The 4th of July holiday was over but the holiday weekend continued as the sun rose over Fishers Friday morning, July 5th.  But the light of day also revealed what local authorities say was the work of arsonists.  Yes, the day after July 4th, an American flag was burned.

Not just any flag, but the 15×25 foot flag behind the Nickel Plate Amphitheater stage.  It took some daring to attempt this criminal deed – the Amphitheater is almost across the street from Fishers Police Headquarters.

Fishers Police Officers wasted no time in finding and charging two suspects, both age 18 and residents of Fishers.  That was quick work by our local men & women in uniform.

I have seen plenty of social media comments about this incident, as to why anyone would do something like this?  I must be honest, I have no idea.  The suspects, as always in our criminal justice system, are entitled to the presumption of innocence and will also be entitled to their day in court.

But I must also give a shout-out to the Fishers City Department of Public Works for coming in on a holiday weekend and cleaning up the damaged Amphitheater wall.  As of Saturday afternoon, the wall was totally repaired.

I cannot get inside the mind of any arsonist, so this makes no sense to me, and it may never make sense to any of us.  We should just be thankful for a good group of public servants that have done their jobs on the 4th of July weekend.

Another busy week is on tap for road work in and around Fishers.  Be aware that lane restrictions will continue at times along Allisonville Road in the River Glen area.  Workers will flags will control traffic as the roadway will sometimes be limited to one lane.  Also be aware of lane restrictions in the area of 116th Street,  between Regency Drive & Holland Drive.

Here is the full listing of road construction, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week beginning Monday, July8th:

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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.  

OUTSIDE OF FISHERS
The Indiana Department of Transportation have begun work on the northeast quadrant of I-465. Contractors will work to patch and repave segments of I-465 and I-69 from U.S. 31 all the way down to I-70. To learn more about this project click here.

Two Fishers men are accused of observing the 4th of July by burning an American flag, and are under arrest as a result, on a number of charges.

Fishers Police say they have arrested Christopher Graham and George Drake, both 18 years of age and both from Fishers.  The suspects were taken into custody Friday at 2pm, near 116th Street and Lantern Road.

Reports came into authorities early Friday morning that the large flag being used as a backdrop at the Fishers Nickel Plate Amphitheater, literally across the street from police headquarters, had been partially burned overnight.  The flag was large, 15 by 25 feet.

Fishers police are also investigating additional minor fires that officers say appear to be intentionally set in the area during the same time frame. At 12:05am a smoke detector alarmed after a piece of paper was set on fire in an elevator at the Edge Parking Garage. Also, during the early morning hours, multiple small fires were reported in the Sunblest Apartment Complex. All the fires burned themselves out and caused minor damage.

Graham and Drake now face charges of arson, criminal mischief and flag desecration.  They are both being held in the Hamilton County Jail.

Anyone with information regarding these fires is asked to contact Fishers Police Detective Tracy Jones at 317-595-3417.

The story of Eva Kor is one of the most amazing you will find.  She was told by the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele that she would be dead within two weeks at a Nazi death camp.  But Eva was able to survive.

She spent a good part of her life dedicated to remembering the Holocaust that she somehow survived.  But she is best remembered for finding a way to forgive the Nazis for what they had done to her and her family.

Local documentary filmmaker Ted Green directed a film about Eva that won a number of awards at film festivals last year and was broadcast on WFYI public television locally.

Eva died while on a trip to Poland visiting the former Auschwitz concentration camp.

During May of last year, Adam Assen & I interviewed Ted Green about his documentary film about Eva.  The link to that podcast is below.  The discussion with Ted Green begins about 38 minutes into the podcast.

Summer is my favorite part of the year, with people getting outside and enjoying the weather.  Maybe that’s why I enjoy the July 4th holiday so much.  It’s all about getting outdoors and gathering to celebrate the birthday party for the United States of America.

We look back on what happened in 1776 and honor the men (and they were all men at that time) choosing to sign the Declaration of Independence.  It is good to understand what that document meant at the time.

America had been a British colony and from the point of view of the Brits, the North American colonists were an ungrateful bunch.  We protested taxes levied by the British Parliament to pay for wars to preserve and expand the British Empire.  The United Kingdom felt it was protecting the colonists, so why shouldn’t Americans pay for all that?

Americans took a very different view.  The American colonies had developed their own ways of governing themselves without much need for any guidance from across the Atlantic.

Keep in mind that if the American Revolution had ended differently, the individuals with names on the Declaration were signing their death warrants.  They were taking a stand that the only way to move forward was to make a full break from the British and fight for independence.

