Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers easily kept its undefeated record intact on Friday, with a 63-36 victory at Columbus East.

The Class 4A No. 4 Tigers outscored the Olympians in each quarter. Fishers led 8-6 after the first period, then went ahead 18-10 by halftime, with seven different Tigers players scoring.

Fishers then took control in the third period, outscoring Columbus East 23-9. Once again, seven different players scored for the Tigers, including Bryce Williams (six points on a pair of 3-pointers), Isaac Farah (five points) and Dominic Castellani (four points).

In the fourth quarter, Fishers poured in another 22 points. Jeffrey Simmons took over the game, scoring 12; he finished with 16 points. Farah also reached double figures with 10 points, including two 3s.

The Tigers are 12-0 and begin a four-game homestand on Tuesday by hosting Lafayette Jefferson.

Hamilton County Reporter 

Hamilton Southeastern traveled to New Castle on Friday afternoon for a make-up game, and came home with a 69-43 victory.

The Class 4A No. 6 Royals outscored the Trojans in each quarter, leading 19-13 after the first period and 38-20 at halftime. Three players reached double figures for Southeastern:

Sydney Parrish scored 23 points, Lauren Morris drained four 3-pointers on her way to 16 points and Jackie Maulucci contributed 11 points.

The Royals outrebounded New Castle 26-19. Parrish collected seven rebounds, while Bailee Poore pulled five. Southeastern had 20 total assists; Maulucci dished out seven and Poore handed out five. Parrish made four steals.

The Royals are 13-2 and play at Northridge this afternoon.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton county Reporter

A new year and a new decade are upon us in Hamilton County – one of the best places to live in America, according to the experts. And, local leaders are planning to keep it this way and expand upon that image.

During the new year, major additions to infrastructure and amenities are planned while private sector development, especially new housing, will continue its explosive growth in central and southern portions of the county.

The biggest public project, converting State Road 37 to a freeway without signals from Noblesville to Interstate 69, will get underway in earnest this spring with the first of new interchanges with intersecting roads.

Other highway projects involve completion of the 276th Street upgrade linking State Road 19 and U.S. 31, the next phase of dual-lane 146th Street west to Boone County, and the construction of several more roundabouts in areas of increasingly heavy traffic.

Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel Clay Schools will begin construction on new elementary buildings to replace Durbin, Orchard Park and Carmel elementary schools.

Downtown redevelopment is a term heard in recent years usually involving the encouraging of developers to take advantage of tax abatement or other inducements to build new commercial and residential structures.

Noblesville’s first such project, known as The Levinson, will be completed this year, and another complex is planned at Conner Street and White River. These, along with the city’s first parking garage spanning Clinton Street east of 8th Street, will begin markedly changing the downtown landscape.

Meanwhile, Westfield’s new Grand Junction is expected to revitalize the center of town. Fishers has announced plans for new condominium projects near the center of town, and Carmel will open a new luxury hotel, the Carmichael, near the Monon trail.

Other development will continue along the Monon while Clay Township gets started on a $60 million package of park and fire department upgrades, including a fieldhouse and fire administration and museum building.

Walking trails throughout the county will not be overlooked. Major work is expected on the Nickel Plate trail from Noblesville to the Marion County line, and another phase is set for the Midland Trace, which is planned to connect Noblesville with Westfield.

Planning and zoning departments are expecting hundreds of permit requests for new homes throughout southern and central Hamilton County.

All in all, it will be another truly big year for the ever-changing face of our county.

Allison Lewis was an American exchange student in the United Kingdom when she met a Brit named Imran Lohdi.  A romance blossomed from that relationship, leading to a wedding and Imran coming to the United States.

Imran, a native of London, was accustomed to living in a large city.  The couple traveled the nation looking for another large city like London.  In the end, after a lengthy search, Imran and Allison decided Fishers was the best place to settle down.

Both pursued corporate careers.  After helping a number of companies get off the ground, the couple decided to do their own startup business.

That enterprise is the Lash Lounge, which opened its doors to customers in October.  The opening was an interesting experience for all involved.

Allison Lohdi was in the hospital giving birth to the couple’s third child as she was online changing the Web site to show the lounge was open for business.

Both Allison & Imran have full-time jobs, his in finance, hers in what she describes as “customer experience.”  So, they hired a full-time manager to run the lounge, but she is now on maternity leave.

Nonetheless, Ms. Lohdi says the business is off to a good start and the clientele list is growing.

One reason the Lohdis selected the eyelash and eyebrow business is the certification needed for their employees doing this work, requiring 6-8 weeks of intense training.

“We wanted to make sure that these were not just jobs for people, we wanted them to be true careers,” said Ms. Lhodi.  “Lashing is a career path, a little like being a hair stylist.  It’s a profession.”

Allison says her business is aimed at professional women “that don’t have time for beauty but want something that’s easy, but also want to feel good about how they look and the confidence it brings them.”

