The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board Wednesday night formally approved a 5-year contract with Conner Prairie, allowing a teacher-in-residence to conduct special lessons for fourth-grade students in all 12 HSE District elementary schools.

The contract was many months in the making, with several proposals sent back and forth between the school board and the Conner Prairie board.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness was on hand for the contract vote, calling himself a more of a cheerleader on the sidelines on this project, urging both sides to get this agreement.

“Integrating our community into the classroom, and our classroom into the community, is something that is a differentiator among school districts,” Fadness told school board members.  The mayor said this contract is one more step in working with teachers and HSE administrators, and he says many more actions along these lines are coming.

HSE teacher Amy Murch will be the first teacher in residence at Conner Prairie

“I’ll mention Amy Murch because she has literally been working side-by-side with our educators and with your (HSE) staff and developed a dynamic curriculum” said Conner Prairie CEO Norman Burns.  “We think this will be one of a kind, a national model, not only for museums but also for school systems.”

HSE officials say lessons will focus on scientific concepts of simple machines and the influence it had on transportation and life in during 1830s in Indiana. Students will be able to investigate different transportation systems and identify concepts of force that affect their motion. They will also be constructing boats to float in the White River and designing interview questions for the interpreters in Prairie Town about what simple machines they use in their daily life.

Mayor Fadness told the board this is one step toward creating his vision of a City Wide Campus.

“The next thing is to broaden the scale of this to allow the entire business community to be a part moving forward,” Fadness said.

The Fishers City Hall Council Chambers were well over half full with voters Tuesday night for a forum featuring local candidates for seats in the Indiana General Assembly.  The League of Women voters sponsored the event.

Three different races were featured.  Republican Brian Bosma, Speaker of the House and incumbent in House District 88, faces Democratic challenger Poonam Gill.  In House District 37, incumbent Republican Todd Huston faces Democrat Aimee Rivera Cole.  In the Senate, Republican incumbent Jim Merritt is facing Democrat Derek Camp.  All six candidates were on hand for this forum.

Questions came from League of Women Voters moderator Janet Chandler and from written questions sumbitted from the audience.

The sharpest exchange between the candidates came when a question was asked about funding Planned Parenthood….the responses dealt with not just women’s health but also abortions.  Generally, the Democrats wanted women’s health programs to include abortion as a choice for women, and the Republicans all sided with the anti-abortion arguments on this question, although some expressed support of women’s health programs outside of abortion.

Many other issues were discussed, including school safety, support for public schools, state support of preschool, infrastructure, LGBT rights, Hate Crime laws and climate change.

Fishers and Hamilton County, based on election results going back many decades, are predominantly Republican areas.  However, a clear majority of those in the audience were Democrats.  The Hamilton County Democratic Party has said it plans to be much more active in local politics in the future.  This forum indicates they are following that strategy.

Janet Chandler asks a question of the candidates

By

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

In the wake of the controversial Supreme Court confirmation hearings, voting in this year’s Nov. 6 general election is now expected to be heavier than in most off-year elections. This may encourage early voting which is now allowed in Indiana.

Early voting starts today at the County Government and Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville. Then, starting on Oct. 24, there will be early voting offered at remote locations in Carmel, Westfield and Fishers.

At the county elections office any registered voter may cast his or her ballot during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, until Nov. 5 when early voting ends at noon. In addition, early voting will be offered between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at the elections office on the main floor of the Judicial Center.

Voting will be offered at the Carmel Public Library, the Westfield City Hall and Fishers City Hall between 2 and 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 25 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 26 and 27, except at Fishers where there will be voting on Saturday only.

These locations will all be open again from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, and again from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 2, except Fishers which will be open for voting only on Saturday, Nov. 3.

Michelle Fullhart is seeking a second term on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board in this year’s election round.  I spoke with Michelle Fullhart about her District 3 campaign

The City of Fishers moved to bring more neighborhoods in line with an effort to standardize the speed limit in residential neighborhoods at 25 miles-per-hour.

Director of Engineering for the City of Fishers, Jeff Hill, told the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that today’s action would bring speed limits in the northwest section of the city at 25 miles-per-hour in residential areas.  Hill said this is being done one section of the city at a time to spread-out of the costs of new speed limit signs.

The board approved the changes to the city’s traffic schedule.  A full listing of the speed limit changes can be found at this link.

In other Board of Works actions, approval was given to dedicate a right of way on St. George Boulevard in the Burberry neighborhood, just off Hague Road, to eventually allow access to a trail along Hague Road.  Also, the board approved a contract with MJ Insurance brokers to provide property and casualty insurance coverage for the city.

Fire agencies in Hamilton County have joined forces to find entry-level firefighters.  Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Westfield Fire Departments are all part of this effort.  If you successfully apply, you will be placed on the hiring list for a two-year period.

During that two-year period, all candidates could be contacted by any of the four agencies about open positions.

You can apply at this link.

Once contacted by any of the departments about employment, job seekers are subject to additional background and physical considerations.

The social media posts were coming throughout the past weekend that Fishers Police officers were concerned about the well-being of a fellow officer after a serious vehicle crash.  Now, we have more information about what happened.

