by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Two independent candidates for municipal council office have filed for this fall’s election. Kate Snedeker has filed in Westfield City Council District 5, and Brad Baker has filed for Cicero Town Council, District 1. The deadline for independents to submit petitions to enter the race was July 1.

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The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, former operators of the Nickel Plate Railroad, accepted bids on June 28 for removing the rails from Noblesville to downtown Indianapolis. The removal is in preparation for converting the rail line to a pedestrian and bicycle trail. Only one bid was received. It will be opened at the port authority July meeting.

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Hamilton County Commissioners, County Council members and Noblesville city representatives held a joint session last week to consider major projects concerning both units of government. High on the list was discussion of the long-discussed Pleasant Street bypass of the downtown area. The project is now slated to get underway in 2022. Studies have shown the bypass will take nearly 40 percent of vehicular traffic off Conner Street.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Melton was presented the Sheriff’s Office Life Saver award for actions taken in the line of duty.

During a recent call for a cardiac arrest at Bear Slide Golf Course, Deputy Melton and a Cicero police officer performed CPR and used an AED until paramedics arrived at the scene to take over. The person was transported to the hospital for treatment and is reportedly doing well.

According the Sheriff’s Department, all deputies are trained in CPR and their vehicles are equipped with AEDs.

When Mike Bottorff resigned from the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in late May, the remaining six board members had thirty days to find a replacement.  The board decided to accept applications, and 24 were submitted.

From that group, the board selected 4 finalists.  There was a public interview session, then the board voted to place local insurance agent Clint Wilson on the board, filling the remainder of Bottorff’s term, which ends on December 31, 2020.

We did get to know a little about Mr. Wilson during the interview process, but the public has not had a chance to get an extended conversation with the newest member of the school board.

Clint Wilson talks about how he would have voted on the school’s nondiscrimination policy and responded to my question about possibly running for this board seat in next year’s election.

Here is my talk with Clint Wilson.

When Gurinder Singh wanted to visit his ill mother, he faced a challenge at the TSA airport security facility.  The TSA guidelines required Mr. Singh to remove his turban, which is a religious symbol for men in the Sikh religion.

Singh, a Fishers resident and recent Republican candidate for City Council, challenged those rules and fought for changes in TSA regulations, which were, in the end, successful.

That battle with TSA has been dramatized in a short film starring Mr. Singh.  The production, directed by a young new filmmaker, Jenna Ruiz, has just won the “Short of the Year” award at the Covellite International Film Festival, held in Butte, Montana.

The film, simply titled “Singh,” will be shown locally at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film, July 25th-28th.  For more on this festival, use this link.

You can watch the trailer for “Singh” at this link.

The West Nile virus has been found just next door to Fishers, in Carmel’s Meadowlark Park.  According to my news-gathering partners at the Hamilton County Reporter, the Hamilton County Health Department discovered the virus in mosquitoes sampled from a trapping site.

The use of personal protection sprays that contain DEET is recommended by local health officials during any outdoor activities throughout the county.

The Health Department indicated the mosquito control website will be updated as new trap sites become positive.

Truck-mounted spraying areas

• All spraying activities are forecast-dependent related to precipitation and wind speed.
• All spraying has an approximate start time of 8:30 p.m. or local sunset.
• In the event of inclement weather (high winds or precipitation) individual routes will be rescheduled on the following business day.
• Please be aware that nuisance biting activity is increasing and that the Hamilton County Health Department uses only adulticide sprays for mosquitoes in known areas of positive West Nile Virus activity.

Here are some precautions individuals can take to prevent mosquito-borne disease transmission:

1. Use mosquito repellent. Use insect repellent on exposed skin when you go outdoors. Use an EPA-registered insect repellent such as those with DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Even a short time being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite.
2. Clothing can help reduce mosquito bites. When weather permits, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
3. Be aware of peak mosquito hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many species of mosquitoes. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing during evening and early morning – or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
4. Drain standing water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items that hold water.
5. Install or repair screens. Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having well-fitting screens on both windows and doors. Offer to help neighbors whose screens might be in bad shape.

Hamilton County Reporter

Sydney Parrish fulfilled the dream of many an Indiana basketball player when she and the Hamilton Southeastern girls team won a state championship in February.

After a little bit of time off, Parrish was back in the news again, making headlines when she committed to the University of Oregon. Then it was back in the gym and onto the court for summer ball with the Royals.

So while the state may be at the halfway point between basketball seasons, there’s always something going on. The Reporter caught up with Parrish a couple weeks ago at the Westfield Shootout, where Southeastern was playing. Parrish was there with her team, then on her way to an All-Star game in Anderson that night. But she appreciated the break she got after the Royals won state.

