At-large Hamilton County Council member Rick McKinney has announced his intention to seek another term on the council.  According to my news-gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, McKinney revealed his re-election bid in a news release.

“I have supported and will continue to support necessary funding for PPP: Pavement (roads/bridges), Parks (quality of life) and Public safety (Sheriff, jail, emergency communications, courts, probation, prosecutor and community corrections),” McKinney said. “Projects started or completed since 2016: Westward expansion of 146^th Street, Lowes Way ramp from 146^th Street to Keystone, State Road 37 redesign, 96^th Street and Keystone bridge, solar power project for the jail complex, expanded jail and Koteewi Park amenities.”

McKinney cited his “experience and independence” as an incumbent member of the council.

McKinney has filed as a candidate in the May 5th Republican primary election.

Hamilton County Reporter

Rick McKinney has been elected president of the Hamilton County Council. He replaces Brad Beaver in the role. Amy Massillamany will serve as Vice President. Election of officers is an annual practice at the first meeting of each year.

Massillamany

McKinney

McKinney was elected to the Hamilton County Council in 1996. He is an at-large member who also served as council president in 2001, 2008 and 2014.

McKinney owns Clearview Professional Window Cleaning. He was appointed to Carmel’s Board of Public Works and Safety by then-Mayor Ted Johnson in 1992. Four years later, he secured his current spot on the County Council.

Since then, McKinney has been instrumental in maintaining a low tax rate, opening council meetings up for public comment and being available for public viewing on the Internet, and funding parks, public safety and infrastructure.

McKinney and his wife Cheryl currently reside in Westfield.

Victoria Spartz shook up the local political scene when she announced late in the day January 8th that she will suspend her campaign for the District 20 state senate and is exploring becoming a candidate for the 5th District U.S. House.  Spartz was elected to fill out the remaining term of long-time Senator Luke Kenley by Republican Precinct Committee officials, when Kenley announced his retirement.

Most local political pundits presumed Spartz would seek election to her state senate seat.  However, according to my news-gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, Spartz issued a news release announcing the suspension of her state senate camapaign.

“I feel that if I decide to spend the next two to four years of my life serving the people, I would like to do it where I can bring the most value” Sparts said. “My unique life experiences, financial and business expertise, and willingness to fight against the status quo would bring a great benefit to our state and our nation.”

Spartz will be joining what is likely to be a very crowded Republican primary election for the 5th District seat, left vacant when incumbent Congresswoman Susan Books decided not to seek re-election.

Meanwhile, be on the lookout for which Republicans will enter the contest to succeed Senator Sparks in the Indiana General Assembly.

District 20 does include a portion of northwest Fishers.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern had a solid defensive effort Thursday night against
Warren Central, and that led the Royals to their fifth straight win.

Southeastern, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, beat the Warriors 40-31 in a home game. The Royals got off to a good start, leading 14-7 after the first quarter. Sydney Parrish, who was honored at the game for becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, added to her total with eight first-period points.

The Warriors cut into Southeastern’s lead slightly by halftime, but HSE still led 20-14 at the break. The Royals cruised through the third quarter, leading 35-20 before Warren made a basket at the end of the period.

Still, Southeastern held a 35-22 lead going into the fourth, and a Parrish free throw and basket off a steal pushed that advantage to 38-22. The Royals then held firm as the Warriors made a final run.

Southeastern never allowed Warren Central to reach double digits in any of the
four quarters.

“First, I thought our kids did a great job of taking away dribble penetration lanes,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “The films we have on them, they like to try and get their way to the basket via the dribble and I thought our kids did a really, really good job.”

Huppenthal was pleased with the team’s effort as well.

“Seemed like any loose balls, we got a hold of them,” said Huppenthal. “That’s a credit to our kids. We challenged them defensively and they rose to the challenge.”

Parrish scored 19 points, including two 3-pointers, and also had eight steals. Jackie Maulucci added 10 points and handed out four assists. Lauren Morris made a pair of 3s and Makayla Hinshaw led the rebounding with five.

The Royals are 15-2 and go on the road tonight to play at Terre Haute South.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Auditor Robin Mills was the first candidate to file for election locally Wednesday morning as the 2020 election season officially got underway. Mills showed up at 8 a.m., actually filing for re-election since she is the incumbent Auditor.

She was followed immediately by Kim Good, candidate for Treasurer, and Surveyor Kent Ward, who is running for re-election.

Current Hamilton County Council member at-large Ralph (Rick) McKinney also filed for re-election on the first day.

All four candidates will be running in the May 5 Republican primary election.

Filing continues until noon on Feb. 7, the filing deadline for the primary.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers girls basketball team took on a tough New Palestine team Wednesday at the Tiger Den, and held off the Dragons 56-50.

New Pal gave Class 4A No. 4 Fishers a good battle, but a fourth quarter run got the Tigers out of trouble and kept them undefeated for the season at 16-0.

“We have talked about the fact that we are going to get everybody’s best game,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “We’re going to get everybody’s best game plan, we’re going to get their best game when they face us.”

“What we’re getting out of it is hopefully learning where we still need to get better,” said Votaw. “We talk a lot about ‘Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is your better and your better is your best.’”

