This local news blog is a one-man-band (me) so I cannot be everywhere all the time.  I was covering another story which resulted in my missing the Hamilton East Public Library (HEPL) board meeting Thursday.  The Indianapolis Star was covering it.

Reporter John Tuohy says the board revoked the controversial policy moving some books from the young adult section to the adult collection.  The vote was 5-1.  Micah Beckwith voted no and Tiffanie Ditlevson abstained from voting.

Ditlevson, who will be assuming a seat on the Fishers City Council January 1 of 2024, announced she will be resigning from the library board at the end of 2023.

There is much more to this story.  You can read the IndyStar piece on this meeting at this link.   If you are not an IndyStar subscriber, you may not be able to access this story.  Once again, I urge you to subscribe to your local media.  Online subscriptions to the Indianapolis Star are not that expensive.

People of different religious faiths must recognize their obvious differences and find areas where there is agreement, then build on that.  This was the message from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, speaking before the Fishers Multi-Faith group Thursday morning at Launch Fishers.  The breakfast session focused on how a group of clergy, representing a number of belief systems, can come together on some issues and make a difference.

The mayor asked members of the group to give him ideas, and they did, on a wide range of subjects.  There was discussion of the suffering among the civilian population in Gaza.  One African-American minister expressed that young people in her congregation do not feel safe talking about race in their local high school.  There was talk of morality and how that plays into the discussion.

One member of the group said sharing a meal can be a way to start a conversation.  Perhaps having people gather and not talk about religious beliefs or politics, but get to know each other’s personal story and family first.

Mayor Fadness did say he tries to stay out of what he describes as “culture wars” despite weekly pleas from residents that he weigh-in in such issues.

According to the mayor, one area of life is the best way in Fishers to get to know other families – youth sports.  He talked about the friendships formed when attending youth sports events, getting to know other parents with children on the same team.

At the end of the session, Fishers Public Health Director Monica Heltz listed resources the city provides for members of their congregations in need of mental health assistance.

The mayor did provide one important piece of mental health data – the city has recently seen a spike in suicides among the senior citizen population.

The mayor promised to consider all the comments from this meeting and look for ways to move forward as a city.

Nataki Pettigrew, Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, is leaving that position.  According to a news release from Washington Township Schools in Marion County, Dr. Pettigrew will assume the position of Chief Academic and DEI Officer for Washington Township Schools.

“After spending decades immersed in the challenges and opportunities facing our young people, I’m thrilled to join Washington Township Schools, whose vision of creating equitable, affirming, and responsive learning environments impacts every student in our care,” said Dr. Pettigrew in the news release. “I embrace the important responsibility of supporting our students as we strive to empower them to excel academically and socially and to pursue their career goals. I look forward to working alongside the talented administrators and staff of Washington Township Schools as we continue to foster high
expectations of academic excellence.

Nataki Pettigrew was part of a handful of top HSE Schools administrators not given a 2-year extension to their contracts, which had been routine in the past.

Dr. Pettigrew has been the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer for HSE Schools since 2021.  She assumes her new Washington Township post in January.

There was talk of parking, traffic flow, plans for landscaping, but in the end, the Nickel Plate Review Committee provided unanimous support Wednesday evening for plans to renovate Fishers Elementary School, located on Lantern Road.

The expanded building should be ready by the start of school in August, 2026.

The elementary structure is located on the site of what was known as Fishers High School about 80 years ago.  There was talk about whether to renovate the current building or sell the land and build an elementary school on a nearby site.

The commercial and residential development in the area made finding another location a challenge, so Hamilton Southeastern Schools decided to keep the school on Lantern Road and expand the building through a major renovation.

The Nickel Plate Review Committee is charged with ensuring new construction and renovations meet the standards of the Nickel Plate Code, which encompasses land in and around the downtown area of Fishers.

A Facebook post by the Anderson Public Library says Hamilton East Library Director Edra Waterman is headed to Anderson, effective January 8th.  The post was made Wednesday evening.

Waterman submitted her resignation as Hamilton East Public Library (HEPL) Director, effective in December.

