Trane Technologies says it plans to move 100 employees from the northeast side of Indianapolis to Hub & Spoke in Fishers.

Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) reporter Kurt Christian has a story posted on the newspaper’s Web site at this link. (NOTE:  Your access to the story may be limited if you are not an IBJ subscriber)

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers lost a tough game at Class 4A No. 1 Lawrence North on Tuesday, falling to the Panthers in overtime 65-60.

The Tigers got off to a great start, leading 15-6 after the first quarter and 32-18 at halftime. The Panthers began to chip away at that lead, getting within 43-35 by the
end of the third period.

Fishers led 56-53 with seconds left, but a last-second 3-pointer by LN sent the game into overtime. The Panthers outscored the Tigers 9-4 in the extra period. Fishers is 2-2 for the season.

The Tigers play next Tuesday at the Huntington North Tournament, taking on New Haven and Arsenal Tech in pool play

The recount for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board is complete and Sarah Donsbach remains the winner, by 19 votes, following the additional ballot count.  Here are the totals following the tally overseen by the Recount Commission:

Sarah Donsbach         14,752

Amanda Shera             14,733

Tony Bagato                  12,931

Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Jonathon Brown issued the order December 20th finalizing the commission’s work.  The Recount Commission consisted of three members – Amy Summerfield, Joe Weingarten and Jerry Liston.

Hamilton County Clerk Kathy Williams says the recount resulted in 3 additional votes for incumbent Amanda Shera, 2 more votes for Donsbach and 5 fewer votes for Tony Bagato.  In the original certified count, Donsbach was shown as the winner in Delaware Township with 20 more votes than Shera.

This will mean the HSE board will have three new members sworn-in at the first meeting in 2021, scheduled for January 13.  Those new members will be  Ms. Donsbach, Sarah Parkes-Reese and Suzanne Thomas.

The number of positive cases for the novel coronavrus in Fishers has skyrocketed, resulting in a strict public health order issued Tuesday by the city Health Department.  Indoor dining will not be allowed and food establishments will be required to close from 10pm to 5am the next day.  The order begins Christmas day and continues until 5am January 8, 2021.

For the first 14 days in December, the Fishers Health Department reports 1,363 new positive COVID-19 cases, 40% higher than the previous 14-day period.  City health officials say positive cases in Fishers are expected to continue on an upward trend through the entire month of January.

Below is the full news release issued by the City of Fishers Tuesday morning:

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The Fishers Health Department issued Public Health Order 08-2020 today ordering all restaurants, bars, taverns, nightclubs, retail food establishments, and other establishments providing in-person food and/or drink service to be closed to indoor dining and drink service and cleared of customers between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.  During these times, carry-out dining is permissible. The Order will go into effect on December 25 at 10 p.m. and will remain in effect until 5 a.m. January 8, 2021.

As of December 14, 2020, new positive cases for the first 14 days of December (1,363 new cases) are approximately 40% higher than new cases identified during the first 14 days of November (982 cases), and trends in positive cases indicate Fishers is likely to experience a continued period of growth in new positive cases through January 2021.

A low-income rental community named Cumberland Cottages is being proposed for an area at Cumberland Road and 141st Street.  The development from HAND, a Hamilton County nonprofit organization specializing in constructing such projects, describes the project as a rental community consisting of individual buildings resembling cottages.

Although anyone qualifying would be able to apply as residents, it is targeted at single parents working in jobs such as the restaurant industry.

The council gave the plans first reading.  It will no head to the Fishers Plan Commission for a public hearing and advisory vote before returning to the city council.

For more on Cumberland Cottages, use this link.

The Grantham housing development has been sent back & forth for a few months with several changes made by the developer, and Fishers City Councilors approved zoning changes for the 200-home project Monday night after a spirited debate among council members.

The vote to approve was 6-3, with council members Brad DeReamer, Sam DeLong and Jocelyn Vare voting no.

The project will be constructed at 113th Street and Southeastern Parkway.

For more details on the plans for Grantham, use this link.

First a fitness operation planned on locating there, but COVID-19 cut into the demand, leading to Memory Ventures plans to take over that property on 96th Street.  The Fishers City Council approved a 10-year tax abatement to Memory Ventures in exchange for $1 million in improvements planned for the former grocery store

Memory Ventures moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Fishers in 2014.  The firm specializes in transforming old media into digital form.

Christmas season is generally a time when some of the year’s best films are released.  In this pandemic, things are a bit different but there are some amazing movies out in theaters and other platforms.

