Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Yvonne Stokes said in December that the district would be looking into the possibility of changing mask policy from a requirement to an optional policy, but in a letter to parents issued Monday, it appears the mask requirement will be in place once again when classes resume Tuesday, January 4th.

“We will use this time to review COVID-related cases in our individual schools,” the letter to parents says. “Information from the Indiana COVID-19 Data Report and our internal COVID-19 Data Dashboard will also be utilized going forward to determine if masks will be optional or required in schools during the second semester.”

The extension of a federal mandate will require that masks be worn by everyone on a school bus

According to the letter, the school district plans to closely monitor all data provided by city, county and state health officials when making decisions on mask policy as the second semester moves forward.

The letter was signed generically from “HSE Schools.”

Well, it’s that time again.  As 2021 comes to a close, after reviewing an entire year’s worth of posts on my blog, I felt Fishers had a busy year.  Then, I realized, when has Fishers not had a busy year, going back to when this news blog started in 2012?

So, once again, allow me to explain how I went about this task.  After several hours of reviewing my 2021 blog posts, I wrote down what I considered to be candidates for the “most important of the year” list.  Then I started the toughest job – what items stay, which ones go and how to rank the top stories.

This year, I will list 15 stories as the biggest of the year, starting with number 15 all the way up to the number 1 story of the year.  As expressed in previous years, most news organizations have many meetings and plenty of verbal fist-fights about which stories should make the list and how to rank them.

For me, it is all my own doing.  I have those fights in my own mind.  I by no means consider this a perfect list and many of you reading will take issue with this list, and that is fine by me.

With that in mind, here we go…..Larry Lannan’s top 15 Fishers news stories for the year 2021!

15.  Indiana Supreme Court case – HSE Schools vs. WTHR

Rick Wimmer may be retired as a Fishers High School football coach and teacher, but an issue with his past suspension remains an unresolved legal matter.  When Mr. Wimmer’s suspension was announced, the facts revealed about the reason or reasons for that suspension were not spelled out specifically, so local television news organization WTHR partnered with a freedom-of-the-press nonprofit to challenge the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools in an effort to reveal more facts about the decision to suspend Mr. Wimmer.  It all comes down to how a state statute is interpreted.  The Indiana Supreme Court held a hearing on the dispute in 2021 and a decision is awaited as of this writing.  One thing is for sure – the decision reached by the justices will have a wide-ranging impact on Indiana schools and local governments.

14.  New Fishers City Council members 

Two Fishers City Council members left the body in 2021.

Democrat Samantha DeLong moved to Las Vegas with her family and was forced to resign her seat as a result.  Crystal Neumann was appointed by the Hamilton County Democratic Chair to fill the seat when a party caucus failed to muster a quorum for a vote.

David George, the longest tenured council member, decided to resign his seat in 2021.  A Republican Party caucus chose David Giffel to succeed Mr. George.

13.  Census number

When I would ask people with some knowledge of the situation about what the current population of Fishers might be, in recent months, I would often receive the response of somewhere around 100,000.  The official 2020 census pegged that Fishers  population number at 98,977, very close to the 100K mark.

12.  5G towers in Fishers neighborhoods

Verizon halted 5G tower rollouts in Fishers for several months, but the program was back in 2021.  A number of local neighborhoods are seeing these towers pop-up all around them.  Only a handful have been denied by the city for very narrow reasons allowed by state and federal law.  Expect more towers to come before the city in 2022 as this technology moves forward.

11.  Hamilton Southeastern Education Association elects a new leader   

Janet Chandler has led the local teachers’ union for many years, but decided not to seek re-election this time around.  Abby Taylor has taken over the presidency of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association in 2021.

10.  Thorpe Creek Elementary selected as a Blue Ribbon School 

Only a handful of schools are chosen for the honor of being a Blue Ribbon School.  In 2021, Hamilton Southeaster Schools had one building selected for this honor – Thorpe Creek Elementary.

