Fishers High School went north in Indiana to find a successor to long-time football coach Rick Wimmer.  Curt Funk was approved as the new varsity football coach and physical education teacher at Fishers.  Funk comes from Mississinewa High School.

“(Funk) endured a very rigorous interview process,” Fishers Principal Jason Urban told the board. “We have been very impressed with the kind of program he’s been able to build in his ten years as head coach  at Mississinewa High School.”

“I appreciate the opportunity and am very grateful to be here as part of the Fishers community,” Funk told board members.  “We’re excited to get started.”

The Fishers job opened-up when Wimmer announced that he would retire from coaching, but remain a physical education teacher at Fishers High School.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board had a difficult time getting there, but finally has a decision, sort of, on school start times.  The option approved on a 4-3 vote Wednesday night sets out schedules for the 2020-2021 school year.  High School students will start their school day at 7:30am, ending at 2:30pm.  Grades 5-8 will start at 8:00am and leave school at 3:00pm.  Elementary students will begin their classes at 9:00am and end the school day at 3:30pm.  Below is the listing as provided by the school corporation, including the schedules for teachers and comparisons of the minutes in the school day:

The 4-3 vote approving this plan included support from Sylvia Shepler, Julie Chambers, Janet Pritchett and Michelle Fullhart.  Voting no were Brad Boyer, Amanda Shera and Clint Wilson.

In the original Option 2 plan, Superintendent Allen Bourff suggested the “flipped” start time schedule, allowing high school students more sleep but starting elementary classes earlier,  be implemented in school year 2021-2022.  The motion made by Board President Michelle Fullhart would create a study committee that would report back to the board in October of 2020 with recommendations on how to handle the student scheduled start times for 2021-2022.

Fullhart told LarryInFishers she does not know how many people will serve on the study committee or when the group will begin meeting.  She does envision a wide cross-section of people with ties to the school community serving on this panel, such as parents and teachers.

There were three tries to find a proposal with the support of the 4 board members needed to enact any measure .  A motion to enact Option #1, which would have implemented the “flipped” start times in the 2020-2021 school year along with the redesigned “3-tier” bus scheduling system, went down in a 5-2 vote, with Amanda Shera and Brad Boyer the only two votes supporting that idea.

A vote on Option 2 as originally proposed failed in a 4-3 vote.  A complex motion made by Clint Wilson died for lack of a second.

Four citizens signed up to speak before the board on the start time and bus schedule issue and had widely varying views, with roughly 2 speakers behind option 1, and 2 supporting option 2, but with lots of caveats and explanations.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers won its second consecutive game on Tuesday, overwhelming Anderson 94-58 in an away contest.

The Tigers trailed 12-10 after the first quarter, but dominated after that. Fishers poured in 29 points in the second period to take a 39-25 lead; that included 10 points from Charlie Smith. The Tigers kept their offense rolling in the third quarter, going up 62-42 by the end of that period. Fishers finished the game with 32 points in the fourth quarter; Alex Szilagyi made three 3-pointers.

Smith finished as the leading scorer, adding 20 points. He was the first of five Tigers in double figures: Jeffrey Simmons scored 17, Szilagyi and Isaac Farah both contributed 13 and Bryce Williams scored 11.

Fishers is 15-5 and continues its road trip Friday with a game at Pendleton Heights.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern kept its win streak going on Tuesday, taking care of New Castle 67-43 at the Trojans’ gym.

The Royals trailed 15-11 after the first quarter, then fell behind 18-11 early in the second. But Southeastern took control after that, going on a 23-6 run. The Royals were up 34-26 at halftime, then outscored New Castle 18-6 in the fourth quarter to get their 10th consecutive victory.

Four Southeastern players reached double figures. DeAndre Rhodes and Vinny Buccilla both scored 17 points, with Buccilla dishing out eight assists and Rhodes collecting five rebounds.

Kole Hornbuckle had a solid all-around game with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Mabor Majak added 11 points and seven rebounds, while John McCall pulled six rebounds.

The Royals are 14-5 and host Carmel on Friday.

