WISH-TV/Hamilton County Reporter

It’s a sound we’re all familiar hearing: Outdoor warning sirens alerting us to severe weather.

It’s something we take for granted, assuming there’s a universal policy in place to keep us safe. But there are some areas in central Indiana where sirens will be sounded when there is no threat at all.

Outdoor warning sirens are for public safety, alerting those outside to get inside. They’re usually placed in highly populated areas near a park or sports complex.

“I think they still serve a purpose today,” said Hamilton County EMA Director Shane Booker.

Booker

Here in Hamilton County, while in storm operations mode, each of these stations serves a purpose, from monitoring storm spotters, watching the radar to sounding the sirens.

“We will sound the sirens in the event of a tornado warning that the NWS [National Weather Service] polygon is for a particular portion of the county and we will sound sirens where the siren sound covers that polygon,” Booker said.

While most counties in central Indiana follow the same protocol, there is no statewide policy and it’s up to local municipalities on when they sound sirens.

Monroe County, for example, has the capability to sound each siren separately but its policy is all or none. For example, when a tornado warning is issued for Stinesville in the northern part of the county, sirens in Harrodsburg some 20 miles away would be active, even though there is no severe weather threat there.

“We saw from early on that doesn’t work for us,” said Hamilton County EMA Deputy Director Carl Erickson. “We don’t want people to get content and see it’s sunny outside. So from early on we want the ability to set the sirens off we want to set off.”

Erickson

And while sometimes these sirens can be heard from inside your home, that’s not their main purpose. Outdoor warning sirens are for those who are outdoors and really shouldn’t be your only method for getting severe weather information. Weather radios will go off if there’s a warning in your area, or you can also download the Storm Track 8 app to get warnings, too.

For Erickson, it’s more than just pushing a button on a computer screen. He’s been sounding sirens for more than a decade and considers it a rewarding part of his job.

“It’s a really cool thing to do, to let the public know something bad is going to happen and knowing that this agency had a key role in … that is huge for me,” Erickson said.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Carmel advanced to the Sectional 8 championship game with a 62-52 win over Fishers Friday at the Eric Clark Activity Center.

The Class 4A No. 1 Greyhounds got off to a great start, holding a double-digit lead late in the first quarter, then weathered a comeback by the Tigers in the fourth quarter. Carmel plays Hamilton Southeastern in tonight’s championship game.

“You know that teams are going to make a run,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “You try and prep the guys for it. You know everything’s not going to go exactly the way you want it to.”

Carmel skipped off to a 7-0 lead, with two John Michael Mulloy baskets sandwiching a 3-pointer from Andrew Owens. Luke Hernandez hit a jumper to get Fishers on the board, but the ‘Hounds used a 10-3 run to consume the remainder of the first quarter and lead 17-5. Luke Heady started the run with a 3.

Carmel then made an 8-2 run that lasted most of the second period and gave it a 25-7
lead. Mulloy scored five points, while Ben Frische added the other three points. Alex
Szilagyi ended the run by making a 3, but Robert Fry scored on a layin, then Peter
Suder got a basket off a steal to end the half, giving the Greyhounds a 29-10 lead.

“I thought we started the game well, and we executed and defended. We did everything we needed to do except make free throws in the first half to build a lead,” said
Osborn.

The game tightened up in the second half, but Carmel was able to keep a comfortable distance from Fishers in the third quarter. Mulloy scored six more points in
the third, with Owens hit another 3. Josiah Matthews got going for the Tigers, adding
seven points, then Willie Jackson made two free throws at the very end of the period.

“Playing hard is part of the expectation,” said Fishers coach Matt Moore. “We need
to continue to put four quarters together. If you’re going to try to beat a team like
Carmel, you’ve got to find a way to put an entire game together. And if you do that,
you got a chance. But you can’t turn the ball over the way that we did and dig that hole.
There’s a saying that you can’t win a game in the first half, but you can lose one. And
we did that.”

