I took a few days off blogging around Labor Day to relax a bit.  After all, Labor Day is the unofficial green flag to begin election campaigns.

Locally, there are four seats at stake on this Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in this election cycle, a majority of the 7-member body.  There are 11 candidates in all, each running within their own district lines.  I am planning on inviting each candidate to a podcast interview.  I will be announcing more on my plans in the coming days.

Covering Fishers as a volunteer journalist is more than enough to keep my busy.  Most of the county-wide offices are unopposed with Republicans set to take office or be re-elected.  One county-wide race many will be watching is for Hamilton County Prosecutor, with Republican Greg Garrison facing Democrat Jessica Paxson.

Fishers is in the middle of what local political insiders believe to be a very close election for Indiana State Senate District 31, with Republican Kyle Walker and Democrat Jocelyn Vare.  Walker was elected by a caucus to serve the remainder of long-time Senator Jim Merritt’s term after Merritt decided to leave office.  Vare has been serving on the Fishers City Council as an at-large member since 2020.

Walker has already released a television ad on YouTube, which is available at this link.  Vare and fellow Democrat on the City Council, Crystal Neumann, are sponsoring a session with Police Chief Ed Gebhart Friday.

The state senate campaign will be one worth watching.

The Hotel Nickel Plate is one step closer to reality following a ground breaking ceremony Friday.  The project is described by the developer as a 5-story, 116-room, upscale, boutique hotel.

The development will include a full-service restaurant on the ground floor and there will be access to the Nickel Plate Trail.

On hand for the event were Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, other city officials, Browning Chief Development Office Adam Chavers and Dora Hotel Company President Tim Dora.

The hotel will be located between the First Internet Bank building and the Nickel Plate Trail.

Watch for lane restrictions along 146th Street and closure of the 146th Street bridge over State Road 37 and that project moves into its final stages.

For more on that, and many more street & road projects, here is the weekly construction update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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STATE ROAD 37 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

STATE ROAD 37 AND 146TH STREET
All left-turn lanes are currently restricted on SR 37 and on 146th Street with traffic moved to the interior lanes. Thru traffic and right turns on SR 37 and 146th Street will remain open. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes for all left turn access. View an alternate route map here.  

On Friday, September 2, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., there will be single lane restrictions on 146th Street for grooving and permanent pavement markings.

On Tuesday, September 6 through Saturday, September 10, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., there will be single lane restrictions on 146th Street for grooving, permanent pavement markings and traffic signal loops. 

On Wednesday, September 7 and Thursday, September 8, between midnight and 4 a.m., the 146th Street bridge deck will be closed for permanent pavement markings. Ramps will remain open for exiting and entering SR 37, but 146th Street thru traffic will be temporarily not allowed. 

STATE ROAD 37 AND 131ST/135TH STREET
135th Street, west of SR 37, is currently closed as work progresses on the project. SR 37 will remain open both northbound and southbound and allow right in/right out access at 131st Street. View the detour map here.  

Please drive with caution through this area. To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com.

RINGER ROAD
Ringer Road will be closed to thru traffic on Saturday, September 10 to resurface the roadway. Access to the residents will be maintained. 

96TH STREET
Daily lane restrictions are currently in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 96th Street between Allisonville Road and Masters Road for the installation of small cell structures. 

116TH STREET
On Wednesday, September 7, there will be temporary lane restrictions of the right turn lane on 116th Street at Commercial Drive between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for utility work at the traffic signal.   

ADA ramp and curb reconstruction has started taking place in Geist Overlook as part of the 2022 Resurfacing Project. Homeowners will be notified via door hangers prior to any curb reconstruction near their home. After ADA ramp and curb reconstruction is completed, those areas will be restored with topsoil and seed. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to water the seed for the seed to germinate. Prior to road resurfacing, residents will be notified via street signage for street parking restrictions.

Base repair, milling and road resurfacing will be taking place on Promise Road between 136th Street and 141st Street between Wednesday, September 7 and Monday, September 12 and on 136th Street between Cyntheanne Road and Atlantic Road between Friday, September 9 and Tuesday, September 13.

HAND, a local nonprofit headquartered in Noblesville, specializes in affordable housing in Hamilton County and some surrounding areas.  HAND’s first Fishers project is realizing the same inflation we all see, but the organization is working to find a solution.

