by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Plans are coming together for re-introducing excursion train travel on the Nickel Plate north from Noblesville by late spring of next year, according to County Tourism Director Brenda Myers. A newly organized entity known as Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad Inc., will soon be entering a contractual agreement with the county port authority, owner of the tracks, for operating the train service.

Currently the Heritage Railroad leaders, assisted by the Tourism Bureau, are seeking funding for various improvements at the Arcadia depot and in Atlanta where trains will end their 12-mile run. Track repairs are also needed. All told about $1 million is expected to be required for the project.

In addition, rolling stock is being sought, possibly to be leased from various sources. What part, if any, the Indiana Transportation Museum will play has not been announced. The museum was denied access to the railroad last year due to safety concerns, but the organization has a considerable number of train cars and engines at its Forest Park facility.

Myers says Tourism’s plan is to assist in boosting the tourism interest and economies of the northern Hamilton County communities of Atlanta, Arcadia and Cicero through which the Nickel Plate runs. She says trains will likely leave from Noblesville’s pocket park near 8^th and Clinton streets on their route north.

Meanwhile, preliminary plans are underway for development of the Nickel Plate walking trail and the removal of the railroad tracks between Pleasant Street and 146th Street. South of 146th the City of Fishers will develop the trail to 96th Street.

But don’t plan hiking on the trail anytime soon. Noblesville city officials are concentrating on the Midland Trail, the second phase of which is scheduled to get underway next year. Eventually that trail will run east from Westfield to intersect the Nickel Plate at Pleasant Street. Apparently, the tracks will remain intact from Pleasant through downtown Noblesville.

While these plans are underway, the organization known as Save the Nickel Plate is waiting for the federal Surface Transportation Board to finish hearing comments from the public before making a decision on whether to grant a request to place the railroad in a “rail bank”. The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, as owners, have asked for this designation to preserve the right to return the rail right-of-way to a railroad should that be needed in the future. A so-called Light Rail commuter train has been envisioned in long-range mass transit studies.

This week Save the Nickel Plate, which opposes conversion of the rail line to a Monon-type trail, elected Logan Day as president. He works in the railroad business at Kokomo and is a dedicated train enthusiast. The group has not announced what it might do toward saving the rail line after the Transportation Board makes its ruling.

by

Hamilton County Reporter / WISH-TV

The venue formerly known as Klipsch Music Center has a new name: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center.

The new name for the 24,000-seat facility was unveiled Wednesday morning. This comes after the Fort-Wayne based Ruoff Home Mortgage and Live Nation agreed to an undisclosed multiyear sponsorship agreement.

“I can’t tell you how many years, but I can tell you this: It’s a good arrangement for the venue. It should give them stability for a long time to come,” said Mark Music, CEO and president of Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center.

“It’s a challenge because we’re trying to find a company that we think makes sense,” said Marc Abend, regional vice president for Live Nation, the owners of the Noblesville amphitheater. “We love having partners that are entrenched in the community. It’s nice having a company that has roots here in Indiana, and I think that the fans appreciate that, they recognize it.”

Music and Abend admitted home mortgages and live concerts aren’t quickly linked in the public’s mind.

“They don’t necessarily have to be in the exact same industry segment for it to necessarily be someplace where you want to have your name. You want eyeballs right?” Music said.

“Most people go to one show a year. That’s what our statistics tell us. Every show is somebody’s playoff game. Well, buying a house has that same feeling,” Abend said. “So we’re excited about that relationship.”

The venue opened in 1989 under the name Deer Creek Music Center. Verizon Wireless took over sponsorship in 2001, with Klipsch Group Inc. changing the name again in 2011. Klipsch’s five-year contract expired last year.

“Out of respect for the prior corporate partner, we had to be quiet and couldn’t make much noise about it and so today we can finally stand on the rooftops and make it known,” Music said.

Concertgoers in Indianapolis said while the name change wouldn’t stop them from attending concerts, they remember previous names first.

“That is quite the mouthful. I’m still just going to be call it Verizon or Klipsch because I can remember that,” one said.

“Doesn’t roll off the tongue,” said a young man. “I don’t think the name would deter me from seeing the music.”

“It does seem a bit long. We’ll figure out a short way to say it I’m sure. It’s 2017,” said another. “RHMMC? I can already see the hashtag.”

The name change is effective immediately, and Live Nation representatives said the sign changes will occur throughout the fall and winter, with full branding ready for the start of the spring 2018 concert season.

