Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Yvonne Stokes emphasized Wednesday night that her administrative team is monitoring COVID cases in each HSE school building.  Any decisions on closing a building and going to virtual classes will be done on an individual building basis.  Many school buildings in central Indiana have recently announced COVID closures and virtual learning, but HSE has managed to keep all school buildings open so far this school year.

Assistant Superintendent Matt Kegley told school board members Wednesday night that any virtual learning that may be needed this semester will look much like past virtual learning experiences and the district is prepared for that eventuality.

Dr. Stokes reviewed another matter before the board – the process for parents to challenge books available in school libraries.  She used her authority to take four books from library shelves for a 30 day period.  Those books remain unavailable and are being vetted by school officials. Dr. Stokes did not name the books that have been removed for review.

Dr. Stokes announced the district is receiving a $406,000 “Stop the Violence” grant.  The money will be used for a number of security needs, including evaluating threats.

Speaking of security, central office administrator Ryan Taylor, will be retiring from the school corporation.  The board and Dr. Stokes recognized him for his long service to the local schools, particularly in the area of security.

Julie Chambers assumed the gavel as President of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board Wednesday night, but there was some controversy over the other officers.

The first slate of officers proposed had Ms. Chambers as President, Sarah Donsbach Vice President and previous Board President Janet Pritchett as Secretary.  Then another officer slate was presented – it kept Ms. Chambers as President, but had Suzanne Thomas as Vice President and Brad Boyer as Secretary.

After some discussion, the board decided to initailly vote on the first slate, and that passed on a vote of 5-2, with Suzanne Thomas and Brad Boyer voting no.

So, when all was said and done, here are the HSE School Board officers for 2022:

President – Julie Chambers

Vice President – Sarah Donsbach

Secretary – Janet Pritchett

Sarah Donsbach could not attend the meeting in person, but joined and voted virtually.

The Fishers Health Department is making vaccinations and testing available on January 17, the Martin Luther King holiday, with many people out of school and work that day.

“With many schools and businesses closed for the holiday, this is a prime opportunity to complete your first round of vaccinations or get boosted so that you can protect yourself and your loved ones from this latest COVID surge,” said Monica Heltz, public health director for the Fishers Health Department, in a city news release. 

The Fishers Vaccination Clinic (12520 E. 116^th Street) will be open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Monday, January 17 for both walk-ins and appointments. Weekend hours will continue as usual, open Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and closed on Sunday.  Appointments can be made at fishers.in.us/vaccine. Fishers Health Department has given nearly 90,000 vaccines to date, and more than 9,000 vaccinations in the past 2 weeks as the new omicron variant contributes to rising cases.

The Fishers Testing Site (4 Municipal Drive) will be open from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. for drive-thru testing, along with priority testing for students and staff of K-12 Fishers-based schools from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Tests can be scheduled at fishers.in.us/testing. The Fishers Testing Site has administered more than 97,000 tests since opening in April 2020.

For more information on the steps you can take on how to protect yourself and loved ones from the omicron variant, visit fishers.in.us/coronavirus. The FHD continues to support CDC recommendations for protection from COVID that include vaccination, masking up, and avoiding large indoor or poorly ventilated gatherings.

Jocelyn Vare announced previously her intention to run in the Democratic primary for state Senate District 31.  Vare filed the paperwork officially Wednesday to become a candidate.

The newly-drawn Senate District 31 takes in Fishers and Lawrence in Marion County.

Should Vare become the nominee, she is expected to face Republican Kyle Walker in the general election this November.

Vare is currently an at-large member of the Fishers City Council and a local business owner.

Hamilton County Republicans are about to get a new chairperson.  In a story posted Wednesday morning by the Hamilton County Reporter, Laura Campbell cited personal reasons for stepping down from her party post.  She remains a member of the Carmel City Council.

Hamilton County GOP Vice-Chair Will Riley is expected to call a party caucus to vote on Campbell’s replacement.