Hernandez opened the fourth quarter with a 3, keeping Fishers within 41-28, but
Karsten Windlan immediately got the lead back up to 44-28 with a three-point play.
Carmel later led 47-31, but Jackson singlehandedly took the Tigers on an 8-2 run,
making two free throws, draining a 3, then converting a traditional three-point play.
That cut the Greyhounds’ lead to 10, at 49-39.

Szilagyi got the lead under 10 by nailing a 3, putting Fishers within 53-46. Two Jackson free throws then cut the lead further, to 54-48. But Windlan answered by going 4 of 4 from the line during a 15-second period, and that got Carmel out of trouble.

“I’m proud of the seniors,” said Osborn. “I’m proud of their resolve, their ability to
get through stuff.”

Mulloy scored 19 points for the ‘Hounds, who are now 21-1 for the season, with Windlan adding 14 and Owens scoring 11. Owens and Mulloy each collected five rebounds.

Jackson, a senior, scored 18 points and made all 11 of his free throw attempts. Hernandez contributed 11 points, while Matthews, Szilagyi and Jeffrey Simmons all collected four rebounds. Fishers finished its season 17-8.

“Proud of our seniors,” said Moore. “I think our seniors really set the tone, not only
for the season, but for the program. They’ve done something, an uncharted territory in
terms of taking our team to the number of wins we had and the places that we’ve won.
That’s a credit to those guys. We’re going to
miss those guys dearly.”

by

Richie Hall

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern had to fight for it, but the Royals are in the Sectional 8 championship game.

Southeastern got past Noblesville 47-41 in Friday night’s first semi-final game at the Eric Clark Activity Center in Carmel. The Royals will take on the Class 4A No. 1 Greyhounds at 7:30 p.m. tonight for the title.

Southeastern (16-8) jumped out to an 8-2 first-quarter lead, with Noah Smith scoring five points. But the Millers cut the lead to 8-7 by the end of the period. Xavier Hines made a layin and Alex Hunt finished the quarter with a three-point play.

Sophomore Landon Morris hit back-to-back baskets to open the second quarter, and an Aaron Etherington 3-pointer got HSE up 15-7. Hines hit his own 3, which the Royals’
Vinny Buccilla answered with another Southeastern triple. The Royals led 18-11 at
halftime, but a got big scare when Noah Smith went down with an injury. He did not
return to the game and it is uncertain if he will play tonight.

“He’s the motor that makes us go,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “He’s our best defender. He’s the guy that pushes the ball. He can create offense. You saw him hit the
3 to start the game. He was ready for that challenge.”

Hines opened the second half with another 3-pointer, then Jordan Schmidt got
hot, scoring nine points in the third quarter (two 3s and a traditional three-point play).

Southeastern was able to stay ahead, though, as Etherington scored eight points; he
drained two 3s and scored off a rebound.

“He stepped up big and hit some big shots for us,” said Satterfield. “But all the
guys did.”

Etherington’s second 3 of the quarter put the Royals up 31-25, but Zack Johnson cut
it to 31-29 with consecutive baskets. Mabor Majak hit a free throw to move HSE ahead
32-29; that would be the score at the end of the third.

Etherington opened the fourth by nailing back-to-back 3s, but the Millers answered that with a 10-3 to get within 41-39. Hines hit another 3, while Johnson scored four points.

Eagan Keever-Hill hit two foul shots with 1:10 left, and Noblesville was within two.

Chris Grubbs made two foul shots to push the Royals ahead by four, but Hines answered that with a pair of free throws. The Millers were now within 43-41 with 49.5 seconds left, but HSE would not let them score again, getting the game’s last four points.

“We’re one possession away with 49 seconds to go,” said Noblesville coach Brian McCauley. “Couldn’t be prouder of them and how they improved from the first time
we played them to the second time we played them.”

Etherington finished the game with 18 points, including five 3s. Morris added nine points and collected eight rebounds. Grubbs was all over the stat line, with eight rebounds, six points, four assists and two blocked shots.

“Landon’s just been coming on,” said Satterfield. “He’s been tremendous here, especially the second half of the season.”

Hines scored 15 points and pulled five rebounds, while Schmidt added 11 and made four steals. Zack Johnson scored eight, while Keever-Hill handed out five assists. All four are seniors, with another senior Alex Hancock, in the starting lineup as well.

