Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern kept its winning momentum going on the road Friday, as the Royals cruised past Zionsville 35-14 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game at the Eagles’ field.

Southeastern got on the board in the first quarter, when Ben Boysen caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Hobson. The senior quarterback was just getting warmed up, as he threw for two more touchdowns in the second quarter. DeAndre Rhodes caught a nine-yard throw early in the period, then Tony Myers took a 10-yard pass into the end zone
midway through the quarter.

The Royals ended the first half with a flourish, as junior running back Jace Alexander took a seven-yard carry into the end zone. Southeastern led 28-0 at halftime.

Alexander got one more touchdown, as he scrambled 17 yards to score late in the fourth period. Alex Geroulis made all five extra-point kicks.

Blaine Wertz was the Royals’ leading rusher, with 117 yards in 21 carries. Alexander totaled 91 yards in 14 trips. Hobson had a highly efficient night, completing 11 of 17 passes for 146 yards and the three touchdowns.

The win was the second in a row for Southeastern, which improved to 2-2 in
HCC play and 3-3 overall. The Royals are back home next Friday, hosting Noblesville at TCU Field.

Fishers High School celebrated Homecoming Friday night, and crowned the King and Queen.  According to my news-gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, the king of is Colton Keel and the queen Victoria Butler (Photo above)

Fishers City Council President Rich Block issued a statement Friday afternoon, saying an investigation of City Clerk Jennifer Kehl “concluded that no violations of law occured.”  However, Block says the report did contain “management issues” brought to the attention of council members.

“…changes have been implemented which have transferred duties previously assumed by the Clerk (but not legally required to be performed by the Clerk) to current City staff which will streamline the administration of government and maximize efficiencies,” according to Block’s statement .

On May 23rd, the Fishers City Council issued a statement saying Ms. Kehl was being investigated for possible violations of Title VII, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.  The council news release May 23rd did not specify which part of Title VII was involved in this case.

The council utilized the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg to conduct the investigation into the allegations lodged against the city clerk, which found no law violations.

Jennifer Kehl was contacted by LarryInFishers for her reaction, and said that she still does not know the specific allegations against her.  The report has not been shared or explained to her, she said.

“I have completed tasks assigned to the best of my ability,.” Kehl told LarryInFishers.

She has asked for information on the report, but has been told it is confidential and cannot be shared with her.

“I have done the job I was elected to do, which the city chose to distribute to others,” said Kehl.

Here is the full text of the statement issued Friday afternoon by Council President Rich Block:

The Common Council for the City of Fishers engaged Barnes & Thornburg, LLP to investigate allegations made against the separately elected City Clerk.  The investigators concluded that no violations of law occurred; however, several management issues related to the Clerk’s office were brought to the Council’s attention.  Accordingly, changes have been implemented which have transferred duties previously assumed by the Clerk (but not legally required to be performed by the Clerk) to current City staff which will streamline the administration of government and maximize efficiencies. 

Running as a Democrat is always a challenge in nearly all of Hamilton County.  Lane Skeeters has an even bigger challenge…unseating long-time incumbent John Weingardt.

Lane Skeeters sat down for a podcast discussion with me.  Here is that podcast.

Judy Garland may have died many years ago, but she still has fans all around the world.  The new film Judy has Renee Zellweger playing a 46-year-old Garland, tackling motherhood and her own demons.  Here is my review of the film Judy

A very sad commentary on our times is the lack of civic knowledge among Americans.  To illustrate this point, here is part of an article published in 2017 by the Harvard Political Review:

“…a Newsweek survey from 2011 found that 70 percent of Americans didn’t even know that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Sadly, this is not the only piece of evidence indicating that Americans are not as familiar with the Constitution and the Supreme Court as one might expect—a 2016 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that only 26 percent of respondents could name all three branches of government, and only 33 percent knew that, in the case of a 4-4 Supreme Court tie, the decision of the lower court stands.

“These dismal findings prompt another, broader question: why is it that the American public’s civic literacy is so poor? The basic organization of American government is not very complex, and the U.S. Constitution is a relatively short document. Americans should therefore have a much greater level of familiarity with the way their government operates. Schools, at both the K-12 and collegiate level, must make civic education a priority and should specifically ensure that students understand the Constitution and the Supreme Court.”