The prose written by Thomas Jefferson was an amazing document for its time.  To declare that all men are created equal with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was not a concept common in the world of 1776.

I fully understand some of the contradictions within that document.  For example, Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal yet he owned slaves himself.  Even though that doesn’t make sense to us today, that language paved the way for changes that came to America decades later.  Remember, it took a savage civil war to settle the slavery issue.

The 4th of July is a birthday party to celebrate every year, honoring the birth of America.  We know there are problems and I won’t write about them here, because a birthday party is not the time and place to talk about what’s wrong.

Enjoy the party today, then do your part on July 5th to find your way to make America a better place.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Two independent candidates for municipal council office have filed for this fall’s election. Kate Snedeker has filed in Westfield City Council District 5, and Brad Baker has filed for Cicero Town Council, District 1. The deadline for independents to submit petitions to enter the race was July 1.

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The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, former operators of the Nickel Plate Railroad, accepted bids on June 28 for removing the rails from Noblesville to downtown Indianapolis. The removal is in preparation for converting the rail line to a pedestrian and bicycle trail. Only one bid was received. It will be opened at the port authority July meeting.

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Hamilton County Commissioners, County Council members and Noblesville city representatives held a joint session last week to consider major projects concerning both units of government. High on the list was discussion of the long-discussed Pleasant Street bypass of the downtown area. The project is now slated to get underway in 2022. Studies have shown the bypass will take nearly 40 percent of vehicular traffic off Conner Street.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Melton was presented the Sheriff’s Office Life Saver award for actions taken in the line of duty.

During a recent call for a cardiac arrest at Bear Slide Golf Course, Deputy Melton and a Cicero police officer performed CPR and used an AED until paramedics arrived at the scene to take over. The person was transported to the hospital for treatment and is reportedly doing well.

According the Sheriff’s Department, all deputies are trained in CPR and their vehicles are equipped with AEDs.

When Mike Bottorff resigned from the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in late May, the remaining six board members had thirty days to find a replacement.  The board decided to accept applications, and 24 were submitted.

From that group, the board selected 4 finalists.  There was a public interview session, then the board voted to place local insurance agent Clint Wilson on the board, filling the remainder of Bottorff’s term, which ends on December 31, 2020.

We did get to know a little about Mr. Wilson during the interview process, but the public has not had a chance to get an extended conversation with the newest member of the school board.

Clint Wilson talks about how he would have voted on the school’s nondiscrimination policy and responded to my question about possibly running for this board seat in next year’s election.

Here is my talk with Clint Wilson.

When Gurinder Singh wanted to visit his ill mother, he faced a challenge at the TSA airport security facility.  The TSA guidelines required Mr. Singh to remove his turban, which is a religious symbol for men in the Sikh religion.

Singh, a Fishers resident and recent Republican candidate for City Council, challenged those rules and fought for changes in TSA regulations, which were, in the end, successful.

That battle with TSA has been dramatized in a short film starring Mr. Singh.  The production, directed by a young new filmmaker, Jenna Ruiz, has just won the “Short of the Year” award at the Covellite International Film Festival, held in Butte, Montana.

The film, simply titled “Singh,” will be shown locally at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film, July 25th-28th.  For more on this festival, use this link.

You can watch the trailer for “Singh” at this link.

The West Nile virus has been found just next door to Fishers, in Carmel’s Meadowlark Park.  According to my news-gathering partners at the Hamilton County Reporter, the Hamilton County Health Department discovered the virus in mosquitoes sampled from a trapping site.

The use of personal protection sprays that contain DEET is recommended by local health officials during any outdoor activities throughout the county.

The Health Department indicated the mosquito control website will be updated as new trap sites become positive.

Truck-mounted spraying areas

• All spraying activities are forecast-dependent related to precipitation and wind speed.
• All spraying has an approximate start time of 8:30 p.m. or local sunset.
• In the event of inclement weather (high winds or precipitation) individual routes will be rescheduled on the following business day.
• Please be aware that nuisance biting activity is increasing and that the Hamilton County Health Department uses only adulticide sprays for mosquitoes in known areas of positive West Nile Virus activity.

Here are some precautions individuals can take to prevent mosquito-borne disease transmission:

1. Use mosquito repellent. Use insect repellent on exposed skin when you go outdoors. Use an EPA-registered insect repellent such as those with DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Even a short time being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite.
2. Clothing can help reduce mosquito bites. When weather permits, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
3. Be aware of peak mosquito hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many species of mosquitoes. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing during evening and early morning – or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
4. Drain standing water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items that hold water.
5. Install or repair screens. Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having well-fitting screens on both windows and doors. Offer to help neighbors whose screens might be in bad shape.