“We went through a great stretch there,” said McCauley, whose team ended the season 13-11. “They finished the season really strong. We had one hiccup in our last home game, but other than that, we really finished the season strong. That’s the mark of a senior-laden team, a team that wants to win as opposed to a team that wants to get the season over with. That’s what senior leadership will do.”

The Council Chambers at Fishers City Hall were nearly full Friday morning as the city kicked off the month of March, Disability Awareness Month.  Cecilia Coble and Stacey Oldham, co-chairs of the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, handled the welcoming duties for the kick-off celebration.

There were two keynote speakers this year – Noah Malone and Jordan Dickey.

Noah is a junior at HSE High School and is a star runner on the track team.  He contracted a medical condition that has severely limited his eyesight.  That hasn’t stopped Noah from continuing his athletic career and he is still a standout performer on the track squad.

Jordan has a severe disability that confines him to a wheelchair, but that hasn’t stopped Jordan from being a wheelchair soccer player for 15 years.  Jordan received a college degree and an MBA.  He did an internship with a local marketing company Statwax.  Jordan illustrated for the company what he could do in crunching data and is now a valued full-time employee for Statwax.

Mayor Scott Fadness asked each of the keynote speakers what bothers them the most about how others deal with them, and both said they just want their fellow students and coworkers to treat them like anybody else in school or in the work place.

The Advisory Committee on Disability awarded the Life Without Limits Award to Conner Prairie for the nonprofit group’s work with the disability community.  The award was accepted by Conner Prairie’s Human Resources Director Shelby Slowik.

The bottom line message from the kickoff event was this – if given the proper tools and support, those with disabilities can be major contributors to society.

I recorded a podcast with Jordan Dickey, Stacey Oldham and Cecilia Coble about this year’s Disability Awareness Month activities during March in Fishers….you can listen to that podcast at this link.

Shelby Slowik accepts the Life Without Limits Award on behalf of Conner Prairie (standing at her left, Fishers City Councilwoman Cecilia Coble)

At Large City Council candidate Gurinder Singh has announced a pledge – he is making a commitment to donate his city  council salary, if elected, to charities benefiting police and fire department workers. In a news release issued by his campaign, Singh says his council salary  would go half to the Indiana Fishers Fire Foundation and half to the Central Indiana Police Foundation, which provides gunshot trauma kits and other resources.

Based on the 2019 city salary ordinance, Fishers City Council members are paid just over $20,000 per year.

Singh is running in the Republican primary against the three incumbents currently holding at-large city council seats – Cecilia Coble, Rich Block and Todd Zimmerman.

The primary election is set for Tuesday, May 7th.

As the City of Fishers has grown to a municipality containing an estimated 91,000-plus residents, the city staff has grown, and that has caused a space crunch at City Hall.   With the police department exiting its longtime home in a building just north of City Hall and moving across the street to the new George Kehl Station, a number of city departments have been in the process of moving into the the previous police station.

The City Services Building (CSB) is the name given to the former police headquarters, and the public will have access to the CSB as of Friday, March 1st.

The Fishers City Court, which has been holding sessions in the City Council Chambers, will now be located inside the City Services Building, providing a secure and permanent location for court officials. Those visiting the CSB will be able to deal with permit and inspection processing, sewer and storm water bill payment, court payments, and traffic tickets.  Parks & Recreation payments will be accessible at the City Services Building. This includes payments and registration for building and pavilion rentals, activities and programs, and Special Event Permit Applications (SEPA). This new location can service residents in addition to Parks & Recreation’s office at 11565 Brooks School Road.

Plenty of parking is available in the area of the CSB, with surface lots and a number of parking garages nearby.

City officials say planning your trip to City Hall or the CSB is a good idea by accessing city services at the Web site using this link.

If you choose to pay the city with a credit card, be aware that a 3% credit processing charge will be in effect for all credit card transactions. Exact cash or check is preferred.

DeVeau’s School of Gymnastics is normally a very busy place with lots of young people learning their skills.  That same facility will not be busy today as a fire was reported in the building overnight.