The Reporter reprinted a statement Campbell issued announcing her resignation:

I am resigning as Chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party effective midnight on January 19, 2022. After the loss of both of my parents last year I gained a new perspective on how I want to spend my free time. Being party chairman takes up a large part of my free time and I would like to spend more time with my family.

I will be at next week’s GOP breakfast meeting and hope to see you there. Will Riley, Vice Chairman, will set the date for a caucus to elect my replacement.

Together we have made great strides in the party, among them: expanding the party’s reach and welcoming more diverse involvement in the party, growing our local clubs, and the successful grassroots efforts in 2020 that resulted in substantial wins for our candidates. Republicans are well-positioned for continued success this year in the midterm elections and I will work with the new leadership for a smooth transition.

Tuesday evenings in Fishers remain the time for a regular update from Josh Robinson, Epidemiologist for the Fishers Health Department.  He hasn’t had a lot of good news for us in recent weeks, and this week is no different.

“Emerging data indicates that the Omicron variant is 3 times as transmissible as the previously dominant variant, which was Delta,” said Robinson in his video post.

State health officials say 85% of COVID cases in Indiana have been identified as Omicron.

According to Robinson, this is creating a “massive jump in new cases here locally, and around the state.”

The latest state numbers show about 9,600 cases a day in Indiana recently.

Even though Omicron is less severe, it is causing more hospitalizations due to the sheer number of  total cases.

Vaccines do provide protection, particularly from “severe outcomes.”  Robinson cites these Indiana state numbers….of those with COVID, the vaccinated are less than 1% ( 0.65%  to be exact) hospitalized, and even fewer, 0.03%, of those vaccinated, have died.

Now for this week’s numbers:

The Hamilton County unique individual positivity rate increased to 37.1%, compared to last week’s 24.6%.

The Fishers testing site reported 39.4% positive COVID tests, compared to previous week’s 27.1%.

The case incidence rate (a 14 day rolling average per 100,000 population) went up to 249.2, compared to previous week’s 162.6.

Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed availability is at 7.5% in Marion and surrounding counties, a very low rate of availability.  39.6% of ICU patients have in the same counties are COVID positive.

The Fishers Health Department is setting aside certain days and times for students, parents and staff of HSE Schools to schedule test.  For information on that, and how anyone may schedule a COVID test, use this link.

In this week’s video update, Josh Robinson reviews how long to isolate yourself once you test positive.

You may access the video update at the link below.

The Fishers Health Department is urging local residents to get their COVID vaccinations & booster shots when eligible, due to a “rapid increase” in the spread of the virus.

For more information, see the release below from the Health Department:

==========

Fishers Metrics Review
There is a rapid increase in the community transmission level of COVID-19. Locally, we’ve seen our highest month of cases ever in December 2021, with known cases for that month being 3,184. The FHD strongly encourages individuals to receive their vaccination and booster shots to protect against COVID-19 variants, and to practice proven mitigation measures (e.g., masking in public places, hand sanitation, social distancing). 

Walk in or schedule ahead and get your free COVID-19 vaccine at the Fishers Health Department Vaccine Site, at your local pharmacy, or various pop-up clinics throughout the city. See the full metrics report.

I have written about the priority program by the Fishers Health Department to COVID test Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District students and staff.  Below is a news release issued by the Health Department with the details of how these PCR tests can be scheduled.

=================

The Fishers Health Department today (January 10) launched prioritized COVID PCR testing for students and staff of all Fishers-based schools. Effective Monday, January 10, all students and staff of Fishers-based K-12 schools (public or private) will be eligible for priority access to testing during dedicated drive-thru testing hours at the current FHD testing site located at 3 Municipal Drive, Fishers. Eligible students and staff may visit www.fishers.in.us/SchoolTesting to make an appointment. 

Prioritizing students and staff of Fishers-based schools is intended to improve access and availability to COVID-19 testing to keep schools open and safe. Hours for the Fishers Health Department Testing Site will expand before and after school to accommodate school schedules. 

