When it became known through a number of media reports, and ads asking people to apply for jobs, that Shake Shack was looking into expanding into the Indy metro area, the rumor mill began to get lively.  Will Shake Shack end up in the now-under-construction Yard project in Fishers?

After all, the culinary area of The Yard and Shake Shack would appear, on the surface, to be a perfect match.  But don’t start longing for those burgers and shakes just yet.

Lori Wick, spokesperson for Thompson Thrift, developer of The Yard, tells Larry In Fishers, “…we do not have a signed lease with Shake Shack and cannot provide any additional information.”

Now, that does not preclude Shake Shack from entering into a contract agreement with Thompson Thrift to have a presence in The Yard at a future date, but as of this writing, there is no contract in place. Most developers will not comment on a tenant without a signed contract in hand.

So, no contract now, but let’s wait and see what the future brings.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday at 2 a.m. It was just beginning to get light at 7 a.m. Now it will be dark again.

Of course it will be lighter in the evening, but with cold weather still here, what good does that do us?

Now I read that there is a move to leave us on Eastern Daylight the year around.

It’s time to stop this foolishness. Indiana belongs on Central Standard Time. That’s historically accurate and is easily seen by looking at a U.S. map.

The fact is come Sunday morning most of Indiana will be on double daylight time again as we now are every summer season.

Our state legislature’s desire to beat the clock and give us more light in the evening started in the 1960s when Indiana was “moved” from the Central Time Zone to Eastern thanks to various lobbying groups who wanted us on the same time as New York.

For many years we stayed on Eastern Standard the year around while most of the other states went to Daylight Time in the summer. That was not bad, but the pressure groups got busy again a few years ago and convinced the legislature we needed to observe Daylight time, which amounts to double daylight when compared with the Central Time zone where we really belong.

Hamilton County’s Sue Dillon has been working on this for years. She is sometimes misunderstood by folks who think she is against daylight time. No, she is telling us the simple fact that we belong on Central Time where we could observe daylight time in the summer.

Let’s not let this latest lunacy of maintaining Eastern Daylight the year around go any further or school kids will be standing in the dark at the bus stop until 8:30.

When Miss Indiana Lydia Tremaine began speaking before lunch crowd of students at HSE High School Friday, she made a couple of things clear….no, she was not a popular kid during her days as a student at East Noble High School in the northern Indiana community of Kendallville, but she used her talents in music and singing to win the Miss Indiana title and won the right to be a part of the Miss America pageant.

Miss Indiana was in Fishers to meet with students and promote the dance marathon benefiting Riley Children’s Hospital.  She encouraged HSE students to get involved in raising money for Riley.

Ms. Tremaine also promotes programs for those with disabilities, and participated throughout the day Friday in events around Fishers promoting Disability Awareness Month

When starting this blog in January of 2012, I vaguely remembered a small notation on the first Fishers Town Council meeting I covered.  I went back and checked the story about that January 17th session, & found the following last sentence in that piece: “A new town employee, engineering consultant Jeff Hill, was introduced to the council.”

Jeff Hill began his stint as an employee for the town, later the city, of Fishers in January of 2012, about the same time I began writing LarryInFishers.com.

As the Director of Engineering for the city, he oversaw the department’s staff.  But Jeff accomplished some major tasks when it came to managing vehicular traffic.

Anyone remember when IKEA opened its doors in Fishers?  That was October 11th, 2017.  Local residents were predicting a motorized apocalypse, with gridlock in all directions once the IKEA story opened its doors.

Granted, there were traffic challenges, but I heard stories of how Jeff Hill was presiding over a command center to manage all the traffic coming in from all directions, especially I-69.  There was a lot of traffic, but the predicted apocalypse never materialized.  You can credit Jeff Hill for managing what would appear to have been an unmanageable situation.

A growing suburb needs a plan to control traffic and anyone living here for any length of time has experienced traffic jams.  But I suspect our traffic situation would have been much worse had Jeff Hill not been on the job.

City Spokesperson Ashley Elrod confirmed for LarryInFishers a rumor going around town the last day or so – Jeff Hill will be leaving his position with the city in early April.  I don’t have all the details, but it appears Jeff received an offer from the private sector he simply could not refuse.

With this major staff opening, it will be interesting to watch Mayor Scott Fadness and what he will do.  Will he simply replace Jeff Hill or will he reorganize some city staffing arrangements?

I know one thing for sure, Jeff Hill will be a hard person to replace.  I wish Jeff Hill the best of luck in his new job.  He has always been friendly, professional and straightforward in dealing with me in my reporting duties.  Jeff Hill will be missed.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s Amaya Hamilton is one of 13 Indiana senior girls basketball players that have been selected for the 2019 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars, it was
announced on Thursday.

Those chosen to the team will play three games in June — one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.

Hamilton was a four-year varsity player for the Royals, and helped Southeastern to a Class 4A state championship two weeks ago. The 6-2 forward, a Division I commit to Duquesne University, averaged 11.6 points per game this season.

The other 2019 Indiana Girls All-Stars, listed alphabetically, are: Jorie Allen of Bedford North Lawrence, Shaila Beeler of Warren Central, Sydney Freeman of Central Noble, Carissa Garcia of Fort Wayne Concordia, Rikki Harris of North Central, Lilly Hatton of North Harrison, Emma Nolan of Marquette Catholic, Maddie Nolan of Zionsville, Sophia Nolan of Marquette Catholic, Hannah Noveroske of Michigan City, Riley Ott of La Porte and Cameron Tabor of New Castle.

The head coach for the 2019 Girls AllStars will be Debbie Guckenberger of Brownsburg. She will be assisted by Mike McBride of Eastern (Pekin) and Chris Seibert of Crown Point.