The Lash Lounge is located at 8395 East 116th Street, a few doors down from Taylor’s Bakery.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball used three big runs to cruise past Pendleton Heights 72-45 in a Monday evening game.

The first quarter finished in a 15-15 tie, but the Royals went on a 17-2 run in the second quarter to open up a lead.

Southeastern was ahead 35-20 at halftime.

The Royals made their second run early in the third period, scoring 10 straight points to jump ahead by 23 points, but the Arabians got hot from 3-point range at the end of the period. Southeastern led 53-40 after three quarters, and Pendleton got within 10, but the Royals finished the game with another 17-2 run, securing the victory.

Mabor Majak led HSE with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, and also blocked four shots. Kole Hornbuckle added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Alex Totton had 11 points and collected five rebounds. Vinny Buccilla handed out five assists.

The Royals are 4-4 and will be off until Friday, Jan. 10 when they play at Lawrence Central.

Here we are, on January 2nd, the first business day of 2020.  As we enter this new year, what can we expect in terms of news in and around Fishers?

The most honest answer is, we don’t know.  Some of the biggest news stories come up unexpectedly.  My number one story for 2019 was the city election, largely because two Democrats won city council seats, which is something I never would have predicted at the start of 2019..

The number 2 story on my 2019 list was the nondiscrimination policy debate and decision by the Hamilton Southeastern School Board.  Again, I would not have foreseen that as a major story of the year at the beginning of the year.

So, is there anything we know for sure about 2020?  Yes, a few items.

First, we will have elections. The primary is set for May 5th.  Several offices in Hamilton County will be up for election, including two seats on the three-member board of County Commissioners.  Seats currently held by Steve Dillinger and Mark Heirbrandt will be up for election this year.  There will also be Hamilton County Council seats on the ballot.

County Government impacts us in cities as well, so this is worth watching.

Indiana State Representative Todd Huston’s seat will be up for re-election.  Several state senate districts will be on the ballot, with many senate districts touching the City of Fishers.

Another wild card will be the presidential primary.  Incumbent Republican President Donald Trump is not expected to see a serious challenge when the Indiana primary comes around.  But with the large number of candidates at this stage, one wonders whether the Democrats will have a contested presidential primary May 5th.

Those winning nomination in the primary will be listed on the general election ballot with voting set for November 5th, but early voting and absentee ballot opportunities will be available prior to election day.  Since this is a presidential election year, look for the vote turnout to be higher than other elections.

The biggest election impacting Fishers will be the at-large Hamilton Southeastern School Board.  This will be part of the November 5th general election  There will be three seats up for grabs.  Those three seats are currently held by Amanda Shera (Delaware Township), Sylvia Shepler (Wayne Township) and Clint Wilson (Fall Creek Township). No official announcements have been made, but early indications point to all three incumbents seeking re-election.

The at-large school board election works like this….candidates must reside within their township, but the entire school district votes in all three elections.

I would expect the biggest Fishers news story of 2020 will be the one we don’t know yet.  But the school board election is very likely to be at or near the top of 2020 Fishers news stories.

Allow me to wish each and every reader of LarryInFishers.com a happy and healthy 2020.  I will be entering my 10th year of writing this blog.  Thanks for reading.

I know many Fishers residents have been away for the holiday break and are filtering back home.  This is just a reminder that I have several podcasts posted near the end of the year that may interest you.  Here is a listing:

Mayor Scott Fadness recorded a podcast discussion with me on December 23rd.  We talked about a few items from 2019, but concentrated on what to expect in 2020.  Listen to that podcast at this link.

State Representative Todd Huston recorded an interview with me on the same day I talked with Mayor Fadness.  Huston is now Speaker-Elect after a recent vote by the Republican caucus in the House.  We talked about a number of subjects, including teacher pay and the allocation of Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) funds between Fishers and Carmel.  You can listen to that podcast using this link.

High School Principals Jason Urban and Chad Cripe With Winter Break, things are quiet at most schools in the Hamilton Southeastern District.  I used that quiet time to arrange a podcast interview with Chad Cripe, in his first year as HSE High School Principal, and long-time Fishers HIgh School Principal Jason Urban.  They had a lot to say about the issues facing suburban high school principals in this day and age.  You can listen to that discussion utilizing this link.

If you are a film fan, I have two recent podcasts to recommend.

Christopher Lloyd is a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association, and joined Adam Aasen and myself for an episode of Hamilton County Goes To The Movies.  We talked about the Association’s choices for best film of the 2019 and other items.  That podcast is available at this link.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had its long-awaited release during December, and I posted a podcast review.  Listen to that review at this link.

On October 29th, HSE S.P.O.R.T.S. Executive Director Scott Spillman told members of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board his organization’s name would be changing on January 1, 2020.  In checking the organization’s Web site on January 1, 2020, it appears the local youth sports group is on schedule with that name change.

