On Thursday night, April 27th, the Hamilton County Leadership Academy team studying the future of the Nickel Plate Rail Line sponsored a forum at Hamilton Heights High School.  LarryInFishers recorded the entire forum.  The special podcast recording is about an hour and 45 minutes long.

The subject was the Nickel Plate Rail Line, the place was Hamilton Heights High School, and it happened Thursday night.  A panel discussed the future of the Nickel Plate line and the options before the government entities owning the line.  The event was sponsored by the Hamilton County Leadership Academy Class of 2017 “Rail or Trail” team.

The Nickel Plate Line extends from Tipton to downtown Indianapolis, and is owned jointly by Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.  Fishers and Noblesville have announced a proposal to transform the line into a trail within their city limits.

Many of the panel members appeared to favor using the Nickel Plate as both a rail and trail line.  However, the cost of purchasing the land needed to accommodate both would be much higher than only converting the line to a trail.

Mike Obergfell, President of the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, also told the crowd that the owners of the line signed-on to issuing requests for proposals for possible operators of the rail line, so all options can be considered before any final decisions are made.

When the subject of public safety along a trail was raised, Carmel City Councilman Ron Carter said the Monon Trail is very safe. With over a million people using it over a year, Carter said, there are very few law enforcement incidents on the Monon.

Panel members were:

–Brenda Myers, President and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism

–Dan Canan, Executive Vice President of OneZone (combined Fishers & Carmel Chamber of Commerce)

–Karen Bohn, President, Greenways Foundation

–Mike Obergfell, President of the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority Board

–Ron Carter, Member of the Carmel City Council

The moderator was Jonathon Hagerty, a member of the “Rails or Trails” team.

Other members of the Hamilton County Leadership team included:

–Adam Peat, Internal Account Manager, Stratosphere Quality

–Bonnie Riley, Assistant Vice President and Banking Center Manager, National Bank of Indianapolis

–Greg Schrage, Associate Attorney, Church Church Hittle & Antrim

–Judah Holland, Senior Director & Chief of Staff to the President, Navient

–Steve Cooke, Deputy Mayor, City of Noblesville

–Wade Wiley, Licensing Lead, Beck’s Hybrids

You may have been reading lately about a certain listing from a national publication showing two high schools serving Fishers as number 10 & 12 in the state.  You did not read about it here on my blog.  I have written about this before, but let me reiterate why once again.

These sorts of listings have an arbitrary feel to them.  When you choose a certain methodology to conduct these rankings, certain data will be included and other data is not part of the analysis.  That’s why I question the authenticity and accuracy of these listings.

I don’t need a national news organization to show me Fishers and HSE High Schools are top notch.  I see that every day in covering local education.  So, if local schools, let’s say, do not make the top listing next year in this same news outlet, I won’t feel any differently about these educational institutions.  They will still be top-notch in my book.

I don’t blame school officials for being proud of this and if I were in their shoes I would likely do the same.  But as an observer of local events, I will continue to shy away from the many listings about the city of Fishers and our schools.

I don’t need a national listing to tell me I live in a special place.  I can see that for myself.

Early Monday morning, Fishers Police arrested two burglary suspects in the area of 106th Street and Cumberland Road.  Here is what happened, from the official news release:

            During the early morning hours of Monday April 24^th Fishers police officers responded to the 11100 block of Timberview Drive to investigate a residential alarm. As officers approached they observed two men near the rear of this residence. Officers identified themselves and both suspects ran. After a short foot pursuit both men were captured and detained. During an extensive search of the area, officers located a juvenile asleep in a vehicle that was later determined to belong to one of the suspects. Three suspects were transported to the Fishers Police Department.

            As the investigation continued, officers learned the suspects burglarized another home in the same neighborhood and stole property from several cars in a nearby neighborhood. Officers were able to recover several stolen items and return them to their rightful owners. The two adult suspects were transported to the Hamilton County Jail and the juvenile suspect was transported to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center for an outstanding pick-up order from Marion County.

The two suspects, Derrick L. Johnson Jr, 18, and Marlin E. Rush, 21, both from Indianapolis, face numerous charges, including burglary, theft and resisting law enforcement.

Police believe there may be other victims.  If you have any additional information, contact Detective Sergeant David Flynn at 317-595-3300.

Fishers Police also offered the following safety tips:

Home Safety Tips

Install exterior lights at all entrances. Consider motion detector lights.

Install a wide-angle viewer on all exterior doors.

Check who is at the door and do not open the door to anyone you don’t know.

Install good locks on all doors and windows. Use those locks!

Be sure locks on doors and windows can be opened quickly in case of fire.

Leave a light on when you are not home. If you are on vacation, use a timer to control lighting.

Don’t hide keys outside.

Remove house keys from your keychain when your car is serviced.

Talk with trusted neighbors. Keep an eye on their house and ask them to watch yours.

Stop mail and newspaper delivery when you are away.

Install an alarm system that will detect entry and notify police.

Have your lawn mowed and snow shoveled when away.

