Wednesday was a big day for Bob Rice.  He was there at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate & Junior High School (also known at “The HIJH”) for the “Flip the Switch” ceremony, marking the start of generating electricity for the school building through the solar arrays on the HIJH property.

You can read more about the solar array project in a story I posted July 23rd at this link.

The local school district is partnering with a private firm, Ameresco, in this solar endeavor.

HSE High School Athletic Director Jim Brown flipped the switch Wednesday morning, starting the solar power to be used at the school building next door,

To have support for any foundation, you must have solid fund-raising efforts locally and use the money raised to support local people.  In watching the work of the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation over several years, I have seen that group check both of those boxes.

I sat down recently with Hamilton Southeastern (HSE)Schools Foundation Executive Director Justin Hirnisey and talked about the work of the foundation.

Hamilton County Reporter

Kevin Jowitt announced Monday that he will retire as Chief of Police for the City of Noblesville on Jan. 31, 2020. Jowitt has served as Noblesville’s police chief for 10 years, the second longest tenure in the city’s history, and has had a law enforcement career that spans 43 years.

“After careful consideration the time has come for me to take another path,” Jowitt said. “It has been an honor to work alongside my law enforcement colleagues, and a privilege to serve the Noblesville community as chief. My law enforcement career has been challenging, rewarding and personally fulfilling.”

Jowitt was appointed police chief by Mayor John Ditslear in May 2009. Under his leadership, the Noblesville Police Department is one of only nine Indiana agencies that have national and state accreditation; the crime rates in Noblesville have dropped more than any city Noblesville’s size during the past three years; and Noblesville is the only department in the region to have police officers in every school building. He also implemented several programs during his tenure such as the Problem Oriented Policing, Traffic and Crime Analysis units.

“Our equipment, vehicles and training are absolutely first-rate; and most importantly, we continue to attract outstanding people who want to be Noblesville police officers,” Jowitt said.

Part of Jowitt’s legacy is building community partnerships through a number of outreach programs. He has been steadfast in his efforts to ensure that the citizens of Noblesville and the police department are working hand-in-hand to solve community issues. Jowitt implemented programs like the Citizens Police Academy, National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop, Volunteers in Police Services and the department’s increased and interactive presence on social media.

“Noblesville and Hamilton County residents owe Chief Jowitt a debt of gratitude for his selfless dedication to making our community a safer place,” said Ditslear. “Throughout his tenure, Kevin has served with honor and distinction. Most recently, Chief helped lead the entire community during and following the tragic accident at Noblesville West Middle School. I cannot thank Kevin enough for the work, leadership and vision he has provided the police department, and I want to wish him and Deb the best as they look forward to the next chapter of their lives.”

In addition to serving the Noblesville community, Jowitt also is accomplished in the law enforcement community. He has served on a number of boards and panels, including being president of the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police in 2017. Jowitt was recognized in 2018 when he was awarded the Distinguished Hoosier Award, which is one of the highest honors that the Governor of Indiana bestows.

“I will be working as hard as ever until the end of January as there is still much to do,” said Jowitt. “I am also committed to helping in every way possible to assure a smooth transition and assist the new mayor when he takes office at the first of the year.”

The Spark Fishers downtown summer festival drew an estimated 20,000 people this year, based on a rundown provided to the Fishers City Council Monday by Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath.  That attendance number includes events Friday (June 28th) and Saturday (June 29th).

The festival committee exceeded its goal in sponsorship, receiving $105,000 in sponsorship money and about $25,000 in-kind support.  The city picked up the tab on the gap between the sponsor income and expense of the festival, which McGrath says was about $51,800.  That gap is less than the projected figure of $85,000.

The Fishers City Council approved the hiring of a Parks & Recreation Department manager for the Agripark at 113th Street and Florida Road.  Brandywine Creek Farms had been contracted to run the Agripark, but Mayor Scott Fadness told the council the city has severed its relationship with Brandywine.

In other City Council items from the Monday meeting:

–The Lake Meadows housing project planned for 11570 E. 126th Street received approval of its economic development agreement with the city.  The development includes a developer investment of $24 million, providing 95,000 square  feet of  assisted living
housing, including about 123  assisted living apartment homes.  In exchange, the city will waive up to $200,000 in fees.

–The council read two mayoral proclamations, one for Korean War Armistice Day, the other honoring 97-year-old World War II veteran Angelo Ray Marra

–Council members approved changes to the Unified Development Ordinance, including changes to the Comprehensive Plan related to right-of-way widths, the
Thoroughfare Plan, and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan.

The City of Fishers will likely need more apartments in the coming years, based on data gathered the city’s Planning & Zoning Department.  Of all residential units in the city, only 15.5% are apartments.  By comparison, Carmel has 19%, Noblesville 18%,  Zionsville 17% and Greenwood 28%.  The only area city with a lower percentage than Fishers is Westfield with 14%.

