There were two more filings for Fishers city offices today, both incumbents for city council district office and both were Republicans.

John Weingardt, currently occupying the city council seat for the South Central District, has officially filled his paperwork to run for another term.  Pete Peterson, who serves on the Southeast District Council seat, also turned in his paperwork to run for another term.

Weingardt and Peterson both have served stints as city council president.

Here are all the filings for Fishers city offices as of the close of business Monday, January 14th:

Fishers City Clerk (vote for 1)
Jackie Bowen (Republican) (1-9-19)
Jennifer L. Kehl (Republican) (1-11-19)

Fishers City Judge (vote for 1)
Daniel E. Henke (Republican) (1-10-19)

Fishers City Council, North Central (vote for 1)
Eric Moeller (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Northeast (vote for 1)
Brad DeReamer (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Northwest (vote for 1)
Mike Colby (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Southwest (vote for 1)
David C. George (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Southeast (vote for 1)
Pete Peterson (Republican) (1-14-19)

Fishers City Council, South Central (vote for 1)
John W. Weingardt (Republican) (1-14-19)

Fishers City Council, At Large (vote for 3)
Cecilia Coble (Republican) (1-9-19)
Todd Zimmerman (Republican) (1-9-19)

The next Fishers City Citizens Academy is set for this spring, and you can be a part of it.  The class gives local citizens a look at how local city government works.

The ten-week program goes February 13 and lasts through April 16.  The program allows residents to connect with city leaders, earn a greater understanding of day-to-day operations, and get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at Fishers’ unique facilities and departments, including stormwater, the fire and police departments, parks, and more.

If interested, do not delay.  The registration deadline is February 7th.

The schedule is available at this link.

In order to register, use this link.

Special accommodations, such as ASL interpreters, can be arranged for this program. Please contact Dan Domsic by email or phone at (317) 595-3151 at least two business days prior to the first meeting regarding requests for special accommodations

As 2019 began, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness sat down with me at City Hall to record a podcast interview, looking back on 2018 and looking forward to 2019.  In the latter part of the past year, there were many developments announced.

One was the $157 million project to be undertaken by Browning Investments, including developments on the south side of 116th Street and on the north side just west of City Hall.   The south side project will include a new headquarters building for First Internet Bank.  A new hotel will also be a part of the plans.

Then there was the announcement of a new $14 million Hub & Spoke building on 106th Street near the planned Nickel Plate Trail.  It will house several private firms and provide badly-needed training facilities for those pursuing a career in the building trades.  I talked with the two people spearheading Hub & Spoke, David Decker and Travis Tucker, in a podcast you can hear at this link.

A couple of new office buildings are coming to the Municipal Complex, including one already under construction near the library.

So, I asked the mayor what Fishers residents can expect in the way of new developments in 2019?  His answer was interesting,

Fadness expects his focus to be on creating jobs in the city in the coming year.

“You have to build the physical environment, and I think we have enough in the pipeline that will really change the trajectory of our city for the good,” the mayor said, “but now it’s really getting back to the blocking and tackling of recruiting companies, bringing more jobs to our city.”

Fadness points to vacant spaces around the city that could attract employers.  The old Roche building, once a bank call center, visible from Interstate 69, is ripe for job creation, according to the mayor.  He also believes the I-69 corridor will be ready for growth once The Yard is constructed.

The mayor did throw in one cautionary note….he has been proven wrong in the past when predicting real estate growth will stabilize in Fishers, but as he sees it now, his focus is on growing jobs.

The mayor also talked about the issues facing the commercial area of the city at 116th Street and Allisonville Road.  The city had a plan based on Kroger’s original announcement to build a new store in the area, replacing the current one.

Now that Kroger says it will remodel the current grocery and not build the new facility, the city is back to the drawing board.  Fadness says the city is working constantly on developing that area of the city, but timing is everything in allowing such developments to happen.

You can listen to my podcast interview with Scott Fadness earlier this month at this link

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

After a tough first half, Hamilton Southeastern broke away from Westfield in the third quarter and rode the momentum to a 67-56 victory Friday night in the second game of a Hoosier Crossroads Conference girl-boy doubleheader.

