Sgt. Bill Clifford and Deputy Jeremy Kousen have been awarded the Sheriff’s Medal of Honor by Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush, according to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter.

On Jan. 28, Hamilton County Public Safety Communications received a report of an attempted suicide in the area of 156th Street and Prairie Baptist Road. Initial reports were that a female subject had cut her wrists and was losing consciousness.

Deputy Kousen and Sgt. Clifford, along with a Noblesville Police officer, responded to the call. The NPD officer and Deputy Kousen applied tourniquets to her arms, both of which had been cut and were bleeding profusely.

As the patient was losing consciousness, Sgt. Clifford applied direct pressure to the wound on her right arm. The actions of these three men allowed the medics to immediately administer fluids and other lifesaving measures instead of having to stop the bleeding first.

Without the fast response, use of issued equipment and proper training of Deputy Kousen and Sgt. Clifford, sheriff’s department officials say the likelihood of the woman’s survival would have been greatly decreased.

Each Hamilton County deputy is equipped with, and trained in, the use of tourniquets to assist in lifesaving efforts involving traumatic injuries with bleeding. Deputies are trained annually in First Aid and CPR as they are often the first on the scene of an injury or accident.

The Medal of Honor may be presented to members of the Sheriff’s Office who, through an extraordinary effort, attempt to or contribute to the saving of a human life. Additionally, when death of the victim seems imminent, the member’s actions significantly assist the lifesaving effort.

Hamilton County Reporter

Duke Energy Foundation has awarded Hamilton County Parks and Recreation $14,500, as part of its Environmental Project Grant program. The funds will be applied toward the development of a $34,000 nature education trailer.

The custom, mobile “nature center” will be transported and then staged at multiple park and community events throughout Hamilton County, with the intention of inviting guests in the trailer to experience interactive and hands-on nature education.

Members of the community that may not otherwise have access to such resources, or haven’t thought to visit a nature center in the past, will benefit from Duke Energy Foundation’s generosity and this innovative collaboration with Hamilton County Parks.

“We are extremely grateful to Duke Energy Foundation for this funding that gets us much closer to completing this special project that will advance our initiative to provide quality nature education at venues throughout the county that traditionally draw large audiences,” said Al Patterson, Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Director.

“Supporting this project is a good example of how the Duke Energy Foundation contributes to the health and vitality of the communities we serve,” said Mark LaBarr, Duke Engery’s Community Relations Director for Hamilton County. “We’re honored to help support our children’s education with this project.”

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Two Hamilton Southeastern players are among the 24 student-athletes that have been selected for the IndyStar Indiana boys Junior All-Stars for 2019, with Carmel head coach Ryan Osborn named as one of the assistants.

Chris Grubbs and Mabor Majak will be a part of the Red Group, one of four groups of six All-Stars that were announced on Wednesday. The other groups are the Core Group, White Group and Blue Group.

Grubbs, a 6-6 forward, averaged 12.8 points per game for the Royals this season, while the 7-0 Majak scored at an 8.4 points per game clip. Both are leading rebounders for the team, with Grubbs collecting 7.1 per game and Majak grabbing 5.7 per game. Grubbs also led Southeastern in assists with 3.4 per contest.

Osborn, an assistant for the Greyhounds before moving up to head coach in 2017, is 46-9 for his two years as head coach. Osborn will lead Carmel in the Class 4A state championship game Saturday, where the ‘Hounds will take on Ben Davis. Mark Detweiler of Delta will be the head coach for the boys Junior All-Stars, with Ryan Eakins of East Noble also assisting.

Joining Grubbs and Majak in the Red Group are Deontae Craig of Culver Military, Johnell Davis of Gary 21st Century, Zak Krueger of Homestead and Jake Wadding of Chesterton.
Players in the Core Group are Trey Galloway of Culver Academy, Jaden Ivey of Mishawaka Marian, Anthony Leal of Bloomington South, Charlie Yoder of Westview and Dre Davis and Nijel Pack of Lawrence Central.

The White Group players are Brayton Bailey of Bedford North Lawrence, Carson Barrett of Lafayette Central Catholic, Tre Coleman of Jeffersonville, Sincere McMahon of Crispus Attucks, Tayson Parker of Northwestern and Tony Perkins of Lawrence North.

The Blue Group players are Murray Becher of Heritage Hills, Maximus Gizzi of New Palestine, Noah Jager of Bloomington South, Kiyron Powell of Evansville Bosse, Kenny Tracy of Decatur Central and Andrew Welage of Greensburg.

The Junior All-Stars will play two games against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars, the first tentatively on June 1 at a Kentucky site to be announced and the second on June 3 at Jeffersonville High School. The Junior All-Stars also will play one game against the Indiana All-Star senior boys on June 5. The June 5 game also will be at a site to be announced.All three games will be doubleheaders with the 2019 Indiana girls Junior All-Stars, who were chosen and announced in late February.

The players listed as Core Group players will play in all three games. The players in the Blue Group will play on the June 1 game against Kentucky. The Players in the White Group will play in the June 3 game against Kentucky. The players in the Red Group will play in the June 5 game against the Indiana seniors.

