Fishers improved to 13-0 for the season with a 59-42 win over Pendleton Heights Thursday at the Tiger Den.
Class 4A No. 4 Fishers got off to a fantastic start, leading 21-7 after the first quarter. The Tigers cruised to a 39-18 halftime lead, then led 50-28 after three quarters.
Katie Burton led Fishers in scoring with 24 points, also making four steals. Katie Howard added nine points, with Audra Emmerson contributing eight points and Tamia Perryman scoring six points. Lydia Stullken had five rebounds.
The Tigers will host 4A No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern Saturday in the Mudsock game.
Fishers Junior High teacher Mike Fassold has won another Indiana Middle School state championship with his We The People team. The We The People competition is all about knowledge of law and the U.S Constitution.
The team is preparing to compete in the national finals. However, that means a trip to Washington DC, and that’s where you come in. The team needs donations for the trip to the nation’s capital.
The Fishers Junior High School “We The People” team is asking for donations to pay for the trip to the national finals.
If you would like to support the team, you can easily do so on the Go Fund Me page at this link.
While in the holiday spirit, take a moment to support these young people competing at a high level of competition based on their civic knowledge.
Noblesville High School hired Dave Sharpe as its new head football coach at the Noblesville Schools board meeting on Tuesday. Sharpe was the defensive coordinator at Hamilton Southeastern this past season and previously served as head coach at La Porte and John Glenn. (Reporter photo by Jeff Jellison)
by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
A young coach is ready to take the Noblesville football team back to the old school.
Dave Sharpe was hired as the Millers new head football coach Tuesday during
the Noblesville Schools’ regular board meeting. Sharpe’s tenure as coach officially
begins in January, but he is already preparing for the new job, and was talking with
some of his future players minutes after his hiring was made official.
“It’s a big small town,” said Sharpe. “And I like that in a school. It’s one big high
school right in the middle of the community.”
Sharpe spent the 2019 season at Hamilton Southeastern, where he served as the
team’s defensive coordinator. As a result, he has first-hand knowledge of the Hoosier
Crossroads Conference, which he said “is as good a conference as there is in the entire
Midwest, so we’re going to play some great competition.”
“There’s no bad teams,” said Sharpe. “Every week anybody can beat anybody.
The rosters are so big, everybody’s too platooned. It’s a level playing field for most
schools in the league.”
“Coach Sharpe has a great football pedigree and 14 years of strong, successful
coaching experience,” said NHS Athletic Director Leah Wooldridge. “He knows
we’ve been a team in transition and he’s committed to bringing stability and leadership to build our program. His focus on kids and his great football mind will be huge
assets. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together moving forward.”
Sharpe’s football pedigree comes from Jimtown, as he is the son of legendary
Jimmies coach Bill Sharpe, who compiled a 288-54 record in 28 seasons (1980-2007)
and four state championships (1991, 1997, 1998 and 2005). Dave Sharpe graduated
from Jimtown in 2000, then attended Purdue University, graduating from there in
2004 with an education degree. He will teach physical education at Noblesville High
School.
Dave Sharpe began his career as an assistant for the Jimmies, first under his father,
then for current coach Michael Campbell, who took over in 2008 after Bill Sharpe
retired. Dave Sharpe’s first head coaching job was at John Glenn, where he went 13-9
in two seasons.
In 2015, Sharpe became the head coach at La Porte – another “big small town.” In
four seasons with the Slicers, Sharpe compiled a 26-17 record, including a Duneland
Conference championship in 2016.
“My vision for Noblesville is to be the polar opposite offensively,” said Sharpe.
“We’re going to go incredibly old-school. We’re going to go double tights. We’re
going to go a full house T offense, and we want to be the oddball in the league. With
everybody going to a full spread offense, we’re going to give opponents something
that they only get to prepare for once a year.”
Sharpe said his plans for the next couple weeks include getting to know his players and to “continue to evaluate the kids from the game films that I just inherited.” His
top priority is to hire a coaching staff. “And then just setting the groundwork of what
we envision the program with going forward,” he said.