Acts such as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Metallica, Coldplay, Frank Sinatra and Kings of Leon have all played at the venue.

The venue recently wrapped up its 2017 concert season Sunday with a performance from Matchbox Twenty and the Counting Crows.

2018 will mark 30 years for the Noblesville venue.

Click here to see the poll on the name change on WISH-TV’s website.

The Hagerman Group has been selected to be the “Construction Manager as Constructor” for the new, as yet unnamed, elementary school to be built on Cyntheanne Road and Southeastern Parkway.  The Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved Hagerman in a unanimous vote.  It is hoped site preparation can begin on the new school as soon as November of this year.

In other school board items from the Wednesday evening meeting:

–The proceeds of the land sale at 131st Street and Cumberland Road will be set aside in what is called a “Donation Account” aimed at matching money raised by local Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) for projects such as building and upgrading playgrounds.

–A cell tower contract with Central States was OK’d by the board.  The tower will be constructed near Sand Creek Elementary School and will generate $10,000 per year in income to the school corporation, plus, the school system will receive 50% of any income gleaned from another carrier signing on to utilize that tower.

–Final approval was given to the new suicide awareness program, conforming with changes in state statutes.

–Superintendent Allen Bourff told the board attorney David Day is working with county officials to study changes in population that could require redistricting of the 4 school board member districts.  There is not enough data yet available to determine whether redistricting is needed.  The last redistricting was done in 2014.

–Board members honored teachers receiving Launching INquiry grants.  They were:

Sprouting STEM to Inspire Writing

Angel Myers – New Britton Elementary – Grade 1

Authors write about what they know. This project will foster writing through inquiry in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Grant funds will provide STEM materials for student exposure to the design process. As students describe their design experience in writing, connections will be drawn between the recursive, iterative nature of both the design and writing processes. This cross-curricular endeavor fosters critical and visual thinking, problem solving, and creativity, as well as both oral and written communication.

Programming Experiences for Young Children

Debbie Harn – Lantern Road Elementary – Grade 1

This project’s purpose is to give students blended physical and virtual programming experiences through developmentally appropriate activities and games. Student activities will be modeled after those introduced in Purdue’s summer 2017 INSPIRE Academy, where engineers and teachers worked together to incorporate the engineering design process into primary grade learning experiences. This grant provides funds for games and activities to promote computational and design thinking, which will culminate in a Hamster Habitats design unit in November. Students will have the opportunity to share their habitats with an authentic audience from Purdue.

DASH into Coding

John Hochstetler – Sand Creek Intermediate – Media Specialist

Many students are ready to take the Hour of Code to new and deeper levels; the goal of this project is to provide challenge for students who have already mastered the basics of computer coding. Dash is a codable robot; it will give student coders the opportunity to actually program a robot and have it instantly respond to their written code. Student teams will engage in trial and error to make certain code is written properly to gain Dash’s desired outcome. Dash projects will foster student-ownership, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.

Beyond the Beep: Integrated Robotics for All Learners

Leslie Hopper – Thorpe Creek Elementary – Media Specialist

Robots are highly-engaging and fun, but how does robotics apply to learning? Robotics not only exposes learners to coding, but presents opportunities for cross-curricular connections, problem-solving, and collaboration. The goal of this project to expand robotics to all of our grade levels and provide authentic opportunities to apply robotic technology to real-world learning. K-4 learners will experience hands-on, inquiry-based opportunities with robots blended with content-area connections from reading, math, social studies, and science.

–Fishers High School Principal Jason Urban presented the board with an award from Riley Children’s Hospital naming the local schools as a “Riley Corporation.”  HSE Schools raised nearly $122,000, equally approximately $5.70 per corporation student.

The City of Fishers is requesting proposals on two areas of land near the Amphitheater for development downtown.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal has the details at this link.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The powerful mini-series, The Vietnam War, currently being telecast on PBS this week, brings back sad memories to Americans old enough to remember the war. To those no more than 50 years old, it may be revealing if they have never heard the details of that long and desperate struggle.

Certainly the master history-teller Ken Burns gives us an in-depth and disturbing picture of the nation’s most unpopular war which ended with more than 58,000 Americans killed and seemingly nothing to show for so much sacrifice.

Several hundred young men from Hamilton County went into military service during the era, and 19 died in the decade-long struggle to keep Vietnam from Communist control. Those men’s names are found on the county war memorial on the Courthouse grounds. Many of them still have families living here.