The Indiana senior All-Stars will play the Kentucky senior All-Stars on June 7 at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall in Louisville. The Indiana senior All-Stars will play Kentucky’s seniors again on June 8 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Those home-and-home events also will be girls-boys doubleheaders.

The Junior All-Star team is determined by the 20-member Indiana Basketball Coaches Association all-state panel in conjunction with its selection of the IBCA/Subway Underclass All-State Team. The selection process allows all IBCA-member head coaches to nominate players through the IBCA all-state process. Representatives from 16 regional areas from across the state, district representatives from the IHSAA districts (one each from District 1, District 2 and District 3) and the committee chair then meet to review the nominations, vote and finalize the selections.The IBCA/Subway boys basketball Senior All-State and Underclass All-State teams for 2019 will be released later this week.
The 2019 Indiana senior boys All-Star team will be announced in April. Winners of the IndyStar Mr. Basketball and IndyStar Miss Basketball titles for 2019 will be announced on May 5.

City Councilors Rich Block and Eric Moeller hosted their second monthly Council Connect session Wednesday morning, and most of the discussion centered on the future of the Gray Eagle golf course. Ron Diamond, David Brackenhoff and Chuck Knox, all from the Gray Eagle neighborhood, made their case on what the impact would be to homeowners if the course closes later this year, as announced by RN Thompson in late August of 2018.

Brackenhoff and Diamond said homeowners paid a large premium to have their homes built along that golf course, and if the course closes, those homes could see a loss of 18% value, which would be tens of thousands of dollars each.

Block responded that the city is looking into anything it can do to be helpful to the homeowners at Gary Eagle, and local government officials are “sensitive” to what the residents want.

The homeowners at Gray Eagle want the current golf course to remain as a golf facility.  One point of contention is the value of the golf course.  RN Thompson has maintained the property has a much higher value than Gray Eagle homeowners believe.

The homeowners association and another group of residents have banded together in an effort to find a solution.  One idea was to have a group of homeowners buy the golf course, but there was not enough interest for that idea to work.

Block told the Gray Eagle representatives that there have been talks involving Mayor Scott Fadness, RN Thompson and a potential buyer, but there is nothing to report on any progress from that front.  Block says he is “encouraged” by what’s happening on talks centered on the future of the golf course property.

The remainder of the session centered on talk of an indoor sports facility.  A private sector group was pursuing such a facility in the Saxony area on Olio Road, but that project will apparently not happen.  Block said the city could pursue such a project in the future.  Mayor Scott Fadness recently said an indoor sports facility is a major need for the city of Fishers.

The next Council Connect session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25th, 5:30pm, at a location to be named later.

Thompson Thrift announced Thursday plans to open a Rize Restaurant in the Fishers District area planned near IKEA.  The Cunningham Restaurant Group is behind the eatery.  Cunningham currently has a Rize location at the Ironworks complex near Keystone at the Crossing.

“We are very excited that Rize will be a part of the culinary experience at Fishers District,”
said Ashlee Boyd, Managing Partner for TTRG, said in a company news release. “Mike Cunningham, [President and CEO of The Cunningham Group] is known for his vision and execution of fine dining and Rize is another example of his passion for the restaurant industry and growth of his brand.”

Cunningham describes Rize as a place offering healthy meals, beverages, children’s options, and snacks for a quick on-the-go breakfast or lunch. Rize will feature 3,833 square feet of restaurant space and 120 seats at its new Fishers District location.

“Cunningham Restaurant Group is proud to introduce one of our newest restaurant concepts to the Fishers market,” according to Mike Cunningham, President and CEO of The Cunningham Group.  “We look forward to being a part of Fishers District and joining the other great restauranteurs in Fishers.”

It normally happens at the same time each year. I get an invitation in my e-mail from HSE High School teacher Kelsey Habig.  It’s an invitation to become a shark.  No, not the swim-in-the-water type of shark.  This is the kind of sharking you see on the TV show “Shark Tank.”

Ms. Habig casts a wide net of local people in key positions and former students of hers, to form a group of sharks.  The sharks provide feedback to her students.

The students come up with an issue, study that issue, then come up with a plan of action.

What I love most is hearing these presentations from her junior English students.  It’s a rare opportunity for a senior citizen (me) to get a feel for what high school students find important these days.

It is amazing how many issues my classmates thought were important when I sat in a high school classroom in the late 1960s and are still important to the students today.  Health, poverty, the environment and religion were just a few of the subjects I heard all about this week.

I had two wonderful fellow sharks all day long.  A couple were in and out, including Fishers Fire Chief Steve Orusa, but Danielle Barry and Mackenzie Spaulding were with me throughout the day.  It was good to be around them.

Kudos to Ms. Kelsey Habig and her students for providing me a window into young people today.  The Shark Tank experience is something I look forward to every year.  Thanks for inviting me.

Fishers Police Officer Binh Dennis was off-duty, traveling on a motorcycle with his wife Mary, in October of 2018, when tragedy struck.  Officer Dennis was badly injured in an accident.  He continues to go through extensive rehabilitation and medical treatment recovering from that accident.

