The June 12th meeting of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was wrapping up.  All the items on the agenda were completed and I was awaiting a motion to adjourn.

Something else happened.  The board Vice President (and acting President) Sylvia Shepler announced that she wished to read a statement.  The statement she read, on behalf of the entire board, was essentially an apology to the community the school corporation serves with a promise to do better in the future.

I must admit I was very surprised by this statement.  I have written a few commentaries about our school board, mainly about how board members have not always lived up to the high standards set by the teaching staff and students.  Basically, there have been cases where the board has botched the public handling of many controversies.

After listening to the statement and reviewing the written copy, I needed to think it through before offering my reaction.  Well, here it is.

I won’t list all the instances where, in my view, the board has not lived up to the high reputation the HSE Schools generally have around the state.  But this board statement could well be the start of changes that will improve the board’s reputation.

It is rare that an elected public body issues the kind of apology read at the June 12th school board meeting.  But the HSE Board admitted where it had gone wrong, how it had brought the criticism on itself, and understands its past errors.

I have sometimes been among those critics and must commend the board for issuing that statement.  It wasn’t just the apology, which appears to be very sincere, but most important is the promise to do better moving forward.

Any of us in need of improvement must clear an important hurdle first – we must admit the mistakes we have made.  Members of the HSE School Board have done that.

Now the test will be how the board acts in the future.  As a reporter covering the school board for more than seven years, I have had the opportunity to get to know each of the board members.  Personally, I might have a few differences with some of those board members, but in nearly every case, each ran for the office with the right reason in mind….to improve the education of each student in the HSE District.

The board has a major decision to make at the next board session June 26th – name a replacement for Mike Bottorff, who resigned his board seat in late May.  There are four finalists that were interviewed by the board in an open meeting June 18th.  It is very important that the board select the right person to replace Mr. Bottorff.  After watching the open interview session, any of the four would likely make an excellent replacement to fill-out the term, which ends on December 31, 2019.

So, HSE School Board, you have my compliments on admitting the mistakes of the past.  I would urge each of you to fulfill the promise of your statement – “We can and will do better.”

On June 28th, 2018, the newsroom of the Annapolis Gazette, a small local newspaper located in the state capital of Maryland, was a busy place.  Lots of people reported for their normal duty, covering the local news scene.

There was nothing normal about that day in Annapolis.  A gunman, unhappy about some of the stories the Gazette had published, walked into the newspaper office and starting firing.  When the shooting was over, five journalists had died, two were badly injured.

The names of the dead were: Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman, John McNamara and Rebecca Smith.  For those that survived the attack, they all went back to work and the paper did not miss an edition.  Volunteers from newspapers in the area pitched in to help the Gazette.

It is a reminder that journalism can be a dangerous profession.  We in America often think of reporters working in dangerous places outside the United States but we can no longer rule out the danger of doing journalism here at home.

I have been a volunteer journalist in Fishers for seven and a half years.  No one has threatened me during that time.  But I did make my living in journalism for about ten years, during the 1970s and early 1980s.  There were times threats were made.  That never changed the way I went about doing my work, but I did take a few precautions as a result.

David Dreier is chairman of Tribune Publishing.  (Tribune owns the Annapolis Gazette)  He is also heading up an effort to create a memorial for journalists that lost their lives just doing their jobs as journalists.  The proposal is to place the memorial on the National Mall in Washington DC.

Getting that done is a long process and can take 5-7 years.  Mr. Dreier is not asking for any government money to fund this memorial.  He is raising money from private sources only.

The process is just beginning.  I hope everyone reading this story will support this effort.  Not everyone can afford to make a financial contribution (if you do, that is fine).  The most important thing is to support the idea that this memorial is important.  I would hope this memorial will receive the support needed to make it a reality as the process begins.

To learn more about the memorial project, use this link.

If you spend much time driving in Noblesville, be aware 10th Street will be repaved over a 3-week period (weather permitting) starting Monday, June 24th.  According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter,  the 1.5 mile stretch of road will remain open during the project, with flag personnel managing one lane of traffic in the construction areas.

Resurfacing work will be split into two sections – north and south of State Road 32 (Conner Street). During construction, signs will notify motorists that parking on the road will not be permitted.

The roadway will be milled and repaved from Greenfield Avenue to Field Drive.

by

Stu Clampitt

Hamilton County Reporter

Last week the new Hamilton County “Junk Ordinance” took effect. Officially designated Ordinance 04-22-19-A, it has been met with many questions and has garnered responses ranging from gratitude to frustration and concern.

The Reporter spoke with Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt, County Attorney Mike Howard and Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush about what the ordinance means and how it will be enforced now that it is active.

