Fishers will be the location of an event aimed at breaking the chains of those victimized by human trafficking.  The event is set for Friday evening, January 13th.

The details are below in a news release from the Fishers Police Department.

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January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. In an effort to increase awareness The Leslie Anne Hulse Foundation is sponsoring an event this Friday, January 13^th. The Break the Chains-Step into Freedom Event will be held at the Geist Christian Church (Promise Road Campus) from 7pm-9pm. The church is located at 12756 Promise Road in Fishers.
 
            The format will be a dessert and discussion. Mr. Tim Swarens, the Opinion Director for the Indianapolis Star, will be the Key-Note Speaker. A panel discussion will immediately follow. The panel will consist of representatives from Ascent 121, Prevail, Inc. and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Detective John Daggy.
 
            This event is open to the public, however the discussion will be most appropriate for children 12 years and older. Please feel free to invite family, friends, neighbors, educators, church youth groups, and anyone else you think might benefit from this information.
 
            Detective Leslie Hulse served the Fishers community for 10 years. She had a true servant’s heart and a passion for helping those in the most desperate of circumstances. Prior to losing her battle with breast cancer Leslie’s was assigned to the Human Trafficking Task Force. The men and women of the Fishers Police Department are proud to support this event and Leslie’s foundation.  
 
            For more information please visit www.lesliehulse.org

Is Portillo’s restaurant set to locate in Fishers?  Mayor Scott Fadness says “…to be determined.”  He emphasizes there is no signed deal with Portillo’s & the city of Fishers. The mayor says online ads seeking manager applications for the Fishers Portillo’s is encouraging, but repeated there is no deal at this time.

The mayor talked about that, economic development in general, Tax Increment Financing and a number of other issues in a podcast interview.

Fishers High School football Coach Rick Wimmer missed two gridiron games this past season as school officials probed an incident with a student, but the coach was reinstated as a coach and teacher after a time on paid leave.  WTHR’s investigative reporter Bob Segull reports that Wimmer has since served a 5-day unpaid suspension.

His suspension was contained in a board item only identifying the employee disciplined by number.  Segall says he has confirmed through school officials that Wimmer was the disciplined employee.

For more details, and to access Segall’s reporting, use this link.

In the Indiana House of Representatives, Todd Huston represents Fishers at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.  I talked with Todd Huston about this year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly

Steve Delaney’s area of expertise is the restaurant business…I talked about the culinary scene in Fishers and nearby areas…

Downtown Fishers is set to get more housing units and some small-scale commercial space.

Reporter Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal published the story online January 5th.

You can access her story at this link. 

In describing the planned Fishers development named The Yard, the most common phrase has been “culinary and entertainment.”  We have heard and read a lot about the concept of food and restaurants, including a part of the development for chefs to experiment, but the description of the entertainment aspect has been very general.

When The Yard received a unanimous favorable recommendation from the Fishers Plan Commission Wednesday night for a proposed rezoning, I talked to Attorney Steve Hardin of Faegre, Baker & Daniels, who represents the developers of the project,  about the entertainment side of the planned development.

Based on information provided by Hardin and Eric Wojak of developer Thompson Thrift, the entertainment part of the development will be a movie theater with a dining option. Wojak says work continues with the vendor and there are no further details available beyond that.

So, moviegoers and film lovers will await the details of what type of cinema, and dining, will be available at The Yard.

The Yard is planned near I-69 and 116th Street, near the IKEA building already under construction.  The new IKEA store is expected to open in the fall of 2017.

The proposed Yard culinary and entertainment complex took one step toward reality when the Fishers Plan Commission unanimously sent forward a positive recommendation that the Fishers City Council approve a rezoning request.  However, Commission President Warren Harling said he was voting yes “reluctantly.”

Harling looked back on his long history of seeing impressive, shining renderings of projects that never happen.  He expressed concern about a sunset provision.  He says the 5-year sunset provision in the current commitments from the developer are not strong enough for him.

But in the end, Harling voted yes along with other members of the commission to move the rezone forward.

A portion of the land planned for development is currently zoned as residential.  The residents of Springdale Estates have all agreed to sell their homes to make way for this culinary and entertainment center proposed by developer Thompson Thrift.  The rezone now moves forward to the Fishers City Council.

No one chose to speak during the public hearing.

In other plan commission actions:

–The commission approved a positive city council recommendation for a revised concept plan for Simpy Dental’s office on 116th Street, east of Olio Road.  Commission members added some additional provision requested by nearby residents during the public hearing.

There have been stories flying about Portillo’s opening a restaurant in Fishers.  The Chicago-based chain has inquired about it, but the city says there is nothing definite yet about the eatery opening here.

Fishers Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath told LarryInFishers Portillo’s had contacted the city about locating here, but “nothing is firm”

“It is premature to discuss it at this time,” according to McGrath.

The Indianapolis Star posted a story late Wednesday afternoon with the online headline, “Portillo’s Chicago beef and dogs coming to Fishers.”

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal posted a story late Wednesday night worded much more carefully than the Star story.  She writes that Portillo’s is “planning an Indianapolis-area location.”  You can access this story at this link.

So, is Portillo’s headed to Fishers?  There have been talks with Fishers officials, but nothing is set in stone at this time.

We will wait and see what develops.

The nation has only one national study of foundations for schools kindergarten through 12th grade, and the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Foundation has scored 4th in the nation in the latest educational foundation rankings.  This is the third year for this study, conducted by Stepping Up, a part of the Caruthers Institute.

The group reviewed eight key areas to make the assessments.  Those areas include assets per student and human capital.

HSE Schools Foundation Executive Director Freedom Kolb credits the community and its support of the foundation for this honor.

I would add that Freedom, her staff and her board of directors should take a bow as well for a job well done.