Arts&Fishers Podcast: Review of Netflix docuseries “Harry and Meghan”

Rarely has Netflix had such an anticipated series like Harry and Meghan.  There has been a lot of hand-wringing in the British royal palace on just what Harry & Meghan will say in this docuseries.

There are 6 episodes and the first 3 are now available.  It is a revealing series, mostly the story of their meeting, courtship, romance and marriage.  The 3rd episode ends just before the marriage ceremony, so there is a lot left to go.

Here is my review of the docuseries Harry and Meghan…

Round Room honored by Inc. Magazine

When Inc. Magazine released its annual Best in Business for 2022, Round Room was the sole Indiana business recipient of this honor.  Round Room, a firm dealing with wireless retail outlets, is located in Fishers.

Honorees were selected in 55 different categories, from advertising to sustainability to retail and more, as well as based on age, revenue, size and impact. Round Room was selected to this year’s list based on the evolutions made to its company culture built around driving connection, purpose and meaning for employees and the company’s operating communities. 
“When our customers walk into their local TCC or Wireless Zone store, they are immersed in our positive company culture. We’ve always operated with our Culture of Good philosophy, which makes our employees want to come to work and increases our customer satisfaction,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room, in a company news release. “We’re proud that our Culture of Good initiatives have paid off for our employees, customers and communities. Being recognized by Inc.’s Best in Business is an honor, and we couldn’t have gotten here without our phenomenal team.”
Round Room has been heavily involved in philanthropy, including the donation of 140,000 backpacks full of school supplies to children across the U.S.
The company celebrated the first payout of its annual Employee Profit Sharing Program, where all employees received a percentage of the company’s fiscal year profit. The total payout resulted in each of Round Room’s more than 2,000 employees receiving at least $2,000.

Ground breaking for new Andretti racing facility in Fishers

Dignitaries break ground for the new Andretti complex in Fishers (Photo courtesy City of Fishers)

The Andretti name is synonymous with auto racing throughout the world.  Mario Andretti has won the Formula One championship and the Indianapolis 500.  Mario’s son Michael Andretti has won five Indy 500 races as a car owner.

Andretti Motorsports broke ground Tuesday on its new complex in Fishers, near Hague Road, between 96th and 106th Streets.  Mario and Michael Andretti were on hand, along with Governor Eric Holcomb (recently recovered from a bout of pneumonia), Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Fishers City Council President Todd Zimmerman and many more.

What will make this building special is not just the work on the racing operation.  An Andretti museum is planned, along with an Italian restaurant.  This will become a destination for many people visiting the area.

It is expected to take about 2 years for the construction to be complete.

HSE plans to upgrade its Web site in early 2023

An example comparing the current Web page design with what’s possible under Finalsite

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will upgrade its Web site in early 2023, based on an update provided to the school board at a Tuesday morning Work Session.  Emily Abbotts and Abby Brown of the district staff explained the entire communications program and plans for the Web changes.

HSE staff, after researching options and investigating how other school districts handle their Web sites, decided to go with the Web firm Finalsite.  Abbotts says this new vendor will provide more flexibility in Web design and will provide certainty on cost over a period of time.

“We’re really excited about this changeover,” Abbots told the board.

The board was updated on the various ways the district communicates with students, parents and staff.  HSE utilizes a number of social media platforms to communicate, with the most recent addition a TikTok account..

Fishers will post position for new Parks and Recreation Director

I had the opportunity to record a final podcast with Sarah Sandquist after it became clear she would be leaving her position as Fishers Parks & Recreation Director.  Her last day was December 1st.

So, as of December 2nd, who is running the department?

City spokesperson Ashley Elrod says “Jake Reardon McSoley will assist on operational direction alongside Marissa Deckert.”  McSoley is the Director of Recreation and Wellness for the city and Deckert is the Assistant Director at Parks & Recreation.

Elrod says the city will post the opening for Parks & Recreation Director.

What we know about 141st Street & State Road 37

I have noticed a number of social media posts about the state of 141st Street at State Road 37.  Allow me to pass along the information I know about this situation as of December 4th.

The original plan was to award a bid earlier this year to construct a roundabout on 141st over SR 37, and an underpass beneath 141st to allow the free flow of traffic on SR37.

The City of Fishers experienced what others are experiencing as inflation has been a major factor, along with a shortage of workers in the construction industry.  When the bids were opened earlier this year, they were all far above the engineering estimates due to the sharp rise in costs.

City officials had been telling me consistently that they were looking at options on how to construct the roundabout at that intersection.  So far, an immediate solution appears not to be available.

With the work completed on 126th, 131st & 146th Streets on SR 37, traffic was flowing freely on the highway north-south and the roundabouts handled the east-west travel.  However, the traffic signal at 14st Street & State Road 37 was creating traffic backups in each direction on the highway and there have been a number of accidents as a result on SR 37 near 141st Street.

For that reason, Fishers announced that a right-in right-out will be installed on 141st at SR37 to alleviate the backups on 37, allowing free flow of north-south traffic there.  That means you will not be able to travel east and west across SR37 on 141st Street once the right-in right-out is constructed, sometime in December, during the HSE Schools winter break.

Fishers officials have emphasized they view this as a temporary measure and plan to open bids on the roundabout at 141st Street in the fall of 2023.

 

Short Fishers road construction list

With winter here, road construction in and around Fishers is not very busy, with only 3 items on the week of Monday, December 5th.  It includes the ongoing road closure for a small part of Municipal Drive along with lane restrictions on Allisonville Road and Lantern Road.

Here is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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MUNICIPAL DRIVE  A small section of Municipal Drive is currently closed for utility relocation as part of the City Hall demolition project and Arts & Municipal Complex construction project and is anticipated to reopen on Friday, December 9. View closure map hereALLISONVILLE ROAD  On Monday, December 5, lane restrictions will be in place on northbound Allisonville Road, just north of Orchard Blvd. between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for utility work.

LANTERN ROAD  Beginning on Monday, December 5, lane restrictions will be in place on Lantern Road at Fishers Pointe Blvd. to allow contractors room to work on the path. Flaggers will be in place. Work is anticipated to be completed by Friday, December 16.

Podcast: Kate Lantzer & Casey Alexander

When planning my HSE School Board candidate podcasts for 2022, I asked each of the 2 local high school principals to recommend a student to ask questions of the candidates.  Fishers High school Principal Jason Urban recommended Casey Alexander.  Reggie Simmons of HSE High School recommended Kate Lantzer.

Both students asked most of the questions in my podcasts with school board candidates.

I brought Kate & Casey back together post-election to talk about the experience.

Here is my podcast discussion with them, at the link below.

Brad DeReamer confirms he will not seek re-election to the Fishers City Council

Brad DeReamer

Brad DeReamer has represented the Northeast District of the Fishers City Council for 2 terms and says that is enough.  In a message to LarryInFishers, DeReamer says he believes in term limits and has chosen to self-impose a limit of two terms on himself.

DeReamer, a former mayor of Greenfield, was instrumental in the city’s decision to end support for the Fishers Freedom Festival and establish the city-sponsored summer festival Spark Fishers.

It is expected that more than one candidate will be running to fill this open seat on the council in the 2023 city election.