In this week’s edition of Hamilton County Goes To The Movies,  Adam & Larry review the new film Baby Driver.  Amy Pauszek is the guest, talking about local independent films.

(Commentaries by Fred Swift are published in the Hamilton County Reporter newspaper and are posted here as part of a partnership between LarryInFishers.com and the Reporter)

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Even though many folks say they are sick of politics, the fact is there is already early
activity in the local political world gearing up for next year’s primary election, now
ten months away. And, whether everyone likes it or not, political choices are important
to the future of Hamilton County.

Here are a few things to watch.

Changes are likely in the local judiciary. Superior Court 5 Judge Wayne Sturtevant
has announced his retirement effective in November of this year. Superior 1 Judge
Steve Nation is seriously considering retirement next year. Circuit Judge Paul Felix
is being considered for a federal court bench. And Superior 6 Judge Gail Bardach
is up for election next spring. She is likely to run for re-election.

A vacancy created by Sturtevant’s retirement comes first and will be filled by
a governor’s appointment. At least two names have been mentioned as possible
candidates: Court Magistrate David Najjar and Carmel City Judge Brian Poindexter,
but neither has confirmed their interest.

Looking at the important, but often overlooked, County Council, a move to
change the factional lineup on the county fiscal body is said to be in the works. Currently,
very conservative members hold a 4-3 edge. Fred Glynn, one of the four and
president of the council, is up for election in the 2018 Republican primary. Reliable
insiders say a prominent Carmel woman will soon announce her candidacy against
Glynn.

Two candidates for sheriff came out very early in what is expected to be a
crowded field. Deputies Bill Clifford and Jason Sloderbeck have already said they
want to succeed retiring Sheriff Mark Bowen. Two, three or more others are expected
to enter the GOP primary race.

In a surprise announcement this week, Corrie Meyer, Carmel, said she will run
against conservative incumbent State Sen. Mike Delph who represents the Carmel
area in the General Assembly. Meyer heads the Carmel Redevelopment Commission.

And, potentially effecting next spring’s elections was this week’s announcement
that a new political action committee (PAC) has been organized at Fishers.
Called Fiscal Conservatives of Hamilton County, the group has as one of its principal
members Bill Smythe, who jumped into Republican politics in 2016, running
unsuccessfully for county commissioner.  He has said he wants to remain active in
local politics.

It’s time once again for the 4th of July and that means the annual Geist Blast on the Bridge is coming on Tuesday, July 4.  There will be music, food and a huge fireworks display.  The bridge over Geist Reservoir is closed at 3:30 on July 4th and the bridge is open to the public at 6pm.  Your best parking option is Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

If you are using a GPS to guide you to the celebration, the bridge is at 11695 Fall Creek Road.  Holy Spirit Church’s address is  10350 Glaser Way, Fishers, IN 46037.

The Blast on the Bridge is jointly sponsored by the Geist Coalition and the City of Fishers.

For more details, use this link.

The 4th of July is coming up, and that means the Fall Creek Road bridge over Geist reservoir will close to traffic at 3:30pm July 4th.  This allows for the annual Blast on the Bridge celebration.

That is part of the listing for road work in and around Fishers.

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BLAST ON THE BRIDGE CLOSURES

The Fall Creek Road bridge will close at 3:30 p.m. on July 4 between Brooks School Road and Carroll Road. There will be a soft closure (FPD will be checking parking passes that have been given out by Fishers Parks & Recreation) at Brooks School Road and Fall Creek Road, with a hard closure (no vehicle traffic past this point) just east of Bridgewater Road on the west side of the bridge. On the east side of the bridge, 96th Street/Fall Creek Road will have a hard closure at Carroll Road, however FPD will allow traffic in and out of the Yacht Club. The bridge will stay closed from 3:30 p.m. until approx. 12 a.m.

106TH STREET

Watch for lane restrictions on 106th Street from Eller Road to Crosspoint Boulevard due to geotechnical drilling along the corridor. Restrictions will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and flaggers and signs will be in place to direct traffic.