The new name is “Mudsock Youth Athletics.”  The new Web address is myathletics.com

The e-mail address for the organization has also changed to info@myathletics.com

In reviewing the Web site, it appears all the programs and staff at the non-profit organization are the same, only the name has changed.

At the October 29th meeting, HSE School Superintendent Allen Bourff said the name change would lessen confusion centered on the two organizations.  HSE Schools is a public school district, and HSE S.P.O.R.T.S. is an independent tax exempt organization.  The two entities often partner with each other but have both been separate entities.

There should be no confusion now, with the sports group now calling itself Mudsock Youth Athletics.

Being a high school principal has changed a lot through the years.  Factor-in having two large high schools in the Hamilton Southeastern School District and the complications multiply.  I invited Fishers High School Principal Jason Urban and HSE Principal Chad Cripe on this podcast to talk about a number of issues they face in running their respective high school buildings.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness sat down for a podcast interview with me on December 23rd.  We discussed a number of subjects. The mayor described expectations that 2020 will be “a year of building.”  The many building projects include State Road 37, the 116th Street development downtown where the new headquarters for First Internet Bank and a new hotel will begin construction – and a complete reconstruction of 96th Street will be underway.

Here are some of the items the mayor talked about as the city enters 2020.

New downtown development along 116th Street This massive undertaking will begin in earnest during 2020, but will take about 24 months to complete, so it will not be finished in 2020.  Fadness says this will change the landscape of downtown and the City of Fishers.  Once complete, all this will profoundly change the look and feel of downtown, including  the Nickel Plate Trail, a new high-end hotel and the six-story First Internet Bank Headquarters.

“It will feel like an urban center in the sense of – you will feel like you’re in a downtown area,” Fadness said.  “We’ll have world-class amenities that nobody else in Central Indiana really has.  I think it will be really a crown jewel for the city of Fishers and this area.  We’ll definitely demonstrate that we’re a dynamic and very vibrant city.”

Sense of community The mayor is planning to spend the first six months of the new year building a sense of community and culture among the population of Fishers.  He wants local residents to  feel connected to the overall community.  He looks at this as another critical piece of infrastructure, this one a human infrastructure.

As the mayor sees it, people seeking a suburban home look for housing, its affordability, as well as how close the home is to a job and good schools.  The precise geographic location is not the point for these people.  The mayor sees his job as, once here, how do you fall in love with the city where you happen to reside?  People tend to retreat back to their cul-de- sacs.  Fadness plans to explore ways to get people out of their neighborhoods and give them pride and ownership for the city they call home.

Geist – Waterfront Park and Conservancy District – The Geist Waterfront Park is still in the design stage.  A number of permits will be needed in order to move forward,  Do not look for construction to start in 2020, but Fadness wants to move forward as quickly as possible.

Legal moves have begun to establish a Geist Conservancy District, with the power to tax and be responsible for maintenance of the lake.  The mayor says the Indiana General Assembly must act to keep this moving forward.  Fadness says he supports “some sort of conservancy district.”

The mayor acknowledges the rub will be the issue of which homeowners must pay for the lake maintenance costs.

“This is an asset that so many different homes derive value from the fact that they’re in this area and that it is a wonderful natural amenity,” Fadness said. “I also recognize the fact that Citizens (water utility) doesn’t necessarily view their job as making sure you can water ski on the lake.”

Citizens owns the lake and is only focused on the water supply from the lake, according to the mayor.

“You have this scenario where you have this wonderful natural amenity that does require management, it does require maintenance,” the mayor told me during the podcast.  “It just depends on which stakeholder you are talking about…what kind of maintenance needs to be done.  There’s going to be a lot of conversations about this going forward.  I do believe this is an asset that needs to be managed and I do believe there are costs that come with it and I do believe the people that benefit directly and indirectly from the lake should pay that.”

116th Street & Allisonville Road When Kroger opted to remodel their current store in the area and not build a new grocery, that left a large commercial hole in the area.  Fadness says he is “cautiously optimistic” that progress will be made in 2020.

He recently spoke with the developer and says the property owner is actively searching for a tenant to fill that area.

The mayor also pointed to a major step taken in partnership with the Hageman
Company to buy the large old brown building on the southeast corner of 116th & Allisonville Road.  “Our plan is to tear that building down and look to redevelop it,” said Fadness.

“For the folks that live along 116th & Allisonville, we are definitely trying to be as aggressive as we can to redevelop that area,” added the mayor.

New Democrats taking office on the city council  Fadness has held meetings with Jocelyn Vare and Sam DeLong, the two new Democrats taking office on the city council in 2020.  “I hope everyone is well intentioned,” Fadness said.

“We’re going to openly communicate with all nine council members.  We’re going to treat everyone the same, unless, for some reason, we’re given a reason why we have to act otherwise,” the mayor said.

I reminded the mayor there are many cities throughout Indiana that do not operate that way.  “I think our residents would demand that we operate professionally and transparently with all nine (council members),” the mayor responded.

You can listen to my entire podcast interview with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness at this link.