The construction at State Road 37 and 126th Street has not changed, with the area west of SR 37 on 126th closed to traffic and the east end open for right-in-right-out travel.  That is set to switch sometime this month, but we do not know when.

Also, be aware of continuing construction on 96th Street, 116th Street, as well as 106th and Mollenkopf Road.

The full road construction listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, is listed below.

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The novel coronavirus was the reason for the initial cancellation of the Nickel Plate Amphitheater concerts this season, but the city has now announced that there will be musical events on the Amp stage, including the Blues Fest.

Here are the concerts announced by the Fishers Parks and Recreation Department Thursday:

• Friday, July 24: Toy Factory
• Friday, August 21: Huckleberry Funk
• Friday, September 4 and Saturday, September 5: Fishers Blues Fest

As you would expect, there will be rules in place:

COVID-19 Safety Precautions:
In accordance with Governor Holcomb’s executive order, the NPD AMP is working alongside the Fishers Health Department to complete a COVID-19 Event Plan to ensure patron and event organizer safety. Currently, the NPD AMP will require the following safety guidelines:

• Capacity will be limited
• Face masks strongly recommended
• Patrons will be required to sit within the pre-determined socially distant seating arrangements
• Hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations will be available throughout the venue
• Vendor lines will require 6-foot spacing between each guest

Guests are strongly encouraged to follow the NPD AMP social media channels for the latest information and requirements for entry to these events. All details and schedules are subject to change without notice.

For more information, use this link.  Look for more on the Blues Fest as the date draws closer.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Commissioners officially appointed Lisa Charles as County Veteran Service officer at their Monday meeting. Ms. Charles was originally appointed in January, but her appointment was temporarily rescinded a few weeks later when it was learned that state law required a service officer to have lived in the county for five years.

The state legislature changed the law earlier this year to allow appointments after one year of residency. The statutory change became effective July 1.

Ms. Charles, a Carmel resident and military veteran, has been serving as interim service officer since the January rescinding decision and departure of the previous officer.

Following their Monday meeting, Commissioners met with representatives of Aspire, the mental health agency for the county.

Barbara Scott, director, told commissioners that Aspire is continuing to maintain services through the current pandemic crisis.

Outpatient clinics are located at 17840 Cumberland Road in Noblesville, and at 697 Pro-Med Lane in Carmel. They offer primary care and a variety of services.

Aspire serves about 5,000 clients annually in Hamilton County. Patients pay for service, but the county funds a significant portion of the agency’s budget.

When COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of many big film festivals throughout America, the local Indianapolis-base Heartland Film Festival decided to keep going in a very creative way.  The Shorts Film Festival will go on for the third consecutive year as a separate event, with the festival going July 21-26 with virtual viewings and screenings at the Tibbs Drive-In.  Julia Ricci joined Adam Aasen and Alec Toombs and we all talked about short films.  Here is the podcast.

I will tell it to you straight….I love high school football.  I spent most years of my radio broadcasting career doing play-by-play and commentary on football and basketball at the high school level, and some small college games.

When you are so close to sports, you either stop doing it or you love it even more.  My love for sports only grew through my younger years.  I got to know many players, their families, coaches and athletic directors.

I found most people drawn to sports as a profession are good people.  There are always exceptions, but if you don’t learn to love coaching kids and getting to know their families, you don’t stay in coaching for long.

When I first received a tip last Wednesday evening that a Fishers High School football player had tested positive for COVID-19 after only a few days of practice, my heart sank.  For this to happen so soon was a big setback to the upcoming high school football season.

But, it should be noted, based on what I gleaned from a podcast conversation Friday morning with local Superintendent Allen Bourff, the young man testing positive was doing well with few, if any, symptoms.

The Fishers High School athletic staff should be credited with following all the protocols from the IHSAA and Fishers Health Department.  Practice is set to begin again Monday for the Tigers, but the local health department will be providing advice on players working in the same group as the player testing positive.

Even though I no longer sit in the press box or watch the game from the sidelines as I once did, I still enjoy watching high school football from the stands.  I don’t care if I need to arrive early to social distance and I certainly do not object to wearing a mask to keep people around me safe.  I just want to be there and enjoy the game.

Classes begin for students at the local Hamilton Southeastern School District, the 4th largest in the state, August 5th.  Local school officials are doing everything possible to provide the safest place for students to learn in their respective school buildings.  The football player’s positive test is only the first challenge for local educators.  There will be more and officials know that.

I look forward to classes beginning and sports being played in August.  There are risks, to be sure, but let’s give our local leaders in education the chance to show what they can do.