The Shamrocks scored the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by freshman Braden
Smith. The Royals’ first points came from a putback by sophomore Vinny Buccilla, and that set the tone for the game, as both young stars would lead their respective teams.

Noah Smith give HSE a 5-3 lead on a 3-pointer, after which Westfield went on an
8-0 run. Zach Banks scored four points during that time. The Royals cut the lead to
11-10 by the end of the quarter, including a 3 from Aaron Etherington, who was returning after missing some game with an ankle injury.

Smith got Southeastern ahead 15-13 early in the second period with five quick
points, including a 3. Landon Morris scored six points in the later minutes of the quarter; his basket after an offensive rebounds put the Royals up 23-19. Banks made two free throws with seven second left in the half to keep Westfield within 23-21 at halftime.

HSE coach Brian Satterfield said the team tried to pick up its energy level during
halftime, and did just that.

“At the defensive end, I thought we were more active and got our hands on some
things,” said Satterfield. “And then when that happened, that allowed us to get out and go in transition. And we definitely were more efficient offensively.”
Southeastern began to roll in the third quarter, with Buccilla leading the charge. He
threw in five 3-pointers in that period, which ended with the Royals ahead 49-33.

“He did a nice job,” said Satterfield. “He just keeps growing. He didn’t get his shot to
quite fall in the first half, but he really stepped up and hit some big shots for us. The
thing is, once he hit them, guys were looking for him and got him the basketball there when he was on that run.”

The momentum from the third quarter helped carry Southeastern through the fourth quarter, even as the Shamrocks made one last big push by finishing the game on an 11-0 run. Smith made five 3-pointers in that quarter, he would lead all scorers with 22 points and total six 3-pointers.

Buccilla led the Royals with 17 points, while Smith earned a double-double of 11
points and 10 assists. Smith also played well on defense with four steals.

“That second half, he was that motor that made us go,” said Satterfield. “He didn’t
have to score as much, and he kept finding guys that could hit the open shot for us. He was our leading scorer at halftime, but then in the second half, he became our distributor and that’s what you got to love about him. He comes out and he does what we need to try and win ball games.”

Chris Grubbs led the Southeastern rebounding with six, with Smith grabbing
five. The Royals had eight blocked shots as a team, with Mabor Majak making four
blocks and Morris getting three.

After Braden Smith’s 22, Banks and Welch each scored 16 points. Welch hit four
3-pointers and had five rebounds. Benji Welch handed out five assists.

“We just allowed them too many easy baskets in the lane,” said Westfield coach
Shane Sumpter. “That was our whole deal is that we just can’t let them transition
baskets. We can’t turn the ball over leading to transition baskets. And I thought that first three minutes of the second half was really the basketball game. All of those things happened. We had some turnovers, we had some quick shots that led to their transition baskets and then they got a lot of stuff in the
lane.”

Still, Sumpter thought his team did “a lot of good things” during the game.
“I thought we got off to a good start,” said Sumpter. “I thought our first half went
as planned. Missed a couple shots and really felt like we could’ve been up a couple
buckets at the half.”

Southeastern is 2-1 in the conference and 9-4 overall, while the ‘Rocks are 1-2 in the
HCC and 6-4 overall. Both teams are scheduled to play games tonight – the Royals
would travel to Anderson (that game has now been postponed due to weather & is rescheduled for February 12th at Anderson) while Westfield would host Lafayette Jefferson.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

If there’s anything a veteran-heavy basketball team knows how to do, it’s
how to stay calm when things get a little tough.

Hamilton Southeastern’s girls team has plenty of veterans, with four seniors who
have been playing since freshmen. They don’t panic in close situations, which is what the Royals were in after the first quarter with Westfield Friday night.

After playing to a 12-12 first quarter tie with the Shamrocks, Southeastern got going
in the second quarter, and that momentum carried the Class 4A No. 1 Royals to a 56-30 Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory.

Southeastern is now 6-0 in HCC play and 18-1 overall.