Anyone navigating the intersection of Allisonville Road and 116th Street in Fishers has seen how vehicles stack-up in the left-turn lanes and can create dangerous traffic hazards during busy times of the day.  The City of Fishers took a step toward working on a solution Monday, although which solution is not yet known.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety approved a design contract with A&F Engineering for $374,855 at its Monday meeting.  That is the start of the process to determine how the intersection will be reconfigured.

The city will be using funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Project to pay for the construction.  The actual construction is expected to begin in 2024.

“We’re confident that we have a solution,” Engineering Director Jason Taylor told the board.  The city is reviewing possible options.  One would change the configuration of the turn lanes, rather than adding an additional turn lane, in conjunction with timing the traffic signals.  Another option would be what Taylor described as a “Turbo Roundabout,” where motorists would choose their lane of direction before entering the roundabout.

Nine candidates file for three At-Large county council seats

Hamilton County Reporter

Filings for the upcoming May Primary Election ended on Friday with a surprise last minute filing by Noblesville resident Charlie McMillan for the Hamilton County Commissioner District 2 seat.

District 2 has been represented by the state’s longest serving county commissioner, Steve
Dillinger. Dillinger was first elected to the position in 1989.

The county’s four judges up for re-election will not see an opponent on the Republican ballot. Circuit Court Judge Paul Felix and Superior Court judges William Hughes, Richard
Campbell and David Najjar will be running for new six-year terms.

The three other Superior Court judges, Michael Casati, Jon Brown and Gail Bardach, are not up for election this year.

The Treasurer position will see a contested race with Kim Good and Susan Byer running.
Byer, a former Treasurer’s office employee, has filed suit against the county for allegedly
being unjustly fired after making allegations of late property tax payment penalties not being charged to family members of Treasurer’s Office employees. Good, the county’s current Chief Deputy Treasurer, has filed a defamation lawsuit
against Byer.

Nine people have so far filed for the county council At-Large position, including one Democrat. Those individuals are: Ralph F. (Rick) McKinney (R), Brandon (Brad) Beaver (R), Sue Maki (R), Jeff Hern (R), Steven R Nation (R), Lyneen Burrow (R), John Ditslear (R), Gardiner P. Bink III (D) and Tony Scott (R).

Mayor Scott Fadness and top officials of his administration spent over 3 hours at Conner Prairie Monday evening with members of the Fishers City Council, reviewing the many projects underway throughout the city.  Road work, downtown development, the Nickel Plate Trail, Geist Waterfront Park and engaging the local community were all topics covered in the lengthy confab.

On streets & roads, The State Road 37 construction at 126th Street is scheduled to begin in earnest March 1st, with construction beginning by closing off the west side of 126th until about July.  Then, the east side of the road will be under construction until roughly October.  The north and south lanes on SR 37 are to be open to traffic, 2 lanes in each direction, during the construction.   An overpass with a roundabout at 126th Street will be built during this 2020 construction period.  Mayor Fadness says his staff will be monitoring the traffic flow in the area and make adjustments where needed.  146th Street will be the next State Road 37 construction project next year and expected top stretch into 2022.

City Director of Engineering Jason Taylor said a big project is coming this summer that will close 96th Street from just east of Lantern Road to Cumberland Road.  The closure will begin in the spring and likely last through October.

The Lantern Road closures continue south of downtown.  Taylor said that roadway should be open by May.

The railroad stop signs along 126th Street west of State Road 37 will be removed soon, according to Taylor, but the railroad stop signs on 131st Street will remain, due to the steep grading at that location.

A tunnel will be constructed under 116th Street for the Nickel Plate Trail, resulting in a road closure at the old railroad tracks on 116th for 45 days this summer, beginning on May 26th.  This will impact the Spark Fishers Festival, 5K running events and other summer events such as the Amphitheater concerts.

Council members received details on plans for the first phase of the Nickel Plate Trail.  Mayor Fadness says the city will communicate to the public that the trail is a construction zone and people using it to walk, run, bike or walk a dog are trespassing until the trail opens, when the first phase is complete.

Tom Dickey, former Fishers Director of Community Development, now a contractor for the city, provided a detailed presentation on plans for the downtown Fishers development, including a new headquarters building for First Internet Bank, a new boutique hotel, parking garages and residential units.

Mayor Fadness, in answer to a council question, says the city is completing a review of downtown parking rules and may establish a number of 2-hour restrictions on many parking spaces.

Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Sandquist provided a detailed look at the plans for Geist Waterfront Park.  Mayor Fadness told councilors that he expects a year of permitting and work with design during the park’s first phase.  He also said there would be no need for a tax rate increase to pay for the park. It is expected there will be a park admission fee, with Fishers residents receiving either discounted fees or free admission.

The city is planning an extensive community survey soon.  It will be measuring how city residents are doing in terms of their emotional, mental and financial well-being.  Results of the survey are expected by May.

This is not a short story by my blog standards, but I only touched on a few points discussed during this city retreat.  Look for more news on all these subjects in the weeks and months ahead.

Adam Aasen & I have returned with our first 2020 edition of Hamilton County Goes To The Movies – the podcast of film reviews and commentary.  In this edition, we talk about the day after the Academy Awards ceremony.

Sometimes there are stories that are just a bit complicated to explain.  One such story is an item to be considered by the Hamilton Southeastern School Board Wednesday night.  There are two issues that each would have an impact on student school start times.

One is a proposal to “flip” start times between elementary youngsters and high schoolers.  The other is a plan to change bus routing to a “3-tier” system.

At the January 15th school board meeting, Superintendent Allen Bourff did say he did not expect to “flip” start times next school year, but was considering  a proposal for the board to begin the 3-tier bus routing system in the 2020-2021 school year.

But that all changed after two more school board meetings, one a work session, the other a regular meeting.  Now, the board will have before it, two specific proposals for consideration at Wednesday’s regular session.

Both proposals from school administrators include implementation of the 3-tier bus plan.  One does include “flipping” start times between high school and elementary school.

Under proposal #1, elementary students would start their day at 7:50am and end at 2:20pm.  For those in grades 5-8, the day would start at 8:20am and end at 3:20pm.  The high school students would report for class at 8:55am and end the school day at 3:55pm.  This would be the plan implementing the “flip.”

Under proposal #2, those at the high school level would begin the school day at 7:30am and leave the school at 2:30pm.  Grades 5-8 would start at 8:00am and end the day at 3:00pm.  Elementary students would report for class at 9:00am and end the day at 3:30pm.  This would put into place the 3-tier bus routing plan but would not include the start time “flip.”

The superintendent’s proposal also reviews the impact on teacher professional development and the changes this would require for child care and the YMCA child care program.

You can review the proposal document submitted to the board by Dr. Bourff at this link.

Since this is an item on the published school board agenda, members of the public may request 3 minutes to speak before the board, but you must sign up in the board meeting room, beginning 30 minutes before the meeting and it cuts-off at 5 minutes before the board meeting begins. Below is the published guidance by the board on addressing board members at a meeting:

At each Board Meeting, excluding Board Work Sessions, the Board of School Trustees, will, accept comments from persons in attendance on the scheduled agenda, subject to these guidelines:
1.	A person who desires to speak to the Board, about a scheduled public agenda item, must register before the start of the meeting. A registration sheet will be available at least thirty (30) minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Registration will close five (5) minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. Required registration information will include the name of the person(s) providing the comments, the organization represented (if any), and the agenda item to be addressed.
2.	Statements may not exceed three (3) minutes.
3.	No person may speak more than once on the same topic.
4.	Comments will be directed to the Board, not to an individual Board member.
5.	Comments may not reference specific employees, patrons, or students of the school corporation.
6.	Routine agenda items such as approval of minutes, certified and support staff, and conference reports reviewed by the Board at each meeting are not matters subject to comments by the public during the Board meeting.
7.	If the information is readily available, and is not confidential, Board members or administrators may provide answers to questions. Under most circumstances, questions will be noted and answers returned to the speaker at a later time.
8.	Statements will not be abusive or argumentative. Persons making comments will not debate statements made by other persons.
9.	The Board president will enforce these rules and may take actions necessary to maintain order at the meeting. Such actions may include, but are not limited to:
	A.	Stopping the speaker if the statement is too lengthy, unduly repetitive, or otherwise violates this procedure; and
	B.	Limiting the total amount of time devoted to public statements based on the number of people wishing to make statements and the length of the agenda.
The policy which is already in effect for addressing the Board on any matter will remain in effect. This means that a person may be placed on the agenda by notifying the Superintendent or Board president at least one week prior to a scheduled Board meeting.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

WESTFIELD…Everyone talks about what championship teams do to win, but there’s one thing they don’t do: They never quit.