Let’s just say I’m planning to see as much Royals and Tigers football as possible this year.

Two local people, Katy Rogers and Chris Hutchinson, started their podcasting venture in November of 2019 and have posted new podcasts each month.  Chris talks about entrepreneurship, writing a resume and just business issues in general.  Katy talks about her produce farm, her family and her background in strategic messaging, on their Katy & Me podcasts (you can find the Katy & Me podcasts at this link.)   Katy and Chris took time out of their busy schedules to join me in one of my LarryInFishers.com podcasts.

The Fishers High School football player testing COVID-19 positive is “doing fine with few, if any, symptoms.”  That is according to HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff, during a podcast interview with me Friday Morning.  The Fishers High School Athletic Department acted quickly and “by the book,” per Dr. Bourff.

The student testing positive was isolated immediately and the other players practicing and meeting with that student have been given instructions by the Fishers Health Department on their need for isolation and/or testing.  Some individuals on the football coaching staff are also receiving guidance from the Fishers Health Department.

“This was a trial run for us,” Dr. Bourff said.  He expects positive cases will crop up as school gets underway in August.  The school corporation is planning a table-top exercise soon with Fishers city officials on handling positive tests.

Fishers football practice is expected to start again next week, without the players told to isolate.

Dr. Bourff talked about a number of subjects in this podcast, including graduation, plans for reopening school buildings next month and plans for handling inclusion and race relations in the individual school buildings.

Listen to the podcast below.

Kurt Christian has spent about 8 months covering the “North of 96th” beat for the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ).  He admits it is a big area to cover, with all the activity in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis.

In the most recent print edition of the IBJ, Kurt takes a long, hard look at the cost of the State Road 37 reconstruction in Fishers.  He digs out numbers, talks to county and city officials and tries to understand why the cost of the project is rising.

Kurt Christian was kind enough to join me on a podcast.  You can listen here.

The Fishers High School football team has ended practice for this week after a report Wednesday that a member of the team tested positive for COVID-19.  “To further protect everyone, summer practices have been cancelled for the remainder of the week,” said HSE Spokesperson Emily Abbotts, in an e-mail response to LarryInFishers when asked about reports of a player testing positive.

The Tigers had been following IHSAA guidelines, practicing in small groups.  The players who worked out in a shared training group with the infected individual will be receiving more guidance from the athletic department in conjunction with the Fishers Health Department on next steps.

“Again, more steps may be taken to further protect/test the rest of the team members,” Abbotts said. “The Fishers Health Department will be advising us and our coaches.”

The Tigers are scheduled to open the regular season with a home game August 23rd against North Central.

As the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board began its July 8th session, Board President Michelle Fullhart read a statement on behalf of the entire board about racism.  She cited an Instragram account, Black at HSE, which features a series of anonymous posts about what the writers describe as racist incidents during their experience as a student at HSE Schools.

“Student voice is a powerful thing,” the statement says. “We applaud our students who will not tolerate discrimination of any sort in our schools and are using the platform to advocate for change.”

The statement also refers to a petition submitted and signed by over 1,000 local residents asking that school officials “openly address the issue” of racism and “implement real change.”

The entire statement read at the school board meeting is below:

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On behalf of the board, I would like to address recent discussions that have taken place nationwide, as well as in our community and on social media concerning racism.  An Instagram account was created recently called Black at HSE where current students and alumni are anonymously sharing their experiences of racism they’ve felt while being in our schools.  Student voice is a powerful thing, and we applaud our students who will not tolerate discrimination of any sort in our schools and are using the platform to advocate for change.

We had students speak to the board about racism during the non-discrimination policy discussion last year and have had quite a bit of feedback  on the topic, as well.  A petition signed by over 1,000 people in our community was sent to us last week, advocating to more openly address this issue and take a stance to implement real change.  A few weeks ago our principals sent out heartfelt messages to their communities in support of an anti-racism agenda.  

We, as a district have been working on making this a priority over the past few years, beginning with the hiring of a Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera, who has been elevating this discussion and working with staff and students to bring about positive changes.  However, as board members, we must also do our part.

Next week the board will meet to discuss district goals for the coming school year, and this will be a topic.  We, as board members, must do everything we can to ensure that our schools have systems in place that promote anti-racism, equity and inclusion, and are welcome and safe places for our students and staff, and to hold those accountable who don’t live up to these ideals. It is our hope that we will have measurable goals for our schools on these topics and that they will bring about positive change for the coming school year and beyond.