The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning covering Fishers and most of Indiana, beginning Thursday at 3pm through 7pm Friday.  City officials are preparing for the winter onslaught.

Fishers spokesperson Ashley Elrod tells LarryInFishers city crews will hit the streets with over 60 trucks around noon Thursday.  Mid-day Thursday should bring more detailed information about what Fishers should expect in terms of what kind of weather will hit and how it will impact the city.

Because the rain will turn to possible ice then snow, with high winds and temperatures dropping rapidly, this storm will be a challenge for the city’s Department of Public Works. However, Elrod says the city is prepared for any type of winter storm, including the one forecast.

Starting at noon Thursday, crews will be working 12-hour shifts and will stay with it until the streets of Fishers are clear.  One aspect of this storm that is most challenging is the rain forecast prior to the snow.  This will not allow crews to pre-treat our roads, since the rain would simply wash away the pre-treatment.

If you have friends and relatives visiting Fishers for the Christmas holiday, Elrod recommends the visitors plan ahead, have an emergency kit in the vehicle and allow plenty of room on the roadways.  Also, prepare for a trip that may take more time than normal.

Elrod asks that residents keep vehicles off the streets to allow crews to do their work, and if you are driving and encounter a snow plow, allow those trucks plenty of room.

For information on the storm, check out the Hamilton County Emergency Management Web page at this link…and access information about the Fishers Smart911 system at this link.  

Kaitlin Lange started covering the Indiana Statehouse then moved to the Indianapolis Star.  She continued her Statehouse coverage for the Star until a few weeks ago, when she moved to a startup named State Affairs.  She has already filed stories for State Affairs and is set to cover the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly.

I spoke with Kaitlin about her new job and the budget session of the legislature getting underway in early 2023 in this podcast.

The Fishers Arts Council will host their annual meeting on Friday, January 13, 2023 from 7pm-8pm in the Fishers Pavilion at the AMP, located at 10 Municipal Drive, Fishers. The public is welcome to attend this meeting which will review the budget for 2023, elect new officers to join the board, and they will also vote on executive committee positions.

If you wish to attend, please notify Fishers Arts online at FishersArtsCouncil.org, or call the Arts Council at 317-537-1670.

When Mayor Scott Fadness was recently asked about what major project is on tap for the city in 2023, the first item listed was the reconstruction of Cumberland Road between 106th and 116th Streets. The Fishers City Council approved the interlocal agreement with Hamilton county to allow the project to move forward.

The planned construction project will improve the roadway by constructing enclosed storm sewer pipes, grass medians along the corridor, auxiliary lanes, a multi-use path along the west side of Cumberland Road, pedestrian facilities on the east side of Cumberland Road and reconstructing a Bridge.

City Attorney Chris Greisl told the City Council Monday night that Hamilton County will pay 100% of the local match on reconstructing the bridge and and 23% of the improvement cost on the road itself.

The project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023 with utility relocation and tree clearing.  The actual construction on Cumberland Road will begin later in 2023 and could go into 2024 before it is completed.

I have known local publisher Tom Britt for several years.  We see each other at local events and Tom has appeared several times on my podcasts.

The two of us have talked about working together and we finally have worked it out.  You will see my writing in Fishers Magazine, which is delivered monthly to most mailboxes in the City of Fishers.

Tom Britt has issued a news release announcing our agreement, which you can see at this link.   

Very much looking forward to working with Tom Britt.

The Recovery Cafe is a one-stop shop for anyone recovering from anything.  Be it addiction, mental health, domestic abuse or a brush with the law, the Recovery Cafe is ready to offer a warm meal and an ear to hear your story.  The Cafe will work to get anyone needing recovery a referral to a place that can offer help.

A new Recovery Cafe is set to open in early 2023 at the Eller House, just west of Allisonville Road on 116th Street.  I spoke with the Fishers Cafe Executive Director, Joylynn Foli, and the Associate Executive Director Bryan Beasly, on the podcast linked below.

Contact the Fishers Recovery Cafe at this link.  The group is also looking for donations, which can be accessed on their Web site.

The National Weather Service is providing early warning of a winter storm headed our way that is expected to dump snow, wind and very cold conditions starting Thursday night through at least Saturday morning.  Forecasters say it is too early for a snow depth prediction but this early warning indicates this will be a big weather event for our area.

If, as predicted, we will have rain on Thursday, then a 30-degree drop in the temperature, and rain changing to snow, that could very well create a condition with intense cold, snow, and ice underneath that snow.  This is a dangerous combination.

Hamilton County Emergency Management issued a statement early Tuesday morning.  The statement is below, in its entirety:

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A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect through Saturday.

It is still too early for snow total predictions; however, we know it will be extremely windy, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Temperatures will plummet overnight on Thursday, leading to a flash freeze.

We are very concerned about the wind and frigid temperatures. Travel will become difficult to nearly impossible starting overnight on Thursday through Saturday. The main concerns are blowing and drifting snow that may create whiteout conditions.

Please take the time to make an emergency kit, be prepared for power outages, and consider an alternate heating source to operate indoors without electricity.

If you or someone you know uses powered medical devices, has mobility issues, or any other conditions that may make it hard for them if the power goes out, please ask them to sign up for Smart911.com. It allows them to register their information and helps 911 during an emergency. The service is free and uses the same level of security as banks. www.smart911.com 

“In all my years I have never known anyone that does as good a job as John does for our Fire Department, for our community.”

That’s how Fishers Fire Chief Steve Orusa started his presentation to the Fishers City Council recognizing John Mehling for 30 years serving his department.  That’s about as serious as the presentation went from there.

Orusa, saying it is traditional for himself to write something on John’s behalf, announced Mehling decided to write his own.  That line brought the house down in laughter.

Mehling is someone I have known since starting this local news blog as the media relations person for the Fishers Fire and Emergency Services Department.  Let’s just say his sense of humor is legendary among the media types dealing with him, and just about everyone in city government.

It was a special night of recognition for John Mehling at the Monday City Council session.  Congratulations, John, the honor is well deserved.

John Weingardt not only was elected as Fishers City Council President for 2023, he also confirmed for LarryInFishers he will seek another term on the council.

2022 Council President Todd Zimmerman said voting on next year’s officers in December will allow the January meeting to begin more smoothly.  Cecilia Coble will serve as Council Vice President in 2023.

The only dissenting vote on the new officers came from Councilor Jocelyn Vare, who cited council rules as requiring the vote for officers to be conducted in January for that calendar year.

John Weingardt was first elected to the Fishers Town Council in 2011 and took office for the first time in 2012.  He was elected to the City Council once a referendum passed making Fishers a second class city.  He has previously served as president for both the Fishers Town Council and City Council.

David Giffel currently represents the Southwest district on the Fishers City Council, and is seeking his first full four-year term.  Giffel was elected to take the council seat by Republican precinct officials when incumbent Councilor David George announced his resignation from the council.

“I am proud of the council’s work over the last year, and I want to continue to focus on strategic job growth, maintaining roads in our neighborhoods, and lower tax rates,” said Giffel in a news release from his campaign. “It is so important to me that the residents of Fishers maintain a high quality of life.”

Giffel has been supportive of economic development projects, such as the Andretti Motorsports headquarters.  He cites several  civic and charitable activities featuring his involvement since moving to Fishers in 1997.

Giffel will be a candidate in the Republican primary election set for May of 2023.