Hours of operation for school-based testing:
Monday 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 3 – 5 p.m.
Tuesday 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Wednesday 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 3 – 5 p.m.
Thursday 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Friday 7:30 – 9 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.
Saturday 12 – 2 p.m.

Students and staff scheduled for a priority appointment may visit the site at any time of the same day scheduled.  FHD is only able to process tests with the correct appointment date. For the fastest and best service, FHD encourages individuals to visit at your scheduled time. Please have identification and QR code ready when you enter the garage.

The Fishers Health Department vaccination site remains open for appointments and walk-ins for people 5 and older. Boosters are available for people 12+ and are highly encouraged to protect yourself from the current high rates of spread of COVID-19. Any Hoosier can make an appointment at www.fishers.in.us/vaccine or visit the site at 12520 E. 116th Street, Fishers.

It has been quite a weekend.  The ice that came down,  coating surfaces Saturday evening, resulted in a 12-car pileup in 126th Street at the I-69 overpass.  It just came too suddenly for city crews to treat it.  Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

But this weekend gave me an opportunity to reflect on something that happened in the Indiana General Assembly.  The Senate held a hearing on a piece of legislation labeled Senate Bill (SB) 167.  Noblesville Senator Scott Baldwin supports the measure and it calls for teachers in the Hoosier State to be  impartial in teaching students about such subjects as Nazism, Marxism and fascism.

Fishers High School Social Studies teacher Matt Bockenfeld testified last week at a hearing centered on SB 167.  He questioned how a teacher could be impartial in teaching students about Nazism.

According to a story written by Indianapolis Star reporter Arika Herron,  posted to the Star Web site January 6, Senator Baldwin walked back the assertion that a subject such as the Nazi period in Germany can be impartially presented by educators.

There are other controversial parts of SB 167, but I want to focus on one issue.  That is, how do Social Studies teachers teach difficult subjects?

My mind went back to January 16 of last year.  I was in Florida with my wife Jane.  The January 6th riot at the United States Capitol was still an intense issue being discussed at that time.

Fortunately, my trusty podcasting equipment was with me in Florida so I could record a Zoom conversation.  My thoughts went to Mike Fassold.

Mr. Fassold is a long-time Social Studies teacher, now at Fishers Junior High School.  He coaches a team of students competing in “We The People,” a program where schools compete with each other over their knowledge of government and the U.S. Constitution.  The program is funded by the Indiana General Assembly and administered by the Indiana Bar Foundation.

Fishers Junior High School “We The People” teams have won multiple national championships.  Mike Fassold has a lot of experience teaching Social Studies at the junior high school level.

When I wanted to devote a podcast to January 6th just days after it happened, I contacted Mr. Fassold and asked him to appear on my podcast series to discuss how he talked with his students in the 2 days following January 6, 2021.  I learned a lot about how a teacher such as Mike Fassold goes about his craft.

He had the students ask questions, but he often did not provide an answer, he insisted that the students do their own work.

For example, one of his students asked whether then-President Donald Trump could face criminal charges for inciting the crowd that attacked the Capitol.  Mr. Fassold told the student to go to YouTube, find the speeches given at the “Stop The Steal” rally, and review the 1969 United States Supreme Court Case, Brandenburg v. Ohio.  That high court decision basically says speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite “imminent lawless action.”

I went back and listened to that podcast recorded and posted January 16 of last year.  After listening once again, I have confidence that our teachers are quite capable of teaching students about difficult subjects in a professional way, not in a way to sway the students one way or another.

Below is my podcast discussion with Mike Fassold, posted on January 16, 2021.

It appears the City of Fishers will not be sponsoring any specific events for the Martin Luther King Holiday January 17.  However, the city did issue a news release Friday listing some local events.  A full event listing is available at this link.

Here is a listing for some of  those events, as provided by the city: