The Tuesday night HSE School Board candidate forum managed to allow all 9 hopefuls to make their case to the small crowd assembled at the HSE High School Little Theater.  The event, sponsored by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association and moderated by association President Janet Chandler, is the only time currently scheduled for all 9 candidates to exchange views on how they view their role as a school board member.

During the 2 hour forum, there was much agreement.  Any disagreements were very subtle.  For example, all appeared to support the HSE21 initiative, but some said better communication would have reduced the controversy over the one-to-one iPad rollout in the lower grades.

Janet Chandler reminded the crowd that the presidential race may be at the top of the ticket, but the school board races are normally at or near the end of the ballot.  If you choose to vote a straight party ticket, continue with your ballot in order to register your school board votes.

There are three of the seven HSE School Board seats up for election this year.  It is an at-large election with a twist.  There are races within each township…Fall Creek, Delaware & Wayne.  Candidates in each race must live within the township borders.  But all voters living in the HSE School District will vote on all three races.

I am inviting all HSE School Board candidates to appear on Podcasts.  All three on the Fall Creek Township ballot have podcasts already online.  You can find them at the top of this page by accessing the tab “Podcasts.”

I have invited the Delaware Township candidates and am in the process of setting up podcast interviews with two, and waiting to hear from two others.  I will begin placing these podcast interviews online next week.  I will then offer podcast interviews to the two Wayne Township hopefuls.

There are only two incumbents running in this school board election.  Howard Stevenson was appointed to serve the remainder of Daren Sink’s term three years ago and is running in Fall Creek Township.  Sylvia Shepler has 16 years of service on the board and is running in Wayne Township for another 4-year term.

Below is a listing of all the school board candidates.

Fall Creek Township

Mike Bottorff

J. Kent Everett

Howard Stevenson

Delaware Township

Adam Harness

Bradley Jones

Amanda Shera

Franklin Whelan

Wayne Township

Sylvia Shepler

Charron Wright

Director of the Fishers City Department of Public Works (DPW) Eric Pethtel has good news for the residents of Fishers…his crews are ready for the coming winter.  Pethtel says his trucks are all in shape to go and the salt is stored, ready to apply to city streets once the winter weather descends on our area.

Pethtel made comments during his department’s annual open house at the DPW facility on Eller Road.  Below are some pictures from the Wednesday evening event.

If you have driven by the construction site on I-69 at the new interchange at 106th Street you have seen the crews are making progress to have everything in place by the end of this year.

Below is a detailed progress report from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT):

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Walsh Construction plans overnight Interstate 69 lane closures tonight for overhead work on the new 106th Street bridges.

Beginning at 10 p.m., up to three right lanes of southbound I-69 will be closed.  Lane closures are expected to end before 6 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6.

Work is dependent on favorable weather, and construction schedules are subject to change.

Walsh recently poured the concrete deck on the bridge that will carry eastbound 106th Street traffic over I-69.  Weather permitting, the westbound bridge deck will be poured early Wednesday, Oct. 12.

Motorists are reminded that the speed limit near the construction zone at mile marker 204 is reduced to 55 mph and may be reduced to 45 mph during overnight working hours.  Motorists are advised to pay attention to work zone warning signs, follow posted speed limits, avoid distractions and drive sensibly near construction zones.

About the project

INDOT awarded a $21.7 million contract to Walsh Construction Company to build a two-lane, oval-shaped roundabout on 106th Street over I-69 and ramps to and from both directions of the interstate.

The project is intended to reduce congestion at existing I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th streets, increase traffic safety in the area and provide direct interstate access at 106th Street.  Direct access will serve existing residential and commercial destinations and accommodate development and population growth in the area.

Access on 106th Street over I-69 will remain closed through construction of the new interchange.  The new I-69 Exit 204 to 106th Street is scheduled to open before the end of this year.

John Michels is a parent in Fishers.  He became interested in helping other parents understand the technology used by their own kids…that led him to setup a Web site CarefulParents.com   Here’s Larry’s conversation with John Michels…

The City of Fishers is touting what it describes as a record-setting season for the 2016 Farmers Market.  The event was held every Saturday beginning in the spring and the last one was on September 24th. Now the city is announcing plans to expand the Farmers Market by holding the event through the summer months at the Billericay Park Building, near 126th Street and Promise Road.

The city estimates the last Farmers Market season attracted 40,000 people to the Nickel Plate District.

The Winter Farmer’s Market will start November 5th and run through March 18th, all on Saturdays, 9am to noon.

If you want more information on the upcoming winter season Farmers Market, call the Fishers Park and Recreation Department at 317-595-3150

This is the time of year Indiana cities are fashioning their 2017 spending plans.  Carmel and Fishers are in the final stages of that process, and there are stark differences in how it’s going in the neighboring cities.

Because we are three years away from the next city balloting in Indiana, if elected officials want to raise their own compensation, now is the time to do that.  Carmel and Fishers are doing some of that, but in different ways.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard is asking the city council to raise his pay by 40%, to $179,344.   Contrast that with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness’ request that his salary remain the same, at $125,000 a year, even though most other Fishers city workers will see a 3% pay raise in 2017.

Fishers City Council members have not seen a salary increase since the early 1990s, going back to the days of the town council.  Their pay has been $12,000 annually for a very long time.  Council members decided to propose raising their pay by $7,000 a year to $19,000 in 2017.

Carmel council members are raising their annual pay by 28% next year to $22,167.

Fishers City Clerk Jennifer Kehl registered her objections to only getting a 3% pay raise next year during a City Council Finance Committee meeting, when council members are giving themselves a large pay increase.

Then there is the soap opera playing out in Carmel with their Clerk-Treasurer.  I can’t summarize that one…I recommend you read IBJ’s Lindsey Erdody’s story at this link.

IndyStar columnist Matt Tully is taking what he admits is an unpopular position that elected officials sometime deserve increases in their compensation.  You can read Mr. Tully’s comments at this link.

Keep in mind that as I write this piece, the budgets and salary ordinances are not yet final in Fishers or Carmel.  But there is one aspect of this that puzzles me.

On social media, every time I wrote a story about Fishers council members considering a pay raise for themselves, there would be blistering comments posted, very critical of the idea.  But when the council held a public hearing on the 2017 budget last month, one person spoke, and that person complimented the city.

Where were all the critics at the public hearing?  They were nowhere to be found.  The only conclusion I can draw is this:  people get very worked-up and brave online but do not wish to face council members if they are opposed to this pay hike.  That tells me some people are unhappy about the council pay raise, but not that unhappy.

The Hamilton County Highway Department issued a statement this morning that will delight many motorists around Fishers.  The statement below was issued the morning of Monday, October 3rd:

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106th St. will reopen by the end of business today between Allisonville Rd. and Hague Rd.

Mike Bottorff is now in his second campaign for Hamilton Southeastern School Board.  His first campaign was derailed by a career decision.  Here is my podcast conversation:

J. Kent Everett has never been a candidate for public office, but is running for the Hamilton Southeastern School Board from Fall Creek Township.  Here is my podcast conversation:

Howard Stevenson is a candidate from Fall Creek Township for Hamilton Southeastern School Board.  Here is my podcast conversation: