Mark Hall, Noblesville, will be a candidate for the District 3 Hamilton County Council seat in the May Republican primary election.

Hall is a local business owner and describes himself as a conservative.

“Over the past year I’ve listened to hundreds of our neighbors talk about life in Hamilton County. While issues vary the concerns are troubling and similar,” Hall said in his news release announcing his run.” Voters ask, why doesn’t government think about the taxpayers’ money first? Why doesn’t someone stand up for us? Our district deserves better than big spending establishment career politicians. I watch firsthand how the families and taxpayers in District 3 are represented. Spending big dollars has become way too easy and is now the “normal”, not the exception. Cronyism and going along to get along has taken the place of kitchen table common sense. This is why I am a citizen candidate.”

Mark Hall lives in Noblesville with his wife of 38 years, Lisa, along with their four Australian Shepherds. They are members of Harbour Shores Church and actively volunteer with Shepherd Community Center, Truth at Work and teaching employment classes to inmates and underprivileged young adults in the area. Mark enjoys his grandchildren, music, hometown theater, improv comedy and date nights with Lisa.

Hall will face incumbent Steve Schwartz in the GOP primary.   Hall & Schwartz are, so far, the only ones to file so far for the Republican nod in that district. Jeremy Hawk is the only Democrat to file candidacy in District 3.

The graduation date for HSE and Fishers High School seniors will be moved a week for the 2019-2020 school year, following school board action Wednesday night.  The original calendar had the graduation ceremonies slated for June 6, 2020.

With the 2020 Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 25th, the June 6th date would mean graduates and their families would be waiting two weeks from the last student day at school to the commencement ceremonies.

After ensuring the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum is available, the board voted to mover the 2020 graduation day from Saturday, June 6th to Saturday, May 30th.  Commencement rehearsal will be held the day before, May 29th.

The board voted unanimously to approve the change.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the school board honored Fishers Students In Action, after the group earned state and national awards. Last year, they received a Jefferson Award and went on to place fourth in nation for their service.

Students In Action aims to develop high school students into community leaders by encouraging teens to positively impact their schools, communities and world. The Fishers SIA organization has completed numerous service projects and continues to be role model for others.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board voted in favor of adopting a new logo (shown above) Wednesday night.  The outside firm of MilesHerndon presented their plans.  You can access more details at this link.

The logo is part of a branding effort by the local school corporation that includes a new look and design for the Web site.  School officials say the logo incorporates the district name, “Hamilton Southeastern Schools,” alongside a red and blue image that represents the colors of the two district high schools.

In a statement contained in a school corporation news release, HSE School Board President Matt Burke says, “…we desire to present our district in a positive manner through modern imagery and clear communication. We believe our future updated website, improved messaging and logo will enhance our school district’s image and communication for the benefit of our students, families and staff.”

MilesHerndon conducted numerous community focus groups, phone interviews, online surveys and in-person school tours before finalizing the logo design.

BitWise is working on the Web site redesign.  The new Web site is expected to be easy to navigate, ADA-compliant and mobile-friendly, based on the school corporation’s news release.

“We appreciate the feedback that many of our parents, teachers, students and community members provided during this project,” HSE Schools Superintendent Dr. Allen Bourff said. “The refreshed logo depicts a school district, bold and confident in its future, and aware of its place and origin in Hamilton County, a Hoosier county known for its solid educational values.”

Last June, the board approved contracts with MilesHerndon and BitWise.  $50,000 goes to MilesHerndon for the branding and $98,599 to BitWise for the Web site redesign, for a total of $148,599.   No tax money was used to pay these companies, the funds were from commercial contracts with the local schools, such as the exclusive deal with Coca-Cola.

The board vote approving the logo was 6-1, with Amanda Shera the only no vote.

The Fishers Police Department is gearing-up for its 34th Citizens Academy, allowing local residents an opportunity to experience “police-style” training.  The academy holds its sessions for 12 consecutive Wednesday evenings, beginning March 7th.