The local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #199 is asking for your  help, by hosting a “Dine & Donate” fund-raising event, set for Monday, March 25th, at the Verde Mexican Restaurant, 11680 Commercial Drive.  Verde will take 20% of all sales on March 25th and contribute the funds to financially assist Officer Binh Dennis and his wife Mary.

Just print the flyer above and present it to your server, and 20% of what you spend will go to the Binh Dennis family.

The Fishers City Council spent the first part of Monday’s meeting approving proclamations and presenting certificates to schools achieving state championships.

The HSE High School state champion Girls Basketball Squad was honored by the council.  Also, the Math Bowl State Champions from Riverside Intermediate School were recognized.

City Proclamations were issued to the JANUS Organization for 40 years of service to the local community and for Indiana Parkinson Foundation Day, coming April 13th.

The council viewed a video on March as Disability Awareness Month.

The Stations development received Fishers City Council approval Monday for a rezoning request, allowing Thompson Thrift to continue with plans for 8.6 acres between The Yard and Kroger along 116th Street East of I-69.  The project calls for construction of a mixed-use building with officec and retail, a commercial building, a hotel, and approximately 50 town homes on the site.  In answering questions from the council, Attorney Steve Hardin said the city may need to deal with a nearby creek as the development moves forward.  Councilman John Weingardt pointed out that the Thompson Thrift investment has grown substantially since the original plans for The Yard, by tens of millions of dollars.

Knowledge Services announced it would locate its headquarters between the Navient building and I-69 in June of 2017.  The firm was to begin construction on the complex by the end of this month.  The council voted to extend the deadline to the end of  September.

A resolution approving the project agreement for development of the north side of 116th Street by Browning Investments and CRG Residential was passed by council members.  The mixed-use building will have 235 residential units with retail space on the 1st floor. The garage, which will be owned by the Fishers Town Hall Building Corporation, will include 329 spaces. Four older retail offices that front 116th Street will receive exterior aesthetic and structural improvements.

A rezone for Shamrock Development at 12244 East 116th Street was tabled after Councilman Todd Zimmerman said he was concerned plans for this commercial development did not appear to be up to the standards of a nearby commercial area development by the same developer.  Shamrock agreed to work with Zimmerman and city staff to address his concerns.

Council members unanimously approved an amendment to rules governing hand-offs of neighborhoods from developers to Homeowners Associations.  Mayor Scott Fadness said this amendment was about addressing neglect by developers, not the result of routine maintenance.

The prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced Monday that Fishers is a finalist in the foundation’s Culture of Health Prize.  For more details, see the news release below issued by the City of Fishers.

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Today, Fishers announced it was chosen as a finalist for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize. As a 2019 finalist, Fishers is one step closer to the national Prize which honors communities that are bringing partners together around a shared commitment to health, opportunity, and equity.

Selected from nearly 200 applicant communities, Fishers joins 11 other finalist communities from across the country. Winners will be announced this fall.

“Advancing as a RWJF Culture of Health Prize finalist is a testament to the hard work and dedication of dozens of city leaders and residents committed to making Fishers a vibrant and healthy community,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Through partnerships with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the City, and other leaders, our community has been on a journey for the last six years to not only address the mental health crisis in our community, but to bring more economic opportunity, more equitable conversations to the forefront, and develop wraparound services for our residents in need. Being recognized as a finalist means we’re on the right track to providing all residents a quality of life that goes beyond the traditional definition of a great place to live to include health, safety, and opportunity.”

As part of the application process, Fishers showcased its dedication to a sustainable culture of health through: the Fishers Fire and Emergency Services department’s WeCare program; the Fishers Mental Health Initiative; the Fishers Council on Disability; the City of Fishers’ and Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ Chief Equity Officer and associated programming; economic development efforts through Launch Fishers, Indiana IoT Lab, and elsewhere; affordable housing efforts; Township government support; non-profits such as Fishers Youth Assistance Program and Youth Mentoring Initiative; Fishers Parks & Recreation’s nature programs; and a partnership with AARP and senior programming.

The Prize is guided by the principle that every community has the potential to leverage its unique strengths and assets to expand opportunities for residents to thrive. To become a finalist, Fishers had to demonstrate how its efforts reflect the six Prize criteria:

• Defining health in the broadest possible terms.
• Committing to sustainable systems changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions.
• Creating conditions that give everyone a fair and just opportunity to reach their best possible health.
• Harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners, and community members.
• Securing and making the most of available resources.
• Measuring and sharing progress and results.

“These communities have set themselves apart by recognizing that health is about opportunity. It is connected to every element of our lives – good schools, safe and affordable housing, high-quality jobs that pay a fair wage and so much more,” said Richard Besser, MD, RWJF president and CEO. “In the coming months, we look forward to visiting each community to learn more about how it is working with local leaders and residents to shape solutions in all these areas that impact health.”

If selected as a Prize winner, Fishers will be given a $25,000 cash prize and a national platform to share their story and lessons learned with the country. The community will join with other national and community change leaders, including past Prize winners, through the national Prize Alumni Network.

To learn about the work of the 39 previous Prize winners, visit www.rwjf.org/prize

The RWJF Culture of Health Prize is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.