If you have been looking for a parking space along the Central Green area of the Municipal Complex, on Municipal Drive between City Hall and 116th Street, you may have noticed that there are rarely any vacant parking spaces along the street.  City officials have found that most of those parking spots are being used by residents of the Depot and Switch apartment buildings.

Brandon Dickinson, Director of Economic Development for the City of Fishers, briefed city council members on a plan to deal with this situation at a work session Monday evening.  When the city entered into economic development deals with the Depot & Switch, a certain number of parking spaces in each parking garage, paid for by the city, are set aside as resident parking.

Dickinson told council members that each apartment building is over 90% occupied, and the city is finding that “a lot of tenant spaces are empty” because a number of apartment dwellers are finding it more convenient to park on the outside spaces around the municipal complex.

The city is not prepared to install parking meters at this time in the area, Dickinson said, so city staff is proposing a parking ban from 3am to 6am, 7 days a week, in the downtown area.  The expectation is that residents will not park overnight in the outside spaces, will begin to use their designated parking areas in their respective parking garages, and open up more visitor parking .

The fine for parking illegally 3am-6am is proposed to be $20.  If enacted, city staffers envision easing into the new rules, with a grace period where officers would issue warning tickets before fining motorists parking illegally.

The parking proposal would include a wide area of the Nickel Plate District, including the Central Green area, the Ellipse, and extend east to the area near Four Day Ray.

If enacted, it is projected that the parking restrictions would be implemented in 2018.

The Board of Public Works and Safety would be the body to consider enacting this proposal, unless the city council raises major objections.

In another downtown parking matter, City Attorney Chris Greisl told council members the city has a tentative agreement with the United State Postal Service to construct a surface public parking lot on the land between 116th Street and the local Fishers Post Office.  “We’re still trying to work out some details,” said Griesl.

Every year since I started this bog, I post a Thanksgiving Day message.  I always give thanks for many things.  Once again this year, there is much for me to be personally thankful for….but this time please allow me a point of personal privilege in writing about Thanksgiving.

I am very fortunate to have a brother just two years younger than myself.  We went through all the stages of growing up together.  We shared the same room during all those formative years.  We both learned about life and talked about all that every day while growing up.

That brother’s name is Tom.  He and I could not be more different personality-wise.  I was always a little quiet, reserved and thoughtful in those early years.  Tom was vocal and outgoing, a born salesman.

We both took an interest in radio broadcasting.  We even put together our own low-power radio station (we didn’t have a license, but the statute of limitations has expired, I think).  We gave the station the call letters of WART….strangely enough, a man bought a radio station in Plainfield, Indiana a few years later and actually, legally got the call letters WART.  Tom & I were ahead of our time.

He went into sales and marketing, I chose radio programming and later the news end of the business.  But we both shared that love of media.

With our very different personalities, it is a miracle we didn’t fight more than we did.  Even though we often looked at life very differently, we always had a good time when together, and that is still true to this day.

There is a special bond that exists with the brother that shared the process of growing up with you.  No matter how much time goes by, once we are together again, it’s like no time has gone by.  The bond remains strong.

My brother Tom is enduring a tough situation now.  He was diagnosed with cancer, and he chose an aggressive treatment plan.  That didn’t surprise me, it’s the decision I would expect Tom would choose.

The treatments are causing him a lot of pain and suffering.  Even though his medical team is very positive about his prognosis, and he has the solid support of his family and friends, it is very painful for me to see this.

When something like this happens to my brother Tom, it’s just like it is happening to me.  It is difficult to watch all this happen to him.

But the good news is that Tom is well enough to travel and he will see his family this Thanksgiving Day.  His son Patrick, a newly-minted member of the United States Marine Corps, will see Tom for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.  His daughter Lauren, a college student in Florida, will also have the chance to visit with her Dad.

I will get the chance to visit with Tom as well.  It will be good to see him and his lovely wife Kathy.

So, what am I most thankful for this 2017 Thanksgiving Day?  I am thankful that my brother Tom, despite the awful side effects of his treatments, has an excellent chance for a full recovery from the cancer in his body.  I am thankful that I will have the opportunity to see him on this Thanksgiving Day.

You may not automatically associate Intermediate School and solar energy, but a teacher at Sand Creek Intermediate has done just that. Jennifer Suskovich has secured foundation funding for such a project.  Her students will be using a solar energy to power lights in their own classroom.

The solar project was recognized at the November 20th HSE School Board meeting.

Here is a description of the project from the HSE Schools Foundation news release:

Students will hypothesize locations that provide maximum amount of energy and then use this data to graph the amount of time solar energy illuminate the classroom versus electricity. Ultimately, Ms. Suskovich hopes students will design a system that moves with the sun and provides the maximum amount of solar energy to power the classroom.     

