The City of Fishers is gearing up to start its next class in the Citizens Academy.  It’s a way to experience first hand how your city government works.

For more details on what is planned and how to sign up, use this link.

If police work is more to your liking, the Fishers Police Department is setting up its own Citizens Academy.  Use this link to get details

The proposed 106th Street Interchange on I-69 is a very big deal for Fishers.  It is expected to become a major economic development engine for that area of the city.  There are strong indications an employer will soon announce a number of new jobs in that area, and one can only surmise that the proposed new interchange is a major factor in choosing that location.

There are plenty of reasons this interchange is a good idea.  First and foremost is the need to relieve the traffic burden on nearby I-69 interchanges, such as 96th, 116th & Exit 210. That alone is justification enough for many regular Fishers commuters.

The tentative design for this interchange is very different.  It calls for a roundabout to move vehicles on and off the interstate.  I am sure that idea will spark plenty of comments locally.

There is a public hearing set for Thursday, September 10th at 6pm, at Fishers City Hall.  If you have any interest in this proposed project at all, I would urge you to attend this meeting.  Officials from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT, the state highway people) will be there to present the plans as they exist at this time.  You will be given a chance to speak and comment on the project during the public hearing process.

Meanwhile, I continue to get questions on the status of the proposal to revamp State Road 37 along Fishers and Noblesville, creating overpass roundabouts replacing the traffic signals we have now.  This proposal would look much like Keystone Avenue in Carmel.  The last official word on this is that all the government entities involved (cities, county, state) have been in talks about how to fund a project expected to cost about a quarter-billion dollars.  There have been rumors of some movement in those talks.  We should know more before the end of September.

For the fast growing parts of southern Hamilton County, easing traffic woes is a major quality of life issue for those commuting to and from work.  I commuted from downtown Indianapolis to Fishers for about 6 years.  I have experienced first hand just how a lengthy and difficult commute can suck the energy out of a person over time.  It appears our elected officials are trying to come up with some solutions.  It is now time for you, members of the public, to speak at the public hearings and let your elected officials, from the governor on down to your city council members and everything in between, know how you feel about these proposals.

I recall some time ago being asked why a certain incident in Fishers had not been reported on my blog, or any other news media outlet.  I tried my best to explain, but I’m not certain the other party fully understood.

This was a case of one man parking his car in a Fishers church parking lot, pulling out a gun and committing suicide.  The people at the church and many others were aware of what happened, but there had been no news coverage of his death.  The question I was asked was, why?

This issue also went through my mind as Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is preparing his special task force to release a host of recommended actions addressing local mental health issues. The mayor told the task force there had been 5-7 suicide attempts in Fishers during the two weeks preceding that task force session.

A suicide is a tough call for journalists.  In most cases, suicides, even unsuccessful suicide attempts, are not reported.  However, when the person involved is a high-profile person or celebrity (think Robin Williams) the media will have no choice but to report a death as the result of a suicide.

Edward Wasserman is a journalism ethics professor at Washington and Lee University.  He sums up the journalistic ethics on reporting suicides this way in a recent blog post:

“Although suicides claim twice as many lives as murders do, only three types generally make the news: those that take place in public, involve public figures—or exemplify some larger social problem.” 

In other words, journalists need some compelling reason to report the suicide, otherwise individual incidents are not reported.  Part of this ethic stems from the belief by some that reporting suicide deaths would cause a “copycat” response, possibly encouraging others to take their own lives.

I was once asked if homicide rates would be reduced if the media reported fewer of them.  I really don’t have a good answer for that, but murders are not like suicides as far a prevention strategy goes.

It does bring up a larger question.  Sometimes, but not always, suicide results from a mental health issue.  Perhaps some better journalistic reporting on the fact that there are many more suicides in America each year compared to the number of homicides, would shed some light on what can be done to prevent the tragic situation where someone chooses to take his/her own life.

The recommendations forthcoming from the Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force will likely call for special training among first responder personnel from the city.  It will also recommend a program of suicide prevention training for youth in grades 8 and above.

I want people in Fishers to know that when I choose not report a suicide, it is not an effort to cover-up anything.  You may see some suicides reported if the public nature of the person or the situation is such that you cannot tell the story without that information.  But I believe most suicides are painful enough to the families involved without shining a public light on it in news coverage, unless it just cannot be helped.

