The Fishers Police Department has announced two community programs that local residents should note.

The first is the National Night Out, set for Tuesday, August 6th, Billericay Park, 5:30-7:30pm.  This is a national event, but done by local police departments throughout America.  It’s a chance for the local community to connect with Fishers Police officers.

There will be face painters, balloon artists, caricature artists, hot dogs, chips, cookies, drinks, with special appearances by Chase from Paw Patrol. There will be public safety educational associations there too. Fishers Police Officers will be available for questions and general conversation.

Second, The Police Department is planning another Citizens Academy.  This is the 37th year the local department has sponsored this program.

It is scheduled for 13 weeks and offers “police style” training to Fishers citizens.  Some of the training will include: Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch, Bicycle Patrol, Criminal Law, Police Canine, Traffic Stops, Weapons Familiarization, Criminal Investigations, Evidence Collection, and history of the department.

The instructors will be police officers from the Fishers Police Department.   Participants in the Citizen’s Academy are eligible to complete a ride along with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.

 Our Fall 2019 Citizen’s Police Academy will be held at the Fishers Police Department every Wednesdaynight from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. starting August 21, 2019. The academy will be open to individuals who reside in Fishers or are employed in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  You must be sixteen years old or older to participate in the Citizen’s Academy.

It is the Police Department’s goal to build on the relationships officers have established in the community. The Citizen’s Academy consists of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer. The Citizen’s Academy will give community members the opportunity to ask questions about law enforcement and other related activities.

Apply online at www.fishers.in.us/police  or apply in person at the Fishers Police Department.  Applications will be accepted until August 14th.  If you have any questions, contact Officer Chris Owens at owensc@fishers.in.us  or (317) 595-3300.

The weekly update on road construction contains a reminder from Fishers City officials….please slow down and protect the safety of construction workers.

The north-end connector between Lantern Road and Municipal Drive should be completed in the coming days, if all goes as scheduled.  It will be open this weekend for concerts at the Amphitheater and the Saturday morning Farmers Market.

Also, watch for construction zones around the Fishers section of I-69.

Here is the complete listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week beginning Monday, August 5th:

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The City of Fishers wasted no time in approving the bid removing the railroad tracks along the Nickel Plate.  Once the other local government approvals are done, it is expected that 30 days later, crews will begin removing the tracks.

The City of Fishers expects to begin the first phase of construction on the Nickel Plate trail this fall.  The project is funded through a bond issued as part of the 2019 city budget.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety officially approved acceptance of the bid at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

inA software company plans to relocate to Fishers, and bring 41 jobs with it.  Anvl announced it will be using space in the Meyer Najem Building along Lantern Road, in the downtown Nickel Plate District.

Below is the news release issued by Indiana state officials:

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Anvl, a workforce-first safety software company, announced plans today to scale up its operations in central Indiana. The company’s growth plans include creating up to 41 new, high-wage jobs in Fishers by the end of 2022.

“With a growing tech ecosystem and a strong tradition of advanced manufacturing, Indiana is uniquely positioned to support the growth of companies like Anvl,” said Elaine Bedel, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). “Anvl’s innovative technology puts a focus on improving the safety of workers across a variety of industries including automotive, construction and energy. The company’s commitment to innovation will not only create quality, high-wage career opportunities for Hoosiers, but help fuel new safety solutions and standards for companies across the U.S. and around the world.”

Anvl, which delivers safety software to help reduce and prevent injuries for the front-line workers in hazardous environments, was launched out of Indianapolis-based venture studio High Alpha in October 2018. Led by technology-veteran Robin Fleming, co-founder and CEO of Anvl, the company will invest $125,000 to establish permanent office space in the Meyer Najem building at 11787 Lantern Road in Fishers. The new space will allow Anvl to continue growing its operations following a $2 million seed funding round announced last month which included participation from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, High Alpha Capital, and a number of experienced tech leaders and angel investors, including Steve Cage, an entrepreneur from Indiana.

Anvl is the 10th company to launch out of High Alpha. The company has nearly doubled its workforce since June and plans to move into its new Fishers location in late August, supporting the growth of its team. Anvl’s current open positions and future positions can be found online.

“What we are doing at Anvl is really important work,” said Fleming. “Our innovative software helps companies modernize their safety programs by engaging and helping front-line workers be safer. Support from the entire Indiana business ecosystem is critical to help companies like Anvl grow and create value for our employees and customers. Our entire team is passionate about our mission and excited to be part of the growing technology and business community in Indiana.”

Anvl’s technology identifies leading indicators of workplace injury by capturing and analyzing environmental and process data in real time enabling interventions at the point of risk. Front-line workers are engaged with a targeted safety experience through Anvl’s mobile software which improves efficiency and productivity. Managers have access to a live-feed of safety information from the workforce which is used to gain insight into potential safety issues. The overall solution helps improve safety programs by creating unified communications between workers and leaders and identifying improvement opportunities.