This specific philanthropy project was created through the HSE Schools Foundation and funded by two members of the Fishers City Council, Todd Zimmerman and Eric Moeller.  The fund is aimed at providing high school students with a hands on, real-world community service experience while also benefiting local schools and educators. Students are challenged to work through key learning issues such as conflict of interest, assessment of community need, sustainability and consensus building.

“Combining community support, service learning, and an investment in innovation is a win-win for our students and schools” says Freedom Kolb, Executive Director of the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation. “I can’t think of a more unique or impactful partnership.”

It appears the issue of school calendars in the Hamilton Southeastern District is not over yet.  The school board has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday, November 29th.

Board President Matt Burke says he called the meeting after consulting with HSE Superintendent Allen Bourff and after discussions with a majority of school board members he was able to contact on short notice.

Burke says he called the special session to let the community know they “have been heard” by members of the school board.  Although he called the special meeting, Burke added that he does not know what the result would be if a school calendar reconsideration vote is taken.

The published agenda for the November 29th meeting says the board “will consider taking action” on the school calendar issue, and “will discuss changing and/or amending the 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 calendars.”

At the November 20th meeting, the board voted 4-3 to start school two days earlier than school administrators had recommended and added those two days to the Thanksgiving week break in the coming two school years.

The special board meeting will be held at the administration building on Cumberland Road at 7pm.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers boys basketball team dropped its season opener at Lawrence
Central 70-38 on Tuesday.

The Bearcats led 19-5 after the first quarter, then jumped out to a 45-19 lead
at halftime. Willie Jackson and Luke Hernandez both scored seven points for
the Tigers, with Alex Szilagyi and Jeremy Szilagyi each making one 3-pointer.

Fishers will play its first home game of the season Tuesday, welcoming
Indianapolis Manual to the Tiger Den.  Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s boys team opened its season on Tuesday with an easy
83-49 victory over Muncie Central.

The Royals got out to a good start, leading 24-8 after the first quarter.
Southeastern enjoyed a 44-28 advantage at halftime, then extended its lead with a
23-point fourth quarter.

Sophomore Chris Grubbs led the scoring with 14 points, followed by Aaron
Etherington with 13 points and Nick Bowman with 11. The Royals were all
over the boards with 48 rebounds; Etherington pulled nine rebounds,
followed by Mabor Majak with eight, Brandon Miller with seven, Grubbs with
six and Chaz Birchfield with five. All 12 players who took to the court scored for
the Royals.

Etherington handed out six assists, with Bowman dishing out four.
Etherington also made six steals.

Southeastern’s next game is at Avon on Dec. 1.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers scored a significant upset on Tuesday, beating Class 4A No. 6
Zionsville 54-47 at the Tiger Den.

The Eagles led 14-11 after the first quarter, but the Tigers had the lead back
by halftime, at 27-25. Fishers then had a nice defensive third period, outscoring the
Eagles 12-6 to lead 39-31.

Toni Grace had an outstanding night from the free throw line, making all 14 of
her attempts. Grace finished the game with 21 points. Grace also made four
steals. Tamia Perryman led the Tigers on the boards with six rebounds, with Lydia
Stullken getting five boards.

Fishers is now 6-2 for the season. The Tigers will travel to New Castle Saturday
night for a 7:30 p.m. game.

by

WISH-TV/Hamilton County Reporter

A school bus driver for Hamilton Southeastern Schools has resigned after she tested positive for alcohol in her system.

A spokesperson for Hamilton Southeastern Schools said the school board on Monday night accepted the resignation of the driver, who had tested positive for alcohol after driving her route.

The school district investigated after someone reported that bus driver may have been under the influence while picking up students. 24-Hour News 8 had learned the driver of bus No. 239 had been with the district since 1997.

Earlier this month, parents received an alert from the school district about an investigation involving one of the bus drivers.

“Obviously it was surprise, a little bit of shock. You don’t want to hear about something like that happening,” said Angie Jaynes, a parent of children in Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

The driver had already completed her routes by picking up and dropping off students at Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fall Creek Junior High and Brooks School Elementary when the district took her in for drug and alcohol testing. The spokesperson said the school bus driver tested positive for alcohol, so they contacted police.

Fishers police have not indicated any results from their investigation.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools says their 300 bus drivers are required to submit to random drug tests, as well as training and other activities in compliance with INDOT and the Indiana Department of Education.

When news began to spread about the Hamilton Souheastern (HSE) School Board decision on the school calendar for the coming two school years (for more use this link), social media became very busy around our local school district.  Plenty of people had comments on that decision.

A group of students has launched a change.org page to start a petition aimed at asking board members to reconsider their decision.

You can visit the change.org petition page at this link.

Lindsey Erdody, who covers business happenings north of 96th Street for the Indianapolis Business Journal, has a new listing of business openings and closings.

One new business coming to Fishers will be a virtual reality arcade on 121st Street.

There are several other local developments listed.

You can read the IBJ story at this link