The Fishers Health Department is preparing to receive a supply of the COVID vaccine in the early part of January.  In a video update posted Tuesday evening, Fishers Public Health Director Monica Heltz says her staff will be finalizing plans to distribute the vaccine.  Who receives the vaccinations, and in what order, will be decided at the state level.

Fishers remains in the Red category for COVID community transmission with a positivity rate of 16.2%, up dramatically from the previous week.  Hamilton County’s positivity rate is 21.1%, down slightly.

In the past two weeks, there have been 1,037 cases of COVID in Fishers, with a total number of cases at 5,884.  There have been 47 deaths in Fishers as confirmed due to COVID.

The hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) availability locally has improved a bit, now at 23%.  However, Heltz added that some hospitals are at or near capacity now.

If you need a COVID test from the Fishers Health Department site, you can now get an appointment in 2 days or less, with the results of the test available in 1-5 days.

I have had some connection to teachers most of my adult life.  I have had teachers close to me.  I have relatives currently in the teaching profession.

I have had a special feeling for people choosing the career of fashioning the next generation.  If you think back to your K-12 education days, I am certain several teachers come to mind when reminiscing about that time with a major influence on your life and career choices.

I want to look at two situations with today’s teachers.  First, what is COVID doing with the teaching profession?

I have covered the local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board for nearly nine years and cannot remember a time like this.  The novel coronavirus has impacted the local teaching staff to such an extent that our classes are being held virtually because there are not enough healthy adults, or not ordered into quarantine for exposure to COVID, to staff the classrooms.  There are not enough substitute teachers to keep the classrooms staffed in person.

I have talked to a number of local teachers and they will all tell you this has been a major challenge for them.  Their work load and stress level have gone through the roof this school year.  It is not just teachers, students and parents have had their share of stress, but the teaching staff is enduring extra stress and work load issues in a profession that is stressful and difficult in the best of circumstances.

So, if we ever have the community celebration I suggested in a previous post on this blog, teachers need to be honored right along with all the others in helping the community survive the pandemic.

I have heard anecdotal evidence that many teachers, nearing their goal of retirement, have chosen to retire early due to the stresses of instructing in the COVID era.  I am also hearing that there are teachers simply leaving the profession for another line of work as the stress levels and work loads mount during COVID.

This is a time I would hope everyone in the local community, parents and others, do something to let our local teaching staff know we care about them.  It could be something small like a note or e-mail of encouragement.  Just let them know how much we, as a community, value their toil.

The second issue relating to teachers is the recent report issued by the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission.  This group was formed by Governor Holcomb when teacher pay and overall compensation became a major issue at the Statehouse, including a march of teachers from throughout the state one year ago, demonstrating for a better pay plan.  State lawmakers have a major say in how much money local school boards have available to compensate their teaching staffs.

The entire commission report is 182 pages.  If you want to read the entire document, it can be downloaded at this link.

In a nutshell, the report provides suggestions on how the state can create ways for local school boards to save money through efficiencies, in areas such as procuring health insurance coverage and prescription drug benefits.  But the most important recommendation is that state legislators shell out an additional $600 million to compensate the state’s teachers.

The commission found the average teacher salary in the state is about $53,000.  Commission members want that figure to rise, to $60,000.

The Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) is behind the $600 million in extra funding, but is worried that local school boards could move toward decreasing teachers health insurance benefits under this scenario.  ISTA is also concerned that state lawmakers would enact the cost saving measures and not fund the extra $600 million in the commission report.

Keep in mind that teachers are highly-educated individuals.  Most end up with a masters degree after in the profession a few years.  These teachers can find employment elsewhere, often making much more money than our local school boards can provide.

This commission report compared Indiana’s teacher compensation package to those offered by our surrounding states.  If all the recommendations are enacted, the commission report says the pay recommendation would put Indiana as “the third-highest average salary level in the Midwest.”

We need to thank our teachers and we need to advocate for a better compensation package.  Local communities are often judged by the quality of the public schools.  The HSE Schools, the 4th-largest school district in Indiana based on student population, has a quality reputation.

The only way that reputation can be maintained and enhanced is through providing a quality community for students, parents and teachers….and compensating teachers reasonably.

