Adam Aasen & I have had very busy schedules the past few months so our weekly film podcast is in hiatus…..however, we are posting special editions, such as this one with Christopher Lloyd.  We all discuss our favorite films of 2018

by

Jeff Jellison

Hamilton County Reporter

Funding for Hamilton County’s 9-1-1 Communication Center has been a topic discussed by community leaders for more than a year, according to Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt.

In the past, the larger cities of Noblesville, Carmel, Fishers and Westfield have shared that expense.

Now county leaders are calling upon the smaller communities of Arcadia, Atlanta, Sheridan, Cicero, White River Township and Wayne Township to help.

Last week County Commissioners issued a letter to those communities. The letter provided a deadline of Jan. 4 for an Interlocal Agreement that would require the smaller northern Hamilton County communities to pay their share of dispatch services.

Heirbrandt indicated that for 2019 the county was asking the smaller communities to pay only 10 percent of their respective fees and the county would pick up the remaining 90 percent.

Arcadia Town Board member Mitch Russell said that’s an additional $8,423 dollars out of this year’s budget.

The letter sent by the commissioners also referenced the possibility of the county paying 75 percent of the northern Hamilton County towns’ and townships’ dispatch service for the year 2020. Commissioners, in the letter, pointed out that decision would ultimately rest upon the Hamilton County Council. What was not stated in the letter was what happens after 2020. Russell said his town could eventually be billed nearly $84,000. That is approximately 64 percent of Arcadia’s total budget.

“Unfortunately, this is not a permanent fix and other options will need to be looked at to assure our public safety needs are properly funded in the future,” said Heirbrandt.

“The population of northern Hamilton County needs to take notice in what the commissioners are doing in charging for these services,” said Russell.

Arcadia did not meet the deadline set in the letter: “Our next Town Board meeting will be on Jan. 7. We will likely approve the 2019 Interlocal Agreement. We are behind the 8 ball with the possibility of losing our dispatch services because the commissioners did not give us enough time to research our options.”

The Town of Cicero on Thursday evening held an emergency meeting to meet the Commissioners’ deadline. Cicero Town Board members unanimously approved the Interlocal Agreement that will require they pay $13,413.82 this year.

Cicero Town Board President Chris Lutz told the Reporter, “Due to the inherent public safety impact of the subject matter of the agreement – the provision of 9-1-1 dispatch services – and the fact that the town did not receive the county’s letter requesting a decision by Friday, Jan. 4 until Wednesday, Jan. 2, the Town Council felt it was necessary to hold an emergency meeting to vote on whether to adopt the agreement.”

Lutz indicated the County sent the letter last week but, due to an error in the address that was utilized, it didn’t reach Cicero until Wednesday.

“I was pleased to hear that the 9-1-1 Interlocal Agreement was approved by the Town of Cicero. This is something we have been discussing for almost a year and a half with the northern Hamilton County towns and townships. I appreciate the continued communication with the local leaders and their passion to prioritize public safety for their community,” said Heirbrandt.

The Communication Center services seven police departments, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and nine fire and EMS agencies. Last year the Center handled more than 400,000 phone calls and logged nearly 350,000 calls for service.

The 9-1-1 Communication Center currently has an advisory board comprised of representatives from Noblesville, Westfield, Carmel, Fishers and a Hamilton County Commissioner. Each are voting members. Commissioner Christine Altman said a sixth advisory seat without voting privileges is assigned to a person representing the smaller communities. Altman said the smaller communities have never filled the position.

The Advisory Board is an issue with Russell. “If we are going to pay for services like the four larger cities and the Sheriff’s Department, each of the smaller communities should have a voting member on the board.”

“With the inclusion of the towns and townships in the contract for service, the 9-1-1 Executive Board has discussed converting the advisory seat (one seat representing the smaller communities) to a voting seat, and I believe that that will be done upon the entities entering into the contract,” said Altman. “We believe that our Communications Center, systems and staff are one of the best in Indiana if not nationally. This unified system has proven to be efficient and we believe provides the best public safety for our residents and those visiting the County. The County has worked hard to ease the initial financial commitments for entities who choose to participate while the communities review appropriate methods to fund the service.”

