I always read comments received from the loyal and valued readers of this blog.  I appreciate every comment, even if it is critical of something I have written.

Perhaps it is just a sign of getting older, but lately I have been making more mistakes.  These are mostly errors of spelling and grammar, but they are errors nonetheless.

I have even had two offers from my readership to be editors and proofreaders for me.  That is a very kind offer.  To be honest, in more than 7 1/2 years of writing this blog, it’s the first time I have had someone offer to help me with this volunteer effort.

Mistakes can happen any time of the day or night, but most of mine seem to come when I am under time pressure to post, or writing late at night.  (Note:  I am writing this piece late at night)

My sincere thanks to the offers of help.  Errors happen when you are writing a blog by yourself, but my readers willingness to help will cause me to be much more vigilant and review my writing more carefully in the future.  If the errors continue, I may want to sit down and talk with those making the editing offer.

This is a volunteer effort for me writing this blog and producing the podcasts, but I feel there is a community of people supporting me in the best way possible – by reading the blog, listening to the podcasts and spreading the word to others on social media.

I appreciate every tip I receive.  I try my best to follow-up in some way on all of them.  Some pan out for stories that appear on this blog, others don’t, but every tip, every message is appreciated.

As always, thanks for reading.  I promise to review my work more closely in the future.

It’s not every day that two men from your own community face indictments on charges of attempting to sell firearms to ISIS.  When I posted my story about the charges last Thursday, there was a lot of shock among residents of Fishers.

There is a mosque in Fishers with a number of Muslims residing here.  I wondered what reaction local followers of Islam had after these arrests?

I contacted Muzaffar Ahmad, a man leading a multi-faith organization in Fishers to promote better understanding among the various religious faiths within the Fishers community.  What are his fellow Muslims saying to him about these arrests?  Most of them were not even aware of the indictments, he told me.

Muzaffar initially found out about the allegations through my blog post, then read other news accounts of the allegations against the two Fishers men.  He could find no one in his social circle that knew either of the accused men.

“My guess is they were not really active in the community,” said Mr. Ahmad.

Ahmad did speak to one man that has been active within the Muslim community in Fishers for many years, and described people involved in activities such as providing firearms to ISIS as “lunatics” that “do not represent our religion.”

Through his multi-faith organization, Ahmad is trying to express his view on how people practicing different religious beliefs are more alike than one might realize.

“People think we are way different, we think differently, we feel differently, but that’s not the case,” Ahmad said.  “We all have the same fears, same aspirations.”

After reading the various news accounts of the legal case against the Fishers men, he has an interesting take on the situation.

“My perception was these were just (alleged) crooks who were trying to sell guns.  They were making guns and they were trying to sell them.”

Although he admits there could be some bias in this view, he says Americans on the far right of the political spectrum, such as white supremacists, are just as dangerous as Islamic extremists.

The Pew research Center conducted two national polls in recent years on concern about global extremism in the name of Islam.  Both polls, conducted in 2011 and again in 2017, showed a high level of concern, but the general public in America and the Muslim community in this country had the same level of concern in both polls.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Ahmad told me about those polling results.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

County officials tell me it will be in the year 2022 before the city of Noblesville and Hamilton County can jointly get started on the long-discussed Pleasant Street Bypass and White River bridge designed to relieve downtown traffic congestion. At least three more years is a long time to wait.

Not surprisingly, the problem is money. The city doesn’t have enough to get started now although the administration has been gradually buying property along Pleasant for the additional right of way needed for the new roadway.

The county has money to build the bridge, but does not want to proceed until the city is ready. (Bridges are a county responsibility.)

To get the actual work underway, the city could bond the project. This is something that not everyone finds preferable, but it is a way to get improvements underway more quickly, and pay for them in the future.

This project is only one of several outlined by Noblesville officials in recent months. A new police headquarters, the Nickel Plate Trail, more downtown parking, and the rebuilding of Noblesville’s section of the State Road 37 upgrade are the major and most costly of these.

