(From left) Joel Farmer, American Structurepoint; Scott Tripp, Riverview Health; Seth Warren, CEO of Riverview Health; John Chalfin, Hamilton County Coroner; Steve Schwartz, Hamilton County Councilman; Colin Scherman, Meyer Najem Construction; Ben Cox, Mayer Najem Construction; Chris McCracken, Meyer Najem Construction. (Reporter photo by Jeff Jellison)
Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton County Coroner John Chalfin announced Friday that construction of a new morgue will begin mid-March. The project is a cooperative effort between Hamilton County and Riverview Health.
Chalfin said the current morgue facility built in the mid 1980’s, operated by Riverview Health, used by the Coroner’s Office, can no longer effectively serve the needs of his office and the hospital.
“As the population increases, the need for additional morgue space increases for both the hospital and the county. The morgue expansion ensures that we can better serve the deceased and their families,” said Chalfin.
The cost of the morgue expansion is just over $1 million. Riverview Health is contributing $500,000 and the county will pay the remaining $567,539.
“A joint facility is a significant cost saving for both organizations,” continued Chalfin.
During the announcement, the Coroner praised Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger and council member Steve Schwartz for their work in developing the project.
American Structurepoint will provide architecture and engineering services for the project and Mayer Najem Construction will serve as the project contractor.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Sydney Parrish (left) scored 31 points for the Royals in their sectional semi-final victory over Fishers Friday at the Tiger Den. Pictured at right for Fishers is Casey Walker. (Reporter photos by Kent Graham)
by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton Southeastern rolled into the championship game of Class 4A Sectional
8 Friday by beating host Fishers 60-35 at the Tiger Den.
The Royals led 14-7 after the first quarter, with Malea Jackson making two
3-pointers. The Tigers came back at the beginning of the second period, using a 8-0
run to take a 15-14 lead. Ali Gerka hit a 3-pointer of her own, then Cierra Tolbert
added a free throw and a putback to get Fishers within one. Kenedi London’s jumper
put the Tigers ahead.
Sydney Parrish got Southeastern back in front with a 3-pointer, but a rebound basket
by Tamia Perryman – who played incredibly tough throughout the game – tied things up
again at 17-all. Parrish put the Royals back in front with another 3, and HSE never
trailed again.
“Towards the end of the first half, our movements were starting to get lethargic and
we needed to have a quicker burst to try to get ourselves open to get ourselves in
position to get ahead and get shots,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal.
Southeastern led 26-21 at halftime. At that point Parrish had 12 points, and it would
turn out she was just getting started. The sophomore added eight more points in the
third quarter, helping the Royals to a 38-28 lead. Amaya Hamilton’s late 3-pointer
pushed HSE’s lead to 10 points for the first time in the game.
“We thought there were some opportunities to try and get Amaya the ball
and get her some touches in the second half, and we were able to get her some and she
capitalized on them,” said Huppenthal. “For the most part, all our kids were involved.”
The Royals continued to surge in the fourth period, outscoring Fishers 22-7.
Parrish went on a 7-0 run all by herself early in the period, making her fourth ‘3’ of the
game in between two other baskets. When was all said and done, Parrish finished the
game with 31 points.
“Sydney’s a special player, and she definitely stepped up tonight,” said Fishers
coach Lauren Vail. “Special players do that in big games, and that’s what she did.”
Parrish wound up with a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds and also made two
blocked shots. Hamilton and Molly Walton both corralled eight rebounds, with
Hamilton blocking two shots as well. Walton dished out seven assists.
“Molly’s one of those kids who doesn’t give us a lot of points at times, but she does
so many little things for us,” said Huppenthal.
“They did a great job of mixing it up on us,” said Vail. “They played a box-and-1,
they played a 3-2, they played a 2-3, they played man. And we just could never get in
a rhythm. Credit to Coach Huppenthal on that, for mixing it up and really keeping us
on our toes.”
Perryman finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds, while Gerka
scored eight points. Toni Grace scored six points.
Southeastern is now 16-7, and plays Carmel in tonight’s championship game.
“You watch them, they got Division I kids at every position on the floor,” said
Huppenthal. “We’re going to come ready to play. We’re going to give it our best shot.
They’re a great basketball team, but I think we got a pretty special team, too.”
Fishers finished its season 13-12 in Vail’s first year as head coach
“I’m just so proud of our kids,” said Vail. “Getting a new head coach with about a
month to go before the season starts, and not just a new head coach to them, someone
who’s never been a head coach before. I had familiarity in the program, but I’ve never
done this either. We did this together and learned and grew, and they allowed me to
grow.
