The Hamilton County Coroner’s office has identified a body found in a Fishers pond Wednesday afternoon.

According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, Hamilton County Chief Deputy Coroner Thurl Cecil has identified the body in the pond as Adam C. Louie, 35, from Indianapolis.  Louie was reported as a missing person on May 31, 2021. 

Fishers Police responded to a report of a body found in a pond Wednesday afternoon, near Allisonville Road and Easy Street, north of 116th Street.

The coroner’s office has not yet determined a cause of death.

The Fishers City comprehensive plan is now 5 years old and is nearing the end of a review process.  The document, called the 2040 Plan, has had online sessions for resident comments and the Fishers Plan Commission held a public hearing at Wednesday night’s monthly session

The major changes to the plan can be found at this link.

The revisions received a unanimous positive recommendation from the plan commission, with a few amendments made by Pete Peterson.  He says the housing task force created by the plan should not have certain specific items for future actions because the task force members should decide which actions to study and recommend.

The items removed due to the amendment include:

–Organize an education effort on affordable housing including needs for various
demographics, housing types, and City programs. Target messages to the general community as well as potential housing developers.

–Update the UDO to define a broader range of alternative housing types such as duplexes, triplexes, accessory dwelling units, garage apartments etc. and expand where these types are permitted.

–Identify feasible incentives to promote development of “Missing Middle Housing” types,
affordable or workforce housing, as well as ADA and accessible housing units.

–In the development review process for new neighborhoods, encourage the integration of a variety of different types and price points of housing so that someone can afford to live in Fishers starting out and stay until retirement.

–Expand the matching grant program or establish separate grant programs to fund home
repairs, including exterior repairs for owner occupied and rental properties; to developers to provide new affordable housing or to renovate existing housing that meets affordability criteria; and to retrofitting of existing housing for ADA or universal access. 

The Fishers 2040 Plan now goes to the Fishers City Council for final approval June 21.

A Carmel man was arrested Tuesday night by Fishers Police after a warrant was issued for his arrest.  Terrence Richards, 40, faces Possession of Child Pornography and Child Exploitation charges, both felonies.

Earlier this year, The Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children advising that someone had used a social media account to upload multiple images of child sexual abuse material. This tip initiated an investigation that led to the execution of a search warrant at Richards’ home.

According to police, during the search, additional evidence was located and collected.  Detectives with the Fishers Police Department Digital Forensic Lab examined case-related devices and discovered additional images, some of which, officials say, Richards had distributed to other individuals via mobile application. The Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and issued an arrest warrant for Richards.

Members of the Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force include Detectives from the Fishers Police Department, Carmel Police Department, Noblesville Police Department, and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

When Tony Bagato left his post as Director of Planning & Zoning for the City of Fishers for a private sector job, it was assumed that his second-in-command, Megan Schaefer, would move into the director’s chair.  That was cleared-up Wednesday morning when the city formally announced Ms. Schaefer as the new head of Planning & Zoning.

One major initiative on the new director’s plate will be the 5-year update on the city’s comprehensive plan, named the 2040 Plan.  That plan looks to what Fishers may be once the population swells as projected to 135,000 residents (current estimates put the population of Fishers at about 95,000).

“My goal is to make sure Fishers continues to thrive as a community,” said Schaefer in a city news release. “There is so much opportunity here, and it’s great to work under leadership that is committed to looking at the facts and making the best decisions for the community. My goal for our department is to modernize processes, reduce inefficiencies, and continue to use data to inform decision making. As Fishers begins to reach buildout, our focus will be to plan for possible scenarios, and be proactive in our planning efforts. My passion has always been focused on public service and I could not be more excited to take on this new leadership role.”

Ms. Schaefer and her department expect to identify gaps and priorities in the City’s trail network and potential funding sources; streamline and update the department’s review processes; educate the public and development community on land use and zoning regulations; and gather local data that will assist policy makers and community officials in making informed decisions regarding the City’s future.

Ms. Schaefer received her bachelor’s degree in Policy Analysis from Indiana University, and is currently enrolled in the Indiana Certified Public Manager Program at Ball State University’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs. She previously worked with the City of Indianapolis’ Department of Business and Neighborhood Services as a Project Development Analyst.

June means new artwork for the Art Gallery at City Hall, courtesy of the Fishers Arts Council.  Romeo (Rome) Zivoin is the featured artist this month, with an exhibit named “Stepping Back.”

The exhibit will be from June 1st through June 28th with a free public reception from 6pm-8pm, Friday, June 11 at the gallery. The reception will feature music by Crossing Bridges.

Art and creative expression have always been an essential part of Rome’s life. His early childhood interest in comics and painting led him to study Fine Art in college. While Rome expresses himself through traditional art and digital art, he also creates web designs through his company Cogwurx. The Fishers Arts Council describes Zivoin as an intuitive painter whose abstract compositions explore movement and texture to express emotion, sensations and impressions.

His artwork will be on sale at the gallery and on the Fishers Arts Council Web site at this link.  Besides introducing Rome’s exhibit in June, the Arts Council’s featured Alcove exhibit with Brinton Farrand, “Embrace the Chaos; Out of Chaos Comes Order,” will be in its last month.