Two local high school  teachers, one at HSE and the other at Fishers High School, are working to change that.  Janet Chandler and Liz Paternoster are coaches of their respective “We the People” teams, a competition testing students’ knowledge of civic affairs.  Both local high schools have made regular appearances at “We The People” national finals competition in recent years.

These two teachers are planning an event at Top Golf on Sunday, October 27th, at 3:30pm, aimed at raising money to support local civic education.  In order for this to be a success, these teachers need the help of the Fishers community.

They are asking for donations of goods or services.  This includes the raffle and silent auction, as well as, event sponsors. All businesses who donate an item will have their company name/logo promoted in our photo-shoot backgrounds, website and
on social media.

Below you will find information on how to contact Liz Paternoster and Janet Chandler, along with more details on what is available.

LIz Paternoster                                                                Janet Chandler
Fishers High School                                                      Hamilton Southeastern High School
Lpaternoster@hse.k12.in.us                                     jchandler@hse.k12.in.us

Hamilton County Reporter

Steven Orusa, Fire Chief of Fishers Fire and Emergency Services, has been elected as the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association First Vice President to serve a one-year term in 2020.

“I am humbled and honored to serve the state and represent the dedicated departments of Indiana,” said Orusa. “I am blessed to continue the work of my predecessors as we continue to protect and serve the interests of our citizens and firefighters.”

The mission of the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association is to promote excellence in the fire and emergency services by providing a forum for networking, information sharing, cooperative opportunities, and a unified voice for its diverse membership and partners through educational, legislative and technical means.

In addition to state wide mutual aid resource response capabilities and planning, this agency promotes safety education throughout the state, legislative oversight to assure laws keep the safety of the community in mind, identify safety concerns and solutions of the state and identify international trends that may have implications in our communities.

The Indiana Fire Chiefs Association was established in 1927.

Members of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) have ratified a new two-year contract with the HSE School Corporation.  The new pact calls for a 2% salary increase for local educators in calendar year 2020, and just over 1.27% in 2021

The new contract moves toward equalizing the incremental steps teachers earn based on the number of years teaching, per guidance from the state.

For example, the beginning HSE Schools teacher salary for 2019 was $40,158…..for 2020, it will be $40,961 & in 2021 the beginning salary is set to be $41,484.

The contract also has new provisions in areas such as teacher pay on  e-learning days and extra-curricular pay.

The new contract will be the subject of a school board public hearing October 9th, with a board vote to ratify the agreement set for October 23rd.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved $14 million in projects Wednesday tied to a 10-year plan of maintaining and upgrading facilities.  A public hearing drew no speakers from the audience.

The work approved by the board includes:

• Fall Creek Junior High – Security and Misc. Renovations – $8,824,534
• Technology throughout the district – $1,000,000
• Hamilton Southeastern High School – Repaving West lot and resurface running track $860,000
• Fall Creek Intermediate – Partial roof replacement – $447,752
• Fishers High School – Resurface running track – $295,000

The board also voted to accept a bid for renovation of rest room facilities at the district’s transportation building of $215,000, well below the estimated cost of $350,000.  Board member Brad Boyer voted no on accepting the bid.

Jennifer Miller has been the executive director of HAND (Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development Inc.) since 2016, but she has announced her intention to step down from that position on November 1st.  According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, Miller has  led the organization through a period of growth in collaborating with other groups, including an expansion into Boone County and the formation of the Hamilton County Home Repair Partnership with Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County and the former Habitat for Humanity of Hamilton County.

“I am very proud of the work we have accomplished in the last three years and look forward to seeing how HAND grows in the future,” Miller said. “The need for affordable housing options only increases each year in our communities. I will continue to support HAND and its partners in these efforts.”

The HAND board of directors will begin the search for a new executive director.

“Jennifer stepped into her leadership role at HAND during a time of significant organizational transition. She has worked tirelessly to further enhance HAND’s reputation and partnerships,” said Board President Cory Daly. “As unfortunate as this announcement is, our remaining staff at HAND is well prepared to continue building upon the strong foundation Jennifer has laid and continue our important mission.”

HAND was established in 2003 as a nonprofit with the goal of promoting prosperity and diversity in local communities by providing quality housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families.