by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

After four games, things have been going rather well for the Fishers girls basketball team.

The Tigers have won all four of their games, including an easy Wednesday victory over Anderson, 79-49 at the Tiger Den. Fishers’ early-season success hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the Tigers came into the ICGSA Class 4A rankings at No. 8 this week.

Everyone has been contributing to the team, both veteran players and young ones. Of course, the seniors set the tone, and Fishers coach Lauren Votaw is pleased with how her 12th-graders are leading the way.

“I’m going to credit our seniors with doing a phenomenal job of setting the tone and setting the culture of this idea of putting the team before yourself,” said Votaw. “They get so excited when their teammates succeed. We’ve talked a lot about that, and a lot about that being an important part of being a great team. And so hopefully that continues.”

Fishers slowly worked its way to a 16-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, with senior Kaitlynn Feagan hitting a pair of 3-pointers along the way. Another bright spot was freshman Olivia Smith, who had six points. Smith and her twin sister Hailey Smith have been solid for the Tigers during their first few high-school games.

“And they work extremely hard and they’re very coachable,” said Votaw. “They’re well-liked by their teammates. It’s been a very smooth transition for them overall.”

The Tigers then blasted off to a 44-24 lead by halftime. Junior Katie Burton took over in that period, scoring 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Burton had one basket in each of the other three quarters, giving her a team-leading 21 points for the game.

Six different players scored in the second period, but Fishers did better in the third quarter, with seven players getting in the scorebook. Senior Tamia Perryman led the way in that period with seven points, on her way to 10 for the night.

“It’s good,” said Perryman. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to still work on, but right now we’re good.”

Perryman has committed to play at Marian University next year.

“It felt like home when I went for my visit,” she said.

The Tigers led 65-34 after three quarters, and held the lead around that margin during the fourth period. The bench players got the chance to play, and they had some good minutes: Sophomore Kaiya Walker had four points, with junior Jordan Imes and sophomore Charlotte Gaffin both getting two.

“I don’t know if I would say it’s been a surprise, but it’s been one of the top positives from the first four games of our season is the depth that we have, especially just at that guard position, that ability to bring in guards that can handle the basketball and defend is so valuable,” said Votaw.

Feagan joined Perryman with 10 points, while both Hailey and Olivia Smith scored nine points each. Burton collected six rebounds, with Olivia Smith and Lydia Stullken both getting five rebounds.

Audra Emmerson had eight points for the Tigers, while Stullken and Shae Shaffer rounded out the scoring with two points each – 11 different players scored for Fishers.

Fishers will travel to Northwest Indiana on Saturday to compete in the Lake Central Classic, where the Tigers will take on the host Indians in a morning game and Valparaiso in an afternoon contest.

Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 as a promotion by American Express.  It has taken on a life of its own and is now an annual event the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Shop Fishers is the local iteration of Small Business Saturday, with over 60 local businesses taking part.

Also, the City of Fishers will once again present an impressive Christmas light display between City Hall and the Amphitheater.

I spoke with Stephanie Perry and Kara Hall, both with the City of Fishers, about Shop Fishers and plans for the Christmas season, for the podcast you will find below.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools will close November 19th, allowing local teachers to participate in the Statehouse event, “Red for Ed.” The Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) is sponsoring the day at the Statehouse, aimed at advocating for higher teacher salaries, an improved performance evaluation system and a more realistic professional development program.

Hamilton Southeastern Education Association President Janet Chandler says 300 HSE Schools teachers had planned on taking a personal day before the Wednesday night’s announcement at the school board meeting.

There is no official decision on when there will be a make-up day, but Superintendent Allen Bourff says he intends to recommend January 6th.  The final decision on a make-up day will be up to a school board vote.

I have covered police departments many times in my journalistic career and the culture of looking out for each other is very important within the public safety community.  Any police officer will tell you that a K-9 unit is part of that family of public servants.  The dogs become a part of the department and the police officer’s family.

