Hamilton County will now pay an income tax increase, and for the first time all county residents will be required to pay into the system funding 911 emergency services.
According to a story published online by the Indianapolis Business Journal, written by reporter Samm Quinn, Arcadia went first, and later Westfield and Noblesville joined Fishers in approving the tax increase. Because those communities represent more than 50% of those residing in Hamilton County, under state law, the tax increase is set to be put in place for everyone living in the county.
Quinn reports those municipal councils, some towns & some cities, equate to 59.25% of all county residents.
As a result of these actions, the county local income tax rate will rise from 1% to 1.1%, effective in 2020.
You can read the entire IBJ story at this link. (NOTE: If you are not an IBJ subscriber, you are limited on the number of articles you may access each month. As I have always argued, you need to subscribe to local news sources, so I would encourage you to subscribe to the IBJ and other local news sources)
She went from being a state basketball and golf champion to becoming one of the “Sisters of Savings,” then was placed on the front line of humanity’s never-ending war against cancer.
All in all, Courtney Cox Cole had a remarkable life journey, one that ended on Sunday. Cole passed away that day after a five-and-a-half-year battle with lung cancer at the age of 48.
Cole was part of three state championship teams as a 1989 Noblesville High School graduate. She helped the Millers to a state basketball championship in 1987. That title began a run of four consecutive appearances at the state finals for Noblesville, with Cole playing in the first three.
Cole finished her career with 1,869 points, making her the all-time girls basketball scorer at Noblesville and in Hamilton County, and fourth in the entire state of Indiana. She was named as an Indiana All-Star, a USA Today and Parade Magazine First Team All-American, a Gatorade Player of the Year and won the Dial Award for National High School Scholar/Athlete of the Year.
Cole was also part of back-to-back state titles in girls golf for the Millers in 1986 and 1987, her sophomore and junior seasons. In her senior year, Cole was the individual sectional champion at Anderson Highland her senior year and placed fifth in the state, helping Noblesville to a fifth-place finish.
“The Noblesville Athletic Department and community lost another pioneer on Sunday; we are saddened at the loss of Courtney Cox,” said Noblesville athletic director Leah Wooldridge. “She was one of the most heralded student-athletes in Noblesville history; there are few that have the accolades that she accomplished; 1986 & 1987 member of the Girls Golf State Championship Team; an instrumental member on the 1987 Girls Basketball State Championship Team, 1988 State Runner-Up Team, and 1989 Final 4 Team; was inducted into the Hamilton Country Hall of Fame in 2003; and inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Courtney will be remembered as a fierce competitor, a successful businesswoman, a great Mom, and a great friend. She will be missed by all that had the privilege to know her.”
At Monday’s girls golf sectional, the Millers wore ribbons on their hats honoring Cole. The Miller Girls Golf Twitter account posted the following message on Sunday: “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of Courtney Cole. Her contributions to our program, school and community will be felt forever … one of the greatest Millers ever gone far too soon. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”
Also on Twitter, the Noblesville girls basketball team (NHSGirlsBBall) posted, “Courtney was an absolute star. She was a warrior and a leader her entire life. She will be missed but leaves a legacy that will last a lifetime.”
After graduating from Noblesville, Cole headed to Indiana University, and graduated from its Kelly School of Business in 1994. Cole also played on the Hoosiers’ women’s basketball team, and was part of its 1991 runner-up finish in the WNIT tournament. She also continued her golf success, qualifying for the NCAA tournament twice and received numerous honors as well. Cole received the school’s Leanne Grotke Award in 2011; the award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to IU’s women’s athletic programs.
Indiana women’s coach Teri Moren posted the following statement on the Hoosiers’ women’s basketball website: “Our sincerest sympathies are with the family of Courtney Cox Cole. I played against Courtney in both high school and college and remember her as a fierce competitor. She took that same attitude as she battled cancer for the last six years. Courtney remained positive throughout her fight and became an inspiration to so many. History will remember her as one of Indiana’s all-time greatest, but more importantly she will be remembered as a genuine, funny, successful business woman and as a loving mother, daughter and sister.”