Every teacher I have known has said to me, just pay me fairly and I will remain here and remain a teacher.  They don’t want to be the best paid in the state necessarily, they just want a wage sufficient to support themselves and their families.

Teachers are so important.  Give them some love as Christmas break is on the way.  Advocate for their fair compensation.  It is the least we can all do.

The City of Fishers has been told by Verizon the firm plans to “pause” the rollout of 5G towers into Fishers neighborhoods.  In a message sent to subdivisions with pending or tabled 5G permits,  the city says “it is our understanding that Verizon will not apply for any new residential permits for a few months.”

Verizon has told city officials the company plans to concentrate on a fiber optic build-out.  The company also says it plans to come back to the city for more 5G towers in mid-2021.

The message to neighborhoods provided the following information:

• All tabled or pending applications and permits are now considered withdrawn. If your neighborhood was scheduled at an upcoming Board of Works meeting, these agenda items have now been removed.
• Tabled or pending applications and permits will likely be submitted again at a later date. At that time, the City intends to restart the permit process from the beginning, meaning you will have another opportunity to review placements and discuss locations with Verizon Wireless and City of Fishers.
• This does not mean 5G implementation has stopped in the city. Several 5G towers, located in public right of way outside of neighborhoods, will undergo permitting and construction into 2021.  Additionally, approved residential permits may be constructed within neighborhoods in 2021.
• Verizon Wireless has shared that it intends to re-launch its implementation of 5G in Fishers neighborhoods mid-2021

A fatal accident, a head-on collision, snarled traffic on State Road 37 near 135th Street in Fishers during the Monday morning rush hour.  The identity of the driver that died, an  Indianapolis man, 29, has not yet been released by authorities.

Police were called to the scene at 3:30am Monday, finding a collision involving a Dodge Charger and Toyota Scion.  Officers discovered a man trapped in the Toyota with critical injuries.  He was transported to a local hospital where police say he later died.

Preliminary information from authorities indicates the Toyota Scion was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of State Road 37 when it collided head on with the Dodge Charger.  The northbound lanes of State Road 37 were closed for approximately 4 hours.

The driver of the Dodge Charger, Takita D Lockridge, 33, from Noblesville, was not seriously injured in the crash.

Police say the investigation of this accident is continuing.  The northbound lanes of State Road 37 near 135th Street were closed for about 4 hours.

It’s time once again for the Grade A Movies podcast, featuring the two writers for www.GradeAMovies.com Alec Toombs and Adan Aasen.  I once again host the podcast.  We all three talk about the newest Ryan Murphy film, The Prom.  We also discuss a few other films we have seen.

I must give you an honest assessment of the numbers we have seen locally, state-wide and nationally on coronavirus infections and deaths – they are downright scary.   I won’t go over the numbers again here, I write about local stats about once a week.

That is not the point of this commentary.  I want us all to think about the people that work long, hard hours every work day to deal with this COVID crisis.  There are nurses, doctors and all the support staff doing everything possible to treat those contracting this virus.  There are people working in essential industries, such as grocery stores, putting food on the shelves and checking us out.

Nursing homes have been generally hard-hit with this virus, so let’s think about the staff and residents of those facilities.  There are also the families unable to visit the sick in the hospital or their relatives residing in a long-term care facility.

We have first responders in the police and fire departments that risk infection just in performing their everyday duties.  They take all possible precautions, but there are still risks they must take.

We have professionals throughout the Fishers community toiling in the fight against coronavirus.  I want to recognize someone that may surprise many of you and may be controversial in some circles, but I believe Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness deserves much credit.

Why?  Because he saw an immediate threat to the health, safety and economy of his city and acted quickly to do what the mayor believes to be the right thing to do.

When COVID was raging around us, Mayor Fadness knew the availability of testing would be key.  Because many people are asymptomatic, yet can transmit the virus to others when infected, testing would be a key component of preserving the health of Fishers residents.

After checking what was going on at the state and county level, he found no plan to quickly ramp-up a COVID testing program.  The only way for Fishers to establish a testing program was to create its own city health department.

That was a controversial move and the mayor was the recipient of many political attacks as a result.  Social media was mostly not kind to Scott Fadness on his decision to create the Fishers Health Department.  But he did it anyway.