Council President Rich Block awarded for his years of service to the city by Mayor Fadness
December 16th marked the last Fishers City Council meeting for 2019, but it also was the final session for three key Fishers leaders. Council President Rich Block, Council Vice President Eric Moeller and Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath will all be moving on in 2020.
Rich Block and Eric Moeller lost their re-election bids in the 2019 general election. Leah McGrath is leaving for a job in the private sector, at Knowledge Services, a technology firm. She has also announced her intention to run for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives.
Mayor Scott Fadness presented each of the three with a remembrance of their time with the city in a City Council ceremony.
As a reporter covering Fishers as both a town and a city since 2012, I can say all three have made major contributions to the community we call Fishers. Whether you agreed or disagreed with their decisions, they all had the best interests of the city, and its residents, at heart.
Eric Moeller served on both the town and city councilsDeputy Mayor Leah McGrath was appointed to that post just a few months after Fishers became a city
The Fishers City Council was clearly split on a rezone of about 5 acres of land just east of State Road 37 near 141st Street Monday night, but the council, at the request of the petitioner, decided to delay action on the request.
The Woods of Britton Apartment complex was eyeing the 5 acres adjacent to the development for expansion, constructing more apartment buildings. The Woods of Britton currently contains 500 apartment units.
Councilor Todd Zimmerman first came out against the proposal, saying Fishers has only one chance to develop the State Road 37 corridor commercially. His fellow council members Cecilia Coble, Eric Moeller and Selina Stoller all voiced their opposition to the rezone request. With four “no” votes on the record before the final vote (5 votes would defeat the proposal), Attorney Steve Hardin, representing the owners of Woods of Britton, suggested his client would be willing to withdraw the proposed rezoning, as council members mull over the issue, delaying consideration.
The council then voted 9-0 to continue consideration of the rezoning.
Tish Biggs, a resident of Fishers, has been named by AARP Indiana as the recipient of the 2019 Andrus Award for Community Service. This award is named after AARP’s founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, and is AARP’s most prestigious volunteer tribute.
“I feel humbled and honored to be in the company of those who previously won the Andrus Award,” Biggs said. “Facilitating the success of others is my personal mission, and AARP always works to assist seniors to live more productive lives – therefore, a perfect match for my volunteer efforts.”
Biggs has been a volunteer for the nonprofit organization for about 5 years, including work on local Fishers city planning and time working with Indiana legislators at the Statehouse.
“Tish has contributed amazing energy, positivity, and communication skills to AARP Indiana since her first day with the team,” said AARP Indiana State Director Sarah Waddle. “She is a champion for her community and for all Hoosiers through her volunteerism on our Legislative Team.”
Ms. Biggs holds a PhD in Educational/Instructional Technology from Kent State University. She has worked for Time-Warner Cable, was a local councilwoman in Ohio and has spent time as an educator.
She joined Mandla Moyo of AARP Indiana on a podcast I recorded earlier this year, which can be heard at this link.
When Jocelyn Vare was a candidate for an at-large Fishers City Council seat, she emphasized communicating with the public as one of her issues. Monday afternoon, Councilwoman-elect Vare released her plans on how constituents will be able to communicate with her.
“My campaign was rooted in the belief that all residents should be informed and their voices should be heard,” said Councilwoman-elect Vare in a news release. “Until now, the City Council and its activities have been, to a great degree, an unknown for Fishers residents. My intention is to open new and more efficient lines of communication so that residents will feel more connected to their city government and feel welcome to participate.”
Listen to Fishers Hotline – First established during the campaign, her Listen to Fishers hotline allows residents to leave a confidential voicemail. Residents who would like to share an idea or concern with her are encouraged to call (888) 518-7117.
Monthly Email Newsletter – The councilwoman will share information with residents through a monthly email newsletter, which will feature a schedule of upcoming City Council meetings, public hearings and other events, as well information about important issues affecting the community and ways to participate as a resident. You can register online, jocelynvareforfishers.com or send an email to hello@jocelynvareforfishers.com.
