by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

In what could be a record number of candidates, seven hopefuls have lined up interested in filling retiring State Sen. Luke Kenley’s seat. One of the seven will be elected Sept. 6 in a caucus of the Senate District 20 Republican precinct committee.

There are about 100 precincts in the district which includes all of Noblesville, Washington and Wayne townships plus parts of Clay and Delaware townships.

Kenley has represented the district for 25 years. He announced his retirement earlier this summer to be effective Sept. 30.

In what may be a marathon session, the caucus will be held at the Ivy Tech auditorium in Noblesville. Republican State Chairman Kyle Hupfer is expected to chair the meeting. While it is not open to the public, Hupfer will allow members of the news media to attend.

Political insiders predict no candidate will get a majority of votes on the first ballot at the caucus. If so, the person with the fewest votes will be dropped from the list of candidates before a second ballot and this will continue until someone gets a majority of those present.

The winner will likely be sworn into office on Oct. 1 and represent the district through December 2020 when the four-year term expires. Kenley was last elected in 2016. The new senator will therefore serve during three legislative sessions in 2018-19-20.

Candidates in the hunt thus far are: Brad Beaver, Sue Finkam, Mark Hall, Joe Morris, Dan Schmidt, Victoria Spartz and Megan Wiles. Most of those in the field have a history of involvement with the GOP and two are current officeholders.

State law provides that the precinct organization of the party which elected the outgoing official shall choose a replacement to fill out the unexpired term.

Local officials and attorneys are also closely watching to see who fills another elected office vacancy. Judge Wayne Sturtevant retired this summer after 20 years on the bench of Hamilton Superior Court 5. In this case, since the court is technically a state court, Gov. Eric Holcomb will name a new judge. Interviews by the governor’s staff are being held to aid Holcomb in making his decision. The names of applicants have not been released but are said to exceed a dozen, all attorneys living in the county.

Adam & Larry review the film Glass Castle and welcome local independent film director Demetrius Witherspoon (pictured below) as this week ‘s guest

by

Hamilton County Reporter

A new set of Hamilton Southeastern Royals took to the football field on Friday and
got a chance to show what they could do.

They did plenty during a 24-2 win over Kokomo at the Wildkats’ field.

The Royals scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, both on the ground. New
quarterback Cody Huppenthal punched the ball in from the one-yard line early in the
period, then Lance Stephens zoomed in from the 18-yard line late in the quarter.

Tyler Melser made both extra point kicks, and added a long field goal midway through
the second quarter. Melser kicked it in from 44 yards.

Malik Sims scored HSE’s final touchdown, a six-yard run late in the third period. The
only thing that stopped Southeastern was a second-quarter safety by the Kokomo defense,
but that turned out to be a speed bump.

Stephens gained 108 yards in 19 carries. Huppenthal had some nice yardage, with 37
yards passing and 35 yards rushing in his debut. Sims had three receptions.

The Royals will go back on the road next Friday, playing at North Central.

Southeastern 24,
Kokomo 2
Score by Quarters:
Southeastern   14  3  7  0 – 24
Kokomo               0   2  0  0 – 2

Team Stats

HSE                    KHS
First Downs                         13                         10
By Rush                                 9                            4
By Pass                                  2                           3
By Penalty                           2                           3
Yards Rushing               152                         51
Yards Passing               33                             50
Comp/Att/Int.             5-12-1                    5-12-1
Fumbles/Lost              1-0                             3-3
Penalties/Yards           8-95                        9-51
Punts/Average             3-37.3                   4-31.8

Southeastern Scoring

First Quarter
Cody Huppenthal 1-yard run (Tyler
Melser kick), 9:39
Lance Stephens 18-yard run (Melser kick),
3:12
Second Quarter
Melser 44-yard field goal, 6:57
Third Quarter
Malik Sims 6-yard run (Melser kick),
3:15

Southeastern Stats

Rushing: Stephens 19-108, Huppenthal
14-35, Tone Cowherd 1-19, Sims 6-16,
Cole Russell 1-7, Ben Boysen 1-4, Nick
Mutchner 1-minus 1, Kody Sparks 3-
minus 17.
Passing: Huppenthal 4-11-37, Sparks 1-1-
minus 4.

Receiving: Sims 3-27, Jackson Lantz
1-11, Nathan Shuey 1-minus        4

by

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers was dealt a tough loss in its opening game Friday, as North Central
scored a touchdown with 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter to beat the Tigers 19-17
at Reynolds Tigers Stadium.

The Panthers led 13-7 at halftime, but Class 6A No. 10 Fishers took the lead in the
third quarter when Jon Vore threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Gee. Ben Norton
made the extra-point kick to give the Tigers the lead.