I stopped at the memorial this week to copy the names. They are: Roy Freeman, Daniel Biddle, David Coy, Steven Clark, Guy Jones, Gerald Johnson, Alan Bardach, Michael Randall, Thomas Bell, Daniel Terry, Nelson Hicks, Michael Lawhon, James Grant, Robert Shelton, Lawrence Gordon, Kenneth Oldham, Benjamin Scholley, Michael Farley and Charles Cupp.

The war was a tragic event which Americans have been led to believe we lost. Certainly we did not succeed in our goal to keep communists from ultimately taking control of South Vietnam. But, when the U.S. withdrew in 1973 under terms of a negotiated peace agreement, South Vietnam was still non-communist.

During the following two years, the South suffered from poor leadership and serious military miscalculations despite American financial assistance and military training. In 1975 the regime collapsed and the communists took control.

We had backed the loser, no question about that. But, in the end it was the South Vietnamese who lost their war. Back home, Lyndon Johnson has generally been blamed for our involvement. There’s truth to that, although the U.S. had embarked on a slippery slope before Johnson’s presidency.

President Richard Nixon negotiated the peace agreement that brought about American withdrawal. But, Nixon was never a favorite of the anti-war movement and didn’t get much credit for ending U.S. involvement.

As Burns’ series points out, what made the whole Vietnam experience so painful at home was the split in the country between those who supported the war effort and those who opposed it. Although Hamilton County saw little of it, the anti-war demonstrations in 1968 made dramatic news. They were followed by the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and violent riots in many cities which had little if anything to do with the war.

Then came Watergate, also not war-related, but the combination of the whole series of tragic events cost the country dearly in lives, treasure and innocence.

For the more than half of the present American population who did not experience the Vietnam Era, perhaps it’s just as well they didn’t.

It was Town Hall night at Fishers City Hall Monday, with City Councilman Eric Moeller inviting his North Central District constituents and other Fishers residents to the event.  Councilman Moeller welcomed Amy Massillamany from the Hamilton County Council, Eric Pethtel from the Department of Public Works and Jeff Hill from the Fishers City Engineering Department.

Most of the questions from the roughly 20 citizens in attendance were directed at Jeff Hill.  Construction plans for State Road 37 improvements, and how traffic will be handled during that  construction period. were a big part of the discussion.

Moeller hinted there may be more town hall sessions planned in the future, hosted by members of the city council.

Motorists will be prevented from making U-Turns on 116th Street in the area of IKEA Way, just east of Interstate 69, following action Monday afternoon by the Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety.  City Engineering Director Jeff Hill told the board the placement of “No U-Turn” signs will prevent those turning right from Portillo’s to make a legal U-Turn at the traffic signal on IKEA Way in order to access I-69.

Hill said there will be signage directing drivers to correctly navigate toward  I-69.

The board also acted to officially set the speed limit on Atlantic Road near I-69 at 35 miles-per-hour.

In other action, the board accepted a $930,700 bid from Wilhelm Construction to build a 10-bay parking garage at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The garage is being built  to protect vehicles and allow temperature sensitive equipment to be utilized year round.

A proposed $550,000 contract with Ratio Architects to design improvements in the area of City Hall, mainly around the area between the Amphitheater and City Hall, was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.  No reason was given.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Solar energy will likely be powering some county government facilities by the end of the year. It will be another step in keeping Hamilton County at the forefront in innovation among Indiana counties. Final approval of contract language with solar energy supplier, Johnson-Melloh, is expected early in October. Two weeks later mobilization is expected to begin, and installation is anticipated by Dec. 31.

The $8 million project will supply electric power to the entire Corrections Complex on Cumberland Road plus the County Health building on the east side of State Road 37. In addition, county officials are looking at the possibility of powering the Government and Judicial Center with solar energy when expansion of the building is done in the next two years.

County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt says costs will be compared to see if it is prudent to do a conversion at the Judicial Center.

Substantial cost saving is anticipated at the Corrections Complex where money now being spent on electric utility-supplied power will be used to pay for the solar system.

Cost studies indicate the new system will be paid off in 10 years. Solar panels will be placed on county land near SR 37 to collect heat from sunlight which is then converted to electric power for lighting, heating and cooling. The county now spends about $800,000 a year on utilities which makes it the second greatest expense for county government after salaries and benefits for personnel.