The Dragons led the Tigers 13-10 after the first quarter, but a 20-point second period put Fishers ahead 30-28 at halftime. Katie Howard helped out with three 3-pointers in the first half.

New Palestine held a 40-38 lead after three quarters. The game remained close until midway through the fourth, when Fishers went on a 7-0 run to take a 51-43 lead. Audra Emmerson hit a 3-pointer, Olivia Smith made a layin and Katie Burton hit two free throws.

While New Pal continued to fight until the end, the late run gave the Tigers the separation it
needed.

Burton led Fishers with 16 points, while Emmerson scored 10.

Votaw said one thing the Tigers take from these close games is confidence.

“We found a way,” she said.

Fishers will host North Central, which is tied for 10th in the 4A rankings,
on Saturday.

The Fishers Plan Commission unanimously voted a favorable recommendation for a rezoning at 96th Street and Lantern Road, a former Marsh location.  The rezoning now goes to the Fishers City Council for final approval.

Strongbox Commercial is planning to add parking and create a Vasa Fitness Center.  There are also plans to construct a strip mall, but no tenants have been lined up at this time..

Only one resident commented at the public hearing asking what sorts of businesses will occupy the retail space.  City Planning Director Tony Bagato responded that the usual types of tenants are likely, such as small restaurant locations.

The rezoning is needed because the Fishers City Council enacted a commercial overlay to ensure any development at former Marsh locations will be evaluated by city officials.

The city is waiving the normal fees in this project because Strongbox is cooperating with the city on technology to record vehicle license plates to assist law enforcement.

There are several Hamilton County offices up for election this year, and Treasurer is one of them.  According to my news-gathering partner, The Hamilton County Reporter, the current chief deputy at that office, Kim Good, has announced she will be a candidate for County Treasurer.

“With over 30 years’ experience and a real passion for the job, I am uniquely qualified to manage and improve upon a legacy of accurate and conscientious customer service,” Good said.

A lifelong resident of Hamilton County, Good became chief deputy treasurer for the current Treasurer, Jennifer Templeton, in 2013. She previously held the position for five years prior to her election in 2004.

Good said one of her goals is to maximize investment returns.

It was late in 2018 when we learned the Indianapolis area would not be landing the HQ2 jobs windfall promised by Amazon.  Two areas were awarded sites, New York City and the Washington DC area.

However, public blow-back in New York City resulted in Amazon pulling its plans there.  The DC project is moving forward.

Back on November 18, 2018, I posted a story about the local aftermath of the announcement.  One point I made clearly was that local officials had a responsibility to reveal what public funds were offered to Amazon by Indiana and local governments.

The answer came back “no.”  Governments had run the central Indiana proposal through the Chamber of Commerce, partly to shield the details from the public, even after it was all over.

After posting that commentary on November 18, 2018, I had several local Fishers officials tell me they still need to keep the HQ2 proposal secret because it contained proprietary information, or “trade secrets” of some sort.  That’s right, governments offer of public money was described as a trade secret.

I respect the officials making that argument because I believe they are sincere in making such a case, but in my view, that is a totally wrong way to approach offering large amounts of public money to the private sector.

Why do I bring this up again now?  Because I am not the only one making this argument.

The Indianapolis Star has a new columnist, James Briggs, and he has done some very good reporting for the newspaper and was recently promoted to opinion writer.  He is doing a very good job as a commentator so far, in my view.

His latest column once again beats the drum that Indiana and its political subdivisions involved in offering public money and assets to Amazon have a responsibility to make it all public now.  Briggs details how other states have finally come clean on the details, with surprising results.  In Kentucky, the Louisville Courier-Journal has won a court decision to make that offer public, yet the government is still appealing that decision.

Briggs goes chapter and verse how other states have revealed their offers.  Some of the numbers revealed are staggering.

I once again call on the public to demand that their elected officials do the right thing and make public all details of the offer Indiana made to Amazon in the effort to land the HQ2 jobs prize.

You can read James Briggs’ column at this link.

(NOTE:  You may be limited in how many free IndyStar stories you may access in a month.  My suggestion is you buy a subscription to the Star and held keep columnists like James Briggs writing.  Get your subscription at this link) 

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers was dealt its first loss of the season on Tuesday, falling to Lafayette Jefferson 68-65 in overtime at the Tiger Den.

It was a battle of two Class 4A Top 10 teams, with the Tigers ranked No. 4 and the Bronchos rated No. 6. The game was as close as those rankings in the first half, with Jefferson leading 16-14 after the first quarter. Fishers stayed with the Bronchos, though, and were within 31-
30 at halftime. Jeffrey Simmons had 13 points in the first half.

Lafayette Jeff took control in the third quarter to lead 45-37, but the Tigers came storming back in the fourth, scoring 23 points to tie the game at 60-60 by the end of regulation. Free-throw shooting was a major factor, as Fishers was 11-of-11 from the line in the quarter.

Justin Long made all six of his foul shots. That sent the game to overtime, where the Bronchos outscored the Tigers 8-5.

Simmons led Fishers with 21 points, followed by Long with 12. Isaac Farah
added 10 points.

The Tigers are 12-1 and host Pike Friday.