I have attended Memorial Day ceremonies in Fishers for the last few years, and the 2017  event drew the largest crowd ever to Liberty Plaza.  The weather was picture-perfect, allowing local residents to honor those losing their lives in service to their country.  It was also an opportunity to honor the families of America’s war dead.

The ceremony drew a number of dignitaries, including Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Senator Todd Young .

Senator Young told the story of a bracelet he wears in honor of a fallen soldier from Indiana.  Mayor Fadness described the city’s program to handle lawn care and snow removal for families with service members overseas.

El Ahlwardt handled the duties as Master of Ceremonies.  Pastor Gary Stump provided the invocation.  91-year old veteran Wayne Caldwell led the crowd in song.

Brandon Wilcher shared the story of his father, a disabled veteran.  Bandon is now preparing to enter medical school.

You can listen to the entire ceremony at this link, and you will find more pictures below.

Jared Council writes about tech issues for the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ), and when he began a story about the Internet of Things (iot) and how Indiana is working to become a hub of this emerging high-tech industry, he features Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in the lead of his story, in the latest edition of the IBJ.

Council writes about how Mayor Fadness began to learn how few jobs are now being created in new manufacturing operations and how the iot concept is moving forward quickly.

“The consumers of IoT services are all right here—Cummins, Lilly, Roche, Allison, Wabash,” Fadness told IBJ, rattling off a list of Indiana’s biggest private-sector employers. “So that’s the opportunity.”

You can read Jared Council’s entire story at this link.  (NOTE:  if you are not an IBJ subscriber, you may be limited in the number of times you can access IBJ stories online)

Hamilton County Councilman Jeff Hern pleaded guilty to a charge of Criminal Mischief Wednesday, according to a story written by Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star, which you can read at this link.  This was part of  a plea agreement reached between Hern’s atttorney and special prosecutor Brian Eaton.    Now, Chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, Joe Weingarten, is calling for Hern to resign from his council seat.

“The holding of public office brings with it public trust and by his (Hern’s) action he has shown a lack of ethical behavior and has lost the public’s trust,” Weingarten said in a statement printed in the Hamilton County Reporter newspaper.  “While some of these instances have been brought to our attention by the news media and/or the businesses themselves, I can’t help but wonder about what don’t we know about.”

Per the reporting of Sikich, Hern must also pay $891 in restitution and issue a letter of apology to Rick McKinney, whose campaign signs were involved in the incident, just before the 2016 May primary election.

Democrats are not alone in calling for Hern’s resignation.  According to the Star story, Mickinney is calling for Hern to resign his council seat.  If he does not, McKinney is urging state or county Republican officials to remove Hern from the party so he cannot seek re-election in 2020 under the GOP banner.

The City of Fishers has again confirmed that the Brooks School Road Bridge over I-69, just south of 136th Street, will Close May 30th.  The closure is expected to last about 2 months. The suggested detour is Promise Road.

Also, look for more lane restriction along 116th Street at Fishers Station Shopping Center at 116th and Allisonville Road.  On the other end of 116th, east of I-69, lane restrictions will continue.

Below is the full listing of road construction projects in and around Fishers during the week of Memorial Day.

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BROOKS SCHOOL ROAD

Milestone Contractors plans to close the Brooks School Road bridge over Interstate 69 for construction after Memorial Day. The overpass is scheduled to close starting May 30 to rebuild the bridge deck. During the closure, traffic will be detoured to Promise Road via 126th and 136th streets.

116TH STREET

Beginning at 9pm on June 2, 116th Street will be restricted down to one lane in each direction nightly at Fishers Station while a water line is extended across 116th Street. The restrictions will occur from 9pm to 6am each night until work is completed on or around June 9. Arrow boards and signs will be in place directing traffic. Please drive with caution during the day as a steel plate will be in place to cover the excavation site.

There will be lane restrictions on 116th Street between I-69 and Cumberland Road throughout the summer in order for the contractor to make improvements to 116th Street.

106TH STREET

There will be lane restrictions on 106th Street from Eller Road to I-69 the week of May 29 while a contractor locates utilities under the roadway. There will be arrow boards and flaggers in place while work is being performed between 9am and 3pm. There will be lane restrictions on Allisonville Road as well while the contractor works in this intersection.

GEIST ROAD

Geist Road between 106th Street and 111th Street will have possible lane restrictions while contractors perform shoulder work along the west side of Geist Road.

USA PARKWAY

There will be lane restrictions on USA Parkway while crews are resurfacing the roadway.  Flaggers will be in place directing traffic.

106TH AND CUMBERLAND ROAD ROUNDABOUT

There will be possible lane restrictions around the roundabout while the contractor finishes up work.

I-69 AND CAMPUS PARKWAY

Milestone Contractors has begun mobilizing cranes and other equipment and setting a temporary concrete barrier wall along I-69 at Campus Parkway Exit 210. Work will require alternating lane closures on northbound and southbound I-69 between 9pm and 6pm Lane closures may recur each night through the end of the week depending on weather and progress. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT at eastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855-463-6848.