Already underway is the public-private development named the Levinson, the new pedestrian bridge along Logan Street and the Midland Trail. But, to undertake the most expensive projects such as Pleasant Street, a funding source must be found.

When considering bonding, those in favor of such a funding source point out that not only does bonding raise funds quickly, but the people who will enjoy the benefits in future years will pay their share of retiring the debt and paying the interest costs rather than current residents paying the full amount.

There are, in some cases, a couple of other options for financing public projects. A federal transportation grant involving local matching requirements and a lengthy processing period is one way to fund road projects. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in some cases can be used to assist in redeveloping blighted areas of a city.

On Jan. 1, a new city administration takes office. Chris Jensen, certain to become mayor, has generally supported the plans offered by the current administration of Mayor John Ditslear. But, neither has yet publicly endorsed a specific funding mechanism for the various needs both say exist.

The city community relations office says studies are ongoing.

Video of Mud Day at Cyntheanne Park

Saturday was a day to wear your most beat-up shoes and clothing – it was Mud Day 2019 at Cyntheanne Park in Fishers.  Youngsters, accompanied by adults, spend part of the day covering themselves in mud.

This year’s Mud Day featured mud volleyball, tug-of-war, live entertainment and even a mud run.

Hamilton County Reporter

Officials cut the ribbon on Cool Creek Park’s new state-of-the-art playground, which features the world’s first SOMAStations, designed to encourage adults to be active. Thirteen slides, a play share swing, two disc swings and multiple auditory elements intended to deepen users’ sensory experiences are a few of the playground’s unique offerings.

In addition to the new playground, the 90-acre park has approximately four miles of woodland trails great for jogging, hiking or bird watching. There is also a paved path within the park for bike riders and rollerbladers.

Also on the Cool Creek Park land is the Cool Creek Nature Center, which focuses on educating the importance of native plants and animals in their natural habitat. Cool Creek is open dawn to dusk 365 days a year.

by

Richie Hall

Hamilton County Reporter

Judging by her reaction after being named the 2019 Hamilton County 4-H Queen, Emma Higginbotham might not have been expecting to win.

But she did. And the county 4-H Fair will have itself a new queen, who began her reign at the conclusion of the 4-H Queen Pageant, which took place Friday at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville.

“This is a shock,” said Higginbotham, a Hamilton Heights graduate who is now a freshman at Franklin College. “I have the best support system, and one of my favorite things about growing up in Hamilton County is the unconditional love. You either win or learn, and I’m thankful I’ve had people to help me grow, but also support me when I win.”

Higginbotham emerged from a field of 27 contestants at the pageant. The daughter of John and Kim Higginbotham, Emma is a 10-year member, affiliated with Sheridan Ag. She names swine as her favorite 4-H project, for more reasons than one.

“It’s early mornings and late nights with my dad in the barn,” said Higginbotham. “We spend a lot of time bonding there. It’s kind of our time together. It’s caring for something other than yourself, which is preparing me for one day when I do have a family and I have to be time-manageable. I have to wake up early and be the last one to bed.”

Contestants are judged in three categories: Interview, during which they sit down for a five-minute interview with the three judges; Professional Wear, and Formal Wear, which takes place during the pageant itself. The contestants are asked an impromptu question during the Formal Wear section. Higginbotham was asked “what is her dream career,” and she responded that it was to become an elementary school teacher, which is her career path, “because I want to leave a lasting impact on my students as my teachers have done for me.”

“I can’t even begin to describe the amazing things the 4-H program has done for me,” said Higginbotham. “Anywhere from growing me, not only into a person, but into a leader. Just starting in the third grade, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to show a broad spectrum of livestock, as well as inside projects. It’s taught me so many like skills that I just really couldn’t learn anywhere else.”

Before Higginbotham was named Queen, the other members of the court were announced. They are First Runner-Up Hailey Rivers, Second Runner-Up Emily Peterson, Third Runner-Up Emma Swain and Fourth Runner-Up Madelyn Zola.