Upon graduation from college, Cole returned to Noblesville and worked with her father Dave Cox and sister Monica Peck at Hare Chevrolet, the family’s car dealership that has been a Noblesville institution since 1847. Cole and Peck bought the business in 2008 and continued its success, making it the top volume General Motors dealership in Indiana. Cole and Peck also became local celebrities with their “Sisters of Savings” ads, which were heard throughout Central Indiana. Cole and Peck sold the business to Asbury Automotive Group in January 2017, but continued to be heard on the ads for the next couple of years.
Cole wrote candidly about her battle with cancer in a series of columns that she wrote for the Reporter in 2017. In her first column, she wrote about how she ran her first marathon in January 2014, only to be diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer, which would progress to Stage 4. In subsequent columns, she wrote about living with cancer and the various treatments.
“I have quickly learned that every day is a gift and it is up to us to make the absolute most of it,” said Cole at the end of her first column.
If anyone made the absolute most of every day, it was Courtney Cox Cole.
Photo taken at the first multi-faith for compassion gathering
When the group “Fishers Multi-Faith Community for Compassion” was first organized, the aim was to bring people together with different religious beliefs and work toward finding common ground. The organization is sponsoring a series aimed at doing just that, called “Meet Your Neighbor.”
The group has scheduled three evening events, featuring speakers to talk about their own religious beliefs, and will answer questions. All sessions will begin at 7pm and go to about 8:30pm. The gatherings will be held at the Fishers City Hall auditorium, where the City Council meets.
Here is the schedule:
—Thursday, October 3rd – Rabbi Jenni Greenspan discusses the Jewish faith
—Thursday, October 10th – The Sikh faith will be explained by Gurinder Singh
—Tuesday, October 15th – Muzaffar Ahmad will talk about the Muslin faith.
When John DeLucia, a former local school board member and official with Citizens State Bank, predicted the Pasta Bowl campaign would collect 25,000 pounds of pasta donations this year, many people in the local school community were privately skeptical that goal was realistic. After all, the previous year, 20,000 pounds of pasta had been donated and a 5,000 pound increase appeared to be a tall order.
John DeLucia was off on his 25,000 pound forecast, but not in the way many expected. The 2019 Pasta Bowl campaign collected 40,197 pounds, more than doubling the previous year’s count.
“The Pasta Bowl has been called the largest pasta drive involving K-12 schools in the world, and it may be starting to live up to the hype with more than double the donations from a year ago,” said DeLucia, who also serves on Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation Advisory Council and helped start the community food drive in 2012.
Here is a breakdown of some of the schools involved in the food drive:
–Hamilton Southeastern High School was the high school division and overall winner with 6,464 lbs. The Royals unseated Fishers High School who had won the high school division each previous year.
— Fall Creek Intermediate won the intermediate/junior high division with 3,176 lbs. They replaced Riverside Intermediate School who had been the only previous champion in that category.
–Cumberland Road Elementary won the elementary division with 3,394 lbs. Hoosier Road Elementary had been the perennial elementary champion.
–Sand Creek Elementary won biggest gain title by increasing their collection by 1,389% over 2018.
In addition to the schools listed above, Durbin Elementary, Hoosier Road Elementary and Riverside Intermediate are being awarded the honorable mention awards for 2019. Each of these schools collected over 3 lbs. of pasta per enrolled student.
“Pasta Bowl is at the intersection of compassion and competition,” said HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff. “I commend all our students this year for their competitive spirit and for an outstanding demonstration of compassion in combating hunger. It was an enjoyable way to make a positive difference for people in need.”
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness also chimed-in, praising the effort. “It’s a testament to the values of our residents when we can come together as a community for a little friendly competition that benefits something much larger than all of us,” the mayor said.
The donated pasta will be distributed to local township trustees and other local nonprofit groups.
Students from the winning schools plan to celebrate with a group photo at the Meijer store on 96th street on Tuesday, 10/1 at 4:30 pm.
When the Construction on State Road 37 begins in earnest late this year and into 2020, it is expected that nearby roadways will handle more vehicular traffic, even if not on the recommended detours. The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety approved a delay Monday in beginning a project on Cumberland Road from 106th Street to 116th Street, adding asphalt paths on both sides of the roadway and creating a median.
The work was originally scheduled for 2020, but this construction is now expected to begin as early as July, 2022, and no later than June 30, 2023. This corresponds with the fiscal year utilized by Indiana state government. Cities use a calendar year.
If federal funding availability becomes an issue, the Cumberland Road work would be pushed back to no later than June 30, 2025. This road project is being 80 per cent funded with federal money.
