Doug Allman is now the Fall Creek Township Trustee after winning the Republican caucus Saturday morning.  There are 37 precincts in Fall Creek Township, all but one voted in this caucus.  Allman won the vote 21-14 over his opponent Bill Smythe.

“I’m just very pleased to be able to do this job,” Allman said following the vote.  “This is what I want to do.”

Smythe said he  expected the vote to be closer than the final tally, but knew he had an uphill battle to win the caucus election.

With Allman assuming the trustee post, that creates a vacancy on the Fall Creek Township Board.  County Republican Chair Laura Campbell says a caucus will be scheduled to fill that seat within 30 days, as prescribed by state law.

The job of trustee became vacant when Jeff Hern, who was elected to the post, was later elected to the Hamilton County Council.  State statutes do not allow Hern to hold both elected positions at the same time.

Tim Swarens is the Opinion Director at the Indianapolis Star and is working on a long-term project aimed at human trafficking.  He emphasized the story is a work in progress, but he shared what his reporting has taught him thus far into the project.

The scene was Geist Christian Church in Fishers, before a full crowd of people wanting to know more about human trafficking.  They learned a lot by the time the evening was over.

Swarens, after sifting through plenty of cases involving child sex trafficking, came upon one case of a 15-year-old girl from southern Illinois.  She had a fight with her father, was upset, met a man on the street who enticed her into going with him.  The man put her onto the Internet and sold the services of her and other girls in the summer of 2015.  One day, a “customer” demanded a certain sex act the girl refused to perform.  She was beaten for saying no.

Why did that incident stick out in Swarens’ mind?  “It illustrates an attitude,” he said.  “Both the buyer and the seller saw this child as property.  She was not a child to them, she was not a human being, she was property and property does not have the right to say no.”

The event was called “Breaking the Chains, Step Into Freedom” and was sponsored by the Leslie Anne  Hulse Foundation.

Swarens told the audience the way to attack human trafficking is on the demand side.  He described those buying these services as “regular guys, it’s doctors, veterinarians, attorneys.”

Swarens emphasized that no place is safe, including suburban areas such as Fishers.  He wrote a story posted on the Indianapolis Star Web site….you can read it at this link.

Other speakers included Detective John Daggy of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Megan McGuire of Ascent 121, and Michelle Corrao from Prevail Inc.

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at Riverside Intermediate School is much closer to the goal of funding a new playground.  This proposed facility is described as being “parkour-style,” that will offer specialized exercise and challenge courses.

Indiana University Saxony has approved a $10,000 grant toward funding the $45,000 project.

More details are contained in the news release , which you can read below:

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The Riverside Intermediate School community is celebrating a $10,000 grant from Indiana University Health Saxony Hospital. The funds will go toward building a much-needed playground for upper elementary students. The project is spearheaded by the Riverside Intermediate PTO, which is seeking additional sponsorships to underwrite the new $45,000 parkour-style, challenge course and play space.

Riverside Intermediate PTO hopes to greenlight Phase I of construction as soon as it raises the first $25,000 toward the project.

“It’s the first piece of a much larger project that will give our students more options for physical activity. We are so grateful for the generosity of IU Health Saxony Hospital,” said Danielle Chastain, principal of Riverside Intermediate School.

Increasing physical activity among children is essential to the IU Health Saxony Hospital mission. “IU Health Saxony Hospital is thrilled to partner with Riverside Intermediate School to provide a safe and intentional area for the students to play. Part of our mission in Hamilton County is to increase physical activity among residents of all ages, and this was the perfect opportunity to encourage greater physical activity for students at Riverside Intermediate,” said Joy Davis, Customer Experience & Community Engagement Manager for IU Health Suburban Indianapolis Region.

Within Hamilton Southeastern Schools, newer referendum dollars have now been targeted for operational expenses after years of budget cuts. Grant dollars and donations remain an important component of making projects like the Riverside Intermediate parkour playground a reality.

“The playground is also important for education. As an engineer, I believe that hands-on science activities, like those that can be conducted on a playground, promote a much deeper understanding of science concepts,” said Amy Samuelson, the Riverside Intermediate School parent who is spearheading the playground effort.

The annual Fishers State of the City Address is now scheduled for Wednesday, March 15th, as part of a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Forum Conference Center.  Mayor Scott Fadness had originally been scheduled to deliver the speech on February 15th, but asked the Chamber to delay the event.

