First, thanks to the many friends and relatives that wished me a happy birthday Sunday.  Making it to age 72 is something to celebrate.

Secondly, heartfelt thanks to all of you commenting on my piece written about my late brother Tim.  The words warmed my heart and will be a part of the grieving process.  Every message helped me in that regard.

I live in a special place and have so many wonderful relatives.  This is something I will never forget.

It was April, 1967.  I was in my mid-teens, the oldest of six in my family.  The number of siblings had just gone up to six with the birth of my youngest brother, Tim.

Then, 11 months later, I watched as Tim nearly died of a serious condition that doctors caught just in time.  We were thankful he survived.

I will remember the energetic little boy that enjoyed other people so much.  He kept that special talent of connecting with other human beings the rest of his life.

In adulthood, Tim wrestled with a condition not often diagnosed or treated at that time – depression.  His bout with depression led to other challenges that made life difficult for himself and many around him for a long time.

Tim was able to get his life back together, largely due to his wife Shelly.  He formed a close relationship to his step-grandchildren and life had meaning for him.

He had straightened-out his life the past ten years and things were better.  Unfortunately, his overall health did not get better.

Tim had struggled with constant health challenges over the past few months.  He was not  well.

Then I got a call early September 1st.  My brother Tony told me the hospital staff urged those close to him to come now.  Tim didn’t have much time to live.

I was there standing next to Tim when he left this world.  All I could think about was 1967, I visited him shortly after he was born.  Now I am here with him as he passes from this world.

It is hard to lose a sibling, but when you are the oldest brother in a large family, it is even more difficult.  I saw Tim grow up.  I sat with him when he had asthma attacks and it was not a given he would take the next breath.

The world lost a special soul September 1st.  It has not been easy for me to process this.

I went to a high school football game the evening of September 1st hoping to get my mind away from all this.  I lasted until halftime.  The events of the day had robbed me of any remaining energy.

Tim made it clear to Shelly he wanted no traditional funeral or calling.  He asked to have his remains cremated and his ashes spread over a place special to he and Shelly.  Tim did ask we have a family party in his honor, a celebration of his life in the Irish tradition.  That will happen, as he asked.

I will miss my youngest brother.  It remains hard to image living in a world without him.  But I do believe he is in a much better place now, with his parents and many other special people.

I appreciate you allowing me a point of personal privilege in this post.  It is not about Fishers or news.  I thank you for reading about my brother Tim.

I haven’t posted about local news lately and may take just a few days away from blogging, but I will be back soon.

Those of us living in Fishers have a certain view about our city. Jody Britten has lived in Fishers for nearly 15 years.  As a speaker, writer and researcher, she travels extensively around the nation and sometimes abroad. She has found that the image of Fishers, Indiana is not always a positive one outside what she describes as the “Fishers Bubble.”  She cited specific situations where highly-trained professional people living in other states have chosen not to locate in Fishers because of our reputation.

What caught my attention was a piece Jody wrote on the online platform Medium.  You can read that commentary at this link.

I invited Jody Britten to appear on a podcast to further discuss her contention that many of us in Fishers live in that “Bubble.”  Listen at the link below.

Author John Green did not just grant an interview with the Indianapolis Star about the Hamilton East Library Board, he also talked with a New York Times reporter about the same set of issues.  So, our local library board is now featured in a national publication.

You can read the full article at this link.  (Note:  As a subscriber of the Times, I can gift a limited number of articles per month.  This article is gifted by me so there is no paywall)

Local author with a national reputation, John Green, has inserted himself into the controversy over the Hamilton East Library’s policy of reviewing every young adult book in the collection.  The library board recently voted to “pause” the implementation of that policy, at least for now.

Nonetheless, author Green has granted an interview to Indianapolis Star reporter Rachel Fradette and has a lot to say.  Green argues this entire situation could have easily been avoided.

“We never would have been in this situation if the majority of the board had listened to librarians and their constituents,” Green tells reporter Fradette.  “There were people sounding the alarm about this long before I did. For whatever reason my sounding the alarm got a lot of attention.”

Green had criticism for library board member Ray Maddalone for reading a brief passage from his book “The Fault In Our Stars.”  He expressed a dislike for what he describes as reading his work “out of context.”

in other comments he made during the interview:

–He is happy librarians have kept their jobs at the Hamilton East Libraries (in Noblesville and Fishers)

–His books are “not pornography” and he is confident other books taken from the Young Adult collection in the library are not pornography.

–He does view the Hamilton East Library policy as censorship.

Because he mentions Fishers specifically, here is the final paragraph Green provides to reporter Rachel Fradette:

“I love Indianapolis. I love Central Indiana. And I love Fishers … I really want people outside of Indiana to see the Indiana I see … One of the points I tried to make in my initial letter because I understand the priorities of the government in a town like Fishers is that this is really bad for business. It’s really bad for students. It’s really bad for everything that you’re trying to celebrate about what makes Central Indiana cool.”