“I’m enjoying this team, how they work together,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “Everything they’ve done together. For our seniors, it’s been a four-year process. For everybody else that’s come on, they’ve worked their way into the process, and I’m happy for everything that they’ve been able to accomplish up to this point. But they also, and we also know, that there’s a lot more out there that we want to accomplish.”

“Hupp definitely calls us the veteran team, since we’ve all really been playing
since our freshman year,” said Tayah Irvin, one of those veteran seniors. “And I think
that helps, because then we all know what we’re going to expect from teams. We’ve all learned how to come together when we have to face adversity and everything, so it definitely helps.”

The Royals were getting challenged by a young-leaning Westfield team, which
includes freshman Alyssa Crockett. The 6-foot-1 guard scored five points in the first
quarter, including a 3-pointer, while 6-foot sophomore Gigi Eldredge also adding five points.

Southeastern, meanwhile, got four points from Irvin, and 3s from senior Malea
Jackson and junior Jackie Maulucci also helped out. The Royals then took over in the second quarter, outscoring the ‘Rocks 16-2 for a 28-14 halftime lead.

Senior Amaya Hamilton poured in seven points, including a 3, while junior Sydney
Parrish added four points. Parrish, HSE’s leading scorer, was held without a point in
the first period, but she would get going in the second half.

“What was nice for us early on was we were able to build a lead at halftime and she
really, scoring-wise, wasn’t a big part of that,” said Huppenthal. “And I think that
shows that we have a lot of different components that can score for us.”

Meanwhile, Southeastern’s defense only allowed Westfield one basket, a two-pointer from senior Jade Shipley.

“As a kid, I’ve always wanted to play defense to stand out to coaches and  everything,” said Irvin. “So it’s definitely become a part of me as an athlete, so I feel like my defensive ability is what gives energy to the team, and makes us able to be as successful, because my energy on defense feeds to Syd’s energy on offense, and Malea’s energy on offense. Just energy throughout the whole team.”

The Royals comfortably cruised through the second half, outscoring Westfield in both quarters. In the third period, Jackson hit another 3-pointer, while Hamilton and Parrish scored on back-to-back layins late to put HSE ahead 39-20.

Jackson threw in her third 3 of the game to begin the fourth quarter. Parrish also got hot in the fourth, scoring 11 points to finish with a game-high 21.

“Syd’s going to get going at some point,” said Huppenthal. “It’s just a matter of time. Her first half, scoring-wise, wasn’t one of her best first halves, but second half, she got going and just played like Syd.”

Jackson and Hamilton both scored 11 points, while Maulucci made two 3-pointers.
Parrish also grabbed seven rebounds, with sophomore Lydia Self collecting six and
Hamilton getting five. Self also handed out six assists.

“That’s a really, really good ball club,” said Westfield coach Ginny Smith. “They’re
really, really well-coached. They get after you. They’re not afraid to make an extra pass on offense. They’re not afraid to get on the floor for a loose ball. And those kind of things show in a game like that.”

Eldredge led Westfield with eight points and six rebounds, while Crockett scored six
points.
“I think Gigi, though she didn’t score a lot in there, she demanded the basketball,”
said Smith. “She had to be guarded, and that opened things up a little bit for our guards. I’m proud of Gigi’s effort and what she did. Alyssa, she continued to fight and she continued to batte out there. And I think all in all, I don’t know what her stat line looks like, but I know what I watched, and that kid played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort today. I’m more proud of that than I am of stat lines. I think our young kids, they gave us everything they had.”

The Royals will host Lawrence North on Tuesday. Westfield is now 3-3 in the conference and 15-5 overall, and will play its conference finale next Friday against
Brownsburg at The Rock.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers dropped a 45-36 Hoosier Crossroads Conference game at Brownsburg
on Friday, the first HCC loss of the year for the Tigers.

The Bulldogs led 9-4 after the first quarter and 17-14 at halftime. The Tigers
came back to tie the game at 25-25 after three periods, thanks to two 3-pointers by
Alex Szilagyi, and another 3 by Josiah Matthews. But Brownsburg outscored Fishers 20-11 in the fourth.