Mya Lotarski of Winners’ Unlimited was named Miss Congeniality.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to just be on court, and just being with all these amazing girls has made my day,” said Lotarski.

The Queen and her court will be in attendance throughout the 4-H Fair, which begins Thursday, July 18 and runs through Tuesday, July 23.

The Fishers employee health insurance program has cost the city $4.8 million through June of this year, and $8.4 million has been budgeted for the health insurance program in 2019.  At Wednesday’s City Council Finance Committee meeting, Controller Lisa Bradford said the health insurance program is now projected to cost the city $9.1 million for the entire year of 2019, putting the program in a deficit.

In past years, the city moved money around to handle the increase in health insurance costs.

Finance Committee Chairman John Weingardt described the cost of employee health insurance as “a big ___ number.”  Committee members discussed possible options to save money in the program, but did not approve any specific suggestions for the full council.

Councilman Eric Moeller said the deficit number is not larger only because the city has a self-funded health insurance program.

Abigail Kemper will be entering the 8th grade next month, but she already has a long list of accomplishments in the field of science.  She talked about that before the Hamilton Southeastern School Board Wednesday night, and answered questions from board members.

This past year, Abigail placed in the Top 10 at the Seventh Grade Science Fair held at Fishers Junior High, which qualified her to attend the regional competition. At that competition, Abigail won the Air Force Outstanding Engineering Project Award, First Place in Seventh Grade and First Place in the Junior Division, also qualifying her to move onto the state competition.

On March 30 at the Indiana Science Fair State Competition, Abigail took home the Lemelson Early Inventor Prize, the Indiana Association of Environmental Professionals Award for Excellence in Environmental Science and the Best Engineering Project by a Female from the Society of Women Engineers. Abigail also placed second overall and was awarded a $650 prize.

Abigail is a former student of SCI teacher Jennifer Suskovich and used their classroom project of designing and building a solar panel stand that utilizes angles of the seasonal sun to maximize the amount of solar energy captured by the panel as her starting point for her award-winning project.

Abigail and Mrs. Suskovich recently returned from Washington, D.C. where they attended the NEED Awards Ceremony. Sand Creek Intermediate was named the Indiana School of the Year and National Junior Rookie of the Year.

Fishers Police will be expanding the ways citizens can provide tips to local officers.  Many of the systems already in place will continue but new options are coming through partnerships with private companies.

Here are more details, from a Fishers Police Department news release:

The Fishers Police Department is proud to announce our recent partnership with the Texas-based company, Anderson Software, to provide a more seamless and efficient way for community members to offer information to help solve and prevent crimes or other serious matters. P3 Intel will provide another valuable resource to Fishers residents partnering with the police department to proactively maintain a safe community.

The Fishers Police Department will now be accepting tips via, the web, FPD social media platforms, and by way of the new, free FPD Tips mobile app available on the iOS and Android platforms, greatly enhancing the mobile tip submission process. Anderson Software’s sophisticated encryption processes obscure any and all identifying information and provide assured confidentiality for tipsters.

Even without the app, there is still an easy and secure option for submitting tips from any internet or mobile browser by going tohttps://www.fishers.in.us/241/Police. Using whichever method, once a person submits a tip, they will be given a TIP ID and password. FPD Crime Tips is not monitored 24/7 and all emergency situations must be reported to 911 or 317-773-1282.

This new FPD Crime Tip software is just one resource the agency is using to connect and communicate with residents. In addition, residents can also report non-emergency situations thru the FPD Crime Watch App. For more information please visit https://crimewatch.fishers.in.us/. It is important to remember that neither the Crime Tip nor the Crime Watch Apps are designed to replace 911. All emergency situations must be reported to 911 or 317-773-1282.

Those parking on Lantern Road in the Nickel Plate District should watch for parking restrictions beginning July 13th.  That’s one of several updates on traffic work in and around the Fishers area.

Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week starting Monday, July 15th:

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