Fishers Police announced the arrest of a suspect charged in a December robbery outside K-1 Speed, 9900 East 121st Street.  Under arrest is Thomas Wilson, 20, from Indianapolis.

Wilson faces felony charges of robbery, pointing a firearm and intimidation.  In addition, police filed misdemeanor counts of theft and carrying a handgun without a license.

According to Fishers Police, officers received a report of an armed robbery at the K-1 Speed at around 11:00pm on December 19, 2021.  Witnesses told officers they were exiting the business when they were approached by a male wearing a ski mask. The suspect allegedly  pointed a handgun at the victims and demanded money. The victims say they complied and the suspect fled in a dark colored SUV. No one was injured.

On May 25, officers with the Fishers Police Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the United States Marshall’s Task Force located Wilson at a residence in Whitestown, Indiana. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident.

The Fishers Police Department is thanking the Whitestown Police Department and the United States Marshall’s Task Force for their assistance in this case.

Mayor Scott Fadness opened the breakfast at Fishers City Hall with a reference to the tragic mass shooting at a Texas Elementary School the day before, saying he was not prepared to make a political statement but that a host of solutions need to be explored and mental health is one.

Fadness had gathered a group of people involved in mental health locally for a meeting Wednesday morning, talking about the city’s mental health initiative and where it goes from here.

Fadness talked about making mental health a top priority when he was Mayor-elect in 2014 and has continued that program up to the present.  His emphasis at Wednesday’s meeting was centered on bringing the many organizations that work with mental health together with the city to take the next steps forward.

Brooke Lawson talked about the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools program she handles.  County Councilman Steve Nation, a former Hamilton County prosecutor and judge, talked about steps county government is taking in tackling mental health issues.

Monica Heltz discussed the Fishers Health Department’s role in mental health issues.  Fire Chief Steve Orusa and Police Chief Ed Gebhart each explained how first responders do their best to identify and handle mental health issues when they arise.

There were state officials and mental health professionals there.  It was a large panel addressing where mental health moves forward.

The mayor posed the most important questions in moving to the next phase of the Mental Health Initiative.

“Do we really understand where the mental health challenges are originating in our community?,” Fadness asked those assembled.  “Are there public policy levers that can be pulled to prevent them?”

That is part of the next phase of challenges for Fishers and mental health.

At the Monday end-of-the-year gathering of HSE Schools staff, each building named a teacher of the year and an Honor & Excellence award winner for non-certified staff.  Above is a listing of each building’s Teacher of the Year.  Below is the Honor & Excellence award winner for each school building.

The overall Honor & Excellence winner was Paula Bledsoe, head custodian at Durbin Elementary.

The Fishers Police Department is working to maintain a long-held accreditation and in order to do so is required to ask the public about contacts with the local law enforcement agency.

Below is a Fishers Police Department news release with more information and a link to access the survey.

=============

As part of our ongoing accreditation process through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, the Fishers Police Department is again conducting a citizens feedback survey. The survey addresses specific questions regarding previous citizen contacts with our police department as well as perceptions of safety in our neighborhoods and business areas.

It is the goal of the Fishers Police Department to achieve and maintain the highest level of quality service for our residents and visitors. Input from the citizens of Fishers is essential in the Fishers Police Department’s continued effort to promote effective police services and protection to all members of the community.

This survey will be open until June 13, 2022.

Complete the online survey by using this link

There are two occasions when the entire staff of Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools is invited to come together in one place – the beginning of the school year and the end of the school year.

May 23rd marked the end of the 2021-2022 school year for HSE teachers & staff.

One major announcement that comes from the end-of-the-year gathering is the district-wide Teacher of the Year for the coming school year.  Audrey Lash, 1st Grade Teacher at New Britton Elementary, won the award for the 2022-2023 school year.  The other two finalists were Leslie Johnson,  English-as-a-new-language (ENL) teacher at Riverside Junior High…and Greg Gastineau, a government teacher at HSE High School.

There was music provided by students and many speakers.  Included in those offering remarks, and handing out awards, were Assistant Superintendents Kim Lippe and Matt Kegley, as well as Superintendent of Schools, Yvonne Stokes.  Abby Taylor, President of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, offered remarks and was there to greet the Teacher of the Year, along with Stokes & Lippe.

It was a relief for staff members to end this school year, prepare to enjoy the summer, with most returning for the new school cycle starting up again in August.

I am in the middle of my 11th year writing this news blog and in my 7th year of producing podcasts.  There is a question posed often as I meet people in and around the Fishers community.  The simple one-word question is – why?

Why do I take the many hours required each week to attend local meetings and events, and write about them?  Why do I take the time to prepare, record and produce my local LarryInFishers.com podcasts?

After all, this is a volunteer venture for me.  I am a one-man-band, covering these news events and producing these podcast all by myself.  I am supposed to be retired…why don’t I retire for real?  I generate no income in these endeavors.

I have tried to quit, at least twice.  In March of 2020, I posted what I thought would be my final local Fishers news blog entry.  I had plans to continue blogging, but switch the focus to local arts and entertainment coverage.  I am a lover of the arts and, to be honest, it’s a lot less work to cover entertainment compared to news.

