Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball coach Brian Satterfield was honored during the boys game Friday night for reaching 300 career wins. Satterfield earned his 300th win last Saturday when the Royals beat Anderson. Satterfield has been the boys coach at Southeastern since 2002 and has led the team to three sectional championships, as well as coached two Indiana Mr. Basketballs (Gary Harris and Zak Irvin).

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Joe Weingarten has questioned the appointment of Lisa Charles as the county’s Veterans Service Officer by the Hamilton County Commissioners.

Weingarten

In a statement provided to the Reporter, Weingarten said, “As both a veteran and Chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party I am dismayed but not surprised that the County Commissioners failed to follow law in the appointment of the County Veteran Service Officer.”

According to Weingarten, Indiana law requires a Veteran Service Officer to reside in the state for five years.

“It appears that Ms. Charles has only lived in the state for a few years, having moved here from California in 2018, and state law requires anyone appointed to this position to have lived in the state for five years,” said Weingarten. “This is the second violation in a row by the Commissioners in this type of appointment. The previous CVSO also did not meet legal requirements for the position.”

The recommendation to appoint Charles came from a three-member committee, which included Mark Smith, District Service Officer for the Indiana Department for Veterans Affairs. Smith served as an independent person and assisted with the interviewing process that resulted in the recommendation to appoint Charles.

“As veterans, we swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” said Weingarten. “The commissioners also swore an oath to ‘support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana’.”

The Commissioners have said they are aware of the concerns and stated, “We want to ensure that we have the most qualified person to assist our veterans, and if the appointment was not correct, we will take corrective measures.”

Hamilton County Reporter / WISH-TV

Rescue workers in Hamilton County freed two workers who were stuck in a collapsed trench Thursday night. Jackson Township fire officials stated, the rescue quickly became a team effort with seven fire departments responding, including Noblesville, Westfield, Fishers and Carmel.

According to Jackson Township Fire Department Chief Jeff Muszar, two men became trapped in the trench sometime before 6 p.m. The men were working for a private contractor and digging for a sewer line which had become clogged.

Muszar said one worker was trapped from the waist down in the trench along Maple Street in a residential neighborhood in Arcadia.

Carter

Jackson Township Battalion Chief James Carter told WISH-TV, “Anytime you have a trench collapse there’s obviously the potential for a secondary collapse because the ground is unstable and collapsed in the first place,” said Battalion Chief James Carter with the Jackson Township Fire Department. “So, it takes them coming in, shoring to stabilize that trench to prevent a secondary collapse.”

One man was able to self-rescue with assistance shortly after becoming trapped and refused medical assistance after evaluation. The second man was freed about 7:30 p.m. and airlifted to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and is in stable condition.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern swept Zionsville in a Friday night Hoosier Crossroads Conference girls-boys doubleheader at the Royals’ gym.

Southeastern’s girls, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, pulled away from the Eagles in the fourth quarter to win 52-38. The Royals outscored Zionsville in each period, leading 14-12 after the first quarter and 27-24 at halftime. Southeastern poured in 19 points in the third period, then shut out the Eagles 7-0 in the fourth.

Sydney Parrish led HSE with 26 points and seven rebounds, including two 3-pointers.

Lauren Morris made three 3-pointers for nine points, while Makayla Hinshaw hit two triples on her way to seven points. Lydia Self handed out five assists in addition to collecting four rebounds. Bailee Poore had four rebounds as well.

In the boys game, the Royals rallied at the end for a 51-48 victory. Zionsville tied the game at 43-43 with around 2:15 left in the fourth quarter, but John McCall was fouled on the next play and hit two free throws.

Southeastern got a stop on the defensive end, then Kole Hornbuckle made a layin to get the Royals up four points.

An Eagles 3-pointer cut HSE’s lead to two points with 50 seconds left, but Alex Totton clinched the game by making two more foul shots with 12 seconds left.

Hornbuckle led the Royals’ scoring with 14 points, with Vinny Buccilla adding 11 points and handing out 16 assists.

McCall had nine points. Mabor Majak had a strong defensive game with 12 rebounds and  two blocked shots, while Dalton Retzner made four blocks.

The Royals girls finished conference play 6-1, clinching at least second place in the league, and are 19-2 overall. Southeastern will finish the regular season Tuesday by hosting Pike.

HSE’s boys are 2-2 in the HCC standings and 8-5 overall. The Royals travel to Mount Vernon tonight.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers dropped a tough Hoosier Crossroads Conference game on the road Friday, falling 63-60 at Avon.

The Class 4A No. 8 Tigers trailed the Orioles 17-11 after the first quarter and 35-26 at halftime. Fishers blasted back to tie the game at 48-48 by the end of the third period, with Alex Szilagyi draining four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points in the quarter. But Avon outscored the Tigers 15-12 in the fourth.

Szilagyi totaled five 3s and 21 points for the game, while Jeffrey Simmons added 18 points.

Fishers is 2-2 in the conference and 13-4 overall. The Tigers will be back on the road next Saturday, Feb. 1, to play another HCC game at Franklin Central.

When the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board passed its schedule of 2020 work sessions at the January 15 meeting, there were no work sessions scheduled for the month of January.  That has changed, and the reason is a looming decision on school start times.

Board President Michelle Fullhart, in an e-mail message to LarryInFishers, says a work session now set for 7:30am Monday, January 27th, is all about school start times.

There are three considerations the board must take into account with any decision to adjust the start times for students and staff.

First, the board must make a decision on whether to implement a 3-tier bus scheduling system, which will relieve the stresses on the transportation system which now has up to 26 routes, without a regular driver, per school day.  The board was presented with two options at the January 15th meeting, which you can review at this link.