9.  City buys HSE Utilities area within city limits

For those of us living within the city limits of Fishers, you could have been served by one of two utility operations – Fishers or HSE Utilities.  In 2021, the City of Fishers purchased the HSE Utilities service area within the city.  As a result, one sewer utility will serve all Fishers residents, the city’s utility.  There was no rate change in this transaction.

8.  Fishers buys 98 acres along the White River 

Fishers took an offer of paying back property taxes to purchase 98 acres of land along the White River, north of 96th Street.  There are long-term plans to have a park and possibly other development on that land.  Fishers late in the year learned that the state will provide READI grant money of $3 million – less than requested but useful.  Those funds will be used on the 98 acres and on a possible roundabout at 96th Street and Allisonville Road, which currently has a “Michigan Left” for left turns.

7.  HSE Schools, teachers agree to one-year contract

The aforementioned Hamilton Southeastern Education Association reached a one-year pact with the local school board, providing a 3.25% pay increase for local teachers.  The parties limited the contract to one-year due to the uncertainties surrounding COVID.

6.  HSE Schools approved new elementary boundaries     

With Deer Creek Elementary to be opened in August, 2022, the school board approved new elementary district lines, but limited the exercise to that school and other elementary buildings in the general area, including the overcrowded Southeastern Elementary.  Durbin Elementary students will be moved to the new Deer Creek building, along with some students at Southeastern Elementary, with other changes in the plan.

5.  Fishers Bioscience boom

Fishers had not been known as a hotbed for the life science industry, but circumstances have lined-up and Fishers is growing in that economic sector.  An Italian and South Korean firm have both announced plans to build facilities in the city and will provide some high-paying jobs as a result.

4.  Warren (Butch) Harling dies 

Warren Harling, known by his friends as Butch, served local government on the Fishers Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals for a very long time.  Mr. Harling passed away in 2021.  He was succeeded as Plan Commission President by Howard Stevenson, a former Hamilton Southeastern School Board member and the first African-American to serve in that post.

3. Yvonne Stokes hired as HSE Schools Superintendent

The retirement of Superintendent Allen Bourff meant the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was tasked with selecting a new leader for the district.  The board hired Yvonne Stokes, an assistant superintendent in Munster, a school district in the northwestern part of Indiana, as the new HSE Superintendent.

2.  Nickel Plate Trail and downtown development

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness says very little keeps him up at night, but the 2021 summer closure of 116th Street in the heart of downtown Fishers had him concerned.  It wasn’t easy, but the closure came and went.  Work continues on the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel underneath 116th Street.  That part of the trail is set to open in early 2022.

The construction along the downtown area of 116th Street is making progress, with many buildings closer to completion, including the First Internet Bank headquarters building.

The number one news story in Fishers for 2021: 

COVID

This should come as no surprise.  The HSE Schools went through hybrid class schedules to keep students and staff safe, but with some classes virtual and other days in-person, it was a tough time for both teachers and students.  The fall 2021 semester began with students in-person but with a mask-wearing requirement.

Fishers remodeled an abandoned Marsh grocery on 116th Street, just east of Brooks School Road, and established a COVID vaccination center, which remains in operation as we enter 2022.

Every time COVID appears to be coming under control, something happens, such as a new variant, and the virus explodes once again.

Mayor Fadness is quite proud that roughly 88% of Fishers adults have had at least one COVID shot.

Fishers, the city, local schools and local residents all tried to deal with COVID in 2021.  We can only hope and pray that 2022 will be a better COVID year for Fishers and all of us.

One of the most difficult projects I take on each year is to review my year’s work and list the top Fishers news stories for the year.  2021 was no different as a went through the same process again.

Here is the product of my work….a podcast listing the 15 top news stories for the year.

Director Adam McKay is best known for the Anchorman comedy films and The Big Short.  He has  new film, Don’t Look Up.   Here is my review.

Predictions are dangerous so I try not to make them whenever possible.  But looking ahead and exploring what may be ahead in the coming year is fair game.

Just so you know, I am finalizing the top news stories in Fishers for 2021 and will have that posted shortly.  In the meantime, let’s look at what we expect will be part of the Fishers news landscape in 2022.