The State Road 37 project, adding overpasses, underpasses and roundabouts at intersections in Fishers, is currently projected to be completed by 2022.
“We, over the years, have been adapting to the State Road 37 project,” Fishers Director of Engineering Jason Taylor told the board. “This (Cumberland Road delay) will allow us the flexibility to be able to push this project out to avoid any of the potential detour traffic that is utilizing Cumberland Road.”
Taylor added that he has been working with regional and state officials on this decision to delay the Cumberland Road work.
In other State Road 37 action by the board, additional money was approved for land right-of-way acquisition and Duke Energy utility relocation required at the 146th Street intersection was passed.
Being Teacher of the Year for Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the 4th largest school district in the state, is quite an honor. Being a top ten finalist for Indiana State Teacher of the Yea is an even bigger honor. Both are true for Maria Kussy, a Media Specialist at Brooks School Elementary School.
I spoke to Maria Kussy on September 23rd as she awaited word on whether she is still in the running for Indiana Teacher of the Year.
Ken Burns has earned a reputation for chronicling all things American with his many documentary series produced for Public Television. He has produced hours of content on subjects like Baseball, Jazz, the Civil War, the Vietnam War and many others.
I have been recording each episode of his latest series, all about country music. He devoted several minutes to the legendary Roy Acuff. That got me thinking back.
To be totally honest, I have never liked country music much. I was even a country music disc jockey back in the 1970s while going to college, playing the country tunes in order to make a little extra money. But the music, with a few isolated exceptions, never did much for me.
However, my Dad loved country music. Anytime I was in the car with him, he had the local country radio station tuned-in. It drove me crazy, but, hey, he was my Dad, so I tolerated it.
For years, I never understood why Dad was such a country music fan. It wasn’t until many years later when we were talking, that I finally understood.
My father was part of a large farm family just south of Loogootee in southwest Indiana. Life on the farm was hard, very hard. The days were long and the work often backbreaking.
My dad did look forward to one event every week. The family gathered around the radio, tuned into radio station WSM in Nashville, Tennessee every Saturday night and listened to the Grand Ole Opry.
The Burns documentary series on country music explores all the old barn dance live performances on radio stations throughout the nation, but the Grand Ole Opry was the biggest and remains a Saturday night radio event to this day.
Watching this documentary, I envisioned the millions of families all around the nation, tuning into the 50,000 watt power of WSM radio (which covers most of America) just like my Dad’s family, working hard, not exactly prosperous, but having that big night, Saturday, listening to the Grand Ole Opry.
When my father was in hospice care 25 years ago, we asked him what music he wanted. We didn’t really need to ask. He listened to the greatest hits of Roy Acuff. I lost count of how many times he listened to The Great Speckled Bird and the Wabash Cannon Ball.
Burns documents that Acuff didn’t have much of a singing voice and was an average musician at best, but he put so much emotion and feeling into every performance, audiences adored him. I think that’s why my Dad loved his music so much.
I have this vision in my head of my Dad and Roy Acuff in heaven singing the Wabash Cannot Ball. That would certainly be heaven for my Dad.
There are still important television programs only an outlet like Public Broadcasting is capable of producing, such as Ken Burns’ Country Music series. Thanks, Ken Burns and PBS, for bringing back some wonderful memories of my father.
The City of Fishers says 106th Street between Allisonville Road and Eller Road will be closed during the day between Sunday, September 22nd through Thursday, September 26th. During this work, be aware of southbound lane restrictions on Allisonville Road.
Also, plan ahead now for lane restrictions on State Road 37 beginning Monday, September 30th through Wednesday, October 2nd. these restrictions will reduce traffic to one lane 9am-6pm.
For the full listing of road projects, see the listing below, as provided by the City of Fishers:
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STATE ROAD 37
Single lane restrictions will be needed to perform Phase 1 maintenance of traffic. The work is scheduled to occur Monday, September 30 to Wednesday, October 2 between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Learn more and sign up to receive text updates here.
ALLISONVILLE ROAD 106th Street between Allisonville Road and Eller Road will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sunday, September 22 until Thursday, September 26. Southbound Allisonville will be restricted to one lane.
All four lanes of Allisonville Road are now open! This area is still a construction zone with a 30-mph speed limit, so please drive with caution. Lane restrictions may be in place as final touches are put on the project.