In this week’s Grade A Movies Podcast, Alec Toombs, Adam Aasen & Larry Lannan review the film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.  The trio also looks at the winners in the annual awards announced by the Indiana Film Journalists Association.

There is a spirited discussion about Christmas films, mainly what does and does not qualify as a Christmas movie.

You won’t want to miss this episode of the Grade A Movies podcast, at the link below.

1920s America was the start of a renaissance in the world of popular music.  It was the jazz age.  The blues were becoming popular as a offshoot of jazz.  Radio was getting started and recordings of music were a git with American consumers.

That all brought popularity and notoriety to a number of African-American music artists.  one of those was Ma Rainey.  The film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is about a woman demanding respect from white America if they wanted to profit from her music.

Viola Davis puts in a remarkable performance in this film.  But everyone will remember Chadwick Boseman for his outstanding performance as an outspoken member of Ma’s band.  Boseman died of cancer shortly after completing work on this film.

So, what about the film as a whole?  I provide my take in this review.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

FISHERS – Even during a basketball season with fan restrictions, quarantines and interrupted schedules, some things aren’t changing.

A good example of this is the Mudsock boys basketball game, which took place Friday when Hamilton Southeastern visited Fishers. While some things were different, such as a drastically reduced crowd at the Tiger Den due to those restrictions, the emotion of the game was still the same.

The Royals rode that emotion into a big win. Despite being down for a good portion of the first half, Southeastern turned things around by the second quarter and went on to a 65-51 victory over the Class 4A No. 10 Tigers.

“That was the biggest thing that we keep harping on with our guys: The way that we were resilient, kept fighting back and never give up,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “The one thing that we love about our kids, they get out there and they compete every day.”

Fishers hadn’t played a game since Dec. 1, but showed no signs of rust in the first quarter. The Tigers skipped off to an 11-2 lead; HSE’s Vinny Buccilla scored the first basket of the game before Fishers ran off 11 straight points. Lucas Prewitt hit a 3-pointers, Jeffrey Simmons and Bryce Williams both made three-point plays, then Simmons scored again on a layin.

Simmons then nailed two more triples in the latter part of the quarter, helping the Tigers to a 21-11 lead. Buccilla made a pair of free throws and Alex Totton scored the last basket of the period to get HSE within 21-15, then Loudon Sundling opened the second with a layin.

Williams made a rare four-point play, making the free throw while being fouled in the act of hitting a 3-pointer, early in the second quarter. Simmons made two foul shots a minute later, and Fishers led 29-19.

That’s when the Royals made their first big run, a 13-0 stretch to take a 32-31 lead with under three minutes remaining in the half. Isaac Bowman drained a pair of 3s, and Buccilla added five points.

Southeastern then hung on to the lead until halftime, which saw the Royals ahead 38-36. Williams hit a 3-pointer to keep the Tigers within two.

“They came out and they were outhustling and winning those 50/50 balls early on and that’s what allowed them to get that lead,” said Satterfield. “They were moving the basketball and hitting the open look. I think after that, especially in that second quarter, we started winning those 50/50 balls, were getting the rebounds.”

Fishers’ Drew Turner opened the second half with a putback to tie the game at 38-38. But Southeastern embarked on another run, this one a 15-3 run that took up most of the third quarter. Buccilla had six points during that stretch, and Sam Jacobs threw in a 3.

A basket by John McCall finished the period and gave the Royals a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth. McCall scored the first point of that quarter on a free throw, and from that point forward, HSE kept its lead between 12 and 16 points. Jacobs added six more points and Dalton Retzner made a dunk.

Buccilla led the Royals with 18 points, while Totton, Jacobs and McCall each scored 11. Buccilla handed out eight assists and collected six rebounds, with Totton pulling five rebounds and making four steals. Jacobs blocked two shots.

Simmons scored 20 points for the Tigers, followed by Williams with 14. Simmons led the rebounding with eight, Charlie Smith collected six and Lucas Prewitt had five. Simmons made six steals and Prewitt had two blocks.

“For the first time all year, we got a team that could play with us that, we punched them in the mouth first, got a big lead, but with good teams, there’s always going to be another run,” said Tigers coach Garrett Winegar. “They’re going to come back. And we didn’t respond to that well. I thought the emotion of the HSE game, of the Mudsock game, got the better of a lot of our guys.”

Southeastern improved to 3-2 and will host Brebeuf Jesuit on Tuesday. Fishers is
2-1 and also plays on Tuesday, traveling to Lawrence North.