March 2nd was sunny with a temperature in the mid 30s and a brisk breeze.  A typical early March day in Fishers, Indiana.

This was not a typical day for me.  It marked the day I received my first COVID-19 vaccination.

I had visited the former Marsh grocery location in 116th Street, just east of Brooks School Road, at the opening day January 25th.  I am still amazed at the work done by city crews to remodel the space for this large vaccination facility.

Walking up to the building, there are many large signs reminding those entering you must have an appointment to receive your shot in the arm.  I walked-in, was immediately greeted by a smiling gentleman verifying that I do, indeed, have an appointment.

Then there were a series of screeners, all smiles, checking my body temperature and asking a number of necessary health-related questions. Registration was short and simple with another smiling face.

Once that was done, I was ushered into a cubicle with a lady preparing to provide the injection of the Moderna vaccine.  She verified my data, and before I knew it, the needle was in my arm and it was over just like that.

I was then directed to an area where I could sit for 15 minutes, ensuring there were no immediate reactions to the vaccine.  I had none.

I have an appointment in early April to receive my second dose of Moderna vaccine.  Once that is done, I wait for the full impact of the treatment to sink-in.

My thanks to the Fishers Health Department for providing such a seamless experience.  If you are at or near the time for your vaccination, do not fear.  The process is simple and, hopefully, there will be no adverse reactions.

For me, there were no problems.  Once eligible, get your appointment and get the vaccine!

When a town, later a city, grows economically, there are key people in that community steering the way.  For Fishers, Warren Harling, known as Butch to his friends, was a key player in the massive growth Fishers has seen ever since I moved to Fishers in 1991.

Warren Harling died today, per a Twitter message posted Monday evening (see above) by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.

I worked, on and off, as a local news reporter for many years.  In the 1970s and early 80s, that’s how I made a living.  The past nine years I have reported on Fishers news as a volunteer.  I have attended numerous public meetings as a reporter, and Warren Harling knew how to run a meeting.

Mr. Harling was a man that cared enough about his community to spend untold hours toiling on the local Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.  These are two governmental bodies that do not normally receive a great deal of publicity, but both have been instrumental in the economic expansion Fishers has experienced.

After sitting through many a meeting chaired by Mr. Harling, I can tell you he was in charge and was a master of moving the proceedings along while giving everyone at a public hearing a fair hearing.

I recall one Plan Commission meeting where he chastised a prominent local attorney representing a developer for not providing the guarantees the city should have in the arrangement.  He had seen so many shiny, nice looking projects never come to fruition.  Warren Harling was determined to protect the interests of the city and its taxpayers.

I was honored to be the Master of Ceremonies at one of the annual dinners the city hosts in honor of volunteers, passing out awards to the many local citizens donating their precious time to the city and local nonprofit groups.  Mayor Scott Fadness chose that night to award Warren Harling the Key to the City, a well deserved honor.

During a podcast interview with the Mayor Fadness, I brought-up Mr. Harling’s name and the mayor spent several minutes listing the many contributions Warren Harling had made to the Fishers community.

There are some “movers and shakers” within any city that would be hard to replace.  Warren Harling will be hard to replace, but there are others that will step forward and learn from the example Warren Harling has set.

I had many off-the-record discussions with Mr. Harling.  He had so many stories and so much institutional knowledge about Fishers that I did my best to file away in memory what he taught me.

This is a sad time for Fishers.  I have a tear in my eye while writing this.

My sincere sympathies to the family of Warren “Butch” Harling.

One year ago, Fishers did not have its own health department.  Now, Fishers is one of only three cities in Indiana to have its own city health department.  Monica Heltz was hired to head the department and has been in that job ever since.

Ms. Heltz talks about how the department was created and reviews how her department is handling the COVID pandemic.

A public notice (shown above) posted by the City of Fishers has created lots of online chatter the past couple of days. This is a requirement under state law to give the city an option to increase a tax rate, but does not mean the city in now proposing a rate increase.

The same Notice was posted this time last year and no rate was raised as a result.

According to Ashley Elrod, spokesperson for the City of Fishers, the Notice simply provides the city with a maximum potential tax rate for 2022.

“This does not mean we are raising taxes,” Elrod tells LarryInFishers. “The tax rate for 2021 has been set.”

As stated in the Notice, a public hearing will be held on the matter at the next Fishers City Council meeting, March 15, at 7pm.

The Hamilton Southeastern School District has faced a number of challenges in recent months.  There have been issues on race relations.  The district must find $5 million in budget savings in the coming school year due to a COVID-related drop in student numbers. Like most school districts around the nation, trying to have in-person classes while protecting the health of students and staff during a pandemic has been a challenge.

There are more I could list, but the most important decision school board members face is the hiring of a new superintendent.  The current superintendent, Allen Bourff, has announced his intention to retire at the end of June this year.  The board has announced a new superintendent should be named at the March 24 meeting.