That’s why Fishers Police and the entire local community have been saddened by the death of K-9 Harlej at the age of 5 years.  Harlej died in the line of duty, trying to stop a suspect and died.

It all happened just after midnight early Wednesday morning.  A Fishers officer attempted to stop a Cadillac passenger car traveling northbound on Interstate 69 in the city of Fishers. The driver refused to stop and exited the interstate onto Southeastern Parkway. A pursuit of the vehicle ended near the intersection of 131^st Street and Olio Road. The driver ran from the car while the female passenger was taken into custody. Officers established a perimeter and an extensive manhunt began.

During the search for the suspect, a Fishers K-9 Officer saw the suspect. According to police, the  suspect refused commands to stop and K-9 Harlej was deployed. Shortly after, the officer heard a gunshot and K9 Harlej went missing. After several hours the suspect was taken into custody. He was transported to an area hospital where he received medical treatment for a minor leg injury. Both suspects were transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident.

According to a news release from Fishers Police, Harlej was later found with a fatal gunshot wound.

The driver of the vehicle involved has been identified as Richard D. Garrett Junior, 19 of Indianapolis.  He faces a long list of charges, including several felonies.

Police say his passenger was Rashaana L. Farrow, 19, also of Indianapolis.  She is charged with one misdemeanor and also has warrants for her arrest in Marion County.

Both were booked into the Hamilton County Jail.

Several area law enforcement agencies responded to assist Fishers Police.

If anyone wishes to make a donation in Harlej’s honor, you may do so with the Fishers Police Foundation at this link, or visit police headquarters in person

Back in March of this year, Cunningham Restaurant Group announced Rize Restaurant’s second location would be opening at The Yard.  Rize is now open at The Yard location.  Rize offers breakfast and lunch at the Fishers location.

The first Rize opened at the Ironworks Hotel on the north side of Indianapolis in 2017.

“Cunningham Restaurant Group is proud to introduce one of our newest restaurant concepts to the Fishers market,” Mike Cunningham, CEO and founder of CRG, stated in a Cunningham news release. “We look forward to being a part of Fishers District and joining the other great businesses in Fishers.

Cunningham has 30 locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky,

Two new board members have been added to the local nonprofit organization, the Fishers Youth Assistance Program (YAP).  Real estate attorney Carolina Rashidfarokhi and community  volunteer Denise Retzner were each approved unanimously to three-year terms.

Rashidfarokhi is CEO of CP Investments LLC, a local real estate investment company. She has lived in Fishers for five years with her husband, Peyman, and two children. Retzner, who has volunteered with a number of community, religious, educational and sports organizations, is an 18-year resident of Fishers. She and her husband, Rodney, have four sons who have either graduated or are attending Hamilton Southeastern High School.

“We are so excited to welcome Carolina and Denise to our growing board,” FYAP Board President Leah McGrath said in a YAP news release. “They both bring a wealth of talents and energy to the important work of our early intervention advocates and community donors and volunteers. We believe they can bring new ideas to help our organization connect families to important resources when they are in crisis.”

Fishers YAP works with local school officials and other organizations to help young people in need.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern dropped its first game of the season on Friday, falling
to Center Grove 41-36 at the Royals’ gym as part of the Southeastern Classic.

The game was tied at 9-9 after the first quarter. The Class 4A No. 1 Royals led
19-15 at halftime, but the Trojans were ahead by the end of the third period, 27-
26, then extended their lead in the fourth quarter.

Sydney Parrish was the top scorer with 15 points, while Jackie Maulucci hit
three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points.

Bailee Poore led the rebounding with seven.

The Royals will be back in action next Saturday when they play Valparaiso and
Lake Central at the Lake Central Classic.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers won both of its Southeastern Classic games on Saturday.

In the morning, the Tigers beat Ben Davis 64-54 in a game played at the Royals’ gym.

Fishers jumped out to a 15-10 lead after the first quarter, then was up 34-24 at halftime.

Katie Burton scored 20 points to lead the Tigers, and also had seven rebounds and four steals.