In a homicide, the coroner’s office can issue a ruling on the cause of death.  The police and prosecutor’s office can charge suspects and explain possible motives.  In a suicide, it is often impossible to determine a definite reason why it happened.

There are no hard and fast journalistic rules on when to report and not report suicide deaths.  All newsrooms must make those judgments on their own.

Since there are plenty of Colts fans in Fishers (& a few scattered Pats fans around town), allow me to join the crowd and give you my take on the entire DeflateGate so-called scandal and where it now stands.

I enjoy reading books about sports, particularly professional sports.  Many are behind-the- scenes stories of how the major sports leagues are run.  After reading about that, I am not surprised DeflateGate ended up that way it has.

Owners of professional sports teams are generally control freaks.  There is only one exception to that rule, and that’s the Green Bay Packers.  The Pack is owned by its fans.  (By the way, the remaining owners in all major American sports have enacted rules that prevent a Packers ownership model to be replicated)

Most owners made their fortune doing something else.  They then used that pile of cash to buy into sports.  Most have no idea how to run a sports franchise.  The best owners hire good people and let the professionals make the decisions.  But when it comes to business decisions, they nearly always want to take a hard line.

That is true in football.  The owners have tried their best to weaken the players union and have been effective in doing so in past years.  But once the players hired DeMaurice Smith to run the union, they got an attorney that knows how to think strategically and get the players what they want.

In the last collective bargaining talks, the players took more money in exchange for allowing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be a virtual monarch in deciding player discipline.  The players took their money, but Smith had an Ace card up his sleeve.  He knew Goodell would take a heavy-handed approach that could be challenged in court successfully.

Bob Ryan, a sportswriter that has covered Boston area sports for a very long time, has taken the view that the other owners firmly believe (rightly or wrongly) Pats owner Robert Kraft is very good at cheating.  Since the commissioner of any sport is just a tool for the owners, Goodell felt the heat from all the owners except Kraft to come down hard on the Patriots, not necessarily over the deflated footballs, but because those other owners have it in their heads that the Pats deserve a comeuppance for these alleged past transgressions.

Roger Goodell, the faithful servant of a majority of NFL owners, decided to use the authority given to him in the players contract and come down hard on Pats QB Tom Brady with a 4-game suspension.  Most legal “experts” expected the courts to side with the NFL due to the plain and strong language in the players collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allowing Goodell to discipline players.

Judge Richard Sherman shocked the sports world by removing Brady’s suspension, all 4 games.   The judge basically said in his ruling that Brady never got a fair hearing in the NFL’s process.

This happens to sports ownership in America all the time.  The owners take a tough, hard line, even when that may not be the smartest strategy.  When smart union leaders, like Don Fehr in baseball and Smith in the NFL, take on the owners, the players usually win as long as they stick together.

This Brady ruling is a big win for players’ rights in the NFL.  That’s why even Colts players understand that the Pats are big rivals on the field, but Brady’s win is a win for all players.  It will pave the way for player discipline to be meted out in a much more fair fashion.

Those same legal experts say the NFL has an excellent chance of winning an appeal, which was filed very quickly.  I suppose that’s always possible.  But I came to know a few judges in my reporter days and I know no jurist wants to have a decision overturned by a higher court.  Judge Berman must feel his ruling is on solid legal grounds.

This is not over yet.  I believe everyone looks bad in this situation so far.  The NFL loses for obvious reasons, weakening the commissioner’s standing as judge, jury and executioner in player discipline.  But Tom Brady’s legacy has been tarnished.  He refused to turn over his cell phone to league investigators.  That was not an unreasonable request by an employer in a conduct probe.  I know Brady didn’t want to set that precedent, but most fans will assume the cell phone had incriminating evidence on it, but we will never know the facts due to Brady’s stance.

All this just solidifies my decision to drastically cut down on the amount of time I watch NFL games this season.  The league and its owners are too wealthy and have too much power for me to enjoy watching the game being sold to us.  I still love high school and college football, but the pro game is taking a back seat for me this season.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is laying out a challenge to the adults in the city – he wants 50 new mentors for our youth.  It’s all part of a campaign by the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI), a group founded by Darren Heil, who serves as the nonprofit organization’s Director of Community Engagement.