136TH AND PRAIRIE BAPTIST ROAD

Starting on or after July 5, Hamilton County Highway Department will be closing the intersection of 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road to allow the contractor to reconstruct the intersection. The closure is scheduled to last approximately 60 days. Please follow signs for detour routes. Questions regarding this project may be directed to the Hamilton County Highway Department at 317-773-7770.

96TH STREET

Construction has begun on the new roundabout at 96th Street and Lantern Road. 96th Street traffic between Kincaid Drive and Fitness Lane/Pinecreek Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction throughout the summer.

BROOKS SCHOOL ROAD 

The Brooks School Road bridge over Interstate 69 is closed as Milestone Contractors rebuild the bridge deck. During the closure, traffic will be detoured to Promise Road via 126th and 136th streets. The bridge will remain closed until August.

ALLISONVILLE ROAD AND 146TH STREET

Hamilton County Highway Department has changed the traffic pattern for northbound Allisonville Road at 146th Street. There are now two left turn lanes and one northbound through lane.

116TH STREET

There will be lane restrictions on 116th Street between I-69 and Cumberland Road throughout the summer in order for the contractor to make improvements to 116th Street.

113TH STREET

Lane restrictions will occur on 113th Street from Olio Road to Florida Road throughout the summer in order for the contractor to resurface and make improvements to the roadway.

126TH STREET

Expect periodic lane restrictions between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 126th Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road while the contractor installs passing blisters near Reserve at Lantern. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic during the restrictions.

I-69 AND CAMPUS PARKWAY

The Campus Parkway interchange was recently shifted into a double-crossover traffic pattern. The interchange will remain under construction through July, when it is expected to be fully open to traffic in its permanent configuration.

Multiple traffic lane shifts will be required to complete construction of the new interchange design. Each phase of remaining construction will bring the interchange closer to its final traffic configuration and capacity. For more information about the new traffic pattern, please visit http://www.in.gov/indot/3441.htm

Milestone Contractors has begun mobilizing cranes and other equipment and setting a temporary concrete barrier wall along I-69 at Campus Parkway Exit 210. Work will require alternating lane closures on northbound and southbound I-69 between 9 p.m. and 6 p.m. Lane closures may recur each night through the end of the week depending on weather and progress. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT at eastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855-463-6848.

STATE ROAD 37

Construction contractors plan to shift State Road 37 traffic lanes this weekend for a $1.5 million drainage structure construction project between 146th Street and Greenfield Avenue in Noblesville. Northbound lanes are scheduled to be shifted on Friday night, and southbound lanes are scheduled to be shifted Saturday night. Single-lane closures in each direction will be scheduled between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The first phase of construction, which is currently underway, will shift two lanes in each direction toward the right shoulders to provide room for construction in the median. The second phase will shift traffic toward the median to allow construction to be completed along the outside shoulders. All work on the project is expected to be complete this summer.

Starting May 1, geotechnical drilling will begin along the State Road 37 corridor as part of the final design phase of State Road 37 Improvement Project. Lane and shoulder restrictions will be active through the June 30.

Motorists will see staked locations along the corridor starting with the 141st Street intersection. The geotechnical drilling will cause lane restrictions from 131st Street through 146th Street through June 30. Southbound restrictions will not begin until 9 a.m. daily and northbound restrictions will be done daily before 4 p.m. to allow for maximum traffic flow during peak hours.

State Road 37 turn lanes will not be affected during lane closures and crews will maintain a minimum of one through-lane at all times.

The SR37 improvement project is a $124 Million joint project between Fishers, Hamilton Co, Noblesville, and INDOT. Questions or concerns may be directed to drivefishers@fishers.in.us.

OUTSIDE OF FISHERS

The City of Carmel has closed 116th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway for the construction of a roundabout. This closure is expected to last for 75 days. Questions and updates about this project should be directed to the City of Carmel at 317-571-2400.