As a result, more than 20,000 tests have been conducted on people with Fishers addresses.  Businesses paid a fee to have their employees tests, but all other tests were free of charge.  The city has saved citizens tested through the Fishers Health Department $2.5 million.  Some of that money has been reimbursed by the federal government, but when the testing program was ramped-up, there was no guarantee that would happen.

Creating a new city agency like a health department is a big decision and should be the focus of public debate.  But it has provided a way for people living in Fishers to know whether they are coronavirus positive.

Scott Fadness clearly understood that creating the city health department would provide his political enemies with fodder, but he didn’t care then and doesn’t care now.  He firmly believes in taking action to better the health of the citizens and businesses in this city.

Has the establishment of the Fishers Health Department gone totally smoothly?  Of course not, but putting something like this together on short notice will have ups and downs along the way.  We may not know the final verdict on this decision for a while, but for now the numbers speak for themselves.

The mayor and I have not always agreed on everything but my view is that he was willing to take a big risk to better the health of those living in Fishers, so I must give him credit for that.  Plus, a personal admission here…I am not totally objective on this subject.

I contracted the novel coronavirus in late October, with flu-like symptoms of fever, chest congestion and severe chills.  A test recommended by my physician revealed I was positive.

I have read many accounts, many by other journalists, detailing their personal experience with COVID.  All vary some, as did mine.

Once the flu symptoms went away, something much scarier happened.  The virus sucked all the energy from my body.  All I could do was sit in a chair all day long, falling asleep often and still sleeping all night.  I could also sense a lot of congestion in my upper respiratory system.

That was the point that concerned me.  I knew some people recovered, but others took a turn for the worse and could not breath properly.  I knew that at my age with an underlying health condition I was at very high risk of dying.

But I was one of the very lucky ones.  I still do not know what, if any, long-term health issues are possible but as of now, I am fully recovered.  I wake up every day and thank God for giving one more day on this earth.

Perhaps that’s why I admire Scott Fadness for taking the political risks of creating a health department and doing the best he could to help and protect the people residing in the City of Fishers.

But here is what all of us need to begin thinking about now.  Vaccines are being administered and will continue to roll-out over the coming months.  We do not know when, but there is going to be a time, how many months from now we do not know, but there will be a time when we can all congregate again.

When this happens, I would hope every resident of Fishers will pitch-in and have the biggest celebration this city has ever experienced.  We can recognize and bestow honor on the many people on the front lines dealing with COVID.   Also, we can all just celebrate the fact we can now have a party, invite everyone without fear of a pandemic.

Look, the numbers show we are still in a dark place as of this moment, and I strongly encourage everyone to follow the advice of public health experts….wear the mask, social distance and keep social gatherings small and distanced.  We need to do that for a while longer.

But also think about how to celebrate the end.  It is a good thought we can bound around in our minds when we begin to see the end of all this.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

With all the health news focused on the national pandemic crisis, there has been little to no attention given to the continuing number of fatal drug cases. Here in Hamilton County, Coroner John Chalfin says the cases of extreme drug overdose are probably running slightly ahead of last year.

As of the end of October there were 22 confirmed fatalities from opioids often mixed with other dangerous drugs for what could be called recreational purposes. There are seven more cases that were likely from the same cause, but toxicology reports have not yet been received.

This would bring the 10-month total to the same as all of last year when there were 29 confirmed deaths in the county attributed to the practice of taking deadly drugs.

The use of Narcan, a drug designed to revive an overdose victim, has slowed the fatalities, but Chalfin warns that Narcan cannot always save a person if he or she has consumed too much of a mixture of harsh drugs.

Sometimes four or five drugs of unknown origin are mixed.

Of course, some other drug deaths are attributed to accidental overdose or suicide. Toxicology tests are conducted here, too. But, the test results are taking longer, up to a month or six weeks, to be received, Chalfin said.

Chalfin suspects some drug deaths are unknown to local authorities because an overdose victim’s family will sometimes take the person to a Marion County hospital where an overdose death does not have to be reported to anyone in Hamilton County.

The ages of persons taking opioids and other dangerous drugs can vary considerably. It was once thought to be a bigger problem among young males, but the coroner says he has found victims into their 40s and 50s, both male and female.

