Hamilton County Reporter

By using what coach Brian Satterfield called “next man up mentality,” Hamilton Southeastern got a Saturday night victory.

The Royals hosted Mishawaka Marian and came away with a hard-fought 49-46
win, their seventh in a row. Southeastern jumped out to an 18-2 lead in the first quarter and was still ahead 18-6 at the end of the period.

Early in the second quarter, Kole Hornbuckle got injured and had to leave the game. The Royals were also without Vinny Buccilla, so other players had to step up. The Knights made a comeback in the second period, but Southeastern still held a 23-20 lead at halftime and was up 39-36 after three quarters.

Marian scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 41-39 lead, but the Royals came back with a 7-0 run to lead 46-41, and held on from there.

Mabor Majak earned a double-double of 14 rebounds and 13 points, while DeAndre Rhodes had 12 points, five assists and two blocks.  Elliot Robinson added nine points, while Sam Jacobs handed out five assists. Satterfield said Jason Stutz gave HSE great minutes off the bench to help lead the spark in the fourth quarter. Stutz made a steal at the end of the game to secure the win.

“Great team effort,” said Satterfield.

The Royals are now 11-5 and travel to Franklin Central on Thursday for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Chief Deputy Treasurer Kim Good has filed a defamation lawsuit against former Treasurer’s Office employee Susan Byer.

Good

A statement issued by Good’s attorney said, “Good was accused by Byer of engaging in criminal conduct when she waived statutory fees on late tax payments on behalf of her family and friends.”

At the request of the Hamilton County Commissioners, the Indiana State Police and Special Prosecutor Brad Eaton conducted an investigation into Byer’s allegations.

Eaton ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove improper conduct.

“Making false statements which suggest a public official engaged in criminal conduct, with malice towards that official, is defamation,” said Good’s attorney Mario Massillamany.

Byer, in 2018, filed her own lawsuit alleging she was unjustly terminated from her position in the Treasurer’s Office.

Byer’s suit, filed in Hamilton County Superior Court 1 is scheduled for jury trial in October.

Good’s suit filed in Hamilton County Superior Court 4 has not yet been set for trial.

Byer and Good have both filed on the Republican ballot for the county’s Treasurer spot in the upcoming Primary Election.

For the second time, the Brixx Pizza restaurant in downtown Fishers, in the Depot Building on 116th Street just south of City Hall, has closed.  This closure is effective Saturday, February 1st.

Brixx had closed once before about 2 years ago, but reopened a few months later under different ownership.

This story will be updated if LarryInFishers receives any further information.

Dan Canan will serve as president of the Fishers Redevelopment Commission in 2020, following a vote taken during the Thursday meeting.  Tony Bonacuse was voted vice president of the commission and Damon Grothe will be secretary.

The commission approved an amendment to the project agreement approved by the commission last year to the Flexware Innovations AMP West building, under construction near the Nickel Plate Amphitheater. Economic Development Director Megan Baumgartner  says the original plan was for an 8,000 square foot facility, but the project is facing some construction “challenges,” and as a result, will increase the building space to about 12,000 square feet to maximize the plans. As part of the amendment approved by commission members, AMP West will be allowed access to some additional parking.  The closing date has been pushed back to June first of this year, due to these changes.

An agreement was approved for the developers of the new Nickel Plate Hotel, part of the large project underway along 116th Street near City Hall.  The 116 room facility will be part of the Hilton Tapestry brand.  After a lengthy series of negotiation sessions with the city, Baumgartner told commission members the city will reimburse $2.1 million of the construction costs, which are estimated to total $21 million.  The reimbursement will come from the city’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) reserves.  Included in this agreement is a $100,000 contingency fund, should there be additional costs in constructing this building next to the Nickel Plate Trail, Baumgartner says.  The hotel will have access to the parking garage, and hotel guests will not pay for the parking privilege.   The hotel is projected to be finished at about the same time as the First Internet Bank headquarters.

In one more action, the commission approved an amendment to the development project to the north of 116th Street downtown, east of the municipal complex.  This will postpone the closing date by 2 months due to delays in the design process.  Construction on this part of the plan should begin in about 2 months, Baumgartner says.  The agreement also deals with the project’s interface with the Nickel Plate Trail construction, which will be adjacent to the development.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers girls basketball team completed an undefeated Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship Friday at Franklin Central, beating the Flashes 52-34.