“If we choose a three-tier model, our start times would need to change to accommodate it,” Fullhart said.

Second, HSE school days are currently longer than the state requirement.  Administrators are looking into shortening the student day, but keeping the teacher school day the same, which could impact student start times .

“The extra time teachers would be at school without students would allow for professional development and collaboration time,” Fullhart wrote in her e-mail message.  “This would eliminate the need for early release days for students (currently on Mondays), which we know are not convenient for our families.  Our elementary students would be going 1950 minutes a week and grades 5-12 would be going 2100 minutes a week.”

Thirdly, flipping start times is also possible, with elementary students starting class earlier and secondary schools beginning classes later.

Hamilton County Reporter

Chris Huppenthal received a big honor from the National Federation of High School Associations this week: The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball coach was selected as the 2018-19 Indiana Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.

Huppenthal coached the Royals toc the school’s first ever girls basketball state championship during the 2018-19 season, a year when Southeastern finished with a 27-1 record. Huppenthal has been the coach at HSE for 15 years, with a record of 267-78.

Huppenthal also coached the Royals to back-toback sectional titles in 2006 and 2007,
and a regional title in 2006.

“Not only did his teams winning streak catch their attention, but his school and community involvement and coaching philosophy,” said a news release on the hseroyalsathletics.com
website. “Congratulations to Coach Huppenthal for making such an impact on Hamilton Southeastern High School Athletics as well as our community.”

Huppenthal also coached for one season at Kokomo (winning a regional title) and eight seasons at his alma mater, Highland, where he won four regional titles. His overall record is 442-116.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s Sydney Parrish was selected to the prestigious 2020 McDonald’s All American Game on Thursday.

Parrish, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, was named alongside 23 other top girls high school players from across the United States. She is set to attend the University of Oregon next season.

Parrish is one of five Oregon commits to receive McDonald’s All American honors.

Parrish has been a force on the Royals team since her very first game as a freshman. She helped Southeastern to its first-ever girls basketball state championship last season as a junior, scoring 30 points in the Class 4A state championship game. She is currently the second-leading all-time Hamilton County girls scorer with 1,812 points, behind Noblesville’s Courtney Cox, who holds the record of 1,869 points. This season, Parrish is averaging 25.3 points per game, and has a career average of 19.5 points
per contest.

Parrish is the third Hamilton Southeastern player to be named as a McDonald’s All American. She follows Taya Reimer in 2013 and Gary Harris in 2012. Parrish is also
the fourth Hamilton County player to receive this honor; Carmel’s Josh McRoberts was the first in 2005. Parrish is the only Indiana player among either the girls or boys
rosters.

A number of notable basketball players have also donned the McDonald’s All American jersey. The list includes Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, James Harden, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Elena
Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins and Breanna Stewart.

The McDonald’s All American Games will take place Wednesday, April 1 from Houston’s Toyota Center. The 19th annual girls game tips off at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2. The 43rd annual boys game follows at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Tickets are now available through the Toyota Center box office.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Here is some good news for most Hamilton County property taxpayers. The county auditor’s office has released tax rates that are slightly lower this year than last.

Despite increased budgets in most taxing units, rates are down a little thanks to the expanding tax base that includes vast amounts of new construction and a trending upwards in assessments of some existing properties.

“Trending” is a term used by assessors which is designed to reflect increased value of existing properties. This process can cause an individual taxpayer to get a slightly higher tax bill even if his or her taxing unit has a slightly lower tax rate.

But, overall in 14 of the county’s 17 municipalities and unincorporated township areas, taxes are going down, slightly as they may be. The largest decrease in rates are found in Washington Township outside Westfield, down 8.65 percent. The smallest decrease is found in Delaware Township at 0.89 of a percent.

In only three taxing units are rates up. In Arcadia the rate is up 1.28 percent due largely to a shrinking tax base. In Carmel the rate is up just short of 1 percent largely due to an approved school referendum. And, in Fishers there is a tiny 0.13 of 1 percent increase.

So, after the increases and decreases, Sheridan residents will pay the county’s highest tax rate at $3.19 per hundred dollars of assessed value. That is more than 1 percent lower than last year. Unincorporated White River Township will pay the lowest rate at $1.50 per hundred, down nearly 2 percent.

Deputy Auditor Lee Graham prepared the information showing increases and decreases in rates this year. She also created a full matrix of this year’s rates showing the tax rates for corporate, school, township, library and county rates, which together creates the total tax rate.

This breakdown appears in a legal notice in this week’s print edition of the Hamilton County Reporter.

Judge Steve Nation had served Hamilton County for many years when he decided not to seek another term as a local judge.  After 4 terms as prosecutor and 4 terms as a county judge, Nation has decided to run as a public servant once again by announcing his candidacy for an at-large seat on the Hamilton County Council.

“It’s always been my duty to do two things — protect people and help people reach their highest potential,” said Judge Nation in a news release announcing his candidacy.  “I’ll continue to do this by serving as a Hamilton County councilor.”

Even after leaving the bench as a judge, Nation has remained active in the local community.  He helped start the county’s Youth Assistance Program (YAP), including the Fishers YAP.

Judge Nation joins a crowded field of Republican candidates in the May 5th primary election for County Council.  Incumbents Rick McKinney, Brad Beaver and Jeff Hern have filed for re-election.  Nation joins one other challenger for a county council seat, Sue Maki from Carmel.  The three candidates with the most votes in the primary election will be GOP candidates in the November 3rd general election.

There is still time for others to file their candidacy.  The filing deadline is noon, Tuesday, February 4th.