Musicals are a bit of a lost art in Hollywood, but director Ryan Murphy is utilizing his big contract to provide content to the streaming behemoth Netflix and bring back the big-production musical, with his latest offering, The Prom.  it is set in small town Indiana and a controversy over a girl wanting to bring her same-sex partner to the high school prom.  Some big-name stars, trying to resurrect their careers and public reputations, come to the Hoosier Hinterlands.  So, what do I think of the The Prom?  Here is my review for your listening pleasure (or displeasure, depending on how you view it).

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern dropped a 71-63 home game to North Central on Friday.

The Panthers led 16-11 after the first quarter. The Royals cut that advantage to 27-25 by halftime, but North Central made a third-quarter run and led 45-38 by the end of the period. The Panthers held on to their lead in the fourth, edging out Southeastern 26-25 in a high-scoring quarter.

Three Royals players reached double figures. Vinny Buccilla scored 14 points and earned a double-double by dishing out 10 assists. Dalton Retzner added 12 points and also had six rebounds and two blocked shots. John McCall scored 10 points and collected eight rebounds.

Southeastern is 2-2 and plays at Fishers next Friday in the Mudsock game.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor 

Hamilton County Reporter

FISHERS – Finally back on the court after two weeks, Hamilton Southeastern got to play its first home game on Thursday.

It was also Senior Night for the Royals, as well as their first Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the season, as Southeastern hosted Avon. The Royals got off to a great start, then held off the expected Orioles comeback to win 68-60.

Southeastern never trailed in the game, even during a close first quarter. The Royals were engaged from the start, as Alex Totton drew a foul while scoring the contest’s first basket – just five seconds in. Totton made the subsequent free throw and HSE was up 3-0.

Avon’s Nick Walker made a 3-pointer to tie the game, but the Royals took the lead for good on back-to-back layins from Vinny Buccilla and John McCall. The first quarter was played at a torrid pace, and ended with Southeastern ahead 24-19. Totton scored nine points in that period, nailing two 3-pointers after his game-starting and-1. McCall helped out with seven points and Sam Jacobs added four.

The Orioles’ Dominique Williams scored the first basket of the second quarter, a putback to get Avon within 24-21. The Royals took over after that, going on a 14-0 run. Dalton Retzner made back-to-back layins, and Totton hit back-to-back triples. That run carried Southeastern into halftime, where it led 42-31.

The Royals’ balance was in full effect by halftime. Totton had 15 points, with McCall at nine and Sam Jacobs adding seven points.

“One thing that we always keep trying to talk about is having that balance, because if you have that balance, then they can’t really key on certain guys, and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing every night,” said Southeastern coach Brian Satterfield.

The game slowed down in the third quarter, but the Royals remained in front. A 9-2 run put them ahead 51-34 with less than a minute to go in the period; four different HSE players scored during that run.

But Avon went on a run of its own, scoring 15 straight points to get within 51-49 with just over five minutes to play. Southeastern scored six quick points to get back ahead 57-49; Retzner made three of four foul shots and Totton threw in his fifth 3-pointer of the game.

“I thought we started out pretty well, but then they made their run,” said Satterfield.
From there, the Royals kept their lead between five and nine points. The nine-point lead came with 2:09 left, when Totton made a pair of free throws. Two more foul shots from Jason Stutz with 1:13 left got Southeastern up 66-59, and the Royals were able to hang on from there.

“We keep talking about toughness with this group and I thought they withstood it, they were able to make plays down the stretch, and that’s the most important thing,” said Satterfield.

Four HSE players reached double figures in scoring. Totton’s five 3-pointers were part of his 20 points, Jacobs and McCall both scored 11 and Retzner added 10. Buccilla collected eight rebounds while Loudon Sundling pulled six. Buccilla dished out four assists and Retzner made two blocked shots.

Southeastern is 2-1 for the season and is back home again tonight to host North Central. Satterfield said the stretch is going to be tough, but back-to-back games are certainly better than not playing at all.

“We knew that this was going to be tough, but with all the things with COVID going on, we just wanted to get the game in, especially since we haven’t played in a while,” said Satterfield. “Didn’t get to play last weekend, we just wanted to get in there and get some game action in. We know it’s going to be a challenge, but at least we’re getting the opportunity to play.”