Norton then extended the lead early in the fourth by kicking a 25-yard field goal
with 10:23 remaining. North Central made a long drive in the middle of the quarter, but
turned the ball over on downs after Daniel Amadi chased down a Panther runner.

Fishers tried to run the clock down, but had to punt, and that set up NC’s winning
score. The Tigers tried to make a comeback, but turned the ball over on downs after four
incomplete passes. This was the first time the Panthers had beaten Fishers; the Tigers
had won their first three games against North Central.

The Tigers’ first-half touchdown came from a 35-yard pass play from Vore to Will
Syrus, with Norton making the extra-point kick.

Vore finished the game with 77 passing yards. Michael Noble was the leading
rusher, with 50 yards on 16 carries.

Fishers will travel to Pike next week.

North Central 19, Fishers 17

Score by Quarters:

North Central 7 6 0 6 – 19
Fishers              0 7 7 3 – 17

Team Stats
NC                     FHS
First Downs                                       21                       7
Yards Rushing                              36-121                 27-68
Yards Passing                               263                        77
Comp/Att/Int.                             20-36-3                4-17-0
Fumbles-Lost                             2-1                           1-1
Penalties/Yards                        6-49                           8-50
Punts/Average                         2-37.5                        5-39.8

Scoring

Second Quarter
Will Syrus 35-yard pass from Jon Vore
(Ben Norton kick), 2:59

Third Quarter
Bryce Gee 47-yard pass from Vore
(Norton kick), 4:25

Fourth Quarter
Norton 25-yard field goal, 10:23
Fishers Stats

Rushing: Michael Noble 16-50, Matt
Wolff 8-36, Vore 2-minus 18.

Passing: Vore 4-13-77, Wolff 0-4-0.

Receiving: Syrus 2-31, Gee 1-47, Mason
McCartney 1-minus 1.

A chemical spill incident, believed to be centered on the chemicals used for the swimming pool, was reported mid-day Friday.  Fishers Fire Department spokesman John Mehling says 7 people were treated for minor complaints of burning eyes and coughing at the scene and none required hospitalization.

Officials are still investigating what specific chemical was involved in this spill.

Fire Department personnel expect to be on the scene until about 2:30 today, then the area will be turned over to the cleanup crew for any required repairs.

Lindsey Erdody, a reporter at the Indianapolis Business Journal, covers the northern Indy suburbs.  As a result, we see each other often covering the same events.  I asked Lindsey to come back for another podcast interview to discuss her recent profile of Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, and a number of other local issues.

When Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School decided to have a 50th anniversary celebration of the original school’s opening, current HSE Principal Matt Kegley thought it would be easy to find the date of the first school year.  But he found that to be a little more complicated than he thought.

“The senior class graduating in the spring of 1967 were actually given the choice whether they wanted to graduate as Fishers Tigers or as Hamilton Southeastern Royals,” Kegley explained.  “If you look back in the yearbook, you see sports teams with kids wearing both.”

So Kegley and other officials took into account that transition year and decided 2017 would be the 50th anniversary of the opening for Hamilton Southeastern High School. There was a much smaller building at the time of opening, but Kegley says some of that original building is still used to this day.  The school slowly grew over the years with additions and renovations to the structure.

HSE High School has been celebrating the 50th anniversary for the past year, but Kegley and his staff are preparing for an Open House at the school Sunday, September 10th, 2-4pm.

“We’re trying to bring out some memorabilia, some yearboooks, some old uniforms,” said Kegley.  There will be places set-up in the building where visitors may browse themselves, but student guides will also be available.  The student choir, orchestra and band will be playing throughout the building during the anniversary event.

The WRTV Call 6 investigative team has uncovered a ransomware attack against a Fishers accounting firm.  To learn more about the story, use this link.

It is always fascinating to me which stories I post get the most attention from my readers. IKEA is high on the list.  The new Harley Davidson dealership under construction here received a lot more readers than I had anticipated.

But the coming of Portillo’s, the hot dog heaven for many in the Chicago area, created quite a stir when that was announced.  Portillo’s now says it is opening in Fishers September 26th.  Anyone driving by their construction site on 116th Street just east of I-69 must be wondering – how in the world will that building be completed by September 26th?

I have no idea, but Portillo’s has built plenty of restaurants in this part of the nation so I presume they know what they are doing.  But I am wondering why this date was announced shortly after IKEA announced their October 11th opening day in Fishers.  Could it be that Portillo’s wants to be open and ready for business when IKEA opens its doors? There is no way of knowing, but one wonders.

Both Fishers and HSE High Schools are starting their 2017 season this week.  As part of a partnership with the Hamilton County Reporter newspaper, here are previews of the coming season for both local varsity football squads.

Continue reading Local Varsity Football Preview →