Edra Waterman and Beth Meyer talk about many issues, including their summer reading program, the state bicentennial and how library’s continue to be relevant in today’s world

Keynote Speaker Taylor Downing talks about her father

The weather was gorgeous for the May 30th, 2016 Memorial Day ceremony, with the largest crowd yet for such an event in the  City of Fishers.  But what those in attendance for this commemoration will remember most will not be the weather.  The keynote speech by Taylor Downing is one no one will soon forget.

She talked about her father and how much she treasured the time she did have with him. He died while on duty in Iraq.  Taylor talked in detail about the last time she was with her Dad.  Then she described the day she was told her father had died while serving his country.

I do not know how Taylor Downing was able to complete that speech.  The tears came often and there were a few times emotions overwhelmed her and she paused.  At one point, during one of those pauses. the crowd began to applaud, in recognition of her courage to speak about such a painful experience.

One passage from the speech struck me.  Her father died from a sniper’s bullet.  She is often asked if she wants that sniper to die.  No, she replied, Taylor knows what her father’s death has done to her family.  She knows the sniper that fired the fatal shot has  family too. Taylor wouldn’t wish that pain on any family.

Taylor is a student at Indiana State University working on her degree.

Memorial Day is an important annual holiday in America.  In our part of Indiana, the Indianapolis 500 sometimes overshadows the holiday it is built around.  This year, Fishers experienced a very special Memorial Day ceremony.  It is one I will not soon forget.

Here is a video of the ceremony’s first 20 minutes

The coming week is a short holiday week, but there is no shortage of road and street projects around Fishers.  Below is the listing from the city for the work week beginning Tuesday, May 31st…..

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ALLISONVILLE ROAD

Lane restrictions will be in place along Allisonville Road between 126th Street and 141st Street for paving activities. Restrictions will go into effect the week of May 30 and flaggers will be onsite to help direct traffic.

CURB REPAIRS

A contractor will be repairing curb ramps in Bluff and Links at Grey Eagle through the coming weeks. Please anticipate periodic lane restrictions in those areas.

FALL CREEK TRAIL

Fall Creek Trail reconstruction work continues; the pedestrian bridges and section of sidewalk along the trail have been removed. Pedestrians should not use the trail within the sections that have been removed. In addition, there will be periodic lane closures along the project throughout the week of May 30th. Please travel with caution, construction barrels have reduced the existing northbound lane width.

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 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. 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.ugove or 1-855-463-6848.

I-69 TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS

INDOT is overseeing an overnight closure on multiple traffic lanes on I-69 overnight this week to continue demolition of the 106th Street overpass bridge. Weather permitting, lane closures and rolling slowdowns of traffic will begin after 9 p.m. and are expected to end before 6 a.m. the next day. Construction schedules and traffic restrictions are subject to change, and questions should be directed to INDOT at indot.carsporgram.org, 1-800-261-ROAD (7623) or 511 from a mobile phone.

PAVING

A contractor will be paving streets on Lantern Road from 131st Street to Harrison Parkway and Conner Knoll throughout the coming weeks. Please anticipate periodic lane restrictions in those areas.

STATE ROAD 37

Various geotechnical work has begun along the State Road 37 corridor. Work will take place starting at the 126th Street intersection. Learn more atwww.Fishers.in.us/SR37.

96th STREET AND CUMBERLAND ROAD

The Hamilton County Highway Department has closed 96th Street and Cumberland Road for 100 calendar days in order to construct a roundabout at this intersection. Anyone with concerns about this project should call 773-7770. Please visit www.Fishers.in.us/DriveFishers to view a detour map. The tentative completion date for this project is June 30, 2016.

96th STREET AND LANTERN ROAD

Contractors will begin clearing the right-of-way around the intersection of 96th Street and Lantern Road. Lane restrictions are only expected for eastbound 96th Street, east of Lantern Road at this time, but please drive carefully through the entire work area.

106th STREET INTERCHANGE

INDOT has begun work on the 106th Street interchange. A lane shift is currently in place on I-69 and 106th Street is closed as construction continues. Additional details about this project will be released through INDOT and shared on the weekly construction update. Please be advised the speed limit from 82nd Street to 116th Street has been reduced to 55 mph and there are lane shifts on I-69. Please travel with caution and pay close attention to signage in the area.

116th STREET

There may be short-term lane restrictions on eastbound 116th Street between USA Parkway and Exit Five Parkway while utility work is being completed.

126th STREET

• Continuing the week of May 30th, there will be intermittent lane restrictions for westbound traffic just west of Promise Road. These restrictions will allow the contractor to construct the entrance into Granite Ridge subdivision. Advance warning signs will be in place including a directional arrow board, as needed.
• Temporary lane restrictions will be in place on 126th Street between Cyntheanne Road and Atlantic Road in order for should work to be completed. Please drive with caution in the area.
• Please drive with caution around 126th Street and Reynolds Drive. Contractors will be working off of the road, lane restrictions not expected.

Have a golf cart and want to drive it around your Fishers neighborhood?  Before you do, check out the city ordinance governing golf carts on city streets.

Your specific neighborhood must meet ordinance conditions and receive approval before golf carts may be used in your subdivision streets.

The only Fishers Neighborhoods with this approval are Britton Falls, Thorpe Creek, and Graystone.