Each session starts at 6:30pm and goes until 9:30pm.  The program includes:

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 complete a ride along
with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.  Participants will have both classroom and hands-on experience.

This program is open to anyone living in the Hamilton Southeastern School District, or anyone employed by HSE Schools.  The minimum age is 16.

You can apply at the Fishers Police Department Web page at this link 

You can also apply in person by just showing up at police headquarters.

If you have questions, contact Officer Rob Thompson at this e-mail address – thompsonr@fishers.in.us – or call Officer Thompson at (317) 595-3300.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association will present a District
Coach of the Year Award to Fishers’ Matthew Cherry.

The coaches of his District voted him as their District Coach of the Year following the
2017 season after the Tigers went 27-6 and won first-ever Hoosier Crossroads Conference and sectional championships. Cherry has coached for the past 11 years.

This recognition will be part of the IHSBCA State Baseball Clinic awards banquet. The banquet will also include the recognition of State Coaches of the Year,
Victory Club achievement and the induction of five individuals into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame. The banquet will take place on Saturday at the Sheraton at the Crossing Hotel in Indianapolis.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers fell to Lawrence North 52-41 in a Tuesday away game.

The Tigers trailed the Class 4A No. 5 Wildcats 11-5 after the first quarter and
24-10 at halftime. In the second half, Fishers outscored LN 32-28, but couldn’t
overcome the first half deficit.

Toni Grace scored 13 points for the Tigers and also had a strong defensive effort. Tamia Perryman pulled seven rebounds in addition to scoring six points and making three steals. Ali Gerka also had six points. Lydia Stullken and Casey Walker each corralled five rebounds.

Fishers is now 11-11 and travels to Franklin Central on Friday for its regular season
finale. The Flashes will join the Hoosier Crossroads Conference beginning with the next school year.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team gave the No. 1 team in the state all it could handle Tuesday night.

The Royals had Pike down for most of the game, leading 35-30 after the third
quarter. But the Red Devils’ Angel Baker took over, scoring 19 points in the fourth
period and eventually sending Class 4A No. 1 Pike to a 54-47 victory over 4A No. 10
Southeastern.

It was a disappointing finish for the Royals’ Senior Night, but there were a few
things HSE could take away from the game.

“I like the way we’re playing right now,” said Royals coach Chris Huppenthal. “I
know we just lost, but you just lost to the best team in the state.”

Southeastern led 13-6 after the first quarter, with Molly Walton hitting a 3-
pointer late in the period. The Royals then led 24-19 at halftime, with Malea Jackson scoring five points, including a ‘3’ of her own.

“First half, I thought was great,” said Huppenthal. “I thought our kids did a lot of
good things when it was played at our pace, the pace we wanted to play. When you have the No. 1 team in the state coming here and you hold them to 19 points, that’s a good accomplishment.”

The Red Devils began to make their run in the third quarter, but Southeastern never
relinquished the lead. Instead, a Jackie Maulucci 3-pointer late in the period kept
the Royals in front 35-30 going into the fourth.

But in the final period, Baker took over. She scored 19 of her game-high 31 points in
that quarter, including two 3-pointers and a 7-of-7 effort from the free-throw line.

Huppenthal said that Baker “got hot” in the second half. “She’s capable of doing
that,” said the coach. “She was hitting a lot of shots.”

“I thought some of the keys for us were, we gave up way too many offensive
rebounds in the second half,” said Huppenthal. “I thought we forced some shots, also in the second half, and we didn’t work the basketball as well as we did in the first half. Part of our shot selection in the second half had something to do with their speed and how they were guarding us, and they were putting a lot more pressure on us. So theywere trying to force us to play a little bit quicker, which I think played to their advantage.”

Sydney Parrish scored 10 points for the Royals, who had very balanced scoring:
Tayah Irvin added nine, Walton finished with eight and Jackson had seven. Amaya
Hamilton and Parrish both grabbed seven rebounds, with Walton collecting six.
Parrish dished out five assists and Walton handed out four.

It was also Senior Night, and the Royals honored seniors Shelby Ford and Erikka
Ededuwa, both of whom started.