The full text of the ordinance can be seen at the end of this story below.

According to Heirbrandt, the commissioners are “getting compliments like crazy.” He told The Reporter, “You wouldn’t believe all the people calling who have said, ‘Thank you for doing this.’ The only reason we did it is because of people who are just abusing it and we needed the capability to enforce people who have like 30 cars on their property and say that’s their primary residence and it’s not – they are selling the vehicles out on the open market.”

According to Heirbrandt, the commissioners have only received one email complaint about the ordinance itself, and he said that person was both satisfied by their explanations and wrote back to thank them for being helpful.

“We’ve only gotten one complaint other than one guy who complained [in a letter to the editor] in The Reporter,” Heirbrandt said. “It’s not like we are trying to target people and say, ‘Hey, we are coming after you.’ That was never the intent. It’s really to go after some people who abuse it consistently.”

The letter Heirbrandt mentioned can be found on our website at this link.

“I think people are not reading it [the ordinance] the way it was actually intended,” Heirbrandt said. “And maybe that’s something that we need to look at as commissioners. This was not meant to be controversial at all.”

With only one letter to the editor speaking out against this ordinance and, according to Heirbrandt, only one email complaint to the commissioners, his view is that the ordinance is being very well received by Hamilton County residents.

“So many people have called us—even all the trustees have called to say, ‘Thank you for finally doing this so that we can get some help in our areas,” Heirbrandt said.

The bedroom rule

The ordinance says a property can only contain one more vehicle than the total number of bedrooms in the home.

According to Hamilton County Attorney Mike Howard, the bedroom rule was suggested by Commissioner Christine Altman.

“What we are trying to do is get away from abuses where people are basically storing cars on their lot for resale or selling online, etc.” Howard said. “Let’s say you’ve got three kids. You probably have a four-bedroom house. The parents each get one [vehicle] so that’s two from the master bedroom and one for each room. Now the officers are going to use some discretion in doing that, but that is for cars that are stored outside. If you’ve got a garage you can store more inside.”

Both Heirbrandt and Howard stressed that there is flexibility in the enforcement of this junk ordinance, which will be enforced by the Sheriff’s Department and the Plan Commission.

“It’s kind of like speeding,” Howard told The Reporter. “The speed limit is 55. They don’t arrest everybody who is going 57. We’ve got officers who are trained and go into situation where if there is a logical explanation, they always have the discretion not to enforce the ordinance.”

Howard cited a specific example of the kind of property the ordinance was intended to address.

“We’ve got a couple places where somebody has a little three-bedroom ranch and they have 17 licensed cars in front of the house,” Howard said. “They license them because if they are not licensed, they are deemed abandoned and they can be towed anyway. That is the kind of abuse we’re looking at. Obviously if you have three kids and they have friends come over and spend the night, nobody is going to start towing cars.”

When asked for clarification about the cars on the property being licensed, Howard said, “If it’s an old car you can license it for $35 and you can’t pay to store it somewhere for $35.”

He specified that this ordinance only applies in platted subdivisions and lots under an acre.

The exact text of Section III reads: “Residential Lot” shall mean any parcel of real property located in the unincorporated area of Hamilton County, which is zoned for residential use and is either included in a recorded, platted subdivision, or is less than one (1) acre.”

“We also excluded operable agricultural equipment,” Howard said. “This is not to go out and be mean to people. This is to help the complaints that we were getting from neighbors on a regular basis.”

Enforcement

Because the enforcement of this ordinance will rely in part on the judgement of deputies, The Reporter also reached out to Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush.

We asked Quakenbush how his deputies would handle those situations that, after a reasonable time was given to clean up a property, a citation needed to be issued.

“Enforcement action will be taken as a last resort after time has been given to correct the issue,” Quakenbush said. “If it becomes necessary for a citation to be issued it will be delivered according to our local trial rules, likely given to the homeowner in person, but it could be delivered by certified mail.”

Quakenbush told The Reporter that his deputies will handle every situation with the utmost professionalism, especially when dealing with potentially frustrated homeowners.

“Our deputies are very professional and receive a great deal of training in enforcement and bringing a positive resolution to any violation,” Quakenbush said. “Our deputies often work with planning, zoning and other government entities to help homeowners understand the rules. Nine times out of 10, no enforcement action needs to be taken.”

According to Quakenbush, the Sheriff’s Department is currently working with one homeowner related to this ordinance.

Complaints about properties potentially violating this ordinance should be made to either the Hamilton County Plan Commission at (317) 776-8490 or to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department at (317) 773-1872.

Here is the full language of the ordinance:

Continue reading Cleaning up junk ordinance confusion →

Rich Block and Eric Moeller had an idea earlier this year.  Block, as council president. and Moeller, as vice president of the council, both felt the public needed the ability to meet with them and other council members to talk about issues important to members of the community.

That’s how Council Connect got its start.  However, these meetings have not drawn many residents so far.  You can normally count on one hand the number of people from the general public on hand for these meetings.

Block and Moeller have been scheduling Council Connect gatherings at different times of day, in different parts of the city.

The next Council Connect session is set for Wednesday, June 26th, 1:30pm, for The Reserve at Hamilton Trace.  The exact address is 9974 Federalist Drive.

I have covered a number of election cycles in Fishers and in nearly every campaign I have covered, communication is a major issue.  This is your chance to speak directly to members of your City Council about issues you care about.

If this location and time of day does not work for you, check the next Council Connect session.

Some people around town have told me that they have not attended a Council Connect session because they didn’t know about it.  Well, if you are reading this, you know about the June meeting.

The list of road construction projects in and around Fishers is growing.  Also, be aware of traffic restrictions for the upcoming Spark Fishers Festival.

The full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week starting June 24th, is below:

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SPARK!FISHERS ROAD CLOSURES 
Spark!Fishers takes place on Saturday, June 29. North Street and Municipal Drive will be closed all day. Closures will also be in effect on roads around downtown Fishers during the 5K Walk/Run beginning at 7:30 a.m. and for the parade beginning at 6:30 p.m.. For more information on closures throughout the day, visit sparkfishers.com/road-restrictions-closures

Friday morning was a welcome change for Fishers, a sunny, comfortable start of the day.  Channel 59 had a stroke of luck by taking its morning news show on the road to Fishers that same day.

Mayor Scott Fadness was there to issue a “Fox59 Day” proclamation.  Parks Department Director Sarah Sandquist was there to talk about the Spark Fishers Festival.  Police Chief Ed Gebhart talked safey tips as you plan that summer vacation.  Fire Department Captain John Mehling talked about staying safe as you grill this summer.

News anchors Ray Cortopassi and Angela Ganote took to the Amphitheater stag and also took their cameras and microphones off the stage area to talk with people assembled for the event.

There were plenty of booths with local organizations and a few food offerings as well.

The Fishers Police Department is beginning the process of installing video body cameras on all its officers, with the goal of having a camera on all uniformed field  personnel in 2020.  Chief Ed Gabhart says the total cost of the equipment alone will be more than $1 million over 5 years, with grants covering a part of the cost.

The city is using CNA Analysis and Solutions as the commercial vendor to provide the video equipment and all that goes with it.

Fishers Police officials held training sessions Thursday and offered a glimpse of the technology to the public Thursday evening.  Scot Haug of CNA, a former chief of police, says wearable video cameras for police officers will be the norm, not the exception, over the coming three years.

Haug emphasized that the video cameras will provide many advantages, but also has its limitations.  CNA’s Daniel Zehnder, formerly with the Las Vegas Police Department, said the video cameras cannot replace good investigative work.

Chief Gebhart, in answer to a question from the audience, said his department will abide by all state laws relating to public records once the video camera recordings become widely available.

On the rollout schedule, Gebhart says tests are being conducted now as a part of the financial grant process.  “We’re taking the entire year to do this the right way, with professionals and with partnerships, and with the community as well,” the Chief said.  “In 2020, I hope to be 100% operational if we don’t have any technical difficulties as we go with the program.”

Hamilton County Reporter

Noblesville Schools has announced that Jeff Bryant plans to step down as principal of Noblesville High School effective June 30. Bryant, who became principal in August 2011, did not give a specific reason for his departure.

Bryant

“After accepting the principal’s position in 2011, I presented a plan to the Board of School Trustees to re-envision the high school experience. We have accomplished all of those goals and I now look forward to my next challenge,” Bryant said. “I’m excited about the opportunities that exist in my future. I am committed to ensuring a smooth transition as NHS looks forward to continuing high levels of achievement.”

Bryant served as NHS principal for eight years. The school achieved great success throughout his service, including receiving Four Star school ratings, an “A” grade on both state and federal requirements, and the creation of the largest internship program in Indiana. He previously served as an assistant principal and English teacher.

“It has been an absolute honor and privilege to serve the students, staff and community as NHS principal,” Bryant said. “I have enjoyed celebrating with a wonderful staff the best academic performance in the history of NHS.”

The district will begin the recruiting process for Bryant’s replacement immediately and will work with the high school’s four assistant principals and two deans to ensure a smooth transition for the start of school in August. An announcement of Bryant’s replacement will be made at a later date.