113TH STREET
Hamilton County Highway Department has finished resurfacing work on 113th Street from Florida Road to Southeastern Parkway, but restrictions will still be in place while striping is completed.
106TH & MOLLENKOPF ROAD
Watch for delays and lane restrictions near 106th and Mollenkopf Road for work related to intersection improvements.
96TH STREET
Utility relocation is beginning on 96th Street as part of the road widening project, resulting in periodic lane restrictions over the coming months. For more information about the 96th Street road widening project, view the Fact Sheet.KEEP FISHERS DPW SAFE
Road construction continues around Fishers, so please remember to slow down and drive carefully around road workers. Watch here to see our DPW crew talk about worker safety.
Fishers dropped its first game of the season on Friday, as the Class 6A No. 6
Tigers fell to 6A No. 7 Brownsburg at the Bulldogs’ Roark Stadium.
The game was tied after the first quarter, as Fishers answered a Brownsburg score when Dylan Scally ran the ball in for a nine-yard touchdown. Jack Phillips made the extra point kick. But that would be all for the Tigers until the second half, with the Bulldogs jumping ahead 21-7 by halftime.
Brownsburg scored another touchdown early in the third before Fishers
ended the run with a 25-yard field goal from Phillips. But the Bulldogs added two more TDs in the quarter, taking a 42-10 lead. The Tigers got the only fourth-quarter score when Marcus Roux threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jeffrey Simmons. Phillips again made the extra point kick.
Scally finished the game with 114 yards on 17 carries. Roux completed over half of his passes, going 12-for-23 for 120 yards. Simmons made six catches for 63 yards.
The Tigers are 2-1 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference and 4-1 overall.
They return home next Friday to play Avon.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Chris Stein (with football) powers his way into the end zone to score the Royals’ first touchdown of the game. Southeastern came back from a 10-0 deficit to beat Westfield Friday in its Homecoming game, also picking up its first Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory of the season. (Photo by Bret Richardson)
Hamilton County Reporter
After some tough games in the first half of the season, the Hamilton Southeastern football team was overdue for a big win.
The Royals got that win Friday, in their Homecoming game at TCU Field. Southeastern shrugged off a 10-0 first quarter deficit to take over in the remaining three periods, ultimately stunning previously unbeaten Westfield 34-10.
Southeastern thus picked up its first Hoosier Crossroads Conference win of the season and is now 2-3 overall.
“We’ve endured some real tough games,” said Royals coach Adam Morris. “Losing with the field goal in overtime to North Central, the Avon game, coming back and coming up just short. We’ve had an emotional roller coaster this year, so I’m just happy for our kids to have
some success, because I feel like they’ve earned it and haven’t really gotten it.”
The Class 6A No. 8 Shamrocks seemed to have control of the game after the first quarter. Eli Patchett scored the first points for Westfield on a six-yard rushing touchdown. Eduardo Beltran kicked the extra point, and seconds later kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the
‘Rocks the 10-point lead.
Southeastern began its run early in the second period, when Chris Stein pounded
the ball in from the two-yard line. Alex Geroulis made the extra-point kick, the
first of four he would successfully convert on the night.
The score held at 10-7 through halftime, but the Royals took control in the third quarter. Blaine Wertz made a fouryard scoring run midway through the period, Geroulis booted in a 29-yard field goal, then Wertz broke away for a 43-yard touchdown sprint with under two
minutes in the quarter.
And HSE wasn’t done yet: In the fourth quarter, Geroulis nailed a 25-yard field goal, and Michael Cherry put the finishing touch on the victory by picking off a Westfield pass and returning it 45 yards for a touchdown.
Wertz had a big game for the Royals, with 225 yards on 32 carries. Quarterback
Andrew Hobson was efficient by making 10 of 15 passes for 154 yards. DeAndre
Rhodes led the receiving with five catches for 88 yards.
Stein had eight tackles for Southeastern, with Louden Sundling making six stops. Clayton Toner had five tackles.
Simons had a solid game for Westfield, completing 16 of 27 passes for 192 yards. Mason Piening had seven receptions totaling 123 yards. Bryson Hoover had a huge defensive game with 13 tackles. Mark McLaurin, David Frey and Owen Ogle each made seven tackles.
The Royals will travel to Zionsville next Friday, while the Shamrocks return home to Riverview Health Stadium to host Brownsburg.