The city is planning a new City Hall with an arts center as part of the new complex.  There is also a recreation center, sometimes described as a community center, in the planning stages.  Mayor Scott Fadness expects some preliminary ideas on what those facilities may look like sometime in the spring of 2022.

The city will see 116th Street downtown begin to come to life with the new development under construction starting to open, including the new headquarters of First Internet Bank.  The Nickel Plate Trail is expected to open in the downtown area, including the tunnel underneath 116th Street, in the spring of 2022.

A long-awaited housing study is expected to be produced next year that can guide local decision-makers on where to go next with housing policy in Fishers.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will likely determine the future of Fishers Elementary School.  It is the oldest structure in the HSE school inventory, and is the old Fishers High School of many, many years ago.

But the biggest local story next year will be the election of 4 HSE School Board members, a majority of the 7-member body.  The election will be in the fall (November) and candidates will begin filing in the summer.

There will be county elections and state legislative races in newly-drawn district maps.  Many of you may be in a new legislative district since the lines were re-drawn based on the 2020 census numbers.

Of course, the biggest story locally in 2022 will be COVID.  Will it ease, or will another variant complicate the pandemic?  Will the third year of COVID be better or worse?

This listing is by no means comprehensive and many other stories are anticipated in the coming year.  And, of course, there will always be the unanticipated issues that will surely arise.

This is not a set of predictions, just a few thoughts on what will almost certainly be on the public table for those of us living in Fishers.  Let us hope and pray 2022 is good to us.

With Christmas 2021 now here, I try each year to write what’s on my mind in this special holiday season.  My thoughts this year center on something Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told me on a podcast recorded December 1st.

As is my custom when interviewing nearly anyone on a podcast, I provide a minute or two at the end to have my guest talk about anything I didn’t think to bring up myself.  On December 1st, the mayor made his case that, in his view, Fishers “is doing very well,” and cited a number of points made in his recent State of the City address.  But he slipped-in another point in his response to me – “As a community, we have some work to do on how we treat each other.”

The journalist in me motivated a follow-up question – just what did you mean by “we have work to do on how we treat each other?”

The mayor again referred back to his State of the City address.  He argues that most Fishers residents do not even realize what COVID has done to them.  “I don’t think people have come to grips with just all they’ve gone through in the last year-and-a-half,” Fadness said.

He senses that people continue to be on edge due to what COVID and dealing with the pandemic have done to all of us in some shape or form.

“We’ve got to get back to the ground game of looking each other in the eye and having an honest conversation,” said the mayor.

Fadness believes we can become a better community if we recognize that most of us are on edge because of the pandemic and what it has done to us.  He envisions a better sense of community where we interact in person and see that human beings may have differences, but we have more in common.

So, as my Christmas message, let’s make a concerted effort to connect in a positive way to our fellow human beings.  We have differences, and that is part of being human.  Making personal connections is important and a genuine effort to find and build on those relationships is certainly part of the Christian Christmas message.  Again, we have more that unites us than what divides us.

Once COVID hit, I changed the sign-off on all my podcasts to a new phrase – “Be safe and be kind.”  I wanted to emphasize that we all should follow practices to keep ourselves and those around us as safe as possible.  I also firmly believe that kindness spreads as each person practices it.  In this time of pandemic, being safe and being kind are both so important.

Let’s think about that as we spread the cheer of the holiday season to one another.

Be safe and be kind.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

The early days of television are often fodder for the modern film business.  Aaron Sorkin is mining that genre in the film he has written and directed – Being The Ricardos.

It’s all about Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz….their romance, marriage, business partnership, then the slow dissolution of that marriage.  There is a lot more to the story.

Here is my review of the film Being The Ricardos…

The Fishers road construction listing is normally released on Friday, but with this being the Christmas holiday week, the update has been sent early.

Many are repeats of last week, except one lane restriction scheduled December 27 for 96th Street near the Wal Mart. Meijer access.

