When a shooting happened close to home, literally at the school district next door in Noblesville, many Fishers parents were concerned about school safety…what is the city doing about it?  What is the school district doing about it?

On May 30th, hundreds of local citizens filled the Leonard Auditorium at HSE High School to hear from local officials about what is being done about school safety.  Both Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Dr. Allen Bourff were speakers at the May 30th event.  I asked both to appear on a podcast to talk more about the issue of safety in our local schools.  Both agreed.

Here is that podcast.

The shovels were out on a hot Fishers June afternoon for the ground breaking ceremony at the corner of 116th Street and Ikea Way for The Yard development.  What was originally to be only a culinary concept with a variety of restaurants has expanded and will now include apartments and a 211-room Hyatt Hotel.

Among the dignitaries on hand were Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Thompson Thrift Managing Partner Ashlee Brown (Thompson Thrift is developer for The Yard) and Clay Robinson of Sun King Brewery.

Among the tenants committed to The Yard project are: 1933 Lounge, Burger Study, Sun King Brewery, Havana Cigar and Cocktail Lounge, Copper Moon Coffee, Nicey Treat, Kincaids Meat Market, Los Arroyos, Rawkin Juice, Sangiovese Ristorante, Blue Peppermint Boutique, Amazing Lash, Massage Heights and Verizon Wireless.   In addition, St Elmo’s says it plans a 2-story restaurant in the complex, which is yet unnamed.

15 restaurants are expected to be housed at The Yard, plus a restaurant-incubator for emerging restaurant concepts, a kind of culinary version of  Launch Fishers.

The restaurant portion of the development is expected to be completed by mid-to-late 2019, with the 211 apartments set for completion in 2020.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The Red Line rapid transit bus system is now underway in Marion County, but earlier plans for the mass transportation line into Hamilton County is not part of the current plan. Originally the Red Line was proposed to extend from Indianapolis through Carmel and on to Westfield’s Grand Park.

That plan has apparently been shelved for the time being. The Red Line in Indy will only extend from the University of Indianapolis to Broad Ripple. It is being financed largely by a $75 million federal transportation grant which Marion County political leaders secured. The planned Hamilton County leg of the line failed to meet with great enthusiasm although supporters claim their surveys show it is a popular idea with many potential riders. To include Hamilton County in the Red Line route, the proposal, with a local income tax increase, would have to pass in a voter referendum in the townships which it would serve.

At the present time there are no plans to have the referendum on the general election ballot this year. County Commissioner Christine Altman, longtime advocate for public transportation, said yesterday that there is not enough time to do needed public education on the issue before November.

There was consideration of bringing the matter to a vote in 2016, but then dropped. The thought at the time was that it might be brought back this year. But, interest in the subject has not grown and advocates have not made further efforts to sell the idea. And, at the present time there is no money secured for undertaking the expensive project.

The increase in local option income taxes, amounting to one quarter of one percent of individual income added to the current one percent, would not raise nearly enough money to cover initial construction costs.

The rapid transit line being built in Indianapolis involves special street lanes for new electric powered buses along with covered waiting stations at intervals along the route. That route from Broad Ripple south is to be located along College Avenue to the downtown area.

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with 11 counts in the May 25th shooting at Noblesville West Middle School, but Hamilton County Prosecutor Lee Buckingham says the teen suspect will be tried in the juvenile justice system.

According to a news release from the prosecutor’s office, state law does not contain a provision allowing this suspect to be tried as an adult based on the set of facts in this case.  The suspect’s initial court appearance will be June 11th.

When weather delays pushed back the construction schedule for the newly-remodeled Nickel Plate Amphitheater, the city decided to go back to the future…hold the early concerts on the south side of City Hall.  The first summer concert was held Tuesday night.

Despite a threat of rain and some brief showers moving through, most of the crowd stayed as the show began, with My Yellow Rickshaw taking the stage at 7:00pm.  More rain came later, leading to an early end to the concert.

The summer concert series will feature shows on Tuesday and Friday nights, Wednesday musical acts during the lunch hour, and a special show at Saxony FRiday, June 29th with Sugar Ray to kickoff the first Spark!Fishers Festival.

