A heavily traveled corridor in Fishers will be closed for a few days in June, allowing the replacement of what is described as “a large pipe.”

Cumberland Road, from 96th Street to 106th Street, is scheduled to close June 6 and reopen late in the day June 10.

Below is the text of the announcement from Hamilton County:

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Please be advised, beginning on or after Monday, June 6, Cumberland Road between 96th Street and 106th Street will be closed to all thru traffic for the replacement of a large pipe. The estimated project completion date is end of day Friday, June 10. 

Local traffic will continue to have access to their homes north and south of the hard closure (which is approximately 2,150’ north of 96th Street), while thru traffic is asked to utilize the posted detour route of 96th Street, Lantern Road, and 106th Street.

It was a perfect sunny early summer day – Memorial Day, 2022, in Fishers.  People were out walking the Municipal Complex and the Nickel Plate Trail.  The birds were singing among the trees near City Hall.

But the large crowd had assembled at the Municipal Complex for a very specific reason – to honor America’s war dead on this Memorial Day.  I have been attending these Fishers Memorial Day commemorations for about 10 years, and this year’s observance drew the largest number of people ever.

The event was planned by the recently-formed Fishers Armed Services Commission.

The featured speaker was a Fishers resident, retired Brigadier General Don Canaday, speaking about how the nation of Luxembourg remembers war with a group of 100 people each year at this time.  Europeans have experienced war on their land and they do not forget.  They also have not forgotten the Americans that perished in European wars.

He remembered friends in uniform that served in Vietnam with him but did not return.

Canaday reminded those assembled that whenever America is threatened, young people are willing to make the sacrifices to defend the nation.

Emcee El Ahlwardt reminded the crowd that it is not a good idea to wish anyone a happy Memorial Day.  “This is not a happy day,” he said.

Ahlwardt also recognized Wayne Caldwell, a veteran that had spoken at many Memorial Day observances in Fishers.  Mr. Caldwell died last February and his widow accepted an award on her deceased husband’s behalf.

Mayor Scott Fadness spoke about the sacrifices Americans have made in war time.

“I don’t think they sacrificed their lives and their futures for the political discourse we see in our country today,” said Fadness.  The mayor said those sacrifices were made so their sons and daughters can become part of a community like Fishers, and be willing to be part of a community that is much bigger than themselves.

Brigadier General Canady had the most telling remark of the day –  “There’s no such thing as a good war.”

Here are more photos from Monday morning’s ceremony:

Continue reading Large crowd gathers for Fishers Memorial Day ceremony 2022 →

The Fishers Health Department has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases locally, leading to a change in the Community Level.  Below is the latest COVID information from the Fishers Health Department:

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We have moved our CDC COVID-19 Community Level from Low to Medium, driven by the increased spread of COVID-19 in the local community. While we continue to observe an increase in reported cases due to more transmissible Omicron subvariants, there is no evidence yet of increased severity of the disease. New COVID-19 cases per 100,000 individuals increased from 158 to 203. New COVID-19 admission per 100,000 increased from 4.7 to 5.8 and the percent of staffed beds occupied by individuals with COVID-19 increased from 1.3% to 1.5%. 

Additional guidance with the CDC COVID-19 Community Level at Medium: Talk with your healthcare provider about appropriate precautions if you are at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. If you live with or have social contact with someone at high risk for severe outcomes, consider self-testing for COVID-19 before making contact and consider wearing a mask when indoors with the individual. 

Practicing mitigation measures for yourself, your family, and our community is important, including staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines. See the full metrics report.

The intersection at Cyntheanne Road and Southeastern Parkway will be closed beginning May 31 through the end of July, allowing the construction of a roundabout.  That is one of many construction projects starting and ongoing as the summer road construction season gets into high gear.

Below is the full road construction listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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Fishers Police announced the arrest of a suspect charged in a December robbery outside K-1 Speed, 9900 East 121st Street.  Under arrest is Thomas Wilson, 20, from Indianapolis.

Wilson faces felony charges of robbery, pointing a firearm and intimidation.  In addition, police filed misdemeanor counts of theft and carrying a handgun without a license.

According to Fishers Police, officers received a report of an armed robbery at the K-1 Speed at around 11:00pm on December 19, 2021.  Witnesses told officers they were exiting the business when they were approached by a male wearing a ski mask. The suspect allegedly  pointed a handgun at the victims and demanded money. The victims say they complied and the suspect fled in a dark colored SUV. No one was injured.

On May 25, officers with the Fishers Police Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the United States Marshall’s Task Force located Wilson at a residence in Whitestown, Indiana. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident.

The Fishers Police Department is thanking the Whitestown Police Department and the United States Marshall’s Task Force for their assistance in this case.

Mayor Scott Fadness opened the breakfast at Fishers City Hall with a reference to the tragic mass shooting at a Texas Elementary School the day before, saying he was not prepared to make a political statement but that a host of solutions need to be explored and mental health is one.

Fadness had gathered a group of people involved in mental health locally for a meeting Wednesday morning, talking about the city’s mental health initiative and where it goes from here.

Fadness talked about making mental health a top priority when he was Mayor-elect in 2014 and has continued that program up to the present.  His emphasis at Wednesday’s meeting was centered on bringing the many organizations that work with mental health together with the city to take the next steps forward.

Brooke Lawson talked about the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools program she handles.  County Councilman Steve Nation, a former Hamilton County prosecutor and judge, talked about steps county government is taking in tackling mental health issues.

Monica Heltz discussed the Fishers Health Department’s role in mental health issues.  Fire Chief Steve Orusa and Police Chief Ed Gebhart each explained how first responders do their best to identify and handle mental health issues when they arise.

There were state officials and mental health professionals there.  It was a large panel addressing where mental health moves forward.

