When I saw the joint news release from Reynolds and Conner Prairie issued July 24th about the future of Christmas lights, I knew it would be a big topic of conversation around Fishers, and it has been just that.

Reynolds began the decorative Christmas light display the same year I moved to Fishers, 1991. It has been a joy for me to watch the many families taking-in the free display for the past 28 years.

However, things change, whether or not we like the change.  The intersection of 126th Street and State Road 37 will be under construction during Christmas, 2019.  The area that once housed the lights is beginning to develop commercially, meaning the display is more difficult to handle at that location.

In other words, there wasn’t much of a chance the light display would ever come back as it was in 1991 and the many years that followed.

In my view, the Fishers community owes a debt of gratitude to the Reynolds family.  Their business has thrived and expanded since the enterprise started in 1955.  Reynolds has been a strong supporter of this local community for a very long time.  The Christmas light display is just one example.

Reynolds has always supported Conner Prairie, so it is no surprise that when Reynolds needed to take the Christmas lights elsewhere, the local museum was contacted.

Allow me to also say a word about Conner Prairie.  I worked for the federal government over a 28 year career.  When people visited Indianapolis from out of town on government business, one of the first questions often asked was, how does one find Conner Prairie?  Our local museum has a national, and international, reputation.

So, yes, Conner Prairie will charge an admission fee so you can watch the Reynolds Christmas light display, but the lights are just a part of the overall celebration.  It is clear the Reynolds family knew that when donating the lights to Conner Prairie.

My view is that both Reynolds and Conner Prairie are valuable local assets.  Both entities worked together to keep the Reynolds Christmas light display a part of Fishers.  I think that’s a good thing.

The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority acted Monday night to accept a bid from A&K Railroad Materials that would remove a large portion of the Nickel Plate railroad tracks, roughly 22 miles, running along Fishers and Noblesville.  The bid would pay the Authority just over $289,000 to remove the railroad tracks and sell the material as scrap.

Authority President David George, who also serves on the Fishers City Council, said 5 bids were submitted and one was late.  The bid From A&K was judged the best bid and was passed by a vote of the Authority members.

The bid now goes for approval to the three owners of the Nickel Plate rail line – Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.  All three owners must approve for the bid to become official.   The Board of Public Works and Safety, consisting of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, will vote on the bid for Fishers.

George said once all the approvals are complete, A&K is ready to begin removing the rails in 30 days.

As of the Monday night meeting, the bids were not available online, but George said the bidding paperwork will be available Tuesday morning (7.30) at this link.

The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority is made up of appointees from the three governmental entities owning the Nickel Plate rail line – Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.

Quentin Tarantino goes back to the Hollywood of 1969 and tells a tale….maybe not a fairy tale, but a story nonetheless…..here is my review

I have been producing podcasts for about 3 1/2 years and am amazed at the number of times a person has listened to all or most of one of my podcasts.  Over the past 12 months, that has happened over 15,000 times.  Since I began podcasting in February of 2016, there have been more than 41,000 times someone has listened to one of my podcasts.

For a local podcast doing just a little promotion, those are amazing numbers.

Lately, I have posted a podcast conversation about the local library…talked with Fishers Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath…had a discussion with new school board member Clint Wilson and an posted an update about local road construction.

I have also continued my Arts&Fishers podcast series, with recent reviews of films “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and “The Farewell.”

You can find my podcasts on most places where podcasts can be found.  Below are links to a few of the places where my podcasts can be played.

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Listen Notes

TuneIn

Stitcher

Blubrry

Soundcloud

Upgrades to the audio, video and lighting systems in the auditoriums of Fishers and HSE High Schools have been in the works for some time.  The project has hit another snag, but school staff found ways to work around the issues.

Facilities Director Harry Delks described this project as “challenging.”  Only one bid was submitted for the two plans, totaling $2.7 million, significantly over the proposed budget.  Delks said many school districts around the state are seeing either one bid or no bids on proposals such as this one.

Once it became obvious the only bid was over the budget, staffs from both high schools started working on ideas to reduce the project’s budget by $409,000.

The school board voted Wednesday night to approve the only bid, then add a change order for just over $409,000 to bring the work within the budget.  High school officials told the board the items cut from this budget could be added back over time in the future without a  big budget hit in one year.  The plan, with reductions, will still bring needed upgrades to both auditoriums.

