“No Shave” November is back this year, and Fishers Police are raising money to benefit the Officer Binh Dennis, who was seriously injured in an off-duty motorcycle crash in Brown County.

This November’s “No Shave” effort will also highlight support in general for those waging a battle against illness or injury.

“We all have loved ones, friends, and co-workers that have been touched by cancer,” said Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart.  “As a police department, we are always seeking new ways to engage with the community.”

Beginning November 1^st you may see a Fishers police officer with some scruffiness keep in mind this is purposeful and temporary, as part of the “No Shave” fund-raising effort . Male officers will have the opportunity to grow their facial hair and female officers will be allowed to wear pink or blue highlights in their hair.

Feel free to join The Fishers Police Department as officers raise awareness for a worthy cause and reduce the stigma that is often associated with physical and mental health disease.

Check for progress on the fundraising effort on the Fishers Police Department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office has ruled the deaths of Kristal and Frank Sergi as a murder-suicide.

According to a news release from the Fishers Police Department, Kristal Sergi’s cause of death was a homicide with  multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.  Frank Sergi’s cause of death has been ruled as a suicide with a single gunshot to the head, based on the coroner’s report.

According to Fishers Police Department spokesman Tom Weger, the investigation is continuing and more details will be released when available.  Anyone with information is asked to call Lt. Todd Crowder at 317-595-3329.

(Updated 10pm 10/25/2018)

I just returned to Fishers Thursday evening after going out of town, fulfilling a teaching contract with Indiana University.  While away, I have tried to follow what has been happening in Fishers.

A married couple, apparently about to go through a divorce, are dead in the Saxony area.  Police were called to their home after reports of gunshots Wednesday evening.  According to Fishers Police, officers entered the home and found the body of a man and woman.

Late Thursday afternoon, local authorities identified the bodies as Kristal Sergi, 44, and Frank Sergi II, 52, both residents of a home in the 13000 block of Dorster Street in Fishers.

Both were long-time teachers in the Hamilton Southeastern Schools.  Kristal Sergi was a teacher at Hoosier Road Elementary and Frank Sergi taught art at Fall Creek Intermediate School.

Any tragedy such as this is difficult for any community to handle.  But in this case, both had been teachers.  Those instructing our children in local schools over a long period of time touch many lives and many families over the span of a teaching career.  The pain is deep and real for all the families that came into contact with these teachers.  This sort of tragedy always hurts, but it really hurts when two teachers are involved.

Fishers Police are not releasing much information about the details surrounding the deaths of the Mr. and Mrs. Sergi at this time.  According to a police department news release, authorities believe the Sergis “are the only individuals directly involved in this incident.”  Police say the investigation is ongoing, and ask anyone with information to contact Detective/Lieutenant Todd Crowder at 317-595-3329.

Meanwhile, classes were not held at Hoosier Road Elementary and Fall Creek Intermediate Thursday, and school authorities say both schools will not be in session Friday as well.  Counselors and mental health professionals will be available in both buildings even when classes are not held.

A prayer vigil was conducted at Hoosier Road Elementary School Thursday evening.

In a Twitter message, Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff wrote, “We are mourning the loss of two beloved teachers.”

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Commissioners on Monday approved $3.4 million in requests for financial assistance to community non-profit organizations. The public funds were approved earlier by the County Council, but commissioners tabled another $427,310 of council approved funds because the council had reduced and in some cases eliminated funding requests for 11 social service organizations.

Commissioners said they were uncertain why the reductions had been made, but want time to consult with council members or consider what action to take. The difference between council members’ and commissioners’ opinions over grants to the non-profits is the latest in a number of disputes between the two bodies.

The funds approved by commissioners Monday included $2.1 million in state-prescribed funding for Aspire, a mental and behavioral health program, $750,000 to Janus Developmental Services for general operations and $428,495 for Hamilton County Express, the public transportation service operated by Janus.

