Both Fishers & HSE High Schools have a club named “Bring Change to Mind.”  The idea is to promote mental health in each school and the community at large.  The City of Fishers and the HSE School Corporation have supported these clubs with an annual event, Hope for Happiness, at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater, held Friday evening.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and “Hope for Happiness” is a way to kickoff the month’s activities.  The idea is to raise awareness and spark conversations around mental health.

Here are some of the community organizations with booths at Hope for Happiness:

Continue reading Hope For Happiness →

As the weather continues to warm, more road construction projects are on the weekly list.

Here is the latest update from the City of Fishers construction during the work week beginning Monday, May 6th:

If you are looking for activities for your children this summer, the Fishers Police Department is once again offering a one-week Teen Academy.

For the details, see the Police Department news release belwo:

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The 18th annual Fishers Police Department Teen Academy will be held June 17th – 21st 9:00a-3:30p in conjunction with the Fishers YMCA. This year’s academy will be held at Riverside Junior High in Fishers. The academy is one week of law enforcement type training that will allow teens to better understand how law enforcement works. The academy will also allow teens to get to know several officers through a variety of social activities.

The teens will start each day with physical exercise. The students will then attend classroom training followed by practical hands on skills to reinforce the lesson of the day. Field trips to public safety organizations may also be included. Each day will conclude with a social activity between officers and students. All students must be picked up no later than 3:45p.

The purpose of the academy is to allow teens to better understand police officers and to strengthen the relationship between the police department and the community. Officers will teach blocks of instruction on various topics such as making traffic stops, meeting our K-9 units and learning how they work with police, learning about the Fishers Dive Team, meeting our Crime Scene Investigators, learning about Internet Safety and much more. Students will have classroom instruction as well as practical “role play” training each day.

The academy is open to any applicant 13 years of age or older and must be enrolled in a junior high or high school in Fishers. Each applicant is subject to a screening process and therefore walk-ins will not be allowed. We only have 40 spots available for this year’s academy! If you are interested, please contact Officer Cory Robinson at robinsonc@fishers.in.us to begin the screening process.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

When the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board voted down a nondiscrimination policy listing those groups covered, and passed a policy saying school officials would follow the law, many members of the audience in attendance at the April 24th meeting were angry and upset by the board’s decision.  The following day, April 25th, those opposing the board’s decision formed a Facebook group and began organizing.

I spoke with two people key in organizing the Facebook group HSEquality, Michael Vance and Jaime Cairns, in this podcast discussion.

I knew the HSE Schools Evening of Innovation was going to be big when I saw the traffic jam headed into the Fishers High School parking lots that went all the way to 126th Street and wound east.  When arriving, I could see this was going to be a big night for local schools.

Nearly 100 projects were on display in and near the College & Career Academy at Fishers High School.  a large part of the work on display was funded by the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation.

Every grade level (kindergarten through 12th grade), and every school building participated in the Evening of Innovation.  The booths ranged from projects on robots, trails, LEGOs, Math and chickens.

Below are some photos taken at the Evening of Innovation:

Continue reading Huge Crowd For HSE Schools Evening of Innovation →

The OneZone Chamber of Commerce, which encompasses the business community in Fishers and Carmel, is calling the recent vote by the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board on its nondiscrimination policy “baffling.”

In a release issued Wednesday, Chamber President Mo Merhoff says in a written statement that inclusion is important in education, but it’s important to business as well.  As the area works to draw the best and brightest workers, a clear and consistent message of inclusion is one the business community feels is needed, according to the local chamber.

Merhoff says the Chamber supports Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness’ statement on the recent nondiscrimination policy vote and is urging the school board to reconsider the policy and “include those most vulnerable.”

“Let’s not leave any doubt about who we are,” Merhoff said.

She opened the statement by quoting former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan, who is now teaching college students, and said the next generation “will not tolerate intolerance.”

Just returned from a trip away from Fishers for a few days.  I did take some time Sunday to write a commentary about the HSE Schools nondiscrimination policy, and I appreciate the many kind words I have received in response to that piece.

But being away means I have some catching-up to do, so here are a few items I could not post to while on my trip:

–At 5am Tuesday, Fishers Police report a robbery at 5am Tuesday, at the Circle K Shell station on Allisonville Road, just north of 96th Street.  A store employee told police two men wearing dark colored hooded coats approached her inside the business. One of the men displayed a long gun and demanded money. The employee complied and was not injured. The suspects fled the business and remain at large. No one else was inside the business at the time of this robbery.   A security camera photo of the suspects is shown above.  Anyone with information regarding this robbery is encouraged to contact Detective/Sergeant Robbie Ruble at 317-595-3319.

–The big, outdoor Fishers Farmers Market makes its 2019 return this Saturday, May 4th.  It starts at 8am and goes until noon.  This year, the outdoor market at the Fishers Nickel Plate Amphitheater will continue through the end of October.  Look for 50 full and part-time vendors this year.