Andrea Davis, HAND’s Executive Director, talked about the status of Cumberland Cottages during a September 2nd podcast recording session.  According to Davis, the cost of Cumberland Cottages has risen 30% since receiving a $1.5 million government grant.  Since that grant, the estimated cost of the project has risen by $1 million.

HAND has been in “problem-solving mode” ever since, trying to identify some additional funding, and also looking at tweaks to design lowering construction and development costs.

“We’re getting close, we hope to have (a) solution in the next couple of weeks,” Davis said in the LarryInFishers.com Podcast.

Davis says if everything is “buttoned-up” in the next two weeks, Cumberland Cottages could be under construction during the spring of 2023.

Cumberland Cottages is planned for an area along Cumberland Road, just south of 141st Street.

A Fishers man faces felony charges after police say a handgun discharged during a family dispute.

Just after 4:00pm Thursday, police were called to the 13400 block of Lantern Road. The 911 call center received a report that a man had discharged a handgun in a residence, the son of the caller.  The son could not be found when police arrived at the scene.  After establishing a perimeter, officers found Darion J. Murray, 18, from Fishers.

Murray surrendered to officers and was transported to the Hamilton County Jail.

No one was injured.

Murray faces charges of criminal recklessness, intimidation and pointing a firearm, all felony counts.

There have been a number of media reports on the rising cost of housing, particularly a spike in rents.  To talk about how Hamilton County is impacted by all this, I spoke with two local nonprofit leaders familiar with housing, Andrea Davis from HAND & Nancy Ramsey from Family Promise of Hamilton County.  Listen to the podcast discussion at the link below:

Kyle Walker’s campaign recently touted an endorsement by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, now the Indiana AFL-CIO has endorsed Walker’s campaign, along with the State Pipe Trades Association.  Walker, a Republican, faces Democrat Jocelyn Vare in the November general election.

“Senator Walker has been a champion for working families in his district and across the state,” said Brett Voorhies, President of the Indiana State AFL-CIO in a Walker campaign news release. “We thank him for his efforts to bolster our economy as well as his support for issues including workplace safety, retirement security and efforts to buy and build in Indiana.”

Only one early poll has been released on this Indiana Senate District 31 race.  It showed a statistical dead heat between the two candidates, but also registered 19% as undecided.

Every year the major fund raising event for the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI) is the Mayor’s Breakfast.  The 2022 breakfast was one of the largest gatherings of the year featuring the movers and shakers of the Fishers Community.

Since the breakfast was moved outdoors several years ago, YMI has been blessed with very good weather.  The tent featuring the breakfast had very few empty seats.

YMI Board President Matt Kegley, Assistant Superintendent at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, emphasized the central part adult mentoring can have on a young person’s life.

That was also the theme of the panel discussion led by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.

Master Chef Kelsey Murphy talked about her young elementary school age child that clearly seems to feel the pressure of school even at that early age.

Noah Malone, HSE High School grad and Paralympic sprinter for Team USA, pointed out the extra difficulties of traversing high school with a disability.

Ronald Nored, Assistant Coach of the Indiana Pacers and former team member of the famous Butler basketball team coached by Brad Stevens, spoke of the value an adult mentor provided him at a key, young age.

The Heritage Park setting, next to the Historic Ambassador House, provided the background for this special event Fishers experiences every year.

YMI provides adult mentors to students in the HSE School District.  If you wish to donate, or explore the possibility of being a mentor yourself, use this link.

Here are some photos from the 2022 Mayor’s Breakfast:

Continue reading Annual YMI Mayor’s Breakfast draws a good crowd →

The Fishers Blues Fest is 10 years old in 2022 and the city Parks & Recreation Department is once again offering the annual music celebration.  Marissa Deckert, Assistant Director of the city department, talks about Blues Fest and much more in this podcast, linked below

There are two Democrats on the Fishers City Council, Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann, and they are sponsoring a Chat with the Chief, featuring Police Chief Ed Gebhart.  The event is described as a town hall where residents may ask questions of the Chief.

It is set for Friday, September 9, 6pm, at the Delaware Township Community Center (9094 E. 131st).