Kaitlynn Feagan made three 3-pointers on her way to 13 points. Audra Emmerson and
Hailey Smith both pulled five rebounds. Later that evening, Fishers hosted
Center Grove in its second game of the Classic, and used a strong defensive effort to sail past the Trojans 51-31.

Center Grove led 23-20 at halftime, but the Tigers outscored the Trojans 16-2 in the third period to take a 36-25 lead.

Burton poured in 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Smith added 11 points,
hitting three 3s.

Burton grabbed seven rebounds, while Perryman collected five. Stullken
made four blocked shots.

Fishers is 3-0 and will host Anderson on Tuesday

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

MUNCIE – Of all the strategies that Hamilton Southeastern had coming into
the Class 4A state volleyball championship, the most important one was this:
Believe.

The Royals believed they could compete and win against New Castle, the No.
1-ranked team in the nation, never mind the state. Southeastern pushed the Trojans for the entire match before falling in four sets, 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18 Saturday night in the state championship match at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena .

“The kids truly believed and I’m grateful for that,” said Royals coach Jason Young. “They were not going to back down. They were going to go head-tohead with them, no matter who it is. And I’m grateful and proud of them for that.”

Southeastern established the tone in the first set, which began with Abby Weber hitting a kill. The set was extremely tight, with the largest lead three points.

The Royals were up 12-9, then 13-10.

The Trojans came back to lead 20-18, but Southeastern scored four straight points to take a 22-20 advantage. Grace Hunter hit a kill, and Delany Garner was successful on a block. The Royals took the set when Maddie Cole put down a kill.

“We were determined to run some slides and get our middles active,” said Young. “We just were in system an awful lot.”

New Castle quickly took the lead in the second set, eventually going up 15-6.

Southeastern went on a five-point run to cut that advantage to 15-11, with Garner hitting a kill and making another block.

The Royals were still within 18-13 late in the set, but New Castle finished by winning seven of the last nine points.

\The Trojans’ 6-foot-2 middle hitter Laila Smith got the last two points of the set on a kill and a net tip.

In the third set, HSE led 6-2, with Hunter putting down a couple of kills during that time. New Castle fought back to lead 10-9 before Weber’s kill tied the match again, then a Garner kill and Olivia Phillips tip put the Royals ahead 12-10.

Southeastern led for most of the set, going up 23-21 late. But the Trojans won
four straight points to take the set. Melani Shaffmaster’s, New Castle’s 6-foot-3 setter, made a successful block to gave the Trojans a 2-1 lead in sets.

The Royals led 7-4 early in the fourth set, with Garner, Phillips and Weber all making kills. But the Trojans went on a long run, winning 13 of 17 points to take a 17-11 lead.

Southeastern fought to the end, but New Castle was able to hold a five- to seven-point advantage for most of the set. The Trojans’ Bailey Cox served an ace on match point to seal the title.

“My kids played with great heart. We worked hard all season, and I’m just hurting for them,” said Young. “Fantastic night of volleyball, to take that first set.”

Weber hit 13 kills for the Royals, with Hunter putting down 10. Emily Weber handed out 20 assists, with Phillips dishing out 15. On defense, Carly Mills had a fine game with 21 digs, while Abby Weber collected 11 digs and Hunter had 10.

Garner and Cole both made three blocks.

New Castle’s Smith and Mabrey Shaffmaster both hit 20 kills, while Melani Shaffmaster put down 13 and Nicole Wilkinson had 12.

Southeastern’s Lillian Leiner won the Mental Attitude Award at the conclusion of the match. Leiner is a two-year captain and three-year varsity letter winner in volleyball. She also plays softball and will earn a third letter in that sport later this year. Lillian is the daughter of Ken and Sherri Leiner and plans to attend Northern Kentucky University to study Biology.

“She’s a special kid,” said Young. “She’s the glue. I can’t think of a more
deserving kid. Just proud of her. We had a lot of candidates. Lillian is just a really
special, special kid.”

The Royals finished their season 29-5.