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

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The semi-annual Police Merit Commission meeting is an opportunity for the Chief of Police to update the commission members on what is happening in the department, and the December 22nd session was no exception

Chief Ed Gebhart reviewed the impact of funding approved by the Indiana General Assembly for a regional illegal firearms task force encompassing Indianapolis and the surrounding counties.

If you have noticed more motorists speeding in the City of Fishers, the Police Department has noticed this as well.  The department is looking to focus even more on speeders in 2022.

School Resource Officers (SROs), uniformed officers assigned to Hamilton Southeastern Schools, are a key part of Chief Gebhart’s focus on keeping local schools safe.  His department partnered with the schools to present an online Town Hall recently, focusing on school safety and how threats are handled by the schools and law enforcement.

The Chief talked about increasing the number of license plate readers in Fishers.  There are currently ten such readers.  He is reaching out to HOAs for interest in placing these readers in neighborhoods as a safety features.  The cost of a reader starts at $2,500.  Gebhart emphasized this is not “Big Brother” technology.  Even though the system records all license plates, police can only access the system looking for license plates tied to criminal investigations.

There were protests held in Fishers, as in most places, in 2020, and Gebhart told the commission he and his officers are learning how to better prepare for such events and tactics to keep them as peaceful as possible, working with other city departments.

Fishers Police will be hiring two civilian employees through money generated by task force funds – an intelligence analyst and a forensics expert.  The city budget for 2020 calls for three more sworn officers to be added.

The Police Merit Commission members, as listed on the Fishers Web site, are Bryan Babb, Tiffany Sharpley, Gary Bolenbaugh, Warren Henderson, and Jim White.  The main responsibility of the commission is to administer discipline to department members, including suspension, demotion, and termination of employment.  If there are no disciplinary matters, the chief provides a briefing on the department about current issues.  There have been no disciplinary matters before the commission in recent memory.

I rarely miss a Fishers City Council meeting, but I could not attend the December 20th session due to visiting family from out of town.  That meeting, and an update on COVID from the Fishers Health Department, are of note as I catch up on my volunteer blogging duties.

One important discussion which, as of this writing, is not available on video, is a work session held about the possibility of utilizing the Hamilton County Community Foundation to decide where the city’s charitable giving should go.  The city has budgeted $250,000 for funding local nonprofit groups in 2022.  The past few years, the City Council has used a committee of council members to decide what funding will be provided to which groups and how much each one will receive.  It appears the mayor and members of the council are considering a change in that process, possibly using the foundation to decide which organizations will be funded by the city and how much each will get.  Council members were provided a presentation by the foundation.  It is not yet clear what next steps will be.

Council President Selina Stoller recognized the work of former Town Council Member Ray Sakson.  He died recently at the age of 76.

Stoller also announced that proposals to formalize a committee system for the council passed first reading last October and will be considered once again at the January council session.  In October, the proposal was criticized by several council members, particularly the provision saying the council president will make the appointments, rather than have the full council approve those chosen to serve on committees.  Democrat Crystal Neumann was the only Democrat serving on the committee coming up with that proposal and said the recommendation “does not speak to me and it does not speak for me.”  President Stoller insisted she would be committed to diversity in making the appointments.  It is not known what language will be included in the committee proposal to be before the council in January.

Two members of the Fishers Police Department were presented service awards for 25 years with the department – Angela Ellison and Mathew Simmonds.

Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren presented a proposal for an Armed Services Commission for the City of Fishers.  The measure passed on 1st reading and will come back to the council for consideration.  For the language in the proposed ordinance, use this link.

Now, to the latest from the Fishers Health Department.  Late on Tuesdays most weeks, Epidemiologist Josh Robinson updates the community on COVID locally through a video posted on the city’s YouTube channel.  This week, Mr. Robinson reviews what the Omicron variant is and why it is causing so much publicity of late.  He also provides some stark numbers on COVID risks for those unvaccinated vs. those that are COVID vaccinated.  I think Josh Robinson lays this out very clearly in his video update, which you can see in its entirety at the link below.