Close garage doors at night.

Keep trees and bushes trimmed. Do not let plants block doors and windows.

Suspicious Activity

An event that is out of the ordinary or that makes you feel uncomfortable could be a crime in progress.

Adults or juveniles walking casually through the neighborhood looking into windows, backyards,

vehicles, etc.

A vehicle driving slowly through your neighborhood with or without lights on.

Something wakes you in the night. 

Someone you don’t know rings your doorbell.

An unknown car parked near your home containing one or more people.

If something is suspicious to you, Call the Police!

Fishers Police Mitch Thompson is convinced that having a strong partnership with the police department and your neighbors will give the Fishers community its best chance in deterring and detecting criminal activity. If your neighborhood is not an active member of the Fishers Neighborhood Crime Watch Program we encourage you to call Lieutenant Dave Dunbar, at 317-595-3313, for more information.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved an increase in school lunch prices, but the board members will be quick to tell you the increase was required by the federal government – it was not their decision.

Administrators say the increase will equate to a 10 cent increase for all paid lunch prices. School officials warn that another increase will likely be needed for the next school year.

Failure of the board to comply with the national paid lunch equity requirements would jeopardize Hamilton Southeastern Schools participation in the National School Lunch Program which would ultimately eliminate the reimbursement dollars received from the federal Department of Education.

In other school board activity Wednesday night:

–Gave 1st reading approval to a change in tobacco policy.  The revised version prohibits e-cigarettes from HSE schools and school grounds.  Final approval will come at a future board session.

–Approved several items relating to building issues and land transfers.

–Received updates from the school library media specialists, and S.P.O.R.T.S. Executive Director Lynda Carlino.

Were you thinking about how you would handle the responsibilities of being President of the United State in the 5th grade?  Speaking for myself, that never crossed my mind at that time.

But Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate student Nicole Morris has thought about it, and is one of the winners of the national Presidential Podium Video Challenge.  The competition was organized by the Library of Congress Young Readers Center.  Nicole had to record a one-minute video answering as if she was POTUS, outlining what important problem would she fix.

You can see her one-minute video at this link.

School calendars can provoke some interesting discussions.  That is exactly what happened at the Wednesday night Hamilton Southeastern School Board meeting when Superintendent Allen Bourff presented the first draft of a proposed calendar for the 2018-2019 school year.  Dr. Bourff described the calendar as similar to the one being used this school year.

Board Member Terry Tolle once again argued for a balanced school calendar, with longer fall and spring breaks, but that would require starting school much earlier.  Sylvia Shepler argued for a longer Thanksgiving break and shorter fall break.  Those are just a couple of examples of the ideas tossed out by board members, triggered by the draft calendar.

The calendar calls for school to begin for students on August 8th, 2018.  Fall break would extend from October 15th to October 19th.  Thanksgiving break would be November 21st through the 23rd (Wednesday through Friday).  Christmas break would be scheduled from December 24th through January 4th.   Spring break would begin on Friday, March 29th and go through Friday, April 5th.  The final day for students would be Friday, May 24th, unless make-up days are needed and classes would then continue into the following week.

The board took no action on the calendar at the Wednesday session.  The calendar will come before the board in a future meeting for final approval.

You can view the proposed calendar at this link.

Many parents with children in the Hamilton Southeastern Schools will be receiving information from school officials about a Netflix program, 13 Reasons.  The television series centers on a high school student that commits suicide and each episode is aimed at a recording she left for the 13 people whom she feels contributed to the decision to take her own life.

Assistant Superintendent Mike Beresford told the school board Wednesday night that a group of school psychologists has issued a warning about the show.

“Our most vulnerable students have a hard time seeing the difference between fact and fiction, and may see that as romanticizing the notion of suicide or the whole notion of revenge,” Beresford said.

The concern is centered on the popularity of 13 Reasons among junior high and high school age youth.  As a result, HSE administrators are fashioning a message to parents and school staff about this issue.

If a teen wants to watch the Netflix program, it is recommended parents watch the show with their child.  Some good can come out of watching the show with the right perspective, according to Beresford, because the girl in the story misses facts and has false perceptions about what is happening around her.

Matt Moore has coached the Kokomo Wildcats the past three seasons, and he will now take charge of the basketball squad at Fishers High School.  Moore replaces Joe Leonard, who resigned March 10th after 10 years coaching at Fishers.

Moore was a small college coach at Mt. Vernon (Ohio) Nazarene University before coming to Kokomo.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved the hiring of Moore during the Wednesday night board session.  At that same meeting, the board approved two other new coaches for Fishers High School – Wrestling coach Jason Cook and Boys Swimming Coach Joe Keller.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board is set to vote tonight on a new basketball coach for Fishers High School.  Matt Moore is recommended to replace Coach Joe Leonard.  Moore has been the hoops coach at Kokomo High School.

The board is set to vote on a consent agenda Wednesday night, which lists all personnel actions for the certified staff.  The proposed action has been posted to the HSE Schools Web site.  You can read the consent agenda at this link.