Office Hours – Effective January 29, 2020, Ms. Vare will keep office hours at Launch Fishers every Wednesday morning from 7:45am – 10:45am. Residents are encouraged to stop by for coffee and discuss any questions, concerns and/or ideas for the community. Launch Fishers is located at 12175 Visionary Way, behind Super-Target.
Monthly Media Update – Each month, Vare will issue an update to the media that reaches Fishers residents, which will summarize Fishers City Council activity for the previous month, highlight upcoming votes and overview issues on which she is working with residents.
Quarterly Ask Me Anything (AMA) Events – Beginning this winter, Jocelyn will host quarterly Ask Me Anything events via Facebook Live to offer residents the opportunity to ask questions, express concerns and share ideas. Dates and times for AMA events will be posted on Jocelyn’s Facebook page and website
Jocelyn Vare will begin serving as a Councilwoman at-large on January 1, 2020.
When I see the development along 106th Street and I-69, I flash back to a couple of specific conversations I had with Town Manager, later Fishers Mayor, Scott Fadness.
I remember a conversation about the 106th street interchange with I-69 when it was still being planned by state highway officials. Fadness emphasized to me just how important that interchange would be for traffic relief along I-69 at busy times of the day, abut also stressed that the area was poised for a development surge.
The second occasion was the announcement of Ikeas’s plans to build a Fishers store. I asked the mayor at that event how he foresaw that area around Ikea developing. Fadness used the word “thoughtful,” which was his way of saying he didn’t want retail and fast-food development all around Ikea, as has happened in other Ikea locations.
That led to a Fishers City Council action declaring the area around Ikea an “employment node.”
Kurt Christian, the new North of 96th reporter for the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ), has a lengthy piece about 106th Street in Fishers and how it is blossoming with development, but commercial and residential.
He reviews the developments already there, along with many in the pipeline.
You can read Kurt Christian’s story in the December 13th print edition of the IBJ, or access it at this link.
(NOTE: You may be limited on the number of online access to IBJ stories. As I have written many times before, good journalism will disappear unless you subscribe. An IBJ subscription is well worth the price of admission, in my view)
Fishers continued its perfect start to the season on Saturday with a 62-58 win over Columbus North Saturday night at the Tiger Den.
The Tigers led 15-14 after the first quarter, with Justin Long scoring six points and Isaac Farah adding five points. Fishers then had a solid defensive second period, holding the Bull Dogs to nine points and taking a 31-23 lead into halftime. Jeffrey Simmons scored eight points in that quarter.
Columbus North cut slightly into the Tigers’ lead during the second half, but the Tigers’ steady and balanced scoring kept them ahead. Charlie Smith helped out with 10 second-half points, including a 6-of-6 effort from the free-throw line. Simmons added another eight points.
Simmons was one of four Fishers players in double figures with 18 points, while Smith finished with 14. Farah contributed 13 points and Long scored 10.
The Tigers are 6-0 and travel to Hamilton Southeastern on Friday for the Mudsock game.
Hamilton Southeastern picked up its second win in two days on Saturday, beating Gary West Side 62-51 as part of the FORUM Tipoff Classic at Southport.
The Royals got off to a good start, leading 23-10 after the first quarter. The Cougars made a comeback in the second quarter to cut Southeastern’s lead to 33-31 by halftime. The Royals made a 10-0 run at the end of the third quarter (where they led 45-41) and beginning of the fourth quarter, and that sent them to victory.
Cole Hornbuckle led Southeastern’s scoring with 15 points, while Vinny Bucilla added 10 points. Elliot Robinson had nine points, while Mabor Majak pulled 14 rebounds to go with eight points.
he Royals had 21 team assists; Hornbuckle dished out seven, with Majak handing out five and Bucilla four. Majak also had two blocked shots.
Southeastern is 3-3 and hosts Fishers Friday night in the Mudsock game.