The city projects the newly-remodeled Amphitheater will be ready by Mid-July.

The first Friday concert June 8th, 8:00m, will feature Duke Tumatoe and John Waite

(Story updated June 6th)

The Yard development in Fishers is set to have its ground breaking ceremony this week, but based on a filing with the Fishers Planned Unit Development Committee, a six-story Hyatt Hotel is planned for the southern section of that development.

Thompson Thrift and Dunn Hospitality issued a news release Wednesday showing the new hotel development is to be “double-branded.”

The filing by Dunn Hospitality says the architectural design will be similar to the apartments and retail space in The Yard.

“We had been analyzing various sites throughout the Indianapolis metro area for some time and were drawn to 116th Street due to the announced projects including Top Golf and IKEA and its close proximity to numerous other demand generators,” said David Dunn, President and COO for Dunn Hospitality .  “Once we became aware of Thompson Thrift’s development plans, we instantly recognized the opportunity and moved quickly. We feel fortunate to have been selected as their exclusive hospitality partner with this project.”

The Yard is a Thompson Thrift development of culinary retail spaces.  A parking garage and apartment development have been added to the plans recently.  The Fishers  Redevelopment Commission approved a series of actions  Monday tied to the additional construction

You can review the filing with the Planned Unit Development Committee at this link.

Construction is expected to take 15 months once work begins.

(Note: the name of the company developing the hotel was referred to as Don Properties because that was the spelling contained in a Fishers staff document….the name of the developer is Dunn Hospitality)

The family of Ella Whistler issued a statement today saying the Noblesville West Middle School student was shot 7 times.  According to the statement, the 13-year-old girl suffered gunshot wounds to the face, neck, hand and upper chest.  She suffered a number of injuries, including  collapsed lungs, a broken jaw, clavicle, multiple neck vertebrae, nerve damage and numerous related injuries.

Ella’s parents expressed their pride in her bravery and strength in facing these terrible injuries.  Her condition is listed as stable, but the family statement says a long road to recovery is ahead.  She is expected to remain a patient at Riley Hospital for “the foreseeable future.”

There are several campaigns to raise money for the teacher that intervened, Jason Seaman, and Ella Whistler.  The Whistler family is asking that people donate to a specific GoFundMe page to help Ella’s family, which you can find at this link.

Authorities continue to investigate what the Fishers Fire Department describes as a “suspicious” blaze that started Sunday evening in an unoccupied area near 106th Street and Hague Road.  The house was in a wooded area, on land that is not within the City of Fishers boundaries.  This is one of many areas within Fishers never annexed into the city.

Firefighters had many challenges to fight this blaze.  The lane to the structure could not be accessed by trucks, due to the bridge over the ditch being gone and the lane being overgrown.  Firefighters had to drag over a thousand feet of hand lines down a path in the woods to get access to the fire.

Firefighters also had to deal with fire that spread to the surrounding wooded area.

Because this area is not within the City of Fishers, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department is assisting in the investigation.

Unincorporated areas receive fire protection through a contract between townships and the City of Fishers.  The City of Fishers and the outlying areas straddle Fall Creek and Delaware Townships.  This house is located in Delaware Township.

Saturday was graduation day for both high schools in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  Each ceremony was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Fishers High School had a total of 822 graduating seniors.  The Valedictorian was Gautam Fotedar.  Fishers tallied 93 grads Magna Cum Laude.  There were 8 National Merit Scholars.

On the HSE High School side, 790 seniors were handed diplomas.  The Valedictorian was David Sun.  84 students graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Congratulations to all graduating seniors and their families!

32 professional artists are displaying their work for the fifth  Fishers Art in City Hall exhibit.  The various works were viewed by a number of visitors during a reception Saturday afternoon.

Those with artwork at City Hall are members of Indiana Artists (IN/A).

All works of art at City Hall as part of this exhibit are available to buy.  If you see one that is of interest to you, contact Rachael O’Dell of Nickel Plate Arts at her e-mail address, rodell@nickelplatearts.org or give her a phone call at 317-452-3690.

The Fishers Arts Council is partnering with the City of Fishers and Nickel Plate Arts to put on this art exhibit.  For more information on the Fishers Arts council, use this link