White River Township has already signed the Interlocal Agreement; however, Sheridan, Atlanta and Jackson Township, like Arcadia, have yet to sign.

Commissioners have asked those communities to present a written plan on how dispatch services will be handled in their communities in the event no agreement is reached.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers was edged out at Pike on Friday, falling 70-67 in a contest that ended the Tigers’ seven-game win streak.

Fishers led 19-17 after the first quarter, with freshman Jeffrey Simmons pouring in 12 points. The Red Devils came back in the second period, leading 37-32 by halftime.

Pike then led 56-47 after three quarters. Willie Jackson had eight points for the Tigers in that period. Fishers made a run in the fourth, outscoring the Red Devils 20-14, but Pike was able to hang on for the win. Terry Hicks scored nine for Fishers in that quarter.

Four Tigers players reached double figures. Josiah Matthews led with 18 points, with Jackson scoring 14. Simmons had 12 and Alex Szilagyi added 11, including three 3-pointers.

Fishers is 9-4 for the season and will play at Arsenal Tech on Tuesday.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern was stunned by Lawrence Central 83-51 Friday in a battle of top 10 Class 4A teams Friday at the Royals’ gym.

The No. 7 Bears outscored the No. 9 Royals in each period, leading 44-28 at halftime. Lawrence Central then ran away with the third quarter, scoring 27 points. The Bears made 10 3-pointers in the game.

Mabor Majak scored 10 points to lead Southeastern, and also grabbed five rebounds. Landon Morris had nine points, while Chris Grubbs added eight points and pulled eight rebounds. Noah Smith handed out four assists.

The Royals are 8-3 and play tonight at No. 1-ranked and defending 4A state champion Warren Central.

29 years in law enforcement is a long time…friends and family were on hand Friday afternoon for an open house honoring Captain Gerry Hepp of the Fishers Police Department as Hepp retires from the force.

Hepp’s first job as a police officer was in 1990 when he was hired by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.  In 1995, he joined the Fishers Police force.  Captain Hepp had a number of jobs while with the Fishers Police….including Public Information Officer, DARE instructor, trainer for other officers, and recruitment.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told the crowd Hepp will be sorely missed.  “On behalf of a grateful city, we do appreciate all the years you’ve put into not only this organization, but our city,” the mayor said.

“Today is about smiles rather than tears, so let’s stick with smiles,” said Captain Hepp.

He described his fellow officers at the open house as an “incredible” group.  “It is what drove me to this career, being with people, working with people,” Hepp said.

Hepp finished his remarks talking about his family and began to show some emotion.

Cpt. Hepp receives a token of appreciation from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness

I started covering the Town of Fishers on this blog in 2012.  It was 2013 when then-Town Manager Scott Fadness proposed ideas to the town council on developing the downtown area.

As Samm Quinn reports in the January 4th edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal, the growth has happened much more quickly than Fadness or anyone else expected.  Once elected mayor in 2014, and taking office in 2015, Fadness has continued with that plan.

Reporter Quinn takes you through what has happened in the downtown Fishers Nickel Plate District, what is under construction now and what is planned for the future.

You can read Samm Quinn’s story at this link.  (NOTE:  If you do not subscribe to the IBJ, you may be limited on the number of online articles you may access)

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern scored another win over a top five team on Thursday, beating Warren Central 49-41 at the Warriors’ gym.

The Class 4A No. 2 Royals got off to a fast start over 4A No. 5 and defending state champion Warren, leading 17-6 after the first quarter. The Warriors worked their way back into the game in the second period, cutting Southeastern’s lead to 24-21 by halftime. But the Royals played solid in the third quarter, taking a 37-28 lead and holding on in the fourth period.
Sydney Parrish scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and also had eight rebounds. Amaya Hamilton added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Tayah Irvin collected six rebounds.

The Royals are 17-1 and will be off until Friday, Jan. 11, when they host Westfield in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference girl-boy doubleheader.