The gymnastics center. located at 9032 Technology Drive, had a sprinkler system activated  from the heat of the fire.  The sprinkler contained the fire to a pit of foam until firefighters were able to respond and extinguish the fire.

Early indications are the fire began from work being done on equipment, according to fire officials.  Smoke and water damage will have the facility closed until owners are able to make repairs and clean up the damage.

There were no athletes in the building when the fire happened, and there were no injuries.

The Fishers Fire Department says there is no dollar estimate available on damage.   Investigators are on the scene working on establishing a cause for the blaze.

38 firefighters were on the scene, assisted by the Carmel Fire Dept, Fishers Police Department and the Fishers Fire Corps.

A look at what fire personnel faced in the building

Sunrise Bakery in Fortville has had a solid reputation for a long time as a great stop for donuts and other bakery treats.  After action taken by the Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals Wednesday night, Geist-area residents will have a Sunrise Bakery of their very own, in addition to the Fortville location.

The board unanimously approved the variance in the city’s development standards dealing with setback requirements. The city planning staff, in a written statement to the board, recommended approving the variance because the site at 10404 Olio Road “is a tough site for any development due to site constraints.”

There were no opposing speakers to this variance.

                      My wife Jane & I, at the Fishers City of Service Awards Tuesday night

The City of Fishers, for the past three years, has set-aside one evening to provide dinner and an awards ceremony, recognizing the many volunteers throughout the local community.

I hesitate to write this story myself, since I had a small part to play in it.  I was one of ten individuals nominated for Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year, for volunteering my time to produce the news blog www.LarryInFishers.com and local podcasts.  I didn’t win, but just being nominated for an award like this is quite an honor and appreciated.

Master of Ceremonies John DeLucia did an outstanding job.  I say that because he really did a great job, and I was able to enjoy dinner Tuesday night without worrying about what I was about to say (I emceed the first two City of Service Award ceremonies).

My compliments to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Sandquist, Park & Recreation Department employee Dan Domsic and all the others involved for making Tuesday a night to remember.

Now, here is the list of winners for the 2019 City of Service Awards:

• Fishers Parks & Recreation Adult Volunteer of the Year – Vicki Guenther
• Fishers Parks & Recreation Youth Volunteer of the Year – Anudeep Annangi
• Fishers Department of Public Works Volunteer of the Year – Kerrie Wincek
• Fishers Fire & EMS Volunteer of the Year – Christopher Allen
• Fishers Police Department Volunteer of the Year – Russell Lopez
• HSE Schools Foundation Volunteer of the Year – Shelley Jackson
• HSE Schools 2018 Teacher of the Year – John Hochstetler
• Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year –  LeeAnn Barclay, Youth Mentoring Initiative (community nominated award)

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers advanced to the semi-finals of Sectional 8 with a 65-51 victory over Anderson Tuesday at Carmel’s Eric Clark Activity Center.

The Tigers got off to a solid start, leading 20-11 after the first quarter. Willie Jackson scored seven points, while Jeffrey Simmons added six. Things slowed down for both teams in the second period, but Fishers was able to extend its lead to 27-17 at halftime.

“For our guys, playing sometimes versus getting the bye is important,” said Tigers coach Matt Moore. “And I thought for his group, based on the match-ups that we got, playing was important for us. We got to get the nerves out, we got to settle in.”

The coach credited Anderson with playing “extremely hard,” and said his team “did enough in the first quarter to get a good lead. As they made their runs, we settled in and responded.”

Alex Szilagyi began to heat up in the third quarter for the Tigers, nailing his first 3-pointer of the game. Fishers led 40-28 after three. The Indians got to within 46-40 with around five minutes left in the fourth, but Szilagyi took over afterwards, pouring in 11 of his 13 fourth-quarter points in the final 4:45.

“Alex had a huge third and fourth quarter for us,” said Moore.

Szilagyi led the way with 20 points, while Simmons scored 12. Justin Long also had a good game, scoring 12 points.

Fishers is 17-7 and will play the sectional host and No. 1-ranked Carmel in Friday’s second semi-final.