126TH STREET

There will be periodic lane restrictions between 9am and 3pm on 126th Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road while the contractor installs passing blisters near Reserve at Lantern. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic during the restrictions.

STATE ROAD 37

Construction contractors plan to shift State Road 37 traffic lanes this weekend for a $1.5 million drainage structure construction project between 146th Street and Greenfield Avenue in Noblesville. Northbound lanes are scheduled to be shifted on Friday night, and southbound lanes are scheduled to be shifted Saturday night. Single-lane closures in each direction will be scheduled between 9pm and 6am.

The first phase of construction, which starts this weekend, will shift two lanes in each direction toward the right shoulders to provide room for construction in the median. The second phase will shift traffic toward the median to allow construction to be completed along the outside shoulders. All work on the project is expected to be complete this summer.

Starting May 1, geotechnical drilling will begin along the State Road 37 corridor as part of the final design phase of State Road 37 Improvement Project. Lane and shoulder restrictions will be active through the June 30.

Motorists will see staked locations along the corridor starting with the 141st Street intersection. The geotechnical drilling will cause lane restrictions from 131st Street through 146th Street through June 30. Southbound restrictions will not begin until 9am daily and northbound restrictions will be done daily before 4pm to allow for maximum traffic flow during peak hours.

State Road 37 turn lanes will not be affected during lane closures and crews will maintain a minimum of one through-lane at all times.

The SR37 improvement project is a $124 Million joint project between Fishers, Hamilton Co, Noblesville, and INDOT. Questions or concerns may be directed to drivefishers@fishers.in.us.

Leah McGrath makes her second appearance on the LarryInFishers.com podcast

Winning a national championship is wonderful thing for any group of students.  But there is a price to pay.  The school year must end.  The students must move on to the next phase of the educational journey, and the teachers must prepare for a new group of students waiting for them.

The Fishers Junior High School (FJHS) We the People team won a national championship, competing with schools from around the nation on their ability to handle civic issues and questions about the United States Constitution.

In a celebration of that achievement at FJHS Wednesday night, stories were told about how We the People almost didn’t happen there.  The major complexities of changing student schedules and providing support for the program carried an additional burden for counselors, Principal Chrystal Thorpe and the teacher, Mike Fassold.

All that work paid off with a national championship team.  Mike Fassold fought back tears when talking about his students.  It was emotional because he knows this group is moving on as the school year closes.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board held part of its meeting during the ceremony, and passed a resolution honoring the team.   You can read the resolution at this link.

I had the honor of speaking before this class on fake news, and they were all very curious, wanting to know how to find reliable information from the various news sources available today.  I had been a practice judge for the HSE High School We The People team, and had the chance to have some practice sessions with the FJHS team just days before they departed for the nation’s capital.  I could sense this group to be special but didn’t know if they were national champion material.  They took the stage in DC and showed us all how to accept such a high honor with a great deal of humility.

So, it was a special night at FJHS honors these special students and teachers.  This is a group of junior high students I will never forget.

The new restaurant development named The Yard continues to move forward.  Wednesday evening, the Fishers Economic Development Commission and the Town Hall Building Corporation each unanimously gave their stamp of approval to minor changes in the deal with developer Thompson Thrift.  In exchange, the developer is committing to a $40 million investment.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board is delaying action on the 2018-2019 school calendar.  Superintendent Allen Bourff recommended that board members wait until surveys can be conducted with staff and parents on how the new schedule for 2017-2018 is viewed, once everyone experiences the new one-week fall break.  Dr. Bourff expects to have a recommendation for the board this December for a 2018-2019 school calendar.  The Wednesday night agenda had a recommendation for the board to vote on, but that was scrapped in favor of waiting until late in 2017.

The board approved high school science resources for IB, AP, and Dual Credit Courses only.  For more information use this link.

The Harding Racing Team made a visit to Fishers City Hall mid-day Wednesday.  Driver Gabbby Chaves provided autographs and had countless pictures taken with local race fans.  A slow drizzle of rain may have kept some people away.  The rain cancelled the noontime Concert on the Green.

Harding Racing is owned by two Indianapolis businessmen, Mike Harding and Dennis Reinbold.  The team manager is long-time IndyCar fixture Larry Curry.

Jeff Hern entered a plea of guilty Wednesday morning on criminal mischief charges related to the theft of a political opponent’s campaign signs in the 2016 Hamilton County Council Republican primary election.  Reporter Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star reports that Hern must pay his primary opponent, Rick McKinney, $891 for the cost of the signs.  Hern will also provide a letter of apology to McKinney and admits to engaging in criminal mischief.

Special prosecutor Brian Eaton from Hancock County said Hern was treated no differently than anyone else in a similar situation with no criminal history.  Neither Hern nor his attorney commented after the court proceedings.

McKinney continues to argue that Hern should resign from his county council seat.  If not, McKinney is now urging Republican Party officials at the state or county level to throw him out of the party, preventing Hern from seeking re-election in 2020.

You can read Chris Sikich’s entire story at this link.