Sergeant Tom Weger is honored for 20 years of service to FPD by Chief Ed Gebhart
City Council meetings are occasions where city employees are honored for their time serving the local community, and Monday featured two of Fishers’ finest, recognizing two
Police Department officers for 20 years of service.
Officer Tracy Marsh had 9 years of law enforcement experience prior to joining the Fishers Police Department 20 years ago. He has served the patrol division his entire FPD career, in addition to work with hostage negotiations and the local SWAT team.
Sergeant Tom Weger had 6 years of police experience before joining the local department 20 years ago. He started in the patrol division, then spent time training new officers. He is involved with recruitment and has served as FPD’s public information source for local media.
Chief Gebhart honors Officer Tracy Marsh for 20 years with the Department
Planning & Zoning Director Megan Vukusich (far left) talks with council about resident comments in the neighborhood
Feedback from residents in the area of 136th Street and Cyntheanne Road shows they want a tract of land near 136th Street and Cyntheanne Road to be developed commercially, particularly with a grocery store. However, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness says there may be limits on what can be commercially developed in that area.
The city staff conducted a virtual meeting with residents, drawing about 100 initial participants and about 300 watching the video at a later time. Planning and Zoning Director Megan Vukusich told council members in a Monday work session that the overwhelming preference for residents in the area is to have a grocery story constructed, but a fitness center was also a popular choice.
Fadness said just one corner of this land could accommodate 325,000 square feet of commercial space. “That’s an enormous amount of commercial space.” Fadness told councilors. All four corners of that land would encompass 1.2 million square feet of commercial development.
“It is not likely (a developer) is going to build 1.5-1.6 million square feet of commercial in this corridor,” the mayor said.
Councilor Pete Peterson said the area could not sustain that much commercial development at this time, perhaps only a grocery store.
136th Street is slated to to widened in the next two years, according to Fadness. That area is near Interstate 69, but there are no prospects at this time for an interchange to be constructed in that area, the mayor indicated.
As to the possibility of a grocery store coming to the area of 136th & Cyntheanne, the grocers are sophisticated in their decision-making on where to build their stores, according to Fadness. He says there are grocery chains “sniffing around the general area,” but this area may be too far east for those companies.
The Bel Canto apartment proposal would have constructed 292 units on the southeast corner of East 136th Street and Cyntheanne Road, but the Fishers City Council Monday night unanimously voted to deny the zoning change required to move the project forward.
Residents in the area of northeast Fishers commenting at the March 2nd Plan Commission public hearing were in agreement that they did not want this project built at that location. The Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend a denial of the zoning change.
The Planning and Zoning Department staff recommended the proposal be denied for a number of reasons, but particularly because the 2040 city comprehensive plan does not envision apartments in that location.
That area is currently zoned for commercial use and needed the zoning change in order to move forward with a residential development. The council action denying the rezone request means the Bel Canto apartment project will not be built at that location.
The City of Fishers has recently established an Armed Services Commission, and that newly-formed group will sponsor a special program commemorating National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The outdoor event is free at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater near City Hall.
This is to help Fishers recognize veterans and their families who served during the Vietnam War period. The program is set from 10am to 11am, Tuesday, March 29.
Indiana State Senator John Crane is scheduled to be the guest speaker. The program will also include a Vietnam Veteran’s lapel pin presentation.
In the event of severe weather, the event will be moved indoors to the Fishers YMCA (9012 E. 126th St.). Registration for the event is not required, but attendees can fill out this form to be notified if there is a change of location.
The City of Fishers is a proud Commemorative Partner of the Vietnam War Commemoration. To learn more about the Commemoration, please visit www.vietnamwar50th.com. Learn more about the event and the Fishers Honors initiative at fishers.in.us/FishersHonors.
The Fishers Board of Health voted March 11th to switch to metrics provided in guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). That’s the word from Fishers Health Department Assistant Director Josh Robinson in his most recent video update.
The new measures are based on the past 7 day total of COVID cases per 100,000 population (the population of the City of Fishers is roughly 100,000) and uses that same metrics to measure the burden COVID is having on the local health care system.
As of March 15, the 7-day measure of COVID cases in Fishers is at 25.3. Hospital admissions per 100,000 stands at 4.9 for our area. The number of staffed hospital beds 7-day COVID average is 3.5%. That means Fishers is at a CDC COVID community level of low, the lowest rating, which is good news.
FHD will update Web sites reflecting this new CDC guidance.
Because CDC releases data Thursday nights, the FHD video updates will be posted every other Friday, with the first scheduled April 1.
Robinson reminds area residents that the Fishers testing and vaccination sites remain open. The testing site is open Monday through Saturday with the vaccination center open Tuesday through Saturday. Both sites are scheduled to close for the same two days…Friday, April 1 & Saturday, April 2.
The video from Josh Robinson is available for viewing at the link below.
The Hamilton County Clerk’s office has absentee ballots in the mail for those qualifying.
According to county officials, Indiana state law allows an absentee ballot to be cast in the following situations:
If they are confined to their residence, hospital, or nursing home due to illness
If they are caring for someone who is confined
If they are 65 years of age or older
If they are absent from the county on election day during the entire 12 hours the polls are open
If they are a voter with disabilities
If they have official election duties outside of their voting precinct
If they are scheduled to work the entire 12 hours that the polls are open
If they are observing a religious discipline or religious holiday during the entire 12 hours the polls are open
If they do not have transportation to the polls
If they are a member of the IN National Guard deployed or on assignment in Indiana or a public safety officer
“If you’re planning to request an absentee ballot, please do so as early as possible,” says Beth Sheller, Hamilton County Election Administrator, in a county news release. “It’s as easy as submitting an application online or downloading a form and returning it to our office.”
If you plan to vote absentee, submit an application by midnight, Thursday, April 21st. The application can be downloaded at www.indianavoters.com. You can also call 317-776-8476 and make a request for an application over the phone.
Once you have voted, submit your ballot by mail or return it in person. All mailed-in ballots must be received by the Election Office on or before 6:00 p.m. on Election Day. You can also drop off your ballot in person at the Clerk’s Office in Noblesville.
Being a journalist in a war zone is always dangerous, but most dangerous the photographers, be they still photographers or videographers. They need to be close to the action in order to capture the photos and videos.
Brent Renoud was an award-winning journalist and worked for a number of American national news outlets, including the New York Times, HBO, NBC News and Vice News. Renoud was working on a project for Time magazine documenting the plight of refugees when he was shot and killed in the fighting between Russian troops and Ukrainian forces.
His assistant was injured and told journalists they were in a vehicle when it came under fire. Renaud was shooting video with refugees, telling the story of the hardships they encountered in this horrible and devastating war.
Renaud was not the first journalist killed in the Ukraine fighting. According to Poynter.com. The Committee to Protect Journalists previously wrote that Russian military forces bombed a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1, five were killed, including camera operator Yevhenii Sakun.
When war breaks out, it is so important to have independent reporters out in the field just looking for facts and truth, both generally hard to come by in a war zone.
There are a number of journalists working in Ukraine now. I hope they all take the proper precautions but still find a way to do their jobs. It is so difficult to do both well.
My thanks to the many brave reporters working in Ukraine. Without them, we would not know what is going on. This war is particularly brutal for civilians. Documenting all that is so important for America, and the world.
The City of Fishers has announced the second ticketed Amphitheater concert for the 2022 summer season with Waxahatchee coming Friday, August 5th. Tickets go on sale March 18th at this link. Advance tickets are $20, with admission costing $25 on the day of the show.
A city news release describes Waxahatchee as an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, previously a member of P.S. Eliot. For more on the band, use this link.
