Imagine for a moment you leave your home country and enter an entirely new place in another nation.  You may have some language skills in your new home, maybe not.  Life can be complicated learning a new language.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board gave special recognition to English as a New Language (ENL) teacher Becky Schroeder, whom has been helping new English learners in the local school district.  She started her career as a science teacher, but later transitioned into teaching ENL, winning several distinguished awards. Most recently, she was given the English Learner Educator Excellence Award by the Indiana Department of Education.

A video about Ms. Schroeder was presented to the board Wednesday.  Watch the video at the link below.

In January of 2022, Ryan Taylor bid farewell to the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, retiring after years of service to the district.  He entered the private sector, serving as Vice President at Safe School Solutions, a division of Safe Hiring Solutions.

However, it appears Ryan Taylor couldn’t resist a return to public education.  The HSE School Board formally approved his appointment Wednesday night as the new Executive Director of Staff and Student Services, essentially the same job he had when retiring in 2022.

“I am very excited to be returning to the school community I have called ‘home’ for more than two decades, and I look forward to continuing to serve our students and staff.” said Taylor in as written statement.

Interim HSE Superintendent Matt Kegley appears pleased with Taylor’s return to HSE Schools.

“We are confident that Ryan Taylor’s extensive experience and dedication to the safety and well-being of both staff and students at HSE will contribute significantly to the continued success of the school district,” said Kegley.

Taylor is wasting no time getting down to work, he starts October 13.

He replaces Kim Lippe, who left the position to become principal at Brownsburg High School.

During the board session public comment Wednesday, Stephanie Hunt and HSEA President Abby Taylor reminded the board that Taylor was given a 2-year contract, but 3 top administrators with HSE did not have their contracts renewed, as has been the custom.  Abby Taylor gave special attention to Katy Dowling, one of the 3 without a contract extension, praising Dowling for her work in bargaining with the local teachers’ union.

Now that the voter registration deadline has passed for this year’s general election, the Hamilton County Election office has announced locations and hours for early voting.

Early voting in Fishers will happen at Billericay and Holland Parks, the days and times are at the bottom of the post

Here is the early voting information, as available the morning of October 11:

Continue reading Early voting begins today, October 11 →

Voters living within the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District (including all of Delaware, Fall Creek & Wayne Townships) will have a school funding referendum on the ballot – yes or no.  Advance HSE is a Political Action Committee formed to argue for voters to say “yes.”  Laura Smoots is the chairperson of Advance HSE and Matt Kegley is the interim superintendent of HSE Schools.  They join Larry In this podcast to talk about issues surrounding that referendum vote.

Tiffanie Ditlevson seeks an at-large seat on the Fishers City Council.  She sits down with Larry and talks about her views on a variety of issues.

There is a gap in access to the Nickel Plate Trail and the City of Fishers, along with Delaware Township, are teaming-up to correct that problem.

Monday night, the Fishers City Council officially entered into an interlocal agreement with Delaware Township to fill-in the gaps to access the trail from Lantern Road to the trail along 131st Street.

The City of Fishers will take on the responsibilities of design, construction and inspection of the project, while Delaware Township will contribute $400,000 toward completion of the construction work.  The total cost of the plan is estimated to be $482,490.

After revealing details of his 2024 city budget in August, and conducting a public hearing in September, the mayor’s $164 million budget proposal for 2024 received final approval from the Fishers City Council Monday night.

“The adoption of the 2024 budget reflects our unwavering commitment to the people of Fishers to continue building a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial community all while holding ourselves accountable to fiscal responsibility,” said Mayor Scott Fadness in a written statement. “By prioritizing historic investments in neighborhood vibrancy, we’re directly enhancing the lives of residents. This budget isn’t just a financial plan; it’s an investment in the pulse of the city – our community, neighborhoods, and schools.”

Councilor Jocelyn Vare raised concerns that the city’s debt load has nearly doubled in 2 years, and asked how much property owners would be assessed when Barrett Law road improvements are financed.  Controller Lisa Bradford responded that the city has received bids on the road construction work, but will not know the amounts businesses will be paying along those roads until the financing is complete, which should happen in the coming months.

