As we have reported previously on LarryInFishers, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has been spearheading a major initiative to address mental health issues in the city.  The plan has been finalized and is set to be unveiled Tuesday morning at Fishers City Hall.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff and Community Health Network Senior Vice President Suzanne Clifford will join Mayor Fadness for the announcement.

One of the mayor’s first initiatives once assuming office in 2015 was to bring together a wide cross section of people from the Fishers community to study the state of mental health in Fishers and to recommend a set of actions.

The 11:00am announcement will provide the findings of the task force along with recommendations on what will be done.

You can read my story on the August 27th meeting of the panel at this link.

Applying for a scholarship has just become easier with a new online platform designed for high school seniors preparing for college.  The new service was announced by the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Foundation, HSE High School and the Fishers Rotary Club.

Below is the full text of the news release from the HSE Schools Foundation.

===========================================

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation (HSSF)  in partnership with Fishers High School, HSE High School, and the Fishers Rotary Club, announced today a new online scholarship platform, SmarterSelect. 

The platform will allow students to apply for more than three dozen local scholarship opportunities via a single, uniform application.  The ease of access is expected to encourage more students to apply for critical scholarship dollars. 

Fishers High School Senior and HSSF Board Member, Mindy Pratt applauds the new program.  “Your senior year in high school is exciting, but can also be overwhelming.  This tool allows me to focus on putting together the best possible application, not on repetitive paperwork.” 

Scholarship opportunities are especially important to Hoosier students like Mindy.  The Center for American Progress recently ranked Indiana as having the sixth highest debt per college graduate in the nation with an average of $24,845 owed.  Many students, both local and nationally, are faced with delaying college entry or dropping out due to the burden of educational debt. 

 Yet, the benefits from obtaining a college degree are undeniable.  Unemployment rates for high school graduates are about 90% higher than people with bachelor’s degrees and those with a bachelor’s degree earn about $24,000 more annually than their high school counterparts. The perks continue beyond finances with increased reports of job satisfaction and stronger overall health indicators among college graduates.

Fishers Rotary Club President, Gregg Hiland comments on the partnership, “The Rotary Club has a rich history of supporting local students both through our scholarship as well as project based funding.  The SmarterSelect opportunity is a natural extension of our work since it serves students, faculty, and families throughout Fishers.  We believe it is a great investment in the future of this remarkable community.” 

All scholarship opportunities as well as additional information regarding student financial aid can be found online at www.hsefoundation.org  

It has been quite a week for the City of Fishers.  It’s hard to imagine how one Swedish furniture retailer can create such a stir, but that’s what has happened here.

All the Metro Indy media outlets looked at this story from every angle, including the Indianapolis Star and all the local TV news operations. Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal covered the angle of what happens next.  Could it be one or more hotels? Perhaps more retailers with a national reputation but not now operating in Central Indiana could be headed to Fishers?  Only time will tell, but Lindsey does a nice job in her piece of exploring those angles.

I asked Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness what development he sees popping up around the new IKEA location, and he gave a cautious answer, saying the city will study the best next development steps around the new IKEA store.

The mayor was asked about that subject again in an appearance on Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick.

“We want to be really sensitive in this area that we have a really unique development,” Fadness told the TV interviewer.  “Yes, IKEA can attract additional retailers, we know that, we’ve seen that, but we want to be thoughtful about that as we grow Fishers in that particular area of our city.”

Fadness gave some insight into the competition for IKEA.  He told Inside Indiana Business this was not the usual competition where Fishers was vying for the retailer among other cities or states.

“We worked with them, we put our story forward,” Fadness told Gerry Dick.  “They went back to Sweden and literally had to make the argument why Central Indiana, Fishers Indiana, beats out Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, you name it. It was really an exciting process.”

In a commentary for Indiana Forefront, I make the point about traffic.  Mayor Fadness insists IKEA will not impact morning and evening rush hour traffic cycles due to the nature of their retail business.  Residents in the area are likely a bit nervous about IKEA and other developments likely to follow in that area.  Traffic is already tough during the rush hours. The city has a challenge in convincing residents they can handle the additional traffic without gridlock, then must deliver on that promise.