The Class 4A No. 4 Tigers got off to a strong start, leading 14-7 after the first quarter, then led 24-14 at halftime. Fishers made another run in the third period, outscoring Franklin Central 17-9 to take a 41-23 lead.

Kaitlynn Feagan led the Tigers with 15 points, making three 3-pointers. Lydia Stullken collected 12 rebounds to go with eight points, and Katie Burton also scored eight points and pulled five rebounds. Tamia Perryman had six rebounds.

Fishers finished HCC play a perfect 7-0 and the regular season 21-1, tying the school record for wins. The Tigers also reached 21 wins in the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons.

Fishers will play at the Westfield sectional next week. The Tigers got the bye and will take on the winner of Tuesday’s Westfield-Zionsville game in the first semi-final next Friday.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern extended its win streak to six games on Friday by beating Noblesville in an all-county and Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest at The Mill.

The Millers got off to a blistering start in the first quarter, but the Royals soon took over, using a solid defensive second period to get control of the game. Southeastern then took care of business in the second half to earn its 10th win of the season.

“The thing I like about this week is, we had some sickness going around, didn’t have everybody at practice at times,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “But we still had our guys together and focused on what we needed to do and get accomplished. It’s a big win. Coming in here, they’ve been playing a lot better here late and for us to come in here and
get a win is a big win for us.”

Noblesville blitzed out to an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter. Alex Hunt made
two 3-pointers, then E.J. Smith added a pair of free throws at the 5:51 mark.
The Royals soon regrouped, and went on a 13-2 run. Kole Hornbuckle took
over the game at that point, scoring seven points in a row to get HSE within 8-7.
Hunt ended the run with a putback, but the Royals scored the next six points, finishing with a dunk by Hornbuckle to put the Royals up 13-10.

The Millers ended the quarter up 16-15, thanks to 3-pointers from Brendon Fisher and Evan Wilson. The second quarter was all Southeastern, as it outscored Noblesville 16-3. With the score tied at 19-19, the Royals ran off 12 unanswered points; Hornbuckle added four
more, Vinny Buccilla drained a 3, and Mabor Majak made back-to-back dunks.

“You know it’s going to be a tough game with those guys,” said Millers coach John Peckinpaugh. “They’re pretty good, pretty talented.”

When the dust settled, HSE led 31-19. Satterfield his team “did a better job of
getting to where we needed to be, finishing plays, and especially in the first half,
we took care of the basketball.” He also credited the Royals’ defense with creating some of the early offense.

“That got us back into the game and then we extended it from there,” said Satterfield.

Southeastern kept its lead in double digits for most of the second half, although the Millers never allowed the Royals to get too far ahead. Noblesville did get within eight on two occasions; first in the third quarter when a 3 by Noah Harris and a Hunt dunk cut the HSE lead to 35-27.

Later, Harris made a putback to keep Noblesville within 38-29. But Southeastern went on a 7-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, which included another Majak dunk and a 3 by DeAndre Rhodes. Majak totaled four dunks for the game.

“We want to take what the defense gives us,” said Satterfield. “And if we can get the ball inside to him and let him play and do some things, we want to do that at the same time. If they’re taking him away, we want other guys to step up and knock down shots.”

A Hornbuckle jumper opened the fourth quarter, and put HSE up 45-29. Noblesville answered with its own 7-0 run; Harris made another 3, then Fisher and Jordan Gadis added baskets. The Millers were now within 45-36, but the Royals finished the game from the free
throw line, making eight of 10 in the final two and a half minutes.

Hornbuckle finished the game with 19 points, and was 6-of-6 from the line. He also had five rebounds and four steals. Majak added 11 points and collected eight rebounds, while Buccilla scored 10 points.

Harris led Noblesville with 11 points, including three 3s, and collected four rebounds. Hunt added 10 points, while Gadis had four rebounds.

“It’s a good group of kids,” said Peckinpaugh. “They all work hard. They all want to be bought in and do what we’re asking them to do. If we can keep that approach, take it one practice at a time, I think by sectional time we can be a different team.”