Councilman Pete Peterson said market rates determine how such debts are financed, and Fishers is in “super” financial condition with investment grade debt.

Councilor Selina Stoller reminded council members Vare voted for the events center, but voted against the financing plan to construct the facility.  When voting against the financing plan previously, Vare said she wanted a sunset provision phasing out the food & beverage tax once the events center bonds are paid.  The financing plan did  not include a sunset provision.

The Fishers city budget for 2024 includes a small property tax rate decrease.  For more on what is contained in this budget, check out this story I posted August 21st. 

A firm that specializes in managing regional airports is coming to Fishers.  Jet Access, a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), plans on moving its headquarters from Mount Comfort Airport in Hancock County to leased office space in the Crosspoint office complex.

The firm plans to provide pilot and airplane mechanic training at the Fishers facility.  Fishers Economic Development Director Megan Baumgartner says Jet Access will have access to training grants of up to $3,500 per new employee, with a cap of $70,000 total.

Jet Access plans to move 60 current employees to the new Fishers headquarters, with 20 new employees in the pipeline.

Jet Access currently manages 3 airports in this area – Mount Comfort, Eagle Creek and Zionsville/Carmel.  The company hopes to expand into airports outside the state of Indiana.

The Fishers Economic Development Commission unanimously approved the Economic Development Agreement with Jet Access Monday afternoon.

Bill McLellan has a background as a minister and in data analytics.  He is now running for the Fishers City Council in the North West District.  I spoke with Bill McLellan about his campaign and his views on several issues impacting Fishers.

It was March earlier this year when I received one of the highest and most humbling recognitions I have ever had – the Jefferson Award.  These awards are bestowed on people making a difference in their own communities in public service.

I was receiving the award because of my local news blog and local podcast series.  I was told I would be allowed to speak, but with a 2-minute limit.  Being a former radio journalist, I learned how to be brief.

The question swirling around my mind was, what will I say?  The first point was easy, thanking my wife Jane for supporting me in this volunteer endeavor.

Then, I realized why I started the new blog in 2012.  No news organization was providing day-to-day real time coverage of Fishers, the place where I have resided since 1991.  I started the blog to let people know what their town (now city) council was doing, as well as the local school board.

I went from a handful of people reading in the early days to thousands of unique visitors every month.  This continues to amaze me.

It is a lot of work to keep this blog going.  It is a lot of work to schedule, record and post-produce podcasts with all local City Council candidates accepting my invitation to appear.  Why do I do all this?

There are a number of reasons, but it boils down to one major objective – local civic engagement.  My greatest moments of this volunteer work come when I receive a message from someone in Fishers saying that person is now engaged in what’s happening in the news locally, never voted in local elections before, but has now registered and regularly votes in local elections.

When I see or hear comments like that, I have achieved something.

Even with all that, let’s be real.  Our Fishers city elections in the past have had very low voter turnout numbers.  There are a couple of dynamics in this year’s Fishers election that could impact turnout, in a positive or negative way.

First, there is no election for mayor.  Scott Fadness has been unopposed in the primary election and has no opponent in the November general election this year.  No doubt his sizable campaign stash of cash scared a number of would-be challengers away.

Secondly, we have a very important school referendum.  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools passed a property tax referendum in 2016, but that will expire at the end of 2023.  I have and will continue to write about this referendum as we move closer to election day, but that vote will say a lot about the future of our local school district.

Voting is a civic duty, in my view, and I would hope many eligible voters will cast their ballots in early voting, on election day or through an absentee ballot (if eligible under state law).

In order to vote, you must be registered.  The deadline to register is Tuesday, October 10th.

Not sure whether you are currently registered?  If not, not sure how to register?  It is very easy.  In order to check your voting status, and register online if needed, use this link.

All but one City Council spot in Fishers is contested.  The City Clerk position is also contested in the 2023 general election.

Your local city government and the local school district both have a major impact on your quality of life.  Register to vote if not already registered.  You can vote on election day or take advantage of early voting.  I will be writing more details on early voting when available.

In a democracy, voting is a civic duty.  Please do your duty!