–Congratulations to the “We The People” teams from HSE & Fishers High Schools.  HSE finished 7th in the nation, and Fishers finished 8th in the finals held in Washington, DC.  “We The People” is a competition to test students’ knowledge of civic knowledge.

Logan Day, candidate for Mayor of Fishers in the May 7th Republican primary election, has released a video about Wednesday’s Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board votes on the district’s nondiscrimination policy.  Day generally comments on the controversy and discrimination, but does not appear to take a position on what wording school officials should use in the policy language.

You can view Day’s four-and-a-half minute statement, posted on Facebook, at this link.

Incumbent Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, who is seeking re-election to another term, issued a statement Friday saying, in part, urges school board members to  “enumerate those most vulnerable in their anti-discrimination policy.”

State Senator Jim Merritt, whose district contains a large part of the HSE School District, released a statement endorsing board member Julie Chambers’ suggested nondiscrimination language.  Merritt is also a candidate for Mayor of Indianapolis.

For more background on Wednesday’s board meeting, use this link,

The board has scheduled a final vote on the nondiscrimination policy for the May 8th, meeting, 7pm, at the school administration building on Cumberland Road,

Fishers has been my home for 28 years, and during that time I witnessed fights over a number of contentious local issues.  The battle over the annexation of neighborhoods at Geist, the referendum that resulted in Fishers moving from a town to a city, the first mayoral election in 2014 with six candidates, and the school redistricting decisions – all resulted in controversy and debate among local residents.  There are many others, but those come to mind immediately.  

I have written on this blog many times about the local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board.  For some reason, this board, even with some members moving in and out after election cycles, has had a propensity for making decisions that create damaging publicity for Fishers.  (It should be noted that the HSE School District encompasses more than the City of Fishers, it also includes parts of Fall Creek and Delaware Townships not included in the city limits and all of neighboring Wayne Township) 

What I witnessed at Wednesday night’s HSE board meeting left me with a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Both the behavior of some board members and the behavior of some in the audience reminded me of other communities where I have lived, or covered as a reporter.  I have seen social issues such as the one now before the HSE School Board tear communities apart.  Once that happens, recovery can take a very long time, if the community recovers at all.    

The school board has been wrestling with language in the school district’s nondiscrimination policy since September of 2015.  At that time, the board had the following policy language before it: 

“Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation…does not discriminate on the basis of a protected class including but not limited to race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability or sex (including sexual stereotype nonconformity), in the programs or activities which it operates or the employment therein or admission thereto. The School strictly adheres to all non-discrimination and anti-harassment laws and does not tolerate any such acts.”   

Two HSE staff members spoke at that meeting, arguing that the proposed language was not strong enough.  The board debated and sent the issue to the school district’s policy committee.  It sat right there for years.  This year, the policy issue returned and was once again sent back to the committee. 

Finally, after much back and forth, the board had a proposal for nondiscrimination policy language.  There were ten members of the public that spoke at last Wednesday’s board meeting, all but one favoring an amended version of the policy offered by School Board Member Julie Chambers that said the following: 

“The school corporation does not discriminate in its educational or employment activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression), disability, age, religion, military status, ancestry or genetic information, nor on any basis prohibited by applicable federal or state laws.”  

Chambers’ motion was rejected on a 4-3 vote.  After one amendment to the original proposal, the board voted 4-3 to approve the following nondiscrimination policy language: 

“The school corporation will not discriminate in its educational and employment activities on any basis prohibited by applicable federal or state laws.” 

Many supporters of Chambers’ proposal point out that all school corporations are required to follow state and federal law anyway, so enacting this language really doesn’t make any statement from the board about nondiscrimination. 

I have some very specific views on all this, but I choose not to articulate my opinions at this time, for the following reason…..we all need to undergo a simple exercise before the next HSE School Board meeting May 8th, when the policy will undergo a second and final vote.  Everyone should seriously ponder the meaning of a very important word. 

Listen. 

That’s right, listen.  This is a talent that seems like a lost art in this day and age when so many of us are anxious to express our views but do not take the time and effort to genuinely listen to those with another point of view.  It is an exercise worth trying. 

After watching a video recording by Frank Whelan, I believe there is some hope for this concept.  Frank recorded, on his cell phone, the meeting held Saturday morning by HSEqual, a group organized to advocate for Julie Chambers’ nondiscrimination proposal. 

After watching that group deliberate, I have hope that a listening process will begin.  Board members have the same obligation to listen.   

I believe people of good will can come together, listen to each other, and provide a decision that is best for our local school community. 

My twin daughters are now 25 years of age, educated K-12 in HSE Schools, are college graduates, now married and contributing to their own communities.  I have a stake in HSE Schools continuing its reputation as a top-tier school corporation, as a long-time member of this community. 

That will not happen if we choose to tear ourselves apart over the nondiscrimination policy.  

Let’s respectfully talk, then listen, and make the correct decision for our community.  If we don’t get this right, everyone in our community will suffer.