Southeastern is 3-2 in conference play and 10-5 overall, and returns home tonight to play Mishawaka Marian. The Millers are 1-4 in the HCC and 9-9 overall, and are off until next Saturday, Feb. 8, when they play an afternoon game at Mount Vernon.

Motorists traveling on 116th Street near Holland Drive should be alert for a lane restriction February 5th.

Below is the latest full listing of Fishers road construction, as provided by the city:

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by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)

Both of Indiana’s United States senators will speak at this year’s Republican Lincoln Day Dinner on March 19. This is unusual and gives an indication of the importance state GOP leaders place on Hamilton County.

Sen. Todd Young and Sen. Mike Braun are scheduled for the gala where hundreds of county Republicans will gather for the annual traditional fundraiser designed to honor Abraham Lincoln, the party’s first president.

Young has a history in the county where he grew up and graduated from Carmel High School in 1990. He now calls Bloomington home. Braun is from Jasper, Ind.

Hamilton County regularly produces one of the state’s largest election pluralities for Republicans. Democrats have grown more aggressive in the past two years, and the GOP is anxious to preserve and expand its traditional hold on the county in this year’s election.

A host of state and county offices are at stake, including the office of Gov. Eric Holcomb as well as the Trump presidency.

The Lincoln Day event will be held at the 502 East Event Center with most officeholders, candidates, party workers and many financial supporters in attendance. The evening dinner is open to the public at $50 a plate.

For the 38th time, the Fishers Police Department is offering local citizens an insight into the local law enforcement operation with the Citizens Academy.

The academy is scheduled for 13 weeks and offers “police style” training to our citizens. Some of the training will include: Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch, Bicycle Patrol, Police Intelligence, Criminal Law, Police Canine, Traffic Stops, Weapons Familiarization, Criminal Investigations, Evidence Collection. The instructors will be police officers from the Fishers Police Department. Participants in the Citizen’s Academy are eligible complete a ride along with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.

 The spring 2020 Citizen’s Police Academy will be held at the Fishers Police Department every Wednesday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. starting February 26, 2020. The academy will be open to individuals who reside or are employed in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  You must be sixteen years old or older to participate in the Citizen’s Academy.

It is the police department’s goal to build on the relationships established in the community. The Citizen’s Academy consists of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer. The Citizen’s Academy will give community members the opportunity to ask questions about law enforcement and other related activities.

Apply online at this link or apply in person at the Fishers Police Department.  Applications will be accepted until February 17, 2020.  If you have any questions, contact Officer Chris Owens at owensc@fishers.in.us or (317) 595-3300 ext. 8011.

When the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools planned the last round of redistricting, estimates of how many students would be attending the new Southeastern Elementary building were off, meaning more students entered the school than had been expected.  At Wednesday night’s HSE School Board meeting, leases for four portable classrooms were approved for Southeastern Elementary.  The portables will be located on the north end of the building, near the staff cafeteria.  It is expected the portables will be needed beginning in the 2020-2021 school year and will be in use for two full school years, until the planned new Wayne Township elementary school is completed and in operation.

In other news from the school board session:

–Cecilie Nunn, Chief Financial Officer for the school corporation, told the board the current operating referendum, approved in a 2016 vote, will be expiring in a few years.  If the school board decides to keep the referendum rate as is, or proposes a change, the referendum would need to be on the ballot as part of the May primary election in 2023 and become effective in 2024.  The 2016 approval of the referendum allowed HSE Schools to increase the number of teachers, generally decreased class sizes and provided funds to increase compensation for the teaching staff.

–The board was told continued construction along Lantern Road will impact access to Fishers Elementary School, but the city hopes to complete much of that work over two weekends in February, including one 3-day weekend.  Those accessing the elementary will be using a gravel road for at least a few months.  All work will be weather dependent, but the long term forecast appears promising.

–Executive Director of Secondary Education Matt Kegley told the board talks continue with the new Hub & Spoke operation to involve HSE students in programs related to the building trades.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hub & Spoke is set for April 1st, Kegley said.  There is also a committee looking into partnering with Purdue Polytech.  There were no announcements of any agreements at this time.

–Superintendent Allen Bourff asked for a moment of silence to honor Kora Abbott, a Fishers Junior High School 8th-grade student who recently died.