Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers picked up a historic victory on Friday, beating Pike 52-46 at the Tiger Den.

This was the first time in school history that the Fishers boys basketball team defeated the Red Devils. In order to do so, the Tigers had to recover from an 8-3 deficit after the first quarter.

Fishers outscored Pike in each of the next three periods, cutting the Red Devils’ lead to 22-20 by halftime. Terry Hicks scored eight points in the second period, with Josiah Matthews adding five points.

Fishers jumped ahead 36-34 after three quarters; Matthews scored six more points in that period. The Tigers then clinched the game by going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the fourth period.

Terry Hicks earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Josiah Matthews added 13 points, while Willie Jackson scored 10.

The Tigers are now 5-6 for the season and will host Arsenal Tech on Tuesday.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern dropped its first game of the season on Friday, falling to Lawrence Central 58-46 on the road.

The Class 4A No. 2 Royals trailed the Bearcats 15-12 after the first quarter, then were held to only two points in the second period as LC took a 25-14 halftime lead. Noah Smith scored

10 points to lead Southeastern, with Mabor Majak adding nine.

Aaron Etherington pulled six rebounds, with Majak collecting five. Smith handed out five assists and Majak blocked three shots.

The Royals are now 11-1 and are back at their home gym tonight to play 4A No. 4 Warren Central.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has been working on adding a travel lane in each direction of I–69.  The additional lanes are opening now from Exit 205 in Fishers, north to exit 219 (State Road 38).  Also, watch for work at the intersection of 131st & Cumberland Road, along with landscaping work at 106th & Geist Road.

Below is the full construction schedule provided by the City of Fishers, for the week beginning January 7th.

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131ST STREET 

There will be periodic lane restrictions at the intersection of 131st Street and Cumberland Road while utility relocation work is completed.

106TH STREET

Crews will be landscaping the center of the roundabout at 106th Street and Geist Road throughout the week, weather permitting. Temporary lane restrictions may be in place as work is completed.

I-69   

Milestone Contractors has opened additional travel lanes on Interstate 69 between State Road 37 Exit 205 and State Road 38 Exit 219. I-69 is open to three lanes in each direction on the heavily traveled stretch of interstate.

As part of a $92 million design-build contract, Milestone has added a third lane in each direction to the median, repaired and resurfaced existing pavement, and rehabilitated bridges and drainage structures on 15 miles of I-69 in Hamilton and Madison counties. Construction of an additional auxiliary lane between the 116th Street entrance ramp to I-69 South and the I-69 South Exit 204 ramp to 106th Street will continue through next spring.

I-69 South will be temporarily reduced to two lanes to allow space for the State Road 37 and 116th Street entrance ramps to safely merge while construction continues on the southbound auxiliary lane between the 116th Street and 106th Street ramps.

Crews plan to close lanes on I-69 South and State Road 37 South beginning on Friday, December 8th to modify pavement markings in the area to establish this winter traffic pattern. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT ateastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855-463-6848.

STATE ROAD 37  

The Meeting Presentation from the December 11th State Road 37 Project Public Meeting, along with additional information about the project, are available here.

The State Road 37 improvement project is a $124 million joint project between Fishers, Hamilton County, Noblesville, and INDOT. Questions or concerns may be directed todrivefishers@fishers.in.us.

OUTSIDE OF FISHERS   

Cyntheanne Road between 146th Street and 156th Street is closed to replace the bridge over Keiser Drain. Please contact Hamilton County Highway Department at 317-773-7770 with any questions.

Tom Roush plans to move his Lincoln dealership from Westfield to Fishers, at State Road 37 & 131st Street.

You can read the full story, written by Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal, at this link.

The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team took a tough loss to Warren Central Thursday, 34-33 at the Royals’ gym.

Class 4A No. 6-ranked Southeastern led 20-12 at halftime, but the Warriors worked their way back to take a 27-26 lead by the end of the third quarter. Warren led 32-28 late in the fourth, but the Royals got back in front after Tayah Irvin drained a 3-pointer and Amaya Hamilton made a layin with around three minutes left in the game. Neither team would score again until the Warriors made a layin with about four seconds remaining.