“Any student benefits from having another caring adult in their life,” Heil said.  “(Mayor) Scott Fadness is playing his part.”

YMI asks one hour per week to spend with a young person in the Fishers community.  Heil added that financial support, from individuals or the business community, helps keep the program moving forward.

YMI in Fishers ended the last school year with 75 adult mentors.  The organization is in the process of garnering more volunteer adult mentors for this school year.  Heil says he would like to see 150 mentors by the end of this school year, but to reach that goal, volunteers and the business community will need to step forward.

All adult mentors receive training and talking points to help guide the discussions with the students.  “It can be very structured in the conversation, but then again, (mentors) have the freedom to talk about anything as the relationship grows,” said Heil.

The students are asked what they get out of the mentoring program, and their responses clearly show how important this program is in their lives.

One comment was seen in multiple student feedback at the end of the last school year. “They said, ‘I am so glad I have someone I can talk to'”, Heil told LarryInFishers.  “One girl said, ‘…because I had someone to talk to, I feel better about myself and I no longer think of suicide'”

Another young man said that he is now excited about his future because his mentor was encouraging.

After reviewing the student feedback on what they gained from last school year’s program, Heil asks an important question.  “As a society, what have we done?  These kids are growing up and they need direction.  They only get so much direction and support from their peers.  What they need is direction from an adult.”

YMI is about relationships, according to Heil.  It allows an adult to have a relationship with a student grades 5-12 without being the authority figure of a teacher or coach.

If you are considering volunteering as a mentor, Heil has a message for you “Your presence is powerful.”

You can get more information about volunteering and/or contributing to YMI at this link.
 

It’s becoming as American as apple pie.  We hook up with someone on an Internet site or phone app, and arrange to meet and buy or sell something.  That scenario has turned dangerous.

Sometimes, the other party is not on the up and up.  There have been cases where sellers have taken cash and bolted without providing the promised merchandise.  There are a long list of what can go wrong if the other party is bent in scamming you are just plain stealing.

The Fishers Police Department has come up with a solution to this problem.  The lobby of police headquarters in downtown Fishers is open Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.  You can conduct your transaction in the police lobby during these times.  A news release from the department makes clear that officers will not personally assist in any of these transactions, but one would think handling the transaction in the police headquarters lobby will dissuade any potential fraudsters.

Fishers Police encourage local residents to educate themselves on how to avoid being taken by the criminal element.   You can read the entire news release at this link.

Mayor Scott Fadness says his economic development team is working on a project that could bring 400-500 jobs to Fishers. The mayor made that comment during his Mayor’s Night Out event at Britton Falls on September 2nd.

“We’ve got some big announcements coming up this fall”, Fadness said.  “We’re working really hard on those deals right now and I think we’re going to have some good news in the future.”

The mayor was not specific about exactly what type of employer or employers his team is attempting to lure into Fishers.

The mayor also said the proposed Sports Pavilion incentive package will not go before the city council until the developers have their financing in place.  So far, that hasn’t happened.  The mayor emphasized the city is only willing to provide the incentives agreed to already and if the financing package cannot be done, the project will not go forward as originally planned.

Many of the questions from the crowd dealt with street and road issues in the local area of Britton Falls.  Fire Chief Steve Orusa says he is often asked about a new fire station in that area of the city, and the chief said there are plans to build a station in the future as the area continues to grow.

It was just over 4 months ago that Fishers announced a new sports complex planned for the Saxony area, near Exit 210 along I-69, to be developed by GK Sports and Entertainment.  It appears the plan has experienced a setback after appraisals pegged the value of the project below expectations.  The lower valuations will likely make it more difficult for the developer in securing financing for the deal.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told LarryInFishers he will not present the municipal incentives plan to the City Council until a financing package is in place.  At this point, there is no financing for this project.

The mayor emphasized the city will not provide any further incentives above what has already been offered, including a 10-year tax abatement for the parking garage and arena components of the complex.  Those incentives are to be formally approved once the financing is in place.

The proposed complex, tentatively named the Fishers Sports Pavilion, is planned for a now vacant plot of land near 136th Street and Olio Road.  More details on the project can be found at this link.

Bottom line, the Fishers Sports Pavilion project isn’t dead, but it is now facing some major obstacles.