It was a cool August Thursday morning for the Mayor’s Breakfast, held on the grounds of the historic Ambassador House, benefiting the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI), an organization matching local volunteers with HSE School District students in need of mentors.

The crowd was large and enthusiasm for YMI was at a high level for the annual fundraising effort.  Everyone persevered through a coffee shortage, even though twice as much coffee was ordered this year compared to the 2018 event.

Indiana State Health Commissioner Kristina Box was on hand, speaking of the challenges many young people face throughout our state.  She also presented Fishers Mayor Scott Fadnesss with a certificate from a national organization, recognizing his work promoting mentoring programs.

Mayor Fadness told the breakfast crowd about the YMI graduation ceremony he recently attended.

“It was extraordinary to see how proud the mentors were of these kids,” said the mayor.  “It was a nice, quaint celebration.  But for some of those kids, and I’m reading between the lines here, it was probably the most anyone’s ever celebrated in their lives about a particular accomplishment.  It wasn’t necessarily coming form their mom or dad, it was coming from someone in their community that just invested in them.”

Fadness praised the work of the local schools in the mental health area, and how that has been a part of the city’s efforts to improve mental health, using programs aimed at preventing problems.  He described YMI as a key preventative program.

YMI Board President (and Fishers Fire Chief) Steve Orusa made the pitch for donations to YMI.  You can donate now using this link.

YMI is always in need of adult mentors.  Executive Director Alison Gatz says there is a particular need for men mentors, with several male students waiting in line for a mentor.  If you would like to volunteer as a mentor, use this link.

Here are more photos from the Mayor’s Breakfast:

Continue reading YMI Breakfast draws a large crowd, national honor for Mayor Fadness →

There is a great deal of research available that shows secondary school students greatly benefit with later school day starting times, allowing for more sleep before the beginning of the school day.  As a result, the HSE School District is in the early stages of exploring what is described as “flipping” school day start times, with younger students starting the day earlier and secondary students starting school later in the morning.

Administrators are also looking into shortening the student day in HSE Schools.  Assistant Superintendent Jan Combs says HSE District students have the longest student day in Hamilton County and one of the longest in the entire state.

“At the elementary, we are currently 75 minutes over what the state requires,” Combs told the school board Wednesday night.  “We are looking at maybe a model that would cut 15 minutes.  At the secondary, we are 50 minutes over what the state requires.  We’re looking at a model that might cut 20 minutes.”

No school officials were able to clearly explain how HSE Schools ended-up with so many class minutes over state requirements.

Superintendent Allen Bourff intends to conduct community meetings to gather public input on the “flipping” of school day start times and reducing the number of minutes in class each day.  Dr. Combs said the goal is to have a decision by early in the second semester of the current school year, with implementation of any changes to begin in the fall of 2020.

“We’re in the very, very early stages of these conversations,” said Combs.

It appears Durbin Elementary School will not remain at its current location, but will be constructed at another site yet to be determined.  However, Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school officials say that there is a possibility that the current Durbin building could be used for other school district programs.

The HSE School Board heard from Chief Financial Officer Mike Reuter Wednesday night on the Durbin situation, and he said there are talks going on to either purchase a 20-acre site for the new Durbin Elementary, or find a location already in place near a new or current development in the area.  No specific new locations were mentioned.

The goal is to break ground on a new and larger Durbin during the fall of 2020 and have the elementary school open for students in 2022.

In response to a question from School Board Member Sylvia Shepler, Reuter said maintenance will continue at the current Durbin building, but no improvements will be made, since a new building is now in the works.

Any new site will be evaluated for the availability of sewer hookups.  One reason Durbin will not likely be expanded at the current location relates to the cost of running water and sewer utilities to that site, which Reuter said would cost at least $5 million.

Board member Brad Boyer asked Reuter what would happen to the current Durbin building once the new elementary school opens.  Reuter responded that is yet to be determined.

“There has been some conversation of moving some of our other programs within the district to that (current Durbin) site, but it’s yet to be determined what we do with the existing (Durbin) site,” Reuter said.

Reuter reiterated that expanding the Durbin building is not possible with the lack of utilities available and the high cost of extending utility lines, but the building could be used for other programs without expanding the structure.

In a unanimous vote, members of the Hamilton Southeastern School Board gave the go-ahead on two upcoming school year calendars, as proposed by administrators.

The 2020-2021 & 2021-2022 school calendars proposed by administrators were released to the public early Wednesday morning, the same day of the vote.  Board members held a brief discussion Wednesday evening and voted to approve the calendars released earlier in the day.

Draft calendars were submitted for board consideration at the previous regular board meeting.  There were some tweaks made to the drafts from two weeks ago, including flex days and Monday early student release days.

Prior to the vote, Hamilton Southeastern Education Association President Janet Chandler told the board that the school calendar issue is one of the most controversial the board faces, and all will not be happy, no matter how the calendar is done.

In earlier comments, board members expressed concern that in the two school years under consideration, the school start dates are early – August 5, 2020 and August 4, 2021.  This is largely due to where Christmas Day falls on the calendar.  Using the same basic system of finishing the first semester before Christmas break, Board President Michelle Fullhart said that the start date would fall to August 9th in the 2022–2023 school year.

You can access the 2020-2021 school calendar at this link.  The 2021-2022 school year calendar can be found at this link.

Thompson-Thrift announced Wednesday the addition of PetPeople to the tenant lineup of the new Fishers District development.  Fishers District is to be located near The Yard, just east of IKEA, near I-69 & 116th Street.

“PetPeople will make an excellent addition to the line-up at Fishers District,” said Brandon Borah, Sr. Leasing Representative for Thompson-Thrift. “We’re very excited to add this type of specialty store to the Fishers District mix.”

PetPeople will occupy approximately 3,700 square feet of space in Fishers District and will feature pet focused products and services such as food, supplies, washing stations and other services that cater to pets.

PetPeople is scheduled to open first quarter, 2020.

“We are eager to open our Fourth PetPeople location in the Indianapolis metro area and are very excited about this new location at Fishers District, “ says Carrie McDermott, CEO of PetPeople. “We feel we will be a great fit to the area and neighborhood.”

Scammers calling you on the phone is sadly a regular thing in this day and age, but Fishers Police want to warn local residents of a new scam where the caller impersonates a DEA agent.

The fake agent begins by accusing the person of being involved in an illegal drug investigation and demanding they send gift cards in order to clear their name.

Many of these telephone scammers instruct the victim to stay on the phone, not tell anyone of the conversation, and travel to a store and purchase gift cards or green dot cards for a certain amount.

Unfortunately, there have been a few Fishers residents that have been taken advantage of and have lost thousands of dollars.

Here are a few safety tips you should follow if you are contacted by a possible telephone scammer:

· Immediately hang up the phone if you do not recognize or know the caller

· Never give out personal information. If you feel the call might be legitimate, you can ask the person to mail you information

· No legitimate company or organization requires payment via gift cards or green dot cards

· No law enforcement agency threatens to arrest people over the phone.

· If something does not sound or feel right, hang up the phone.

· You are welcome to contact your local law enforcement agency, however most of these telephone scams originate from overseas and are very difficult if not impossible to trace. For more information regarding the DEA telephone scam please use this link.

School calendars are always important to parents and families, as planning for trips and vacations are often done far in advance.  Tonight (Wednesday) the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board is scheduled to vote on the school calendars for the coming two school years.

Early Wednesday morning, administrators publicly released the proposed calendars in advance of the expected board action.  Board members held a discussion of the calendar issue at the last regular board session but reached no consensus.

There was concern voiced by several board members about the early start of school in both calendars, but also wanted to finish the first semester before Christmas break

The 2020-2021 proposed calendar has students reporting for the first day of school on Wednesday, August 5th.  Fall break would be October 19-23.  The first day of Christmas break would be December 21, with classes resuming January 6.  Spring break would be April 2-9.  The last day of classes before summer break would be May 26.  You can view the proposed 2020-2021 calendar at this link.

The administration proposal for school year 2021-2022 would call for the first day of classes on Wednesday, August 4.  Fall break would be held October 18-22.  Christmas break would start Monday, December 20, with students returning on Wednesday, January 5.  Spring break would be scheduled for April 1-8.  The final day of classes for students would be Wednesday, May 25.  You can review the proposal for the 2021-2022 school calendar at this link.

These calendars are the proposals from school administrators.  Calendars are not official until approved by a majority vote among the 7 members of the HSE School Board.

(Left) Firefighters decontaminate an emergency worker during Sunday’s mock disaster training. (Right) Hamilton County Emergency Management Director Shane Booker (right) directs emergency personnel from a mobile command center. (Photos provided)

Hamilton County Reporter

Emergency personnel and first responders conducted a mock disaster training exercise at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center on Sunday. The event was designed to test the resources of local police, fire and emergency services in the event of a local emergency involving hazardous materials.

Labor Day weekend is always fun for my wife Jane and myself, for two reasons.  First, my birthday is close to Labor Day.  Second, it is time for the Fishers Blues Fest.

The Blues Fest is something Jane & I look forward to attending every year a this time.  There are plenty of outstanding blues acts on this year’s festival slate.  The highlight features The BB King Blues Band with Michael Lee.  The King of the Blues, BB King, may no longer be with us, but his band and his music live on.

Here is the lineup for the 2019 Fishers Blues Fest, at the downtown Fishers Nickel Plate Amphitheater:

Friday, August 30

• John Ford 7 – 7:20 p.m.
• Paul Linden & His Agents of Redemption: 7:30 – 8:05 p.m.
• Queen Delphine and The Crown Jewels: 8:15 – 8:50 p.m.
• Governor Davis: 9 – 9:40 p.m.
• John Primer: 9:50 – 11 p.m.

Saturday, August 31

• The Blues Ambassadors: 7 – 7:40 p.m.
• Jay Jesse Johnson: 7:50 – 8:30 p.m.
• 2019 Honoree Tad Robinson: 8:40 p.m. – 9:20 p.m.
• B.B. King Blues Band featuring Michael Lee: 9:45 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Please note that outside food and drinks are not allowed at the event.

As we near the annual local gridiron classic – the Mudsock Game pitting rivals Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern in the big football game – another event tied to the September 13th contest is reaching for a new record.  The Pasta Bowl has been collecting boxes of pasta for local organizations, such as the township trustees and Second Helpings, as part of the Mudsock Game, for several years now.

In 2019, the Pasta Bowl organizers are setting an ambitious goal – 25,000 pounds of Pasta donations.  Last year, the 21 schools in the Hamilton Southeastern School District collected a total of 20,152 pounds of pasta donations.

There are now 22 HSE District schools with the addition of Southeastern Elementary.  The Pasta Bowl volunteers will soon have collection boxes available throughout the school district, and, of course, there will be plenty of collection boxes at the Mudsock Game itself.

School buildings engage in a friendly competition to collect the most pasta.  Here are the building results from 2018, with winners listed by category:

Riverside Intermediate – intermediate/junior high and overall district winner (2,789 lbs. of pasta)

Fishers High School – high school winner (2,096 lbs. of pasta)

Hoosier Road Elementary – elementary winner (2,369 lbs. of pasta)

Cumberland Road Elementary – most improved (2,166; 1,891 more lbs. vs. 2017)