“They’ve been a great part of our program,” said Huppenthal.

The Royals finished the season 15-7, and will await the winner of next Tuesday’s
(Jan. 30) first-round sectional game between Westfield and host Fishers. Southeastern will play the Tuesday winner in the semi-finals on Friday, Feb. 2.

“I like our mindset right now as a team,” said Huppenthal. “I like where we’re at
right now. We would’ve liked to win this game. It would’ve put is in a little bit better
situation. But it is what it is, and our kids know and understand they can play with
anybody.”

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Commissioners have approved nearly $128,000 in Community Block Grant funds to 11 private assistance organizations who aid needy county residents.

The block grant program is administered by the Noblesville Housing Authority whose director, Chris Allen, recommended the disbursements at Monday’s commissioner meeting.

The grants program is funded by federal tax monies given to each county in the nation.

Receiving the largest grant locally was Trinity Free Clinic: $23,000. The clinic, located on the grounds of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church at 146th Street and Oak Ridge Road, provides free medical and dental care for adults and children who qualify as needy.

The other organizations and amounts received are: Janus Developmental Services, $15,000; Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, $15,000; Good Samaritan Network, $13,219; Prevail, $10,000; St. Vincent DePaul, $10,000; Salvation Army, $10,000; Heart and Soul Clinic, $10,000; Alternatives, Inc., $8,000; Shepherd Center, $7,500 and Meals on Wheels, $6,000.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Candidates for judge and sheriff were among this week’s addition to the growing list of local Republican hopefuls filing for office in the May 8 primary election.

Dennis Quakenbush, commander of the sheriff’s patrol division, filed yesterday for the May 8 GOP primary election. He makes the fourth candidate in the race to succeed Sheriff Mark Bowen who this year completes his two terms allowed by law.

Quakenbush is in his eighth year heading the road officers division of 40 officers and 24 reserves. He has been named Merit Deputy of the Year by the Sheriff’s Department and Road Officer of the Year by the Prosecutor.

The candidate, his wife and four sons live in Cicero. He holds a master’s degree in business administration. He promises “to proactively fight the substance abuse crisis, improve operations to make the department more efficient and put greater focus on community involvement.”

Also announcing was Will Riley who will seek nomination for judge of Superior Court 1. His candidacy follows incumbent Judge Steve Nation’s decision to retire from the bench at the end of the year.

Riley, an attorney who lives in Fishers, practices with the Indianapolis law firm of Riley, Williams and Piatt. He is a 1989 graduate of the Indiana University School of Law.

His practice has focused on business litigation, pharmaceutical, medical device cases, product liability and defamation.

Riley released the names of his campaign co-chairs Russell Cate and Peg Durrer and treasurer, former judge Dan Pfleging.

“Hamilton County residents deserve justice that is equal for all. As judge I will take my responsibility seriously to safeguard open access to the court and provide fair and impartial rulings,” Riley maintains.

Also filing this week for re-election was incumbent county Prosecutor Lee Buckingham and incumbent Superior Court 6 Judge Gail Bardach. Both Republicans filed at the Statehouse as is required of judicial officers. Neither thus far has a primary opponent.

A Democrat, Heather Rolinski, filed this week for township trustee in Noblesville where Republican Tom Kenley is the incumbent and has also filed. A scattering of other Democrats filed for minor township and political party positions.

A full list of those candidates who have filed since opening of the filing period follows:

Continue reading Hamilton County Candidate List Is Growing →

Hamilton County Reporter

Jennifer Hayden, who is currently serving as the Hamilton County Recorder, will seek re-election in the May 8 primary.

Hayden began serving the community in the fall 1984 working in the Hamilton County Recorder’s office where she has continually remained. During her 33-and-a-half years with the county, Hayden has been instrumental in the implementation of computerizing the office; converting the microfilm to digital images; preservation and restoration of the historical records for perpetuity as well as the addition of electronic filing of documents.

“I am dedicated and devoted to maintaining and preserving the records of Hamilton County,” Hayden said.