“Every time I challenged them with something, they responded. The seniors
were great leaders. That’s what I just told them in that locker room. They showed
those younger kids how to lead and they showed those younger kids how to love each
other and be great teammates and that’s what I’m really proud of them for.”
It’s another week of winter, but it is also another week of road construction in & around the City of Fishers. Once again, be on the lookout for continuing construction issues in the areas of 131st & Cumberland Road, as well as the ongoing work at 106th Street and Allisonville Road.
Below is the road construction listing for the work week beginning Monday, February 5th, as provided by the City of Fishers:
======================
131ST STREET
Periodic lane restrictions will occur at the intersection of 131st Street and Cumberland Road as utility relocation work is completed.
MORGAN DRIVE
Morgan Drive will be closed between Lantern Road and Emmanual Court for work on stormwater structures.
106TH STREET
Crews will be landscaping the center of the roundabout at 106th Street and Geist Road throughout the week, weather permitting. Temporary lane restrictions may be in place as work is completed.
In an effort to locate utilities at the intersection of 106th Street and Allisonville Road, the westbound lane of 106th Street (just east of Allisonville Road) will be closed until all utilities are located. Westbound traffic on 106th Street will be forced to turn north.
I-69
As part of a $92 million design-build contract, Milestone has added a third lane in each direction to the median, repaired and resurfaced existing pavement, and rehabilitated bridges and drainage structures on 15 miles of I-69 in Hamilton and Madison counties. Construction of an additional auxiliary lane between the 116th Street entrance ramp to I-69 South and the I-69 South Exit 204 ramp to 106th Street will continue through next spring.
I-69 South will be temporarily reduced to two lanes to allow space for the State Road 37 and 116th Street entrance ramps to safely merge while construction continues on the southbound auxiliary lane between the 116th Street and 106th Street ramps.
Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT via email or at 1-855-463-6848.
The State Road 37 improvement project is a $124 million joint project between Fishers, Hamilton County, Noblesville, and INDOT. Questions or concerns may be directed via email to Drive Fishers.
Hamilton Southeastern used a big third quarter to beat Columbus North 64-
54 in a Thursday evening home game.
The Class 4A No. 6 Royals led 30-24 at halftime, then took control by outscoring
the Bull Dogs 22-9 in the third. Four Southeastern players reached double figures, with Mabor Majak scoring 14 points to lead the way.
Chaz Birchfield added 12 points and Aaron Etherington scored 11. The three
were also the leading rebounders, with Birchfield pulling in eight boards, Etherington
six and Majak five.
The Royals had 24 team assists in the game. Etherington dished out seven assists,
while Nick Bowman and Noah Smith both handed out six.
Southeastern improved to 16-2 for the season. The Royals are off until Tuesday,
when they travel to New Castle to play the 3A No. 1-ranked Trojans.
Westfield’s Josh Van Dyke is guarded by Fishers’ Jordan Jones during the Shamrocks-Tigers game Thursday night at the Tiger Den. Fishers beat Westfield in overtime 63-56. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
Hamilton County Reporter
Basketball is a game of runs, and that was demonstrated perfectly Thursday night
at the Tiger Den between Fishers and Westfield.
The Tigers got the final run of the game, outscoring the Shamrocks 14-7 in an
overtime period to win 63-56. The terrific 3-point shooting of Jeremy Szilagyi and
free-throw shooting of Willie Jackson helped propel the Tigers to a Hoosier Crossroads Conference win as well as their first overtime victory of the season after two
OT losses.
“There were two games that were played out there,” said Fishers coach Matt Moore.
“That first stretch for us where we were really hitting offensively. And they made a
run and I thought we did a good job of just staying composed and had poise.”
The Tigers led 15-10 after the first quarter, with Szilagyi draining three 3-pointers on his way to 11 points in the period. Fishers then jumped ahead 31-26 at halftime; Szilagyi threw in two more triples and had 19 points.
Westfield’s Caleb Welch quickly tied the game at the beginning of the third quarter,
with a basket and a 3-pointer. The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run to go up 40-31.
Four different players scored for Fishers, including three points (layin and free throw)
for Willie Jackson.
A ‘3’ from Zach Banks ended the run, but the Tigers led 44-34 with 1:07 left in the
third. It was time for the ‘Rocks to start their roll in the fourth quarter, and they did.
Actually, Westfield’s run began early, with two free throws from Banks with 5.4
seconds left in the third.
Josh Van Dyke then nailed back-to-back 3s in the early stages of the fourth, getting
the Shamrocks within 44-42. Banks then tied the game on another 3, at 45-all.
Chris Chin pushed Westfield ahead 49-47 with his basket off a steal, and Josiah
Matthews answered with two free throws with 1:17 left. That was the final score of
regulation, which ended in a 49-49 tie.