The 2019 IndyStar Indiana Miss Basketball will be announced from within the group of All-Stars listed above at The Star’s Indiana Sports Awards program on May 5 at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis.

The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 5 at a site to be announced. The first game against Kentucky will be June 7 at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall in Lousville.

The final game against Kentucky will be June 8 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars.

The Indiana Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, also will play home-and-home doubleheaders against the Kentucky Junior AllStars. Those games tentatively are set for June 1 at a Kentucky site to be announced and June 3 at an Indiana site to be announced.

The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana Boys All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996.

The Indiana portion of the AllStar Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is a title sponsor.

Miss Basketball is selected through a balloting process of coaches and media overseen by game organizers from the IBCA. The remainder of the team is finalized by All-Star game director Mike Broughton after observing numerous games and events throughout the season, conferring with coaches, school officials and media across the state and reviewing votes submitted by coaches and media who each could recommend up to 10 players.

As the Spark Fishers summer festival prepares for the second celebration in 2019, the event will have a new presenting sponsor.  First Internet Bank, a financial institution that has seen large growth since moving its headquarters to Fishers, will be the presenting sponsor the the festival, set for June 28th & 29th.

First Internet Bank plans to move its headquarters in December to 116th Street in the Nickel Plate District, near the Municipal Complex, as part of a Browning Investment development.  The firm is currently housed in a building located at 11201 USA Parkway in Fishers.

“First Internet Bank is delighted to sponsor the Spark!Fishers event in celebration of this great community,” said David Becker, President and CEO of First Internet Bank, in  city news release. “Being headquartered in Fishers, we’re incredibly proud to support this favorite summer tradition in our hometown. It’s especially significant to be a part of the event as we connect one milestone—our 20^th anniversary this year—with our future as we break ground on our new headquarters in downtown Fishers.”

The city says Spark Fishers will start Friday, June 28th, with a nationally known musical act to be announced at a later date.  The main festival will be held in the Nickel Plate District of downtown Fishers June 29th

Some of the activities planned include:

• A 5K Walk/Run and Half K Run for Kids, brought to you by the Fishers YMCA and Geist Half Marathon, with a new route for 2019
• The Fishers Farmers’ Market in the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater
• A massive street fair in the Municipal Complex featuring local artisans, food vendors, businesses, and community organizations
• A patriotic evening parade through downtown Fishers
• A firework show to cap off the celebration

Fishers was once a small town with that small-town feel where everyone knew you, your family and most of your life history.  Mayor Scott Fadness grew up in a small North Dakota farming community with a feel much like that – everyone knew your name, your family and most everything about you.

The mayor emphasized community in his speech to the Fishers YMCA annual fundraising campaign breakfast Thursday morning.  He cited the summer Tuesday night concerts that draw 5,000-6,000 local residents each week

“Not one time, not one single time, have we had an issue with a person at those events,” Fadness said.  “I ask you, where else in America can you tell people you have a free concert, feel free to bring whatever you want to drink, have 5,000 people show up consistently every Tuesday night, and never have a single issue with people acting inappropriately? That says something about the character and quality of our community.”

He cited the concerts as one example where local residents can make a human connection and get to know each other.  As Fishers has grown into a large suburban community, finding ways to get to know each other has become more difficult, but the Tuesday concerts serve as one example of how the city is trying to bring local citizens together, trying to build what the mayor described as “a sense of community.”

The mayor told the crowd that the Fishers YMCA is on the front lines of building the city’s sense of community.  He said an organization like the local Y is the difference between “a sterile suburban environment and a true community.”

Danny Brown told the crowd about how the YMCA saved his life.  He was exercising and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, a medical emergency where only about 5% survive and fully recover.  Due to quick action, the use of AED equipment at the Y and the people on the scene when he collapsed, he became one of the 5% that fully recover from a cardiac arrest.  Mr. Brown became emotional when talking about the people at the Fishers Y that day and how they saved his life.

The Fishers YMCA is best known for the exercise facilities and swimming pools, but there is much more to the organization, including youth summer camps and after-school programs.

The Fishers YMCA never turns anyone down for membership because they cannot afford to pay the membership fee.  About 25% of families receive some sort of help because they lack resources to pay for Y services.

When you contribute to the Fishers YMCA, part of that money is used to help those families unable to afford YMCA membership and programs.  Donating to the Fishers YMCA is easy, just use this link and use the DONATE button at the top of the page.

Thompson Thrift is developing The Yard near IKEA in Fishers, and another project is in their plans next door.  The Stations will have a mixed-use building with office and retail, a commercial building, a hotel, and approximately 50 town-homes on roughly 8.6
acres of land.

The Fishers Plan Commission unanimously approved a favorable recommendation to the Fishers City Council, moving The Stations development forward.  The Fishers planning staff recommended approval of this project, but included this statement in their report:

“Staff would like to clarify some misinformation that was delivered by the media. The Stations at Fishers District PUD (Planned Unit Development) is a separate development from The Yard at Fishers District. The Stations PUD previously existed as a commercial development and this amendment allows for greater connectivity to both the Exit 5 PUD and the Kroger commercial center and the adjacent Yard at Fishers District PUD. The Yard at Fishers District has currently secured 11 restaurants, with 80% of the square footage dedicated to restaurant uses. The Stations at Fishers District will be a separate adjacent development with a mix of office, retail, hotel and residential uses.”

I asked Steve Hardin of Faegre Baker Daniels, the attorney representing Thompson Thrift, about The Stations…here is the video of that conversation:

Brad DeReamer is finishing up his first 4-year term on the Fishers City Council, representing the Northeast District.  Here is my podcast conversation with Brad DeReamer.

Tom Grinslade is a local Fishers businessman.  He builds custom homes.  He is running for Fishers City Council, Northeast District.  Here’s my podcast conversation with Tom Grinslade…