“It was definitely a good rest time for all of us,” said Parrish, noting that it was necessary because of HSE’s long and successful season. After that was AAU, then the month of June consisted of “workouts and weights and back into high school ball,” she said.

Parrish, who was named Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year, was selected as a member of the IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Star team, as a member of the six-player core group. The Juniors played the Kentucky Juniors in early June, then took on the Indiana Senior All-Star team a couple days later.

“It was really fun to play in that game with all the best juniors in the state and then against the best seniors in the state, and against the Kentucky players, because I know some of them,” said Parrish. It was so much fun playing with them.”

The core group contained some well-known players in addition to Parrish. North Central’s Jasmine McWilliams, a Northwestern commit, was in the group, as were Kendall Bostic (headed to Michigan State) and Madison Layden (committed to Purdue) of Northwestern High School, which has dominated the Class 3A state tournament the past two years. Northwestern will move up to 4A this year. Also in the group was Danville’s Ella Collier and Jeffersonville’s Nan Garcia, both of whom have received Division I offers.

“We all got along really well,” said Parrish. “There was no drama at all. It was cool because a lot of us have just been playing against each other for a long time, so having all of us in the same room, we all just connected right away and it was a really good experience.”

The Indiana Juniors split the two-game series with Kentucky, winning the first contest 89-85, but falling 111-107 in the second game. Parrish scored 26 points and handed out four assists in the first game, and had 19 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in the second game.

“But they were both good games, it could’ve gone both ways each time,” said Parrish.

The seniors won the Junior-Senior game 97-58, with Parrish scoring 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and making two blocks.

“The seniors were good, though,” said Parrish. “I got to give them that.”

Prior to that, Parrish made news by committing to Oregon, which has dramatically raised its women’s basketball profile over the past few years. The Ducks have made the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament the past three years, and broke through to their first ever Final Four last season. Junior Sabrina Ionescu, won the John R. Wooden Award for being the most outstanding women’s college player in the 2018-19 season, and will return for her senior season.

The success hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the Ducks have the top recruiting class for the high school Class of 2020. Parrish was the first one to commit, making the decision right after Spring Break.

“It was the team and the coaches,” said Parrish. “I feel in love with the staff, I fell in love with the girls. I felt like I belonged there.”

Parrish said it only took one visit to convince her that Oregon was the right choice.

“And I kept visiting places and I just knew that was the one place that I wanted to go,” said Parrish. “And it was unlike any other place I’d visited. I kept looking back at Oregon and nothing compared.”

Parrish is one of five recruits on a list that includes other five-star and four-star players from all across the nation. Among them are Angela Dugalic of Des Plaines, Ill. who is trying out for the 2020 Serbian Olympic team, Maddie Scherr of Florence, Ky., the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, and Te-Hina PaoPao of Oceanside, Calif., who was touted as a possible college starter when she was 14.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Parrish. “I’m so blessed to be a part of that group and I’m just ready to get there. I get to see them this summer. So we’ve seen each other. When they came to Indy for a tournament, so we got to lunch with them. It’s just an amazing feeling getting to know that people are talking about our legendary recruiting class and I get to be a part of it.”

Of course, Parrish still has one year at Southeastern. She acknowledges things will be different, as the Royals graduated a highly-talented senior class that included Division I players Amaya Hamilton (Duquesne), Tayah Irvin (Northern Kentucky) and Division II Malea Jackson (University of Illinois-Springfield). But there are plenty of returning players who will be determined to give the Royals another great season.

“I think we have really high expectations coming off of a state championship team and state championship season,” said Parrish. “I think people have really high expectations for us. We lost five seniors, we lost five really key players in our offense and in our defense, and we’re not as tall anymore. But I think we just have to make adjustments. Playing with them right now, we’re already getting a feel of how we’re going to start to play different than how we did last year. I think we’re going to have a good season. I think people are going to underestimate us.”

The Spark Fishers Festival wrapped up its second year Saturday, with the city estimating that between 20,000 and 25,000 people visited the celebration at some point during the event, up from last year’s inaugural event.

The 5K run saw a big increase in the number of total participants, with 1,500 on hand.  That is up from the 600-750 runners and walkers from last year.

All the available tickets for the Friday concert at the Amphitheater featuring Vertical Horizon and Tonic were handed out, so it was a full house.  The Jazz Ambassadors entertained at the Amp Thursday night.

The Kids’ Zone had more activities this year and the youngsters filled the area.

Yes, it did rain during the parade, but it appears not many people there to watch left the parade route and took in the entire event.  It was all capped-off with a big fireworks display Saturday night.

Below is a veterans’ video, followed by pictures, courtesy of Brosmer Photography and the City of Fishers:

Continue reading 2nd annual Spark Fishers Festival is in the books →

I spent the last few days out of town seeing relatives, many I had not seen in quite a while.  It was a great time.