Chin’s 3-pointer put the Shamrocks ahead 52-51 early in the overtime, but
Szilagyi answered with a jumper – his 23rd point of the game – and Fishers was up
53-52. The Tigers would steadily increase their lead during the extra period, with
Jackson getting it done from the line. Jackson went 8-for-8 during the game’s final
45 seconds.
“That’s what he does,” said Moore. “He’s going to go down when he graduates from here as probably the all-time free throw attempts person and free throw makes person. He’s got a unique skill to get fouled and he shoots a pretty decent percentage. And that’s what makes him unique.”
Szilagyi’s 23 points led all scorers, while Jackson finished with 13. Brendhan Russom
and Jordan Jones also had some big baskets during the late stages of the game; they
finished with eight and six points respectively.
Banks scored 22 points for Westfield, including four 3-pointers. Van Dyke totaled
15 points and three 3s, while Chin had 12 points.
“I thought we played well,” said Westfield coach Shane Sumpter. “It certainly came down to a lot more than the end of the game. Obviously, we let 21 (Szilagyi) have a big first half, and then we did a little bit better job in the second half. Offensive rebounds were big, really big, especially in the third quarter. But defensively, I thought we did a much better
job in the fourth quarter and I thought our guys hung tough.”
The Tigers are now 2-3 in HCC play and 8-8 overall. They are back in action Tuesday
at Anderson, the beginning of a four-game road trip. The Shamrocks are 1-4 in the
conference and 6-9 overall; they are back at The Rock on Tuesday to host Harrison.
The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation has a few fund-raising projects throughout the year, but one of the biggest is Game Day. This year’s Game Day event is set once again at Conner Prairie, Friday, February 23rd, 6:30-9:30pm
Money raised will go toward the foundation’s projects supporting all school in the Hamilton Southeastern school district.
There are a limited number of tickets available. To buy your tickets, use this link.
The Hamilton County Fraternal Order of Police Francis Castor Lodge #103 held a debate Tuesday among the four current Sheriff candidates. After the event, members voted to endorse Bill Clifford (center) as their selection to be the next Hamilton County Sheriff.
Shane Booker has been appointed executive director of the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency effective Feb. 12. Booker has been with the EMA for the past three years. He takes over from acting director Carl Erickson.
Booker has 20 years’ experience in public safety including law enforcement. He is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis and has most recently been managing projects for the county EMA. Emergency Management, the outgrowth of Civil Defense which was formed in 1950, is responsible for coordinating fire, police and other public services in response to community emergencies including flood, fire, tornado, dangerous chemical spills or other natural or man-made disasters.
Emergency Management is housed in secure facilities at the county sheriff’s department, 18100 Cumberland Road, Noblesville.
County officials have also announced the appointment of Monica Greer as director of the Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. She will assume her duties in March replacing George Kristo who served 22 years in the position.
Greer has been a probation officer with the Hamilton County Probation Department the past four years. Originally from Yorktown, the Noblesville resident is a graduate of Ball State University.
The Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs works to discourage the use of alcohol and illegal drugs by local young people. The council sponsors various projects and provides financial assistance to DARE, MADD and other groups attempting to curb illegal substances.
The council offices are located in the county Government and Judicial Center in Noblesville.
With only a week to go before the deadline for candidates to file for this year’s primary election, many county and township incumbents remain unopposed. As is normal in Hamilton County, nearly all of those filed for major offices are Republicans. Democrats have candidates in the field for several state legislative seats, but none for major county office. Filing ends at noon Feb. 9.
Winners in the May 8 primary will secure a spot on the November election ballot. If no candidates run for an office in the primary, the political party leaders may fill their ticket in June. County Republicans are almost certain to have a full primary slate. Democrats say they will have some candidates, but not a full slate.
Still unopposed for re-election are incumbent Prosecutor Lee Buckingham, Superior Court Judge Gail Bardach, County Commissioner Christine Altman, County Councilor Amy Massillamany, County Assessor Robin Ward, County Recorder Jennifer Hayden and County Coroner John Chalfin. In addition, all but one of the county’s nine incumbent township trustees are unopposed in the GOP primary.
This year is considered an off-year election. But, county voters will select a total of 52 candidates for office, making the primary of great importance. But, voter turnout is usually low in off-year primaries.
In the meantime the political parties are gearing up for the primary and general elections. Republicans who opened their new county headquarters yesterday in Westfield are planning the annual Lincoln Day Dinner on March 22, according to county chairwoman Laura Campbell. Democrats will hold their Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in May or June, according to county chairman Joe Weingarten.
The following is a complete list of candidates for local office as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