The cloudy skies and cool temperatures marked the beginning of the Fishers Memorial Day event, but the day began to warm and the sun started peaking from the sky as the ceremony continued.  This was a stark contrast to 2020, when the pandemic prevented any in-person Memorial Day event.

I have attended every Memorial Day ceremony in Fishers since we became a city in 2015 and this was the largest crowd yet assembled.  There was a good reason – the new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument was unveiled at Monday’s event.

Gold Star Families lost a family member in military service.

The White River Brass Troupe handled the music.  Colonel Doug Hendrick, a U.S. Army reserve Chaplain, provided emotional stories of heroism on the battlefield and the military hospitals.  Indiana National Guard Brigadier General Timothy Winslow was overcome with grief as he spoke of families losing loved ones in war.  Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness spoke of his own young sons in understanding the sacrifices military families endure.

But the most important people at this event were the Gold Star families themselves, invited by the city to attend this ceremony and lay a flower at the memorial being dedicated on this Memorial Day.

Pictures can explain this event better then any words I can write.  So, here are photos from the 2021 Fishers Memorial Day ceremony and unveiling of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument.

Continue reading Gold Star Family Memorial Monument unveiled at Fishers Memorial Day commemoration →

The Indy 500 was a big part of my life growing up.  My family loved the race and followed closely all the month of May activities.  It was traditional to listen on our family radio as the IMS Radio Network described the race.

I never understood the world-wide impact of the race until I was on a tour bus during my first visit to New York City.  The year was 1981 or 1983, I am not certain about the year.  However, I do remember this story.

The guide asked all passengers where they were from.  We had people on the bus from Soviet Russia, London, Paris…well you get the idea.  It was a very international crowd.  We were last to be asked and I told the guide we were from Indianapolis.  I expected a shoulder shrug from this worldly crowd, but no, everyone asked me about the Indianapolis 500.  They were all familiar with the race and wanted to know more about it.

I had covered many qualification weekends during my radio broadcasting career in the 1970s.  I took a working vacation after switching careers and covered practice and qualifying for many years in the 1980s.  I have always loved the race and its iconic history.

The race lost some luster when there was a split in the open-wheel racing family and it took about 10 years to get everything back and many said it had lost some glory.  The 100th running brought a lot of the excitement back and the race has been gaining steam once again the past few years.

It didn’t hurt that during the 2021 race, history was made.  For the first time in 30 years, a driver won a fourth Indy 500 title.  Helio Castroneves joins AJ Foyt, Al Unser (Sr) and Rick Mears as a 4-time winner.

Castroneves is a favorite with the fans and the media.  It is better that this year’s race had fans in the stands, even if limited.

Congratulations to Helio Castroneves.  You earned the win and earned the right to enter into Indy 500 history.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Commissioners and representatives of the county council will meet June 14 to discuss methods of distribution for federal COVID relief funds.

The county has been granted $65.5 million which must be distributed in the next two years. But, there are only certain areas where the money can be spent, including to county agencies with pandemic-related losses, certain infrastructure needs, non-profit community groups, and assistance to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

The county thus far has only expended the relief funds for its employees who were paid bonus amounts up to $3,000 for the hazardous duty they experienced.

The 9 a.m. June 14 meeting is largely to get an explanation of the methods and guidelines for distribution of funds, and not for establishing amounts to be granted to specific agencies, organizations or firms.

The funds cannot be used for capital building projects.

Cities and towns within the county also receive relief funds designed to compensate for lost revenue during the past year. None has yet revealed their plans for distribution.

As we have reported here before, this is the week 116th Street in the heart of downtown Fishers will close for an estimated 60 days, at the Nickel Plate Trail.  Also, be aware of upcoming lane restrictions to the east on 116th Street and on parts of Allisonville Road in the coming week.  On top of that, lots of other projects are underway around the city, including the ongoing State Road 37 construction.

For more details on that and more, check out the latest listing as provided by the City of Fishers May 28th:

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Fishers believes the 85% COVID vaccination goal can be achieved in July, based on the numbers crunched so far.  The Fishers Health Department says 59 percent of eligible city residents are fully vaccinated, with residents 60 and older reaching a 91.2 percent vaccination rate. Over 67 percent of the eligible population has received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Fishers Health Department says the city is outpacing all other county jurisdictions in Indiana for first dose administration by greater than five percent and just second behind Ohio County in full vaccination coverage, according to the May 28 state data.

“We are thrilled to see our community continue to take COVID-19 seriously and realize the importance of vaccinations in getting life back to normal,” said FHD director Monica Heltz in a health department news release. “Underscoring this effort is the impact the vaccinations are having on positive COVID-19 cases in which we’re seeing no new cases since March for residents 80 and older. Our hope is that residents in that 12-29 age category prioritize their vaccination so we can start to see a true drop in new cases in our community.”

The FHD tracks the vaccination rates by age group, gender, and ethnicity on their dashboard accessible here.

The City Council approved $2 million in April 2020 to fund the newly formed Fishers Health Department’s COVID-19 efforts. Since that time, more than 45,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered for free to residents. $1.8 million of the appropriated money has been reimbursed from the Federal government’s CARES Act.

The FHD vaccination site now takes walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations from all three approved manufacturers and hosts pop-up events around the city. To learn more, use this link.