For more details, see the statement below from the Fishers Police Department:

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The Fishers Police Department would like to remind residents of the city’s local ordinance concerning the use and operation of golf carts. Fishers’ City Ordinance No. 090214D authorizes the use of golf carts on some neighborhood streets if the following conditions have been met:

Students in the Hamilton Southeastern Schools will see a 10 cent increase in the price of school lunches in the 2016-2017 school year, based on action taken by the school board Wednesday night.  Administrators briefed the board on the complex federal government rules on the pricing of the lunches.  Failure to approve the increase would jeopardize the local school system’s federal reimbursement for lunch expenses.  Board member Sylvia Shepler voted no because she did not like the federal mandate.  For Grades kindergarten through 6th, lunch prices will rise from $2.40 to $2.50 per lunch….in grades 7-12, the cost will go up from $2.55 to $2.65 per lunch.

November 8th, 2016 will be election day, and it will also  be a teacher personal development day with no students in the school buildings that day.  Eleven school building in the HSE system will be hosting polling places November 8th.  The calendar change was done by moving two other half-day teacher personal development days to one full day  November 8.  You can view the revised 2016-2017 school calendar at this link.

The school corporation had a massive response of 8,149 families to a survey on school calendar and class start time issues.  Bottom line, there is no consensus to change any of it.  You can review the details of the survey results at this link.

The board approved an action to lease 35 new school buses as part of a lease/purchase agreement.  The bus replacement plan is available at this link.

Superintendent Allen Bourff announced at the board meeting that 15 schools in the HSE System have been named 4-star schools.  That means HSE has the most number of schools achieving this designation in the state.  To earn this honor, a school building must score in the top 25 percentile in a number of specific measures, such as test results.

Fall Creek Elementary and Riverside Intermediate schools were honored by the board for a special accomplishment.   The Indiana Association of School Principals Department of Student Programs has recognized schools that finished in the Top 10 of their enrollment class in all three  of its elementary division academic contests: Academic Spell Bowl, Science Bowl, and M.A.T.H. Bowl.  Fall Creek and Riverside finished in the top ten in all three categories.

A new technological development from Fishers Police is getting out to a fast start.  1,100 people in Fishers have registered for the CrimeWatch cell phone app just announced last week.  App developer Aurie Rahimzadeh says citizens are already using the app to alert police to suspicious activity.

You can download the app for free at the iPhone or Android play store.  Just search for FishersCrimeWatch.  Once downloaded, there is a registration process.

Aurie was at the “Coffee With a Cop” event held at Panera Bread on 96th Street, Wednesday morning.  Local police officers were on hand to talk with area citizens.

Chris Sikich joins Larry to talk about stories he has written about Hamilton County in the Indianapolis Star

If you have visited Fishers City Hall lately, you know the area in the front of the building has been under construction.  There has been an added component to this project….a change order has been approved allowing for the demolition and rebuilding of the front steps at City Hall.  The action includes electrical lighting.  This will increase the cost by just over $137,000, and the extra money will come from the city’s cash reserves.  The change order was approved at the May 23rd meeting of the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety.  The work is scheduled to be complete in mid-July.  You may access the change order at this link.

The board also approved an agreement between the city and the Geist Lake Coalition (GLC) over the July 4th Blast on the Bridge (BOTB).   In 2015, the City and GLC jointly worked together to plan and execute BOTB.  For the 2016-18 events, the City will plan and manage BOTB.  The city is moving in that direction for the July 4, 2016 event.   The final draft agreement proposes a three-year partnership such that the City will plan and run BOTB and absorb all costs related to these responsibilities….Geist Lake Coalition will take on the cost of the fireworks; and the City will provide a grant to GLC each year of the agreement at $15,000/year pending budget appropriation by City Council.  You can read the agreement at this link.

When you, or someone close to you, suffers a heart attack, you want the best possible emergency services available.  For the second consecutive year, Fishers Fire and Emergency Services earned the American Heart Association’s EMS Gold Award.
Fishers’ local EMS operation was awarded this honor because of quality measures implemented in the treatment of patients experiencing severe heart attacks.

You can read the entire news release from the Fishers Fire Department below.

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For the second year in a row, Fishers Fire and Emergency Services has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline^® EMS Gold Award for implementing quality measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks for the second year in a row.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience a STEMI, or ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction. STEMI is a type of heart attack caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires rapid treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either surgically opening or by giving clot-busting medication.

Fire Chief Steven Orusa believes, “We are blessed in the City of Fishers to have such an effective continuum of care for our heart attack patients.  The highly trained men and women of our fire department combined with strategically located heart hospitals make a difference in patient outcomes.  This partnership provides the citizens of Fishers with one of the highest survival rates in the country.”

Emergency Medical System providers are vital to the success of Mission: Lifeline. EMS agencies provide access to 12-lead ECG machines (devices that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat and can help medical personnel determine if a heart attack has occurred), and follow protocols derived from American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines. The correct tools and training allow EMS providers to rapidly identify the STEMI, promptly notify the medical center, and trigger and early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.

“We are pleased to be recognized for the quality of our care, but our reward is in the successful recovery of our patients and the continued dedication in the reduction of those who don’t.” said EMS Division Chief Steve Davison.

Agencies that receive the Mission: Lifeline Gold award have demonstrated at least 75 percent compliance for each required achievement measure for two years and treated at least eight STEMI patients for each year.

The Fishers Department of  Fire and Emergency Services is dedicated to making our unit among the best in the country, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that by implementing processes for improving STEMI systems of care with the goal of improving the quality of care for all STEMI patients,” said EMS Chief Steve Davsion. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care for STEMI patients.”

The Geist Christian Church Chancel Choir and the Fishers Community Chorus combined for a performance of John Rutter’s Requiem.  Here is Larry’s review