IKEA has received millions of dollars in local government incentives to locate in many areas of the nation.  However, in Fishers, the Swedish firm will only receive waivers of fees. That will cost the city more than a million dollars, but Fishers will not be shelling out millions in incentives, as we’ve seen in other American locations.  It would appear IKEA really wants the Fishers location.

Here’s something else to think about.  I am told by city officials that more big economic development announcements are in the pipeline for Fishers before the end of the year. Things could get even more interesting around here.

A Muncie reserve police officer is under arrest in the Hamilton County Jail following an arrest by the Fishers Police Department.  Lonny J. Hatland, 42, from Fishers, is facing charges of rape, human trafficking and battery.

Based on a Fishers Police news release, Indiana Department of Child Services workers notified local authorities that a juvenile had been physically and sexually assaulted inside a residence in Fishers.  Police say the victim reported that over the past few months the suspect had coerced her into having non-consensual sexual encounters with other men.

Saturday morning, detectives from the Fishers Police Department served a search warrant at a residence in the 8600 block of Shoe Overlook Drive, near 126th Street and Lantern Road.  Once the search warrant executed, officers discovered Hatland was an active reserve police officer with the Muncie Police Department.

According to Fishers Police, the investigation is ongoing and additional criminal charges may be filed in this case.

Giving Tuesday (also known as #GivingTuesday) will feature a special challenge for supporters of local public education.  The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation has announced an $18,000 Challenge, with the support of local philanthropists who will match foundation contributions on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Below is the news release from the foundation with the details…

=================

George Kehl has spent the past 38 years serving Fishers.  As he enters retirement in 2016, Police Chief Kehl plans to enter a new phase of public service.  He announced his candidacy for a seat on the Hamilton County Council November 12th on the Republican ticket.

“As a member of the County Council, I will work to strengthen relationships with the county’s various cities and towns, invest taxpayer money wisely to ensure our county continues to have world-class infrastructure, and continue to provide the highest level of public safety to the residents of Hamilton County,” Kehl said in a news release from his campaign.

Kehl is seeking an At-Large County Council seat in the 2016 election cycle.

If elected to the council, Kehl says he  “will work to strengthen relationships with the county’s various cities and towns, invest taxpayer money wisely to ensure our county continues to have world-class infrastructure, and continue to provide the highest level of public safety to the residents of Hamilton County.”

The primary election is scheduled for May 3rd, 2016

My Indiana Forefront commentary – IKEA Mania in Fishers

You can read it at this link

The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is very choosy about where it locates its stores.  For many years, the nearest IKEA complex has been located in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. If you wanted IKEA furniture (and lots of people do) you had a long way to go.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) posted a story late Monday, saying IKEA is preparing to make an announcement of its latest store, and it will be in Fishers.

IKEA is planning a news conference this morning at 10:30 at Fishers City Hall to announce more details.

This is a huge economic development coup for Fishers.  Any municipality in Indiana would want IKEA.  Any IKEA store in your city will likely bring with it lots of other development around that store.

You can read the IBJ story at this link.

LarryInFishers will be attending the news conference.  We will be providing more details once they are available later this morning.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools have received preliminary ISTEP scores. Superintendent Allen Bourff told the board the data must be adjusted, then analyzed by grade level and school building.  Assistant Superintendent Jan Combs had warned board members that a state-wide drop in scores had been expected due to the new test being introduced with a new vendor.  Combs says the early data indicates the drop in HSE student scores do not appear to be as great at the projected lower performance expected state-wide.  An ISTEP appeals process is available for students and parents.

In other news items from the November 9th HSE session…

–Consideration of a non-discrimination policy will be delayed due to a recent court ruling in Illinois.  Guidance is expected to come from federal Department of Education officials soon.  It appears the court decision is one over locker room access for a transgender student.  A news account of that case can be accessed at this link.

–Superintendent Bourff says he is on track to make a recommendation to the board in January on how much to request from taxpayers for a planned referendum in May of 2016. The listening tour of schools, parents and community groups is continuing.