Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has made mental health in his city a priority the entire time he has been serving as the first (and, so far, only) mayor of Fishers.  The mayor is inviting anyone interested in the city’s ongoing mental health initiative to join him and other local city, county, and state leaders for a breakfast update.

The event is set for 9:00am, May 25th, at Fishers City Hall.

Registration is required to attend this event.  You may register at this link.

It was a night of celebration at Monday’s Fishers  City Council meeting.  Three local schools were recognized for their success in the We The People national competition.

Robert S. Leming, Director of We The People nationally, introduced each school’s team.

Also, three Fishers Fire Department employees were cited for 20 years of service…Rick DeCrastos Jr., Ky Ragsdale  and Maria Rhea .

The photos below show We The People teams from Fall Creek Junior High (3rd Place), Fishers Junior High (1st Place) and Fishers High School (2nd place).

We The People is a competition all about civic knowledge.  Teams prepare a 4-minute presentation, then answer questions from a panel of experts.

There are many publications and organization that point out employers known for being a good place to work, and the Indianapolis Star, in a recent such listing, cited TCC, with an office based in Fishers, as such a workplace.

This is the third year in a row TCC has received this recognition.

“Employee engagement is a top priority as we strive to make TCC a company people want to work with and work for,” said Scott Moorehead, President and CEO of Round Room, TCC’s parent company, in a company news release “I’m so proud of our entire team for this recognition and excited to see how we continue to build upon our unmatched company culture to maintain TCC’s reputation and company ethos as a desired place to work.”

TCC is located in the same location as Round Room, a building that has been a bank call center and an office for Roche in the past, and is visible to motorists traveling along I-69.

The Top Workplaces in Central Indiana list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner, Energage, LLC. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of an organization including alignment, execution and connection.

The meaning of words matters, so when the term “microaggression” is used in a student handbook, the meaning of that term does attach importance.

Two assistant principals, Kyle Goodwin of Fishers High School and Zak Tschiniak of HSE High School, reviewed proposed student handbook changes with the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board Tuesday morning.

The board had wrestled in the past with a definition of microaggression.  The proposed high school student handbook language says the following:

Microaggressions can be defined as everyday, subtle, intentional or unintentional interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups. While Hamilton Southeastern High School understands those individuals communicating a microaggression might not intend to express bias, the school recognizes the responsibility to educate students on the reality of bias perceptions. Issues regarding microaggressions may be addressed through restorative conversations led by school administration and/or guidance counselors rather than punitive measures. Habitual occurrences could lead to consequences applicable to inappropriate conduct as defined in Section 28 (another section of the handbook).

When asked how to define habitual, the administrators responded that it would depend on the context of the situation with that particular student.

“I don’t really have a problem with microaggressions,” said board member Brad Boyer.  “I just want to say that…I think it can be divisive.”

There are a number of other proposed changes to the handbook.  Here are a few presented to the board:

–Food delivery services ordered by students would not be allowed entry into the school building.

–An entire section would be added dealing with virtual students.

–Keeping track of students tardiness has created a proposed change in how to handle this.  Instead of tracking tardies per class/period, administrators are proposing a shift to cumulative tardies across all classes.

–Air pods and headphones would not be used unless allowed by a teacher or other school official.  Also, the following passage would be added – “No picture taking or video recording is permitted in locker rooms or restrooms.”

–The student dress code would have the following language, saying students are “expected to maintain an appearance that is appropriate for school and conducive to the
educational atmosphere.”  The proposal would delete the reference to bare midriffs, brimmed hats and hooded clothing as inappropriate.

–The prohibition of photographing or recording other students or school personnel would be extended to school buses.  Added is the following language – “Students may not use
any device to record themselves or other students violating school policies, and students may not disseminate recordings of such content.”

–There are several proposed changes in the athletic eligibility section of the handbook.

These are proposed changes that will come back to the board for action at a regular board session.

You can read the document presented to the board with changes highlighted in yellow at this link. 

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School board fielded a number of comments and questions on new Literacy Resources for grades kindergarten through 6th grade after making the material available to parents and the public.  After considering all the feedback, the board voted 6-1 Tuesday morning approving the recommended resources, with Suzanne Thomas the lone no vote.

The board unanimously passed updated World Language resources, with the Spanish curriculum put on pause for the moment allowing further consideration.  The board is allowing school administrators to move forward with updated resources in the French and German World Language programs only.

Finally, the board accepted a bid of $1.178 million to replace the Riverside tennis courts with a concrete surface.  The concrete bid was a bit higher compared to the asphalt bid ($1.018 million) but the concrete surface has a 10-year warranty compared to the 2-year warranty offered for asphalt.

As the Fishers community has grown, so has the annual ceremony honoring our nation’s war dead, Memorial Day.  The City of Fishers will once again conduct this special ceremony on Monday, May 30, 10am, in front of City Hall.  It will be held in the area between City Hall and the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on the Central Green in front of Fishers City Hall  (1 Municipal Drive).

Registration is not required to attend but filling out the form at this link ensures you will be notified if weather forces the event indoors.

The recently-established Fishers Armed Services Commission planned this year’s Memorial Day ceremony.