The effort to get solar energy has not been quick nor easy. Heirbrandt and fellow commissioners Steve Dillinger and Christine Altman proposed the project several months ago. It was under study by the county council throughout the summer. Then, at this month’s council meeting it was finally given a favorable vote pending final approval of the contract language.

It was a bright, warm early fall morning in Fishers when students and staff of Hoosier Road Elementary School finished filling up a huge semi truck trailer.  The truck was full of hurricane relief supplies and person items destined for Braeburn Elementary School in the Houston, Texas area.  The school, its students and staff felt to brutal impact of Hurricane Harvey.

The atmosphere was electric as the students chanted “We love Houston.”

When a donor offered a truck to haul relief items to Houston, it dawned on the organizers they now needed to fill a huge truck trailer.

“When the donations started pouring in, our hearts were filled with joy,” said Bridget Westerfield, one of the organizers and a teacher at Hoosier Road.  “Friday night, we had a carnival here, trucks and trucks were backing up to our gym.  It gave us goosebumps.”

Another organizer and teacher at Hoosier Road, Wendi Washburn, said donations surpassed any expectations.  “(The truck) was filled beyond our wildest dreams,” Ms. Washburn said.  “We were stuffing as many things as we could get, we just had so many donations still coming in this (Monday) morning.”

Bridget Westerfield, Wendi Washburn and two other Hoosier Road Elementary staff members will be flying to Houston and meet the truck at Braeburn Elementary on Wednesday to help unload and sort the donations.

There is a certain sadness that has settled over me this Sunday night.  It has been building for a long time and has hit what I hope will be its peak.  Allow me to explain.

It is not about the NFL and its players, although there is a lot to consider there.  It is not about Donald Trump and his Tweets, and there is a whole lot to say about that as well.

My comments tonight are aimed at all of us.  I want everyone reading this to stop and think about what I’ve asked you to consider.

Whether it is Charlottesville, ESPN journalist Jemel Hill, NFL player protests or the president and his comments, we have had more than our share of friction points to discuss lately.  And we Americans are commenting on all this.

I posted some news items on Facebook about the NFL player protests today.  The comment threads, some going very long, illustrate to me the deep divide we have.  It’s not just a national issue, it’s a divide I can see among many of my Facebook friends.

Then I watched the Frank Luntz focus group in Western Michigan on 60 Minutes, moderated by Oprah Winfrey.  The group was formulated to spark discussion among Trump supporters and those not supportive of the president.  The scariest part of that story was when one participant said we, as a nation, are headed for civil war.  Almost all the people in the group nodded their heads in agreement.

As an old guy of age 66, I lived through the 1960s.  If there has been any possibility of a second civil war in America, that’s when it would have happened.  I do not believe we are headed to another American civil war, but if things continue to get worse, it’s not out of the question.

So, what do we do now?  I have an idea.  It’s not terribly innovative, but if enough of us try, maybe we can start something.

It comes down to one key word – listen.  That’s right, one simple word.

We need to understand what listening genuinely means.  It means you seriously consider arguments made, where you very much disagree, and think about those arguments.  I propose that you listen not just to formulate a counter argument with which you agree, but try to understand the argument where you disagree.

Listening in this context includes reading, especially on social media.  Try to be honest with yourself.  When was the last time you listened to, or read, an argument you oppose and didn’t look at it through your own political prism?

Considering another’s views without an instant, knee-jerk reaction isn’t easy.  I can be as guilty of that as anyone.  But today I made an effort not to comment on all the Facebook replies and just consider each one and think about each one.

We all are products of our upbringing and experience in life, and that is what mostly forms our social and political view.  What I am asking you to do is to consider the arguments of someone with a much different upbringing and life experience than yours.  In other words, learn from others.  It may not change your outlook, but it can help you understand those different from yourself.

This trend of personally demonizing people which whom you disagree politically is very, very dangerous.  Always respect others, even when you strongly oppose their views.

There was a hopeful sign in that 60 Minutes focus group story.  Oprah Winfrey added that the group went out to dinner and continued the discussion.  Many in the group followed up with personal meetups and social media exchanges, trying to get to know each other better and learn from each other.

I may be sad tonight, but I am hopeful.  That hope comes from the chance, even a small chance, that a few of you reading this blog post will make an effort to listen and learn from others – especially those holding views counter to yours.  If we can stop demonizing the other side, we may all have more in common than we thought before beginning our listening exercise.

All I ask is that you think about what I have written here.  I will work to do my part.  The next step is up to you.