Jeff Simmons led the Tigers with 12 points, while Szilagyi threw in three 3s for
nine points.

Fishers is 2-1 in the HCC and 10-5 overall. The Tigers host Avon next Friday
in another conference contest.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers girls basketball team lost to Brownsburg 62-32 in a Friday Hoosier
Crossroads Conference game.

The Bulldogs led 13-9 after the first quarter and 28-12 at halftime. Skylar
Fulton scored nine points for the Tigers.

Tamia Perryman collected seven rebounds, with Cierra Tolbert grabbing six
and Katie Burton pulling five.

Fishers is 2-3 in the conference and 11-8 overall, and will play at Carmel on Tuesday.

If you talk to anyone that has graduated from one of the citizens’ academies offered by the City of Fishers, each person will tell you it was a great time and a lot was learned in the experience.

The Fishers Police Department is taking applications for its 36th Citizens Police Academy class.

The Academy is scheduled for 12 weeks and offers “police style” training to area citizens.  Some of the training will include: Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch, Bicycle Patrol, Criminal Law, Police Canine, Traffic Stops, Weapons Familiarization, Self Defense, Criminal Investigations, Evidence Collection, and Narcotics. The instructors will be police officers from the Fishers Police Department.   Participants in the Citizen’s Academy are eligible to complete a ride along with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.

Our spring 2019 Citizen’s Police Academy will be held at the Fishers Police Department every Wednesdaynight from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. starting February 20, 2019. The academy will be open to individuals who reside or are employed in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  You must be sixteen years old or older to participate in the Citizen’s Academy.

It is the Police Department’s goal to build on the relationships already established in the community. The Citizen’s Academy consists of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer.

Apply online at www.fishers.in.us/police  or apply in person at the Fishers Police Department.  Applications will be accepted until February 11th.  If you have any questions contact Officer Rob Thompson at thompsonr@fishers.in.us  or (317) 595-3300.

Jennifer Kehl has served as Fishers City Clerk ever since the the transformation from a town to a City in 2015.  Now, Jennifer Kehl is seeking another term in the clerk’s office by filing her candidate paperwork for the 2019 Republican primary election.  She will face a challenger…..Jackie Bowen has already filed her candidate paperwork.

Here is the list of filings for Fishers city offices, as of close of business Friday, January 11th:

Fishers City Clerk
Jackie Bowen (Republican) (1-9-19)
Jennifer L. Kehl (Republican) (1-11-19)

Fishers City Judge
Daniel E. Henke (Republican) (1-10-19)

Fishers City Council, North Central
Eric Moeller (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Northeast
Brad DeReamer (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Northwest
Mike Colby (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, Southwest
David C. George (Republican) (1-9-19)

Fishers City Council, At Large
Cecilia Coble (Republican) (1-9-19)
Todd Zimmerman (Republican) (1-9-19)

I have been away from my computer for a while, so I am a little behind, but I do not want this news item to pass me by, albeit a bit late.

The City of Fishers has announced that Megan Baumgartner will be taking over as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Fishers.  Megan has been the assistant to Brandon Dickinson in that department, but will assume the top economic development job for the city following Brandon’s departure for another job opportunity.

Megan Baumgartner has been heavily involved in nearly all economic development projects pursued by the City of Fishers in recent years.  Before joining the city staff in Fishers, Megan worked for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and drew upon that experience in her work for Fishers.

“Megan has represented Fishers well during her time here and has proven to lead our city in the right direction as we strive to be a place where business thrives,” said Mayor Fadness in the city news relase announcing Megan’s promotion. “With this team in place, Fishers will continue to dedicate its efforts toward providing service and partnership to entrepreneurs, innovative firms, and small business.”

In the same news release, the city announced that Jordin Alexander joined the Fishers Economic Development team in September 2018 as Economic Development Specialist. Alexander is responsible for all redevelopment project coordination, compliance, programming, and outreach for the department.

In May of 2016, I interviewed Brandon Dickinson and Megan Baumgartner about their work.  Much of the information discussed is dated, but it gives you an insight into how Megan Baumgartner approaches economic development.