You can read the story at this link  (NOTE:  You must be an IndyStar subscriber to access this story.  Online subscriptions are very inexpensive.  Let me say this again – SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR LOCAL MEDIA!)

The Associated Press is out with its Class 6A high school football poll and both Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools are in the top ten.  Hamilton Southeastern is ranked number 4 and Fishers is number 7.

Two other area schools made the top ten….Westfield is number 5 and Noblesville is number 10

I have heard and read this comment time and time again – journalists tell people living in the path of a dangerous hurricane to evacuate, yet you see reporters on the air live in the middle of the storm, sometimes hip-deep in water, struggling to stand in high winds.  Why do these news organizations do this?

Tom Jones is Senior Media Writer for the highly respected Poynter Institute, which just happens to be headquartered in Tampa, Florida.  Jones posted a story Wednesday morning as Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the Florida coast.

He addressed the commonly-asked question, why do news organizations, particularly local and cable TV news, have their reporters and live production crews in the middle of a dangerous storm?

Here is part of what Jones wrote, referring to a local reporter/meteorologist:

Perhaps anticipating what viewers might have been thinking, ABC Action News meteorologist Shay Ryan made a smart and timely point on the air. She said, “One of the things to keep in mind is that we have our reporters stationed strategically, and we put a lot of thought and care into where they are positioned and how they are positioned and (we) time out accordingly to how the conditions are going to change. So that is part of what we’re doing and why we ask you to (evacuate and seek shelter); so we can show you the pictures as safely as possible. It’s not always safe, even with all the precautions we take. So, again, we are going show you lots of live pictures and as we continue through this storm, it is best to stay indoors, to hunker down, hang out with the family and we’ll all get through this.” 

Journalists covering a storm like Idalia will tell you their coverage helps save lives by emphasizing the true danger of a storm like Idalia.  The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, is true here, particularly with a live TV picture.

Remember, those reporters and their production crews understand the danger they face, even when utilizing every precaution experts tell them to take, while every now and then have people yell “fake news” at them while they work.

I appreciate the news crews out in the field covering Hurricane Idalia.

U.S. News and World Report is best known for its annual ranking of colleges and universities in America, but the news organization also ranks high schools.  Our two high schools in the Hamilton Southeastern District did well in the state-wide list.  There is a national listing and ranking for each state.

Fishers High School ranks 11th in Indiana, 740th nationally and 6th in the Indy metro area.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School is listed as number 13 in Indiana, 893rd in the nation and 8th in the Indy metro area.

When evaluating listings like these, the devil is always in the details.  I give U.S. News credit, they detailed their system for ranking these schools, and you can find it at this link. You can decide whether the methodology is fair.

Round Room, headquartered in Fishers, held a sales rally in downtown Indianapolis and used the occasion to pass out donations Tuesday totaling $1.7 million.  Round Room is one of the nation’s largest Verizon Authorized Retailers.

On the receiving end of the donations are  DREAM Alive, 100 Black Men of Indianapolis, 91 Place, Ben’s Ranch Foundation, Coburn Place, Cocktails & Caregivers and Trinity Haven.

Dream Alive was given the largest check, $580,000.  All seven nonprofits received a $100,000 check and a $60,000 transportation allowance.

My daughters are adults now but when they attended junior high during the late 2000s, we would often drop them off at a local high school football game and pick them up once the game was over.  It was a regular social event for young people that age in Fishers.

I know there were police officers and other adults keeping a watch on the one corner of the football complex where the junior high students would congregate, and remember well the traffic jams when parents came to pick up their junior high students at the same time the entire crowd was leaving the game.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools shared a message sent to parents Tuesday that changes school policy.  Now, if you have a student in grades K-8, there is a requirement that the student must be “accompanied and supervised by an adult.”

“We have seen a large number of unsupervised junior high students gathering at high school sporting events which has resulted in uptick of incidents,” says HSE Schools Spokesperson Emily Abbotts  “While the school district has increased the number of SROs at the game and administration, we do not have enough personnel to oversee large numbers of unsupervised students. Our top priority remains student and staff safety.”  ”

Abbotts also says the policy of requiring K-8 students to be accompanied by an adult “is not new and is standard for many of our surrounding school neighbors.”

Below is the entire message to parents sent by the HSE School District:

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Football season is upon us, and we love having the support of our school community cheering from the sidelines underneath the #FridayNightLights.  

To increase safety at our high school sporting events this year, students in grades K-8 must now be accompanied and supervised by an adult (aged 18+) to enter the event. This change in practice is due in part to an uptick in incidences involving unsupervised K-8 students. 

Although we want student participation at our home games, students without an adult will not be admitted.  

These changes are effective immediately and will be enforced at the upcoming Royals vs. Avon football game on Friday, September 1, 2023.  

We appreciate in advance the support of our students, parents, and community. We understand this change in practice may interrupt normal plans for event attendance, but we want to ensure that all attendees have an enjoyable and safe experience.  

We wish our FHS Tigers and HSE Royals the best of luck in this year’s sporting events.