Fishers is looking for a few good artists, with 2D art for display at Fishers City Hall.  Your art would be shown on both floors of City Hall for one month.  A reception is held during the month, allowing visitors a chance to talk with the artists.

Some months are already full, but art is needed during the following months:

June – An Eclectic Affair (we are looking for 3-5 pieces of art from each artist that will be shown all month and also be shown as part of the Spark!Fishers festival). August – New Artists & Others (looking for emerging artists & artists who have not exhibited at The Art Gallery at City Hall).

September – Rails & Trails (focus on the rail heritage and woodland heritage of Indiana)

November – Scenes of Indiana

December – Winter Wonderland

If you are interested in exhibiting, please provide the information below to tomrich1952@yahoo.com or sknox0031@comcast.net by February 15, 2019:

* Your name and contact information (phone, email and physical address)

* Residency (Fishers, Hamilton County, Outside Hamilton County)

* Statement detailing what you will provide along with jpegs (if art exists) or description of art to be created.

* Please note that priority will be given to Fishers residents.

Remember:

The art is in public space and must be appropriate for all ages.

We are looking for 3-5 pieces from each artist (general guideline).

If you are interested in an exclusive show or semi-exclusive show, please let us know.

-Questions may be directed to tomrich1952@yahoo.com, or sknox0031@comast.net

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness talks about the past year, the new year and a number of other subjects

2019 is here, and that caused me to look back on this blog & my podcasts.  Just how many years have I been writing this blog?  How long have I been producing podcasts?

So, I looked back and realized I am entering my 8th year of writing this blog as 2019 begins.  Yes, time does fly.

Then I asked myself how long I’ve been producing local podcasts….turns out I am beginning my 4th year of podcasting.  It may seem like less time than that, but my equipment is showing the wear & tear of hauling it around Fishers on a regular basis.  Never fear, replacement gear is on its way.

I also thought back to the goal I had set for myself when the blog started in January of 2012.  I was hoping a few hundred government geeks like me would read the postings.  Now, I measure the number of people reading at least one blog post last year in the tens of thousands.  I never imagined anything like that in 2012.

With  several years under my belt in the radio broadcasting business (yes, it was a very long time ago) I wondered whether anyone would be interested in listening to locally-based podcast discussions.  After all, there are very few venues where local people can have an extended discussion about the work they do around our community.  So, that project started in early 2016

But, again, would anyone care to listen?  The first year of podcasting answered that question, because the statistics show there were nearly 7,000 times a person listened to most or all of a podcast in 2016…in 2018, the number reached just under 16,000 times a person listened to most or all of one podcast.  If I were a national podcast I would be out of business with those stats, but for a locally focused podcast, those are big numbers.

It should be noted I do produce film and local stage reviews on my podcasting series.  Also, Adam Aasen & I produced a weekly film podcast, but that went into hiatus last September when both of our schedules were just to busy to continue.  Adam & I do plan restarting the podcast sometime this year, and will have some special editions.

When I look at the numbers, an important fact jumps out at me….people in Fishers want more information and reporting about what is happening in this city.  You are sending that message loud and clear by reading this blog and listening to my podcasts.

I have found a demand for local news, the most important news for all of us.  But news is expensive to produce commercially and most media outlets in this area have cut-back on local coverage.  That’s why I started this blog and the podcast series as a volunteer effort to provide news to those wanting it for free.  That’s why I continue.

The news-gathering partnership I established with Jeff Jellison at the Hamilton County Reporter has worked well for me, and I assume it’s working well for the Reporter as well.  This partnership allows me to provide news of what’s going on throughout Hamilton County.  Obviously, what is happening at the county level in Noblesville impact us in Fishers.

But keep this in mind….I’m not getting any younger.  I made a commitment to stay with this blog during the Fishers city election in 2019.  After that, there will be an evaluation of whether I can continue with this blog.  I may continue, and I may not.  Time will tell.

But here is something I want to say….thanks to everyone for reading this blog.  It is a labor of love because of the regular feedback I receive from so many of you.  That feedback is what keeps me going.

Happy New Year to you all!  Let’s see what this city election year brings, and what other news no one can predict will come our way during 2019.