A Fishers Police Department news release identifies the injured officer as Binh Dennis.  He and his wife Mary were injured shortly before noon Saturday morning when their motorcycle left the roadway and struck a tree along State Road 135 in Brown County (IN). Medical personnel and The Brown County Sheriff’s Department responded.

Paramedics transported Mary to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Officer Binh was air lifted to an Indianapolis Hospital for potential life threatening injuries. Mary has since been released from the hospital. Binh remains in critical condition and his long term prognosis is unknown. According to Binh’s medical team, the next few days are critical as they continue to closely monitor his condition.

“Fishers police ask that the community continue to keep Binh and his family in your thoughts and prayers,” according to the news release. “The outpouring of support has been greatly appreciated.”

A second forum for Hamilton Southeastern School Board is slated for Tuesday, October 23rd, starting at 6pm.  The event will be held at the Ji-Eun Lee Academy, near 126th Street and Cumberland Road.

The first forum held September 19th was sponsored by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association.  The October 23rd event will be sponsored by the Fiscal Conservatives of Hamilton County.

Long-time school board member John DeLucia will moderate the forum.  If you have questions for the candidates, you can submit them in advance, by October 18th, at the following e-mail address –  fcohcindiana@gmail.com

Tom Britt’s Towne Post Network will provide a live video stream of the forum.

Hamilton County Reporter

This year’s Ryan White AIDS Walk at Hamilton Heights High School raised over $3,000 for the Ryan White Scholarship Fund. The Hamilton Heights High School Student Government Organization has been hosting the Ryan White Fundraiser for over 20 years.

More than 600 students, faculty and staff paid $1 to walk around the high school track during one class period on Homecoming Friday in his honor. Money raised from the walk continues to help preserve White’s legacy: “Help me beat the odds and together let’s educate and save the children of tomorrow,” while raising funds for the scholarship fund created in his memory in 1991.

White became a poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after being expelled from his Kokomo middle school in 1985 because of his infection.  A hemophiliac, White became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment. He lost his battle to the disease in April 1990, one month prior to his high school graduation.  This year marks the 31^st anniversary of his first day at Hamilton Heights High School.  This is also the year, a historical marker in his name will be installed at the Hamilton Heights Middle School (formerly the high school).

To date, the Ryan White Scholarship Fund, provides scholarships for deserving seniors who plan to pursue a degree in the fields of health, education and/or medicine, has awarded more than $55,000 in scholarships.

Money for the Ryan White Scholarship Fund are generated through the annual AIDS walk fundraiser and private donations. Donations can be mailed to: The Ryan White Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 379, Arcadia, IN 46030, Attn: Kim Kaiser.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton Southeastern boys soccer team has now won four sectional championships
in a row.

That fourth championship was a close one, as the Sectional 8 host Royals were
given a tough battle by their cross-town rival Fishers. The game went into overtime, and
it was a goal by senior Zaden Eby-Holmes that lifted Southeastern past the Tigers 2-1
and allowed the Royals to lift another sectional trophy.

“It’s unbelievable to be one of the only few, and to share with my brothers each and
every year just gets better and better,” said Chayton Davidson, one of the senior captains
on the HSE team. The Royals seniors are thus champions all four years, and it was
the seniors that stepped up, as they scored both goals.

Early in the second half, senior Sean Williams played a corner kick to fellow
senior JP Suarez, who booted it into the net to get Southeastern on the board with 36:30
remaining. But the Tigers kept the pressure on, and tied the game with 14:31 left. Junior
Reese May found the equalizer for Fishers.

The score would stay at 1-1 through the end of regulation, which meant overtime –
two seven-minute periods, no “golden goal.”

Neither team scored in the first overtime, and a finish by penalty kicks loomed as a
possibility.

But Eby-Holmes took care of that thanks to a perfect kick with 4:41 remaining in the
second overtime. The Royals held on from there to preserve the win.

“I got a lucky bounce,” said Eby-Holmes.

He credited sophomore forward Harsahil Gandham with making “a good run through”
to set up the score.

“I was just able to get a touch on it and get it past the keeper and I kept my composure
and beat the defender,” said Eby-Holmes.

The championship was the sixth in school history for the Royals, who are now
14-2-2 for the season. And of course, it was the team’s first ever four-peat.

“Over the last three, four years, we’ve had a lot of firsts in our program,” said HSE
coach Chris White. For example, last season was the first time Southeastern had been
ranked No. 1 in the state, and won a Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship.

“These seniors have been a part of that, but this year they hadn’t been able to experience
something that was a first for our program,” said White. “So this was the opportunity to be the first class to come through and say they never lost a sectional championship. Winning four in a row’s really special whether you win it on the road or home. Obviously being at home, it’s great to be able to have that kind of turnout from the fans and the support.”

Meanwhile, Fishers finished its season 12-3-3 in the first year for coach Phil
Schmidt.

“Fishers is a great team,” said White.  “What Coach Schmidt did with them this year is remarkable.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” said Schmidt. “We had a young team. Proud
of our seniors, but young team that got to learn a lot this year and I cannot wait for
next season. I cannot wait for the future of Fishers soccer. I thought we had an outstanding
season and our future is extremely bright.”

Southeastern will play in the Kokomo regional next Saturday. The Royals will play
the winner of the Homestead sectional, either Huntington North or the host Spartans.
That championship game was delayed to Monday due to weather.