“Under Robin’s leadership, Anvl is disrupting its industry, and Fishers is excited to be part of the next chapter of their growth,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “The Anvl team joins the growing network of entrepreneurial companies in Fishers, and we look forward to working alongside them for many years to come.”

The IEDC offered Anvl up to $900,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Fishers approved additional incentives.

During 2016 and 2017, tech jobs in the Indianapolis metro grew at a rate of 18.4 percent, which is more than double the U.S. average and ranks sixth across U.S. and Canada, according to CBRE’s Tech-30 report.

When I saw the joint news release from Reynolds and Conner Prairie issued July 24th about the future of Christmas lights, I knew it would be a big topic of conversation around Fishers, and it has been just that.

Reynolds began the decorative Christmas light display the same year I moved to Fishers, 1991. It has been a joy for me to watch the many families taking-in the free display for the past 28 years.

However, things change, whether or not we like the change.  The intersection of 126th Street and State Road 37 will be under construction during Christmas, 2019.  The area that once housed the lights is beginning to develop commercially, meaning the display is more difficult to handle at that location.

In other words, there wasn’t much of a chance the light display would ever come back as it was in 1991 and the many years that followed.

In my view, the Fishers community owes a debt of gratitude to the Reynolds family.  Their business has thrived and expanded since the enterprise started in 1955.  Reynolds has been a strong supporter of this local community for a very long time.  The Christmas light display is just one example.

Reynolds has always supported Conner Prairie, so it is no surprise that when Reynolds needed to take the Christmas lights elsewhere, the local museum was contacted.

Allow me to also say a word about Conner Prairie.  I worked for the federal government over a 28 year career.  When people visited Indianapolis from out of town on government business, one of the first questions often asked was, how does one find Conner Prairie?  Our local museum has a national, and international, reputation.

So, yes, Conner Prairie will charge an admission fee so you can watch the Reynolds Christmas light display, but the lights are just a part of the overall celebration.  It is clear the Reynolds family knew that when donating the lights to Conner Prairie.

My view is that both Reynolds and Conner Prairie are valuable local assets.  Both entities worked together to keep the Reynolds Christmas light display a part of Fishers.  I think that’s a good thing.

The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority acted Monday night to accept a bid from A&K Railroad Materials that would remove a large portion of the Nickel Plate railroad tracks, roughly 22 miles, running along Fishers and Noblesville.  The bid would pay the Authority just over $289,000 to remove the railroad tracks and sell the material as scrap.

Authority President David George, who also serves on the Fishers City Council, said 5 bids were submitted and one was late.  The bid From A&K was judged the best bid and was passed by a vote of the Authority members.

The bid now goes for approval to the three owners of the Nickel Plate rail line – Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.  All three owners must approve for the bid to become official.   The Board of Public Works and Safety, consisting of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, will vote on the bid for Fishers.

George said once all the approvals are complete, A&K is ready to begin removing the rails in 30 days.

As of the Monday night meeting, the bids were not available online, but George said the bidding paperwork will be available Tuesday morning (7.30) at this link.

The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority is made up of appointees from the three governmental entities owning the Nickel Plate rail line – Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.

Quentin Tarantino goes back to the Hollywood of 1969 and tells a tale….maybe not a fairy tale, but a story nonetheless…..here is my review

I have been producing podcasts for about 3 1/2 years and am amazed at the number of times a person has listened to all or most of one of my podcasts.  Over the past 12 months, that has happened over 15,000 times.  Since I began podcasting in February of 2016, there have been more than 41,000 times someone has listened to one of my podcasts.

For a local podcast doing just a little promotion, those are amazing numbers.

Lately, I have posted a podcast conversation about the local library…talked with Fishers Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath…had a discussion with new school board member Clint Wilson and an posted an update about local road construction.

I have also continued my Arts&Fishers podcast series, with recent reviews of films “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and “The Farewell.”

You can find my podcasts on most places where podcasts can be found.  Below are links to a few of the places where my podcasts can be played.

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Listen Notes

TuneIn

Stitcher

Blubrry

Soundcloud

Upgrades to the audio, video and lighting systems in the auditoriums of Fishers and HSE High Schools have been in the works for some time.  The project has hit another snag, but school staff found ways to work around the issues.

Facilities Director Harry Delks described this project as “challenging.”  Only one bid was submitted for the two plans, totaling $2.7 million, significantly over the proposed budget.  Delks said many school districts around the state are seeing either one bid or no bids on proposals such as this one.

Once it became obvious the only bid was over the budget, staffs from both high schools started working on ideas to reduce the project’s budget by $409,000.

The school board voted Wednesday night to approve the only bid, then add a change order for just over $409,000 to bring the work within the budget.  High school officials told the board the items cut from this budget could be added back over time in the future without a  big budget hit in one year.  The plan, with reductions, will still bring needed upgrades to both auditoriums.

One example mentioned as an example of paring-down the budget was an intercom used within the staging system which will still be upgraded, but will be wired and not be wireless, saving $30,000.

With unanimous board approval Wednesday, Delks said this work will be completed in the fall.  Both schools will be working around this construction with various productions  until all is completed