The seven board members have been gathering the past two weeks in executive session to interview candidates for the opening.  State law allows this be be done in private.

In a board session February 23rd, Board President Janet Pritchett said she was pleased with the candidates and expects the board will be faced with “a difficult choice.”

The board has one more executive session set for March 4th, presumably aimed at discussing the new superintendent.  Once the board decides on a candidate, a contract must be agreed upon before the decision is finalized.

Pritchett said the board will “hopefully” announce the new superintendent at the March 24th board session.

In the Indiana legal code, under “General Powers and Duties of School Corporation,” the first one listed is to appoint the superintendent of schools.  The board also has the responsibility to evaluate the superintendent.

The decision being made now by our Hamilton Southeastern Board of School Trustees will have a major impact on our community for many years to come.  The decision on appointing the person to lead our local school system, the 4th largest in the state, will tell us a great deal about how education moves forward in Fishers and the outlying areas served by the HSE School District.

Incumbent Hamilton County Republican Chairperson Laura Campbell of Carmel has a Fishers opponent in the upcoming election, Paul Hevesy.

Hevesy issued a news release announcing his candidacy Saturday night.  He claims to consult with corporations on efficiencies.  Hevesy says he, his wife and four children reside in Fishers, where he has lived for more than 11 years.

“As a long-time Hamilton County resident and fan, I realized that it’s time I did more,” said Hevesy in the news release. “Our Republican Party is a party of freedom and hope, both of which I plan to magnify if given the opportunity by our precinct committeemen on March 6th. A strong, vocal Republican party in Hamilton County is important for Indiana. We have a lot of influence and we should use it – as a unified party – to bring hope and light to some very challenging times.”

The announcement comes just one week away from counting ballots from precinct officials, whose votes will determine the Hamilton County GOP Chair.

Hevesy was quoted in an August 27, 2020 story in the Indianapolis Star written by MJ Slaby, urging the Hamilton Southeastern School Board to allow parents an option for in-person classes, joining about 100 people protesting outside the school administration building prior to a board meeting.  The board was limiting in-person classes, depending on the grade level, due to the COVID infection rate locally at that time.

“Frustration is high,” Hevesy told the IndyStar, “and we don’t trust those in charge.”

Drug use has been common among musical performers taking to the road, but the United States federal law enforcement targeted one of the greatest Blues singers of all time, Billie Holiday, for her drug addiction, mostly because she dared to sing a song about lynchings of African-Americans.  The name of the film is United States vs. Billie Holiday.  Here is my review.

by

Jeff Jellison

Publisher

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office logged a record-breaking number of cases in 2020.

Chalfin

According to Hamilton County Coroner John Chalfin, his office recorded a total of 511 cases in 2020, up 23 percent from the previous year.

Chalfin predicts the number will grow in 2021. “Based on current statistics, the office could see 560 to 600 cases,” he said.

Chalfin contributed the increase to the growing population in the county. “COVID-19 did not impact our numbers significantly,” he said. “A majority of those deaths were people under a doctor’s care, which most often, does not warrant a coroner investigation.”

A new statewide death reporting system, DRIVE, was implemented in January. It’s used by coroners, physicians, health departments, and funeral homes, and it has Chalfin frustrated.

“Under the old system it took 15 to 20 minutes to certify a death with the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH),” he said. “Now, under the new system, it takes nearly an hour if everything goes smooth.”

In Indiana, death certificates are administered by the local health departments and require the signature of a physician or coroner. Death certificates are needed for families to settle final affairs of the deceased.

“The new system has delayed the issuance of death certificates, making it difficult for families to move forward with final arrangements,” Chalfin said.

Chalfin said his frustration with the new system is attributed to inadequate training by ISDH, timing of implementation, and the lack of physicians registered in the DRIVE database.

“They rolled this out right in the middle of a pandemic,” he said. “What use to be a simple process is now an arduous task for everyone involved. On top of that, the new system did not initially recognize the newly formed Fishers Health Department.”

Barb Hathaway, Vital Records Registrar for the Fishers Health Department, confirmed her office did not come online with ISDH’s new system until mid-February, which created a backlog in the issuance of death certificates for deaths occurring in Fishers.

Chalfin said the new system has tasked his staff. “An average number of hours worked per coroner case is 14. With a case load expected to be nearly 600 this year, it is easy to see the additional workload the new system will create,” he said. “We are the fourth largest county in Indiana by population. Unlike some of the larger counties, we do not have a staff person assigned to processes death certificates. Much of our time is spent investigating cases and conducting autopsies. We will need to make some changes if the bugs aren’t worked out of the DRIVE system.”

Chalfin also pointed out some death certificates are being delayed due to toxicology reporting. “In death investigations requiring toxicology examinations, results from testing laboratories are taking four to six weeks due to a nationwide increase in overdose deaths,” he said.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball coach Chris Huppenthal is retiring.