During a podcast interview recorded January 10th, the mayor told local Fishers residents to “buckle up” for this year’s address.

“If everything falls into place, I think it’s going to be a really exciting speech,” said the mayor.  He expects “big, tectonic policy conversations,” with “6 or 7 ideas that will really transform Fishers.”

During the same podcast discussion, I asked Mayor Fadness whether Portillo’s is coming to Fishers.  His response?  “Yet to be determined.”  There have been, and continue to be, discussions between Portillo’s and Fishers, but nothing has been signed.  The mayor is aware of Potillo’s ads online asking for manager applications, and calls that “encouraging,” but repeated nothing is yet signed between the city and the restaurant chain.

You can listen to the entire podcast interview at this link.

People working for the City of Fishers will see a new administrator for a key retirement savings plan.  The city’s 457 plan is similar to private sector 401(k) plans, allowing city workers retirement savings with tax advantages.

City Controller Oscar Guiterrez told the Board of Public Works and Safety Thursday that Edward Jones will be the new broker handling the city employees plan, but American United Life (AUL) will continue as the insurance company.  Edward Jones will be providing services from financial advisers, visiting city facilities to advise employees on investment options for their retirement savings.

Mayor Scott Fadness said he wanted to add an employer match to employee contributions in 2017, but health insurance premiums increased too much.  He hopes to add the employer match in future years.

“Although the cost is neutral, the services rendered to the employees to be able to make smart financial decisions for themselves and their families will drastically improve with these additional resources,” Mayor Fadness said.

After 6 months of work, the City of Fishers and the accounting firm of Katz, Sapper & Miller have entered into a contract of up to $2.1 million for a 3-year project aimed at modernizing and automating the inner workings of city government.

Mayor Scott Fadness says if the firm meets all incentives in the pact, the city would pay out a maximum of $2.113 million over the 3 year span of this contract.  Without incentives, the base amount of the agreement is set at $1.76 million.

This is a “major, major undertaking for our organization,” according to the mayor.

Fadness called the current city financial system “antiquated” and will require an upgrade as the state requires municipalities to switch from a cash method of accounting to accrual. City budgeting is now done on Excel spreadsheets and needs to be modernized.

The mayor says this project will integrate and tie all the city’s systems together, allowing more data analytics by city staff.

Katz, Sapper and Miller will be the “solution architect” to get all this done for the city.

The Board of Public Works and Safety approved the contract at the meeting held Thursday morning.

The Indianapolis Star has taken information from the recent special census conducted by Fishers and Carmel and found that Fishers has moved up to number 5 on the list of most populous cities in the state, with Carmel a close 6th.

The additional population numbers will make Fishers eligible for more money from the state and local governments.

For more on John Tuohy’s story, use this link.

Thorpe Creek kindergarten students wanted to help a classmate….the story is a good one….I cannot tell it any better than Anne Marie Tiernon did in this WTHR piece, found at this link.

The Fishers Junior High School We the People team gave the HSE School Board a taste of their talents at the January 11th board meeting.  The team is also asking for your help in sending them to the national finals in Washington DC.

The group won the Indiana state competition, earning the right to compete at the  national finals in the nation’s capital.  The team is asking for donations in order to raise money for the Washington trip through a “Go Fund Me” Web page.  You can donate at this link.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board welcomed two new members and elected a new president at the January 11th session.  Matt Burke will serve as board president during 2017, John DeLucia will be vice president and Sylvia Shepler will remain secretary. Previous President Karen Harmer commenced the session until new board members could be sworn into office.

Mike Bottorff and Amanda Shera were sworn in as new board members and Sylvia Shepler was sworn in for another board term.   All were given the oath of office by Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Paul Felix.

In other board news:

–Approval was given to establish an appropriation outside the general fund for teacher performance grant money provided by the state.  Schools Chief Financial Officer Mike Reuter says the $2.28 million for the grants are “considerably more” than the just over $1 million for the performance grants the previous year.  Marcia Abraham, Fall Creek Elementary School Music teacher, spoke during the public hearing, expressing concern that these awards hurt collaboration among local educators and creates an unhealthy atmosphere of competition to qualify for these payments.  The board indicated the method of how this award money will be handed out will be a decision for the next board meeting.

–A new high school class in interactive media will be offered, following the board’s approval.  You can find more details about the new offering at this link.

–Superintendent Allen Bourff briefed the board on plans to offer “swap days” were Fishers High School and HSE students go to the other school for one day, to better understand the culture of the other high school.