by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Here is my review of the latest Kathryn Bigelow film – Detroit

Mold mitigation efforts have progressed to the point that both fire personnel and equipment will start to move back into Station 92, located on 116th Street, near Brooks School Road, Saturday morning.  They were moved out Wednesday when mold was discovered in the fire station structure.

A Fishers Fire Department news release says Station 92 will be able to make emergency runs beginning Saturday.

Work in the bunk-room will continue for a few more days to replace the damaged walls and air monitoring will continue.  Until that room has been cleared by air sampling, firefighters will remain out of that specific area and it will remain sealed from the rest of the station.  Firefighters will instead place beds in other areas of the station on a temporary basis.

Once the bunk-room is cleared, the ladder company will return as well and normal operations will resume.

“Firefighters appreciate the patience and understanding of our community as this issue is resolved and we look forward to normal operations,” according to the fire department statement.

Talks between the City of Fishers and Irving Materials (IMI) continue over plans to buy property along Geist reservoir owned by IMI to construct a new city park.

“I think we remain optimistic that a resolution in the best interests of all parties can be reached,” Economic Development Director Brandon Didkinson told the Fishers Redevelopment Commission Wednesday evening.  “Then there’s a process we’ll go down and a path we’ll go down if it appears we have a mutual misunderstanding of the valuation of the land.”

The path Dickinson refers to is condemnation by the city of the IMI quarry next to Geist. Both sides appear to be making an effort to avoid that process outlined in state law, but there is no agreement yet.

The Redevelopment Commission approved next steps for several economic development projects at its Wednesday session, including The Yard culinary project, the new Knowledge Services headquarters, Central Indiana Orthopedics new building in the Saxony area and the proposed Geist Park.  Several public hearings were held but there were no speakers.

The commission’s job is to review redevelopment proposals for underdeveloped areas within city limits. Commission members also consider authorization of Tax Increment Financing districts.

Hamilton County Reporter

Ivy Tech Community College is partnering with high schools in Hamilton County to offer Career and Technical Education Pathways to students. Participating schools include: Fishers High School, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Eman School, Options Charter School-Noblesville, Options Charter School-Carmel and Westfield High School

Students in the program will attend high school in the morning and take classes at Ivy Tech Hamilton County in Noblesville in the afternoon. Over the course of one year, students can earn 12 to 13 college credits, which count toward a Core 40 or high school Honors Diploma and can be transferred to an associate or bachelor’s degree. Students can also earn industry recognized certifications. The program is free of cost to students.

The Duke Energy Foundation directed a $75,000 grant to Ivy Tech Community College to help create these Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways. The grant is providing scholarships for students in Hamilton County to pursue higher education and training in STEM programs at Ivy Tech. In addition to scholarships, the grant covers the costs of books and supplies, industry certification assessments, career readiness activities, and training for current Ivy Tech and high school STEM teachers in Hamilton County.

“We are grateful to Duke Energy Foundation for partnering with us to support this important initiative in Hamilton County,” said Dr. Kathleen Lee, chancellor of Ivy Tech Central Indiana. “This is another example of how Ivy Tech is making strategic efforts to align with the regional workforce. Through this initiative we are partnering with schools and organizations to prepare students for in-demand jobs in key industries including construction, information technology and advanced manufacturing.”

Specific STEM programs that Ivy Tech will offer these students include Computing and Informatics, Visual Communications and Building Construction Technology. Students start classes at Ivy Tech Hamilton County today, Aug. 10.

Hamilton County Reporter

A 30 year veteran law enforcement officer, Eddie Moore, officially announced his intention to become a candidate for Hamilton County Sheriff on Wednesday, increasing the field of candidates to four.

“It’s been a long day but it’s been a great day.”  That’s how Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff described the first day of classes in his school district.

Dr. Bourff told school board members Wednesday night that one way to gauge enrollment in the new school year can be measured in no shows and new enrollments.  In the buildings he visited on the first day of school, there were as many new enrollments as there were no shows.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for HSE Schools, Mike Reuter, told the board his data indicated just over 400 new students this school year, with a total of about 100 no shows so far.  The enrollment on the third Friday of September will be turned into the state as the official enrollment figure.

The kindergarten class looks to be at 1,472 pupils.  The senior class for the 2017-2018 school year is at 1,621.  The largest class is the 8th grade this school year.

