio station WFYI, which has been growing its staff of journalists in recent years.

Studies have consistently shown that a lack of local news systems eventually lead to more corruption, lower voter turnout, added polarization and more alienation within the local community. Also consider this – the vacuum created by the disintegration of local news is now being filled by toxic disinformation, conspiracy theories and polarizing national content.

Again, I do not pretend to have all the answers, but we need to look for serious solutions to the lack of local news sources. After all, I’ll be 70 years old in the coming months.  I tried to quit this news blog once and COVID brought me back.  We need more than volunteers such as myself to bring you local news.

Read Steve Waldman’s full commentary at this link.