The longtime Royals coach announced his decision earlier this week during the Royals’ girls basketball season-ending banquet. With that, Huppenthal took his final bow in a remarkable, highly successful career that has seen him win numerous championships – including a state title for Southeastern – and coach several Indiana All-Stars – including a Miss Basketball.

Huppenthal has been a basketball coach for 31 years, including 25 years as a head coach. He called his decision to retire “a family decision,” and acknowledged that a basketball coach puts in many hours, noting that some people would say it’s a second job. Huppenthal also teaches math at Hamilton Southeastern; he will continue to teach at the school.

Chris Huppenthal’s daughter Kalee played basketball for the Royals. She lives in Denver now. His son Cody was a football player, he will be a senior at Indiana University next year.
“I’ve been coaching since they were born, so they really don’t know this life or my life any different,” said Huppenthal. The coach said that when family members start to move away time becomes “a little bit more precious.”

Huppenthal just finished his 16th season as a coach for the Royals. He joined the team in the 2005-06 season after spending the 2004-05 season at Kokomo, where he supervised the Wildkats to a 19-6 record and a regional title. Prior to that, Huppenthal coached for eight seasons at his alma mater, Highland, leading it to four regional titles.

Once at Southeastern, Huppenthall had immediate success there as well. His first team compiled a 22-4 record and won a regional championship. The Royals would then win a sectional title in 2006-07, finishing 25-1 for the year.

That was just the beginning of a long run for HSE. In Huppenthal’s 16 seasons, the Royals never had a losing record. He also coached the 2018-19 team to a 27-1 record and the Class 4A state championship.

Huppenthall finished his career with a 282-86 record at Southeastern and was 457-124 overall.

“Coach Hupp is a leader in our athletic department, he is a Hall of Fame basketball coach, but more importantly he is a Hall of Fame educator and person,” said Southeastern athletic director Jim Self. “He will be a tremendous asset for our next head coach, he wants nothing more than to see our program succeed at the highest level.”

“I appreciate our athletic directors, our administration, the support from the community for our girls basketball program,” said Huppenthal. “And if anybody asks me if this is a good job, or a good situation, it would be an emphatic ‘yes.’ I say that on many levels. The kids are awesome. I can say that one of the things that made the decision hard is to walk away from the kids we were coaching.”

Southeastern has had some incredible players come through its program over the years. Huppenthal coached four Indiana All-Stars: Courtney Osborn, Taya Reimer, Amaya Hamilton and Sydney Parrish, who won Miss Basketball for 2020 and is having a standout freshman season at the University of Oregon.

“When you’re in the coaching world, if you’re not dealing with good kids and good families, it can make for a miserable situation. But I’ve been fortunate that in the 16 years I’ve been here, we’ve had some incredible kids with some very supportive families. As I look back on my career, I wouldn’t change one thing in that I got to move our family to this community and this school system,” said Huppenthal.

In addition to the four All-Stars at HSE, Huppenthal also coached an Indiana All-Star at Highland, Jenny DeMuth. She is now the athletic director at Shelbyville High School. Seeing his players succeed in life after high school has been one of the more gratifying experiences for Huppenthal.

“It’s one of the things that really, you look back on a career and makes you smile,” said Huppenthal. “A lot of people think coaches are in it for the wins and losses.” Instead, Huppenthal said that seeing his players come back and then seeing how successful they are is more exhilarating than any win or personal accomplishments.

“I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of my past players move on to bigger and better things than winning basketball games,” said Huppenthal. “And that’s exciting.”

Huppenthal will now be adjusting to a new schedule come the fall, one where the first day of Fall Break is, for him, no longer the first day of practice. No more Thanksgiving week swings where he coaches the Royals against Carmel on Friday afternoon after a tough game with Brownsburg on Tuesday. The coach acknowledged the Bulldogs, a fellow Hoosier Crossroads Conference team, making the Class 4A state finals. “Good luck to them Saturday,” he said.

But Huppenthal will always be a Royals fan, and would encourage anyone to apply for the Royals girls basketball coaching job. He noted three aspects that make Hamilton Southeastern a good place.

“The biggest advice I’d give to them is, it’s a great place to teach, it’s a great place to coach and it’s an awesome place to raise your family,” said Huppenthal.

Roughly six different operations, including the City of Fishers, are joining together for pilot programs involving autonomous vehicles.  One pilot has been designated for the City of Indianapolis beginning in May involving the west side.  In Fishers, a not-yet-defined pilot program will be coming in November.

May Mobility, one of the partners, plans on establishing a regional headquarters in the Fishers IOT Lab.

Below is the news release issued jointly by all the parties involved.

Continue reading Autonomous vehicle shuttle pilot programs unveiled, with one set for Fishers →