The apartment unit vacancy rate in Fishers is 5.7%.  Zoning & Planning Director Tony Bagato says a good vacancy rate is normally in the range of 5% to 8%.

The average rent per unit is $1,170.  6% of Fishers apartment units are studios, 32% one bedroom, 49% two bedroom and 13% three bedroom.

The data show Fishers is projected to have 131,525 residents by the year 2040, with the population generally aging.  This may increase demand for apartment living.

Mayor Scott Fadness and the City Council submitted a request to state officials to construct a low-income apartment project but were turned down last year.  Fadness says the city will once again apply for that low-income housing funding from the state this year.

The work session presentation was for information and no decisions were made.

Fishers Police began working with ‘big box” retailers in Fishers in March of 2019, in an effort to apprehend a man police describe as a “millionaire shoplifter.”

Authorities say that led to the arrest of Ryan Walker, 35, from Indianapolis. He faces several charges, including 8 felony counts of forgery.

As officers tell the story, as the result of a joint effort involving area retailers, state, local, and federal law enforcemen, Fishers police were able to develop a suspect.  After several days of surveillance, officers were able to gather information and evidence leading to the arrest of Walker.

According to Fishers Police, Walker had been selling stolen merchandise since 2010 through his on-line E-Bay Business Account and had customers from all over the world. Officers obtained a subpoena for E-Bay records and confirmed Walker had received payments in excess of 1.1 million dollars since 2010.

Walker is being held in the Hamilton County Jail.

The rails along the Nickel Plate line in Fishers are now being removed.  Mayor Scott Fadness tells LarryInFishers the removal process began Friday and will continue into the fall.  The city has said construction of the Nickel Plate Trail would begin this fall.

In late July, the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority approved a bid to remove the rails by A&K Railroad Materials.  Now that the cities of Noblesville and Fishers, along with Hamilton County, have also approved the bid, the rail removal process has begun.

The rail removal process is beginning at 146th Street and moving south.  The A&K bid does not include removing the rails at road crossings, and Fadness says that removal will happen as the trail is under construction.

The HSE High School National Champion Mock Trial Team and Teacher of the Year Mara Kussy were honored at last Wednesday’s Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board Meeting.

Six members of the Mock Trial Team explained how the competition works, with some of the team playing roles as trial witnesses and other performing in the role of defense or prosecution attorneys.  The national competition was held in Chicago during this summer.  The team’s coach is HSE High School teacher Janet Chandler.

Some members of the team have graduated from HSE and are pursuing their college careers.  The entire national championship team includes:

Maria Kussy is among the 30 finalists as Indiana State Teacher of the Year, and talked with the board members about her work, as she is the Teacher of the Year for the HSE School District for the current school year.  She is a Brooks School Elementary media specialist.  Mrs. Kussy was selected from 23 finalists.

The other finalists were:

Todd Niswander, Cumberland Road Elementary

Abby Back, Durbin Elementary

Jean Doss, Fall Creek Elementary

Sara Larkins, Fishers Elementary

Lacy Rose, Geist Elementary

Kristen Morgan, Harrison Parkway Elementary

Katie Norton, Hoosier Road Elementary

Anita Harrison, Lantern Road Elementary

Tanya Cooper, New Britton Elementary

Tiffany Zaleski, Sand Creek Elementary

Jackie Renick, Thorpe Creek Elementary

Seth Zook, Fall Creek Intermediate

Hollie Vessels, Riverside Intermediate

Kirsten Toner, Sand Creek Intermediate

Jen Hill, Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate / Jr. High

Brandon Spidel, Fall Creek Jr. High

Alison Strole, Fishers Jr. High

Will Rogers, Riverside Jr. High

Amanda Howard, Fishers High School

Jennifer Pope, Fishers High School

Josh Gish, Hamilton Southeastern High School

Becky Schroeder, Hamilton Southeastern High School

Hamilton County Reporter

Retired Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department Deputy, David Wyler, 65, Carmel, has been charged with five counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

Wyler

According to reports filed by Carmel Police Department Detective John Piracs, the Hamilton County Child Exploitation Task Force received a CyberTipline report from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children. The report indicated that on March 22 a person had uploaded two images of unclothed children to Pinterest. Information provided by Pinterest indicated the username was “davidwyler1954.” Pinterest also supplied investigators with several IP addresses that had been used to access the Pinterest account.

According to police, some of the IP addresses appeared to geolocate to Hamilton County.  According to Piracs, further investigation showed that there was David Wyler living on Goldfinch Drive in Carmel, and that his year of birth is 1954.

During an interview with police, Wyler admitted to having multiple boards on Pinterest, and some of his boards were named Young Boys, Young Girls, Girls and Boys. Wyler told investigators that he had last viewed images of children with uncovered genitals within the last two weeks.

During a forensic examination of Wyler’s phone, police found multiple images of nude prepubescent children.

Police reports indicate Wyler was arrested at his home and transported to the Hamilton County Jail.

A jury trial has been scheduled for Jan. 7, 2020.