Reuter told the board enrollment numbers at HSE Schools are beginning to stabilize.

In other school board news, approval was given to negotiate with the architectural firm Fanning-Howey to design plans at New Britton Elementary School, replacing the mechanical, heating, and air conditioning systems, as well as provide updates to the interior spaces bringing the school up to HSE-21 standards.  The work, budgeted at $5.3 million, is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2018 and be finished about a year later.    This project is one component of a ten-year plan to maintain buildings throughout the HSE district.

What at first appeared to be a routine discussion about procedures in approving curriculum in Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools turned into a passionate speech by school board member Amanda Shera.  The center of the controversy was a teacher assigning the book Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini to Shera’s daughter.

The book has been the center of controversy in some parts of the nation because of the author’s fictional depiction of a young boy from Afghanistan enduring the Russian invasion of his country and the later rule of the Taliban.  Reviewers of this book refer to the passages describing scenes of homosexual rape, murder, beatings, and a suicide attempt.

Some parents in localities in certain areas of the country have objected to Kite Runner being on required reading lists.  Many educators argue the book is about complex adult issues and can be taught at the high school level

Shera made clear at Wednesday night’s school board meeting she does not approve of her 16-year-old daughter being required to read Kite Runner.

“I am embarrassed that my child had to read it,” Shera told fellow board members.  “I apologize to my constituents that I did not read it ahead of time.”  Shera added she wants to have “an extra set of eyes” on the required reading book lists.

The school board does not approve required reading book lists, but school administrators establish procedures for such approvals, based on the policy the board passed Wednesday night.

The Fishers Fire Department is dealing with a mold problem at Station 92, located along 116th Street near Brooks School Road.  Chief Steve Orusa has ordered firefighters out of that facility until the mold problem is remedied.

This will require equipment and personnel to be moved temporarily.  Ladder 392 will be moved to Station 96 located on 104^th St. and Florida Rd.  Engine 392 has been moved to Station 95 located on 131^st and Promise Rd.  A fire department news release calls this move “a short-term solution that will create a minimal response issue for our community while protecting our firefighter’s safety.”

More tests have been done on this fire station and results are expected in the next few days.  “Currently, air quality monitoring shows the sleeping quarters to be greater in mold spores than is “typical” in a building, while outside the sleeping area, readings are “normal” or ‘typical,'” according to the news release.

Remediation at Station 92’s bunk room has already started.  Fire department officials are hoping to have equipment and firefighters back at their normal duty stations by the weekend, but not until testing verifies it is safe.

The Fishers Fire Department plans to begin testing all remaining stations in Fishers for any mold issues.

Police Merit Commissions mainly function as a bodies charged with administering proposed discipline for members of a police department.  The Fishers Police Merit Commission must meet a minimum of 2 times per year, once in August and again in February.  Recently, the local commission has had no discipline cases to consider, so Chief Mitch Thompson uses the occasion to update commission members on what is happening around his department.

Here are some of the items covered in the Wednesday morning session:

Proposed Nickel Plate Trail Security 

Chief Thompson says he doesn’t see the trail as a burden on his department, but an amenity for the entire community.  The new Police Headquarters building will be located next to the trail.  “From a crime perspective, I don’t see it (as  problem),” Thompson told commission members.

Diversity

Fishers Police are making every effort to keep the department ethnically diverse. Thompson says if there is any shortage locally it is in female officers, but state physical requirements for new recruits, which are the same for both males and females, make recruiting female police officers a challenge.  The Chief says Fishers Police currently employ 6 African-Americans, 4 females, 1 Asian and 1 Hispanic.

2018 Budget

The Chief says he will propose a flat operating budget for his department for 2018.  He will ask for additional staffing.  Fishers Police are currently authorized for 111 sworn, uniformed officers. There are 108 on duty now, with new prospects in the hiring process. Thompson lauded work done by civilian personnel in the department’s Intelligence Unit, which has effectively used social media in locating crime suspects.

New Police Headquarters Building

The adjacent parking garage for the new police headquarters building is already under construction and if everything is completed on schedule, department staff will begin moving into the new headquarters facility at this time next year.  The city is forced to rent space in two additional locations due to the growth of the department.  Thompson says there will be some cost savings when the entire Police Department is under one roof in the new facility.