Requests tabled included funding for PrimeLife Enrichment, Prevail, Chaucie’s Place, Cherish Center, Trinity Free Clinic, Meals on Wheels, the Hope Family Clinic, Hamilton County Leadership Academy, Good Samaritan, CIRTA, Conner Prairie and Salvation Army.

The funds going to community non-profits are not the sole source of revenue for the organizations, but supplement their efforts which officials say would otherwise either not be provided or fall entirely to local government.

Commissioners also approved distribution of $150,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money, which is administered by the Noblesville Housing Authority.

You may recall a crash from June 30th of this year when police say a car collided with a man riding a bicycle along Brooks School Road, near Broadmoor drive.  That incident took the life of the bicyclist, Robert Lackey, 61, from Fishers, Indiana.

Tuesday, Hamilton County authorities issued an arrest warrant for Deborah Sundstrom, 59, from Indianapolis, in connection with that June 30th crash.  Sundstrom faces one felony count of Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death and a misdemeanor charge of Operating While Intoxicated Endangering a Person.  Sundstrom turned herself into law enforcement has been released on bond.

There are times you sit through a meeting and feel exhausted once the session is done.  I felt that way as I walked away from the newly-remodeled Hamilton Southeastern Schools Administration Building Tuesday morning.

I was not a participant, I was covering the meeting as a reporter, but the discussion was revealing and often pointed.

The subjects were Equity and Inclusion and the discussion was led by Dr. Erica Buchanan Rivera, Equity & Inclusion Officer for HSE Schools.

Ms. Buchanan Rivera spent time explaining to board members how she helps teachers with questions on how to handle specific situations they need to handle in their classrooms related to equity and inclusion.

There was a lively discussion about gender equity, treatment of transgender students and how to address the academic performance of many minority groups in the HSE Schools student population.

The school district must be quick to respond when an incident happens, but Buchanan Rivera says HSE Schools need to be more proactive in handling such situations.

Buchanan Rivera presented an action plan for meeting certain goals, and reviewed the groups and committees throughout the school corporation that are working on equity and inclusion issues now.

I am sure many of the board members and HSE staff at this work session felt a little exhausted too, but much was accomplished during the meeting.

The Fishers City Council was busy honoring people at the Monday night session.

Diplomas were handed out to graduates of the first summer Citizens Academy class.

The donors that made four new Pickleball courts possible at Cyntheanne Park were recognized by Council members.

Jamie Follis, teacher at HSE High School, was honored by the council for winning the award of Educator of the Year.

The 3-member City Council NonProfit Committee announced the organizations the city will support in 2019.  The committee members are Pete Peterson, Brad DeReamer and Cecilia Coble.

Peterson  announced the groups the committee voted to fund at Monday night’s City Council session.  The organizations are:

Youth Mentoring Initiative                                                         $48,200

JANUS Development                                                                   $12,000

HSE Schools Foundation                                                           $26,300

Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program                   $65,000

Conner Prairie                                                                               $100,000

“We feel that making sure some of those folks who are out in our community effecting a lot of residents, in other words, it’s substantive, and will have an impact, guided our decisions,”  said Peterson.

The City of Fishers has a roughly $108 million budget in place to fund city operations for 2019, now that the City Council has unanimously voted in favor of the spending plan.  Council members also approved a bond issue funding the first phase of the Nickel Plate Trail.

There were people in the audience with Save The Train signs objecting to the funding of the trail, backing a plan to have a train and trail side-by-side, but that is not part of the plan approved by the council.  One lady with a Save The Train sign asked the council if she could speak before the vote was taken on the Nickel Plate Trail, but Council President Todd Zimmerman denied the request.  The Council held a public hearing on the budget at the September council session.

The $15 million bond issue approved by the council will fund the trail and several road projects around the city.

An area of Lantern Road, just north of the downtown Fishers, will now be subject to a 25-miles-per-hour speed limit during school hours following action Monday by the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety.

The new speed limit signs will be installed showing the lower speed limit during school hours  160 feet north of 121st Street, impacting both directions on Lantern Rd to 435 feet south of Turin Court.  Since this is for a private school, there will be no flashing lights during school hours, just signs facing both directions.