The Hamilton County Commissioners appointed novelist Susan Crandall to replace Ray Maddalone on the Hamilton East Library Board.  That is according to a story in the Indianapolis Star written by reporter John Tuohy, posted on the Star Web site Tuesday afternoon.

Reporter Tuohy describes Susan Crandall as “an award-winning author of women’s fiction, romance and suspense. Her husband, Bill Crandall, previously served on the library board before stepping down and being replaced by commissioners with Maddalone in July, 2023.”

To read the full story in the Indianapolis Star, use this link.  (Note:  You may be limited in your access to this story if you are not a Star subscriber)

Work sessions are designed to discuss subjects before the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board with no action on the agenda.  Tuesday morning featured such a board session, with substitute teachers and the mental health program up for discussion.

Central office administrator Ryan Taylor and Sub Coordinator Diane Howell reviewed the substitute teacher program.  Prior to the COVID pandemic, there were about 400 regular subs, now the number is 324.  There were 66 permanent substitute teachers in HSE Schools prior to the pandemic, there are now 46.

Those with a daily substitute teacher license are paid a $90 daily rate of pay.  Efforts are being made to retain and recruit more subs.  Taylor told the board HSE Schools is “always in a state of recruitment” for substitute teachers.

To qualify as a sub, one must have 30 hours of college credit and meet some other requirements.

For more details on all this, see the PowerPoint presentation at this link.

On the mental health front, Molly Kirwan, Mental Health and School Counseling Coordinator for HSE Schools, brought with her a counselor from Fishers High Schools to discuss the district’s mental health program and counseling.

Kirwan traced the mental health program as it grew with some funding from the 2016 referendum.  That provided staffing and a contract for services with Community Health Network.  Mental health services are provided in 3 tiers, with providers (depending on the tier) including schools counselors, social workers, psychologists & Community Health Network School-Based Therapists.

The hiring of 4 additional high school counselors has improved counselor ratio for 9th grade students from 425:1 down to 315:1. The recommended ratio is 250:1.

For the PowerPoint presentation on mental health, use this link.

Now that the Fishers city election is over, we are seeing lots of spin from many sides as to how one should interpret the results.  I would argue there is good and bad news for both political parties.  Allow me to explain.

Let’s start with the Republicans.  They obviously should be happy with the outcome.  The mayor was unopposed in the primary and general election.  The local GOP holds 8 of 9 city council seats.  Both Democrats currently serving on the council were defeated.

But Republicans did need to work hard and spend a lot of money to come up with those wins.  The at-large council race was close.  There were district results that were close, others were not.  Democrats have shown they can be competitive in local Fishers elections.

To the Democrats, they should be pleased with the progress made by their Fishers candidates.  I can recall more than one occasion during my 32 years living here when the general election was cancelled because no Democrats were running.  In other town elections, sometimes there was only one candidate running as a Democrat.

The biggest Democratic disappointment was losing two members of the council, Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann.  Democrat Bill Stuart did defeat Republican David Giffel in a close district race.

The bottom line is this…Republicans are in solid control of Fishers city government as a result of the 2023 election.  However, they need to keep in mind that voters barely elected some of their council members.  That may impact how decisions are made by the council in the coming 4 years.

Congratulations to those winning this election.  But I also congratulate all candidates.  It takes a tremendous amount of work to run for office, even if you lose.

As Director of PK-12 Initiatives for HSE Schools, Steve Loser has been working with the Ford Next Generation Learning program and the Pursuit Institute.  He talks about that and more in this podcast.

I was out-of-pocket much of Friday, but discovered a story written by Rachel Fradette of the Indianapolis Star, saying Edra Waterman is leaving as Director of the Hamilton East Library.

As I have written before in this space, myself, my wife Jane and my daughters have been patrons of the library for many years.  Library users in Noblesville and Fishers owe a great deal to Edra Waterman.

According to Rachel Fradette’s story, Edra will be leaving in December.  There is no indication yet into what is next for her.

Edra Waterman has shown me nothing but professionalism and kindness in my interactions with her.  Edra, good luck in your next endeavor!