But COVID shut everything down.  There were no live performances of anything.  Even the movie theaters were closed.

Plus, most local media news outlets were attempting to cover the pandemic with reduced staffing, so Fishers wasn’t getting much local coverage.  Okay, I thought to myself, I will continue the news blog until everything settles down.

Well, nothing settled down for quite a while, so I continued the blog, albeit with a bit less energy than before.  Then it happened.

In late October, 2020, I contracted COVID.  There was no vaccine at that time and few, if any, effective treatments for those dealing with the virus.

I didn’t just have COVID, I had it bad.  My wife Jane chose not to leave home, and thankfully Jane never tested positive.  Having her here was a godsend and helped me get through it.

My primary care doctor later told me she was “this close” to sending me to the hospital due to my severe symptoms.  You may recall that during that time in 2020 few patients admitted with COVID left the hospital alive.

I was very fortunate to recover without a hospital stay.  But having a COVID case of that severity caused me to think.  After all, I had no energy to do anything else but think during that time.

It was that experience that convinced me to continue the blog.  Why did I make that decision after so much time to think?

All of us have plenty of national media to consume.  Newspapers, Web sites and cable channels focus on national and international stories.  But what about local news?  What about Fishers, Indiana news?

I was provided a reminder recently of why I continue this blog.  A person placed a comment on a blog post, saying my coverage had sparked an interest in Fishers news.  That reader said she/he had attended some city council meetings and watched more of those sessions on video only because reading my blog had sparked interest in local Fishers news.

That is why I write this news blog.  That’s why I produce local podcasts.  If that person was the only one that began following local Fishers news events because of my blog, that would be enough to justify the hours and effort I put into this blog.

I had a day recently when I was going from covering one local meeting and heading for a second session when a family issue came up I needed to help in between.  I came home that night and asked myself that question – why?

The answer is the same.  Someone will read the blog and become interested in the local community where we live.  That is enough for me.

There is plenty of news coming in Fishers.  Old City Hall will be demolished and construction will begin on the new City Hall with a prominent Arts Center located in the same building.  It is anticipated more economic development projects will be announced in the coming months.

We have a very important local school board election where 4 of the 7 seats will be up for election in the fall.  In 2023, Fishers will hold a city election for a mayor, 9 city council seats, a city clerk and a city judge.  That requires news coverage.

I will turn 71 in a few months, but my health is reasonably good at the moment.  I will continue my blog for as long as God gives me the energy and ability to keep going.

I continue to be amazed at the number of people that regularly access this blog.  That’s the biggest reason I continue.

Thanks for reading.

Look for a  closure of 126th Street on the I-69 bridge, between Hoosier Road and Promise Road,  May 31 through June 3,

Road construction projects are ongoing in and around State Road 37, Technology Drive and Southeastern Parkway at Cyntheanne Road..  Also, be on the lookout for resurfacing in many residential areas.

For the details, see the update below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

============

It would appear Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School will once again be searching for a new principal.  In a news release issued Thursday, the IHSAA announced Janie Ulmer has been approved by the organization’s Executive Committee to become an assistant commissioner.  She replaces Sandra Walter, who is leaving to become athletic director at Franklin Central High School.

Ulmer will assume her new job July 1 of this year.

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Janie Ulmer to the IHSAA Executive Staff,” said IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig in a news release. “Her experience as a leader in education will prove invaluable as we continue our efforts to promote the ideals of education-based athletics for Hoosier students.”

So, it would appear that the HSE School District will be searching for a new HSE High School Principal for the coming school year.

Road rage has hit Fishers with a reported shooting Monday, May 16, at 6:0pm, near 106th Street and Lantern Road.

Under arrest is Avione Johnson, 23, from Indianapolis.  He faces felony charges of intimidation, two counts of criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm and carrying a handgun without a license.

Fishers Police received a witness report of the altercation involving drivers of two vehicles, with one firing shots.  Later Monday evening, one driver reported being the victim of shots fired in his direction.  The altercation resulted in 2 shots fired in his direction, according to the victim’s statement.  The victim suffered minor abrasions to his left elbow and left shin from the shrapnel, according to police.

Fishers officers obtained a search warrant and went to an address in the Castleton area of Indianapolis. A suspect, later identified as the shooter, was seen throwing a handgun from the balcony of the residence into a nearby retention pond.  The Fishers Police Dive Team recovered a handgun from the retention pond. Also seized, from the residence, were two rifles, a second handgun, thirty-one pounds of marijuana, and more than seven thousand dollars in cash. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident.

The incident that led to the alleged shooting reportedly began on I-69 and ended up in Fishers.

Indianapolis Police Department personnel assisted Fishers Police in making the arrest.

For the first time ever, a high school from Indiana placed second in the national We The People academic competition – Fishers High School did just that in the 2022 national finals.  No Indiana school has ever placed as high as second.

We The People is a test of students’ civic knowledge.

I spoke with Fishers High School We The People Coach Liz Paternoster & team member Abbie Kilgore, in the podcast linked below.