One example mentioned as an example of paring-down the budget was an intercom used within the staging system which will still be upgraded, but will be wired and not be wireless, saving $30,000.

With unanimous board approval Wednesday, Delks said this work will be completed in the fall.  Both schools will be working around this construction with various productions  until all is completed

Note that the street connecting Lantern Road and Municipal Drive downtown, behind the library, will be closed starting July 29th and is expected to reopen August 2nd.  That’s just one of many construction projects listed in the latest update.

Here is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week starting Monday, July 29th:

96TH STREET
Utility relocation is beginning on 96th Street as part of the road widening project, resulting in periodic lane restrictions over the coming months. For more information about the 96th Street road widening project, view the Fact Sheet.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority will meet Monday to consider the bid received for removing rails and ties on the Nickel Plate between Noblesville and downtown Indianapolis. The port authority is owner of the railroad between Indianapolis and Tipton.

The amount of the bid has not been revealed, but County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt did indicate that after paying for the removal, the amount of money received from the salvage of steel rails and wooden ties would exceed the removal cost leaving a net “surplus” for the port authority.

The city of Fishers is known to be anxious to get to work on building a hiking and bike trail on the Nickel Plate right-of-way between 146^th Street and 96th Street. Noblesville has not announced a date to begin work on the trail north of 146th. And, Indianapolis, while showing interest in the trail, has not announced a timetable for the work. Overall, the intent is to have a trail similar to the popular Monon Greenway for about 20 miles from Noblesville to Indy.

Meanwhile, the railroad from Noblesville north to Atlanta is being used for excursion trains with operators claiming success in promoting it as a tourist attraction.

The history of the Nickel Plate as well as the Monon is one of those almost unforgotten chapters in the development of the communities they served. In the 19th century before railroads, the towns of Noblesville, Cicero, Carmel and Westfield were tiny isolated farm communities.

With the building of the Nickel Plate, and later the Monon, came the ability to bring merchandise and supplies into the towns, and ship farm and factory products out to a wide market. Small industries developed along the railroad and the population grew.

Small towns such as Clarksville, Strawtown or Deming with no railroad did not grow and develop. Fishers was actually established in 1872 because of the railroad when an enterprising Salathiel Fisher provided land for a rail station and platted lots for a town around the intersection of the Nickel Plate and 116th Street.

So, despite the decline of the railroads, it would be fair to say Hamilton County would not look as it does today without the Nickel Plate and the Monon.

A young Chinese-American woman faces challenges with her family and a long-held Chinese tradition

HSE High School Principal Chad Cripe described the hiring process for a new assistant principal before the school board Wednesday night, and said “it became very obvious who my choice was.”

The board approved the hiring of Stacey Brown.  She comes to HSE from the Western School Corporation in Russiaville, Indiana, where she served as Curriculum Director.

“I couldn’t be more excited to accept this opportunity,” Brown told the board.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools are at a crossroads on the future of Durbin Elementary School in Wayne Township.  The school board was informed by Facilities Director Harry Delks that a decision needs to be made no later than January of 2020 in order to begin the process of either expanding the current school or replacing the building.  An early 2020 decision by the board would allow construction to begin in the fall of 2020, and the school could be ready for students in 2022.

The board has not acted on Durbin’s future because any expansion at the current site would cost the school corporation at least $5 million just to extend water and sewer lines to the current Durbin site.  Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff told the board Wednesday night that HSE  owns some land south of the current location but that site would also require the $5 million expense of extending utility lines.

The question facing school officials is whether to expand the current school building at the current site or replace the building entirely at the current location or another tract of land.  Schools officials say the construction expense of a new elementary school would cost nearly $28 million, and that does not include the $5 million for the utility extension.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Reuter told the board that some bond debt now in place will be paid-off soon, allowing the construction of a new or expanded Durbin Elementary to be financed with no tax rate increase.  Reuter told LarryInFishers after the meeting that the complex state statutes are written in such a way that no new voter referendum would be required for a Durbin construction project.

There has been discussion about constructing a replacement for Durbin further south, closer to Fishers, but no specific locations have been publicly named.

The fact that the new Southeastern Elementary is at full capacity due to a higher-than-expected kindergarten enrollment, is resulting in HSE School officials to look at all the options on how to handle the future of Durbin Elementary.