In my early days f covering Fishers, I recall a group of men, all looking the part of serious business people, stand before the town council asking for tax breaks.  Those officials were from a debt collection company named Deca.  Deca later collapsed and the building once housing the firm is now the home of Launch Fishers.

The man described as the founder of Deca has now been  sentenced in federal court.

For the details, read the Indianapolis Business Journal story at this link.

A suspect sought by police in a double shooting has been arrested in Fishers.  Indiana State Police say James Brandon Swift, 40, was placed under arrest at approximately 1:30am Friday morning by Fishers Police.

Swift was being sought by police in connection with a double shooting in Kennard, about 10 mines west of New Castle in Henry County.

For more, you can read the WTHR story at this link.

Nonprofit organizations often need marketing help, and local small business owner Jocelyn Vare does her best to help many of them

When school is delayed or cancelled at the Hamilton Southeastern School system, parents have grown accustomed to hearing the voice of Jim White, the school district’s Director of Transportation.  You will be hearing a new voice on the phone line in the coming school year for those announcements – Zach McKinney.  Mr. McKinney was approved as the new Transportation Director at Wednesday night’s school board meeting.  He will replace Mr. White, who plans to transition to retirement in the coming months.

“I’m excited to join the team here at Hamilton Southeastern Schools,” Mckinney said after being introduced to the board by Superintendent Allen Bourff.

Ever since the Fishers area was a sparsely populated farm region, and the local school systems were consolidated about 50 years ago, the school district covering Delaware, Fall Creek and and Wayne Townships (including Fishers and a few other adjacent areas) has been known as the Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation.  Based on action by the school board Wednesday night, there could be a discussion about changing the school district’s name.

The board hired MilesHerndon of Indianapolis to develop a brand identity, new logo, and marketing strategy for the school district.  Board President Matt Burke asked if a name change could be part of that study, and he was told that is part of what the firm will explore.  Board member John DeLucia said many people are very confused about the connection between Fishers and the local schools, since we have one high school named after the city (Fishers HS) and the other high school named after the school corporation (HSE HS).  The only decision made at the Wednesday night board meeting was to begin the process of looking into the name and other branding issues.  The board also approved Bitwise Solutions of Carmel to redesign the school district’s Web presence.  Both the branding and Web contracts with the two companies total $98,599.  The branding study is expected to take 6-9 months.

In other items from Wednesday’s board session:

–The board approved textbook rental fees for the upcoming school year.  Here are links:

Junior High Textbook Rental Fees

Grades kindergarten through 6th grade textbook rental fees 

Special Needs Fees

Fishers High School Textbook Rental Fees

School Board Memo on Fees

–The board voted to approve an administration recommendation on changes in some custodial services contracts.

–Board members held a lengthy discussion about how to move forward on library board appointments.

–The board honored Destination Imagination (DI) teams, which is a competition tied to creativity.

The “Super Dupers” and “Made with Real Cheese” were one of the 1,400 DI teams from 45 states and 14 countries showing their skills. There are 13 students on the teams, representing four schools – FHS, HHS, FCJ and FJH. The “Super Dupers” took 1^st place in the Engineering Challenge, Secondary Level – Show & Tech. “Made with Real Cheese” came in 2^nd place in the Scientific Challenge, Middle Level – Top Secret.

“Super Dupers” – Jenna Burow, Adam Fullhart, Silvana Gold, Louise Hazel, Ben Mann, Gabby Puzzella and Sean Wiseman.  Team Managers – Greg Fullhart, Tracy Gold, Ben Mann

“Made with Real Cheese” – Ava Benvenutti, Maya Fotedar, Alex Fullhart, Riley Gearhart, Mia Irvin and Ben Lilley.  Team Managers – Kirsten Gearhart and Lori Lilley

Sponsors –  Kristy Seitz, Kathy Seitz and Robin Young

Here’s my review of the film Baby Driver