The Fishers City Council voted unanimously to approve an accounting change that will continue the funding mechanism for the new City Hall and Arts Center.  This allows $6.3 million of American Rescue Plan funds to be utilized in constructing the new building.  Just over $17 million will be borrowed through the issuance of a bond to cover the rest of the construction money for the new center.  Mayor Scott Fadness says this project will not increase the city property tax rate.

“We’re excited to kick this project off,” Fadness told council members.  “We think it’s an incredible opportunity for our community.”

According to Fadness, the arrangement with the Indianapolis Arts Center will generate a regular revenue stream to fund local arts organizations and their projects, calling this “a unique opportunity.”

In response to a council question, Fadness says that naming rights could be another income source for the arts center.

In other news from Monday night’s council session:

–Second reading approval was provided allowing Fishers to join other cities in the area on the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority.  Mayor Fadness says this body would have no taxing authority but will allow eligibility for the city to receive initial funding for the planned park along the White River north of 96th Street.

–Councilors voted unanimously to use bond funds left over from the purchase of HSE Utilities to fund infrastructure projects.

–The council provided first reading approval for using economic revenue bonds left over from the Spark project on North Street downtown, funding part of the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel underneath 116th Street.  The measure will return to the council at a future session for second reading.

–Councilors voted unanimously to use money in an excess levy account to fund Neighborhood Matching grants.

–The council approved a long list of voluntary annexations.

Saturday, May 14 was a very  busy day in Fishers.  It was the first day the downtown Nickel Plate Trail tunnel was open to the public.  It was a beautiful spring morning for the Fishers Farmers Market.  But there was another noteworthy event that day – Hope for Happiness.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and two student-led groups, the Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools’ Bring Change to Mind student clubs, worked together, bringing Hope for Happiness to the municipal complex.

There were booths staffed by a number of local organizations that have mental health as part of their work in the Fishers community.

In the past, the Hope for Happiness was a separate event at a separate time, but in 2022 it was held as part of the Farmers Market and the booths were busy when I visited the area.  Hopefully, more people were able to check out the organizations this year.

Below are a few photos from Saturday’s Hope for Happiness.

When I walked underneath 116th Street on the newly-opened Nickel Plate Trail tunnel, what went through my mind was history.  The rail line that was so much a part of the history of our city is now a trail that was the center of activity on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday morning, the first day the downtown section of the trail was officially open to the public.

A ribbon -cutting ceremony was held Friday evening to kickoff the trail opening for a list of VIP attendees.  This reporter had a very important event that night (a wedding anniversary dinner) so I missed that ceremony.

But it was good to get my first look at the trail on the first day everyone could enjoy it.

I recorded a video of just over seven minutes walking underneath the trail tunnel from north to south.  It was pure coincidence that Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness was with his wife and three sons enjoying the trail as the video was rolling.  You can see the video at this link or use the link below.

There was much controversy over the decision to remove the rails and build the Nickel Plate Trail, and there are still some hard feelings among the train enthusiasts.  But the trail is an amenity all can enjoy, especially on a warm and sunny Saturday.

When I discovered that America is set to have one million COVID deaths, a number of thoughts crossed my mind. To put that into perspective, there are about 2.1 million people living in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.  Just imagine losing about half our area’s population.  That explains how many COVID deaths our nation has experienced.

But my thoughts go back to March of 2020.  I had been writing this local Fishers news blog for abut nine years.  It is a labor of love, but a totally volunteer activity.  It is a lot of work to write news for a local area as a one-man-band.  I decided it was time to retire for real and end the news blog, so that announcement was made at the end of March, 2020.

Then COVID hit.  The local media was scrambling to cover a big local story with less resources due to the economics of the news business.

So, no one was paying much attention to Fishers at that time.  So, I thought, I will continue the news blog a little longer because the local area needed coverage other news outlets were just unable to do.

In late October of 2020, I tested positive for COVID.  Let’s just say I was sick, very sick.  Energy levels were near zero.  I was very congested in my chest but could breath without much laboring.

I was in touch with my doctor nearly every day via e-mail, updating her on my condition.  It took nearly two weeks, but I did recover from my bout with COVID.  However, several months later, my doctor disclosed to me she was very close to sending me into the hospital due to my deteriorating condition at one point.

In early November of 2020 there were no effective treatments for COVID and it was months before COVID vaccinations were available.  Let’s just say very few COVID patients entering a hospital left that hospital alive.

My COVID bout included such a loss of energy I literally could not move easily.  I sat in a chair most of the day.  I am not one to sit for hours at a time, I am generally busy doing something.

So, during my time with COVID, I had time to do nothing but think.  I did a lot of thinking during those days.

That thought process ended with a decision to continue this news blog after all.  God had granted me extra time on this earth so I decided continuing this blog would be the right thing to do.

So, here I am, fortunate not to have been one of the one million American COVID casualties, feeling very fortunate to be alive and in reasonably good health.

That’s what goes through my mind as we honor the victims of COVID and their families.  There are many survivors such as myself and it is up to us to do what we can to make our local communities better places.

Thanks for reading.