However, that meant I had to be away for the Spark Fishers Festival.  Since moving to Fishers, I have missed very few summer festivals, whether it is called the Fishers Freedom Festival or Spark Fishers.  2019 was a year missed.

But I am certain a good time was had by all.

One item that broke after I left town Friday had to do with the legal fees owed to the City of Fishers by the group called Save the Nickel Plate.  You may recall that back in April,  Hamilton Superior Court Judge David Najar dismissed legal actions filed by Save the Nickel Plate against the City of Fishers and awarded the city legal fees.  The judge wrote that Save the Nickel Plate’s legal actions were “frivolous and groundless.”

In a news release issued Friday, Fishers said the legal firm representing Save the Nickel Plate in this case, Brattain Minnix and Garcia, has provided notice to the court it will pay the legal fees in the amount of $72,367.50.

“The City of Fishers is glad to see the burden of these frivolous and baseless lawsuits will not be held by the taxpayers of Fishers but instead by the representatives of Save the Nickel Plate and their legal counsel,” said Ashley Elrod, public relations director for the City of Fishers. “This reaffirms the lack of legitimacy of the lawsuits and claims made by Save the Nickel Plate.”

In yet another matter, Clint Wilson was selected by members of the Hamilton Southeastern School Board June 26th.  He is scheduled to take the oath of office and assume his board seat at the July 10th regular board meeting.  Wilson will fill in the remaining term of Michael Bottorff, who resigned from the board in late May citing personal reasons.  The term runs through the end of calendar year 2020 and will be up for election in November, 2020.

I am scheduled to interview Mr. Wilson this week for a podcast, so watch for that in the coming days.

Another busy time on the roadways in and around Fishers for the work week starting Monday, July 1.  Also be aware of road closures related to the Spark Fishers Festival June 29th.

Here is the full and lengthy list of projects,  as provided by the City of Fishers:

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by

Stu Clampitt

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County held a ribbon cutting for its expansion of the county’s current jail Friday morning.

The $13.5 million project added over 100 beds and allows for future expansions as needed. The jail was built 25 years ago to hold 296 inmates. It currently holds nearly 400 inmates.

“We are adding 126 beds in this facility,” Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush told The Reporter. “As of today, we have a little over 400 inmates. This will put us at a 537-bed capacity. We have the ability to add capacity in the future if we need to, but there are no current plans to in the works.”

A change in state law in 2016 added to the county’s woes. House Bill 1006 requires lower-level felons to serve their terms in county jails rather than state prisons.

Quakenbush said there are multiple reasons this project, which was begun under Sheriff Mark Bowen, was necessary.

“The two primary factors are the exploding growth and success of Hamilton County – the number of people coming here over the last 20 years – and those prisoners who would be housed at the state level, due to House Bill 1006, are now being housed here in our facility,” Quakenbush said.

While 537 beds may sound like a large number, relative to other parts of Indiana, that is a low number. Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt said he is proud of how small the county jail is, relative to the population of Hamilton County.

“For a county of this size the inmate population is very low,” Heirbrandt told The Reporter. “When I travel all 92 counties throughout the state for my regular job, I look at the size of this jail, which was at 296 beds before the expansion. Having a population of almost 300k – that’s efficiency at its best!”

Heirbrandt and Bowen both credit collaboration between various agencies as key to keeping crime low in the community.

“I think a lot of it is the collaboration between the commissioners, the Sheriff’s Office, the prosecutor and the judges all working together to make this happen,” Heirbrandt said.

“The probation department and community corrections obviously play a big part in that,” Bowen said. “Hamilton County is blessed to be able to have a good working relationship with all of those entities to try to do the right thing and make sure we are serving folks’ needs and taking care of the underlying issues that need to be dealt with when it comes to making sure we are getting them on the right track and getting them the help that they need to try to prevent them from having to go to jail.”

When asked about the challenges law enforcement faces in keeping the crime rate, and thus the inmate population so low, Bowen pointed to the secondary effects of the drug problem.

“For Hamilton County, like most counties across the state it is theft and burglary,” Bowen said. “Often what we are seeing is the systemic issue with the opioid and drug epidemic. People are stealing from each other in order to support the habits.”

Heirbrandt said another part of the low crime rate is found in Hamilton County’s focus on rehabilitation.

“We do a really good job of identifying some of the inmates who get in here who, even if they go through community corrections, need help with job placement,” Heirbrandt said. “Some lose their jobs because of this [incarceration]. We work with them and try to get them back into society.”

The jail expansion includes five cell pods with 38 prefabricated steel cells consisting of two and four-man cells. The expansion also includes an interior recreation area, classroom and medical support area. Existing space within the old jail will be designed to accommodate dining space for community corrections participants. Construction began in April 2018. Inmates will be moved to the new facility on July 8.

The jail expansion is powered by the solar project.