Adam Harness is a candidate for Hamilton Southeastern School Board from Delaware Township….here is Larry’s talk with the candidate…

Amanda Shera is a candidate for Hamilton Southeastern School Board from Delaware Township….here is Larry’s podcast interview with her…

It’s another week and another road construction schedule in the City for the work work that starts Monday, October 10th,

Below is the schedule, provided by the City of Fishers:

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

CYNTHEANNE ROAD

Road work continues on Cyntheanne Road between Southeastern Parkway and 136th Street, during construction periodic lane restrictions and flaggers will remain in place to help direct traffic.

EXIT FIVE PARKWAY

Exit Five Parkway closed on Tuesday, September 6 to reconstruct the road as part of the 116th Street widening project. The road remains closed to all traffic. Trucks needing to deliver to businesses will need to go up to Cumberland Road to Exit Five Parkway and come in from the north. The road will be closed for approximately two months, and a detour map is available online.

I-69 AND CAMPUS PARKWAY

Milestone Contractors has begun mobilizing cranes and other equipment and setting a temporary concrete barrier wall along I-69 at Campus Parkway Exit 210. Work will require alternating lane closures on northbound and southbound I-69 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Lane closures may recur each night through the end of the week depending on weather and progress. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT at eastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855-463-6848.

I-69 TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS

INDOT is overseeing an overnight closure on multiple traffic lanes on I-69 overnight this week. Weather permitting, lane closures, traffic changes and rolling slowdowns of traffic will begin after 9 p.m. and are expected to end before 6 a.m. the next day. Construction schedules and traffic restrictions are subject to change, and questions should be directed to INDOT at indot.carsprogram.org, 1-800-261-ROAD (7623) or 511 from a mobile phone. Please drive with caution as a new traffic pattern is in place.

OAK DRIVE

Oak Drive south of 116th Street will be closed on or after Wednesday, October 12th for 50 days while the new road is being constructed. Through traffic will need to use USA Parkway.

106^th STREET & CUMBERLAND ROAD ROUNDABOUT

Traffic will be switched on Saturday, October 8th as the south portion of the intersection opens, and the north section of the intersection from 106th Street to Walnut Creek closes to all traffic. 106th Street will remain open through this phase. The detour route for northbound Cumberland Road is to use USA Parkway.

106th STREET INTERCHANGE

INDOT has begun work on the 106th Street interchange. A lane shift is currently in place on I-69 and 106th Street is closed as construction continues. Additional details about this project will be released through INDOT and shared on the weekly construction update. Please be advised the speed limit from 82nd Street to 116th Street has been reduced to 55 mph and there are lane shifts on I-69. Please travel with caution and pay close attention to signage in the area.

116th STREET

There may be short-term lane restrictions on eastbound 116th Street between USA Parkway and Exit Five Parkway while utility work is being completed.

Fishers Police say an 85-year-old woman was injured and transported to a local hospital after being struck by a car Thursday morning.  Hague Road between 116th  & 106th Streets was closed for a time due to the crash.

Below is the news release from the Fishers Police Department:

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

Fishers police are investigating an early morning crash near the intersection of Hague Road and Hickory Woods Drive.

Shortly after 9am The Hamilton County Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting a female had been struck by a white Volvo. Fishers police officers and Paramedics with Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services responded and found the victim laying in the roadway. The victim was treated at the scene and then transported, by ground ambulance, to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.

Immediately following the crash, the driver stopped and fully cooperated with the investigation. According to the driver, he was traveling southbound on Hague Road and did not see the pedestrian until after the collision.

Fishers Crash Team responded to collect evidence and interview witnesses. Based on evidence and witness statements the pedestrian was walking westbound, in the crosswalk, at the time of the crash. At this time it does not appear that drugs or alcohol contributed to this crash. This case remains under investigation.

Driver –          Burton Smith

                        90 years old

                        Fishers, Indiana

Pedestrian – Marilyn Crisci

                        85 years old

                        Fishers, Indiana

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):

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

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.