“These kids, they don’t know what ‘give up’ is,” said Fishers girls basketball coach Lauren Votaw. She was speaking minutes after her Tigers team had come back from way down to win the Class 4A Sectional 8 championship at Westfield.

Third-ranked Fishers trailed 21-5 in the second quarter to fifth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern, but roared back in the second half to win 50-42, securing the
team’s second sectional title. The Tigers won their first in 2014.

“And they came in today with this mission that this was our time,” said Votaw.

The Royals were in control for most of the first half. Sydney Parrish opened the game with back-to-back baskets, then a Lauren Morris 3-pointer put Southeastern up 7-2. Fishers’ Katie Burton cut into that lead with her own 3-pointer, keeping the Tigers within 7-5.

The Royals then went on a 14-0 run that extended into the second period.

Ryan Viele hit a 3-pointer that put HSE up 14-5 at the end of the first quarter, and
Morris promptly hit a 3 to begin the second. Baskets from Parrish and Makayla
Hinshaw gave the Royals a 21-5 lead.

Lydia Stullken ended the run when she made a layin with 4:35 left in the second period. No one knew it at the time, but that would be the start of a 17-2 run for Fishers. Burton drained a 3 and made a layin, then Tamia Perryman’s two foul shots with 1.9 seconds left got the Tigers within 23-14 at halftime.

Votaw characterized Fishers’ locker room as “unique” during halftime.

“We haven’t been down a whole lot at half,” said Votaw. “And that was a relatively significant margin against a team as good as Southeastern. But I reminded
them that we were down eight twice, including eight in the fourth quarter against
them the first time.”

That first time was the Mudsock game earlier in the season – “48-40, I can still
see it in my head,” said Votaw. “And so I was like, ‘This is nothing.’ They just
don’t have any quit. We hit big shots. We took care of business.”

Fishers opened the third quarter with eight unanswered points: Perryman
scored off a steal, Hailey Smith converted a three-point play, then Kaitlynn Feagan
made a 3. The Tigers were now within one, 23-22.

The Royals pushed their lead back to 28-22 after Viele’s layin and a triple by Parrish. Southeastern still led 29-26 after three periods, and a Parrish putback gave them a 31-28 lead with around five minutes left in the fourth.

Then Perryman took over. The senior hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, then Burton’s free throws gave Fishers its first lead, 33-31 at the 3:57 mark. Parrish scored on another putback, but Perryman nailed another 3. The Tigers were now up 36-33 and would hold the lead until the final buzzer.

Perryman hit two more 3s in the quarter, with her fourth triple giving Fishers a
42-35 advantage.

“I was wide open, and if I’m open, I’m going to shoot it,” said Perryman. “They
kept doing it. After I hit the first one, I was like ‘All right, confidence booster.’
Then I just kept hitting them and kept hitting them. When I got to the fourth one,
our coach is like ‘Layup only.’”

“I’m so proud of that kid,” said Votaw. “I don’t think there is another player that I’ve coached who has grown up as much as a person and a player in her four years
than that kid right there.”

Perryman did make a layin to get the Tigers up 44-37. Fishers then closed the game from the free-throw line, with Burton going 4-for-4 and Hailey Smith making 2-of-2.

Perryman finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds, while Burton added 14 points.

Parrish earned a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds in her final game for Southeastern, as she now heads to the University of Oregon. She finished her
career with 1,925 points, setting a new Hamilton County girls scoring record
a few days ago. Viele collected five rebounds and Jackie Maulucci handed out
four assists. The Royals finished their season 22-3.

The Tigers are 23-1, extending their school record for wins in a season. Fishers will play next Saturday in the Marion regional, taking on No. 1 Northwestern in the first semi-final game. The second semi-final will see Fort Wayne Carroll take on No. 4 Homestead, giving the regional three of the top four teams.

“This team is so special,” said Votaw. “As I said last night, I was just grateful that we got one more night to play together, and now I get one more week, at least one more week to spend with them. I’m just so excited.”