The mayor posed the most important questions in moving to the next phase of the Mental Health Initiative.

“Do we really understand where the mental health challenges are originating in our community?,” Fadness asked those assembled.  “Are there public policy levers that can be pulled to prevent them?”

That is part of the next phase of challenges for Fishers and mental health.

At the Monday end-of-the-year gathering of HSE Schools staff, each building named a teacher of the year and an Honor & Excellence award winner for non-certified staff.  Above is a listing of each building’s Teacher of the Year.  Below is the Honor & Excellence award winner for each school building.

The overall Honor & Excellence winner was Paula Bledsoe, head custodian at Durbin Elementary.

The Fishers Police Department is working to maintain a long-held accreditation and in order to do so is required to ask the public about contacts with the local law enforcement agency.

Below is a Fishers Police Department news release with more information and a link to access the survey.

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As part of our ongoing accreditation process through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, the Fishers Police Department is again conducting a citizens feedback survey. The survey addresses specific questions regarding previous citizen contacts with our police department as well as perceptions of safety in our neighborhoods and business areas.

It is the goal of the Fishers Police Department to achieve and maintain the highest level of quality service for our residents and visitors. Input from the citizens of Fishers is essential in the Fishers Police Department’s continued effort to promote effective police services and protection to all members of the community.

This survey will be open until June 13, 2022.

Complete the online survey by using this link

There are two occasions when the entire staff of Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools is invited to come together in one place – the beginning of the school year and the end of the school year.

May 23rd marked the end of the 2021-2022 school year for HSE teachers & staff.

One major announcement that comes from the end-of-the-year gathering is the district-wide Teacher of the Year for the coming school year.  Audrey Lash, 1st Grade Teacher at New Britton Elementary, won the award for the 2022-2023 school year.  The other two finalists were Leslie Johnson,  English-as-a-new-language (ENL) teacher at Riverside Junior High…and Greg Gastineau, a government teacher at HSE High School.

There was music provided by students and many speakers.  Included in those offering remarks, and handing out awards, were Assistant Superintendents Kim Lippe and Matt Kegley, as well as Superintendent of Schools, Yvonne Stokes.  Abby Taylor, President of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, offered remarks and was there to greet the Teacher of the Year, along with Stokes & Lippe.

It was a relief for staff members to end this school year, prepare to enjoy the summer, with most returning for the new school cycle starting up again in August.

I am in the middle of my 11th year writing this news blog and in my 7th year of producing podcasts.  There is a question posed often as I meet people in and around the Fishers community.  The simple one-word question is – why?

Why do I take the many hours required each week to attend local meetings and events, and write about them?  Why do I take the time to prepare, record and produce my local LarryInFishers.com podcasts?

After all, this is a volunteer venture for me.  I am a one-man-band, covering these news events and producing these podcast all by myself.  I am supposed to be retired…why don’t I retire for real?  I generate no income in these endeavors.

I have tried to quit, at least twice.  In March of 2020, I posted what I thought would be my final local Fishers news blog entry.  I had plans to continue blogging, but switch the focus to local arts and entertainment coverage.  I am a lover of the arts and, to be honest, it’s a lot less work to cover entertainment compared to news.

But COVID shut everything down.  There were no live performances of anything.  Even the movie theaters were closed.

Plus, most local media news outlets were attempting to cover the pandemic with reduced staffing, so Fishers wasn’t getting much local coverage.  Okay, I thought to myself, I will continue the news blog until everything settles down.

Well, nothing settled down for quite a while, so I continued the blog, albeit with a bit less energy than before.  Then it happened.

In late October, 2020, I contracted COVID.  There was no vaccine at that time and few, if any, effective treatments for those dealing with the virus.

I didn’t just have COVID, I had it bad.  My wife Jane chose not to leave home, and thankfully Jane never tested positive.  Having her here was a godsend and helped me get through it.

My primary care doctor later told me she was “this close” to sending me to the hospital due to my severe symptoms.  You may recall that during that time in 2020 few patients admitted with COVID left the hospital alive.

I was very fortunate to recover without a hospital stay.  But having a COVID case of that severity caused me to think.  After all, I had no energy to do anything else but think during that time.

It was that experience that convinced me to continue the blog.  Why did I make that decision after so much time to think?

All of us have plenty of national media to consume.  Newspapers, Web sites and cable channels focus on national and international stories.  But what about local news?  What about Fishers, Indiana news?

I was provided a reminder recently of why I continue this blog.  A person placed a comment on a blog post, saying my coverage had sparked an interest in Fishers news.  That reader said she/he had attended some city council meetings and watched more of those sessions on video only because reading my blog had sparked interest in local Fishers news.

That is why I write this news blog.  That’s why I produce local podcasts.  If that person was the only one that began following local Fishers news events because of my blog, that would be enough to justify the hours and effort I put into this blog.

I had a day recently when I was going from covering one local meeting and heading for a second session when a family issue came up I needed to help in between.  I came home that night and asked myself that question – why?

The answer is the same.  Someone will read the blog and become interested in the local community where we live.  That is enough for me.

There is plenty of news coming in Fishers.  Old City Hall will be demolished and construction will begin on the new City Hall with a prominent Arts Center located in the same building.  It is anticipated more economic development projects will be announced in the coming months.

We have a very important local school board election where 4 of the 7 seats will be up for election in the fall.  In 2023, Fishers will hold a city election for a mayor, 9 city council seats, a city clerk and a city judge.  That requires news coverage.

I will turn 71 in a few months, but my health is reasonably good at the moment.  I will continue my blog for as long as God gives me the energy and ability to keep going.

I continue to be amazed at the number of people that regularly access this blog.  That’s the biggest reason I continue.

Thanks for reading.