“I thought our girls did everything right,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “Sometimes it just doesn’t go the way you want it to.”

Malea Jackson led the Royals with 12 points, including three 3-pointers. Irvin had two 3-pointers on her way to nine points. Hamilton grabbed seven rebounds with Irvin collecting five. Molly Walton handed out six assists, Irvin made four steals and Hamilton blocked three shots.

“I thought our kids did a lot of really good things today,” said Huppenthal. “I thought they played hard.”

Southeastern is now 13-5 and off until Friday, Jan. 12, when it travels to Westfield for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference girl-boy doubleheader. The girls game starts at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow.

By

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Steve Schwartz, Noblesville, was elected Wednesday as president of the Hamilton County Council on a 4-3 second ballot vote which revealed the deep division between factions on the seven-member council.

Traditionally the presidency of the council is rotated among the members. While under this arrangement it was Schwartz’s turn to lead the council this year, outgoing president Fred Gwynn called for a secret paper ballot when members first voted.

Councilor Brad Beaver was nominated for president by councilor Rick McKinney. In the council’s first secret ballot in memory, a 3-3 tie resulted with one abstention. The second ballot produced a 4-3 victory for Schwartz who then nominated Beaver for vice president, and he was elected.

By state law secret ballots are prohibited in public meetings, but Schwartz asked that the second ballot be taken by individual voice vote, making his election legitimate.

The council as fiscal body of the county has voted unanimously on many issues, but on some critical or controversial items the split has become obvious over the past few years. All seven members are Republicans.

In other action, the council re-appointed Carol Carley, Carmel, to the county Alcoholic Beverage Board. Appointed to the Hamilton County Economic Development Commission was Jim Ginebaugh, Noblesville, and to the Westfield Economic Development Commission was Joe Duepner.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

With the new year 2018 comes the beginning of a new political season. Candidate filing for 52 state and local offices begins Jan. 10. The primary election will be May 8, and as usual in Hamilton County, most of the action will be on the Republican side in the primary. But, Democrats also claim they will have some names on the ballot this year.

In the important May voting, candidates will be chosen for at least five major offices being vacated by incumbents. The county will select a new state representative in District 29 where Rep. Kathy Richardson is not running for re-election.

Garen Bragg, Chuck Goodrich and Greg O’Connor have announced their plans to seek the seat in the GOP primary. Also showing interest is Noblesville resident Mark Hall.

Candidates for judge in Superior Court 1 will be chosen to replace the retiring Judge Steve Nation. Nation has not officially announced his retirement, but at least two potential candidates are known to have expressed interest in running.

County Clerk Tammy Baitz is also retiring. Ms. Richardson plans to seek nomination for that vacated position.

Sheriff Mark Bowen ends his two terms allowed by law at the end of 2018. Four candidates have announced intentions to seek the GOP nomination for sheriff. They are: Bill Clifford, Eddie Moore, Mitch Russell and Jason Sloderbeck.

Two Republican candidates are already in the field hoping to replace County Councilman Paul Ayers who is leaving the council at the end of his term. Ken Alexander and Rick Sharp have indicated they will run.

Township trustees and township board members in all nine of the county’s townships are up for nomination in May. So far Noblesville Township’s Tom Kenley and Clay Township’s Doug Callahan have said they will run again. Their board members are expected to follow suit.

Other offices at stake in 2018 are state legislative seats held by Reps. Tony Cook, Donna Schaibley, Jerry Torr and Sen. Mike Delph. All are expected to run again but have not officially announced.

The offices of Prosecuting Attorney, County Assessor, County Recorder and County Coroner are also up. Prosecutor Lee Buckingham is known to be planning to seek re-election as is Coroner John Chalfin. Incumbent Assessor Robin Ward and Recorder Jennifer Hayden have not yet announced their intentions.

All current officeholders are Republicans. No Democrat has yet announced for office.

Non-partisan school board members who formerly were elected at the time of the primary are now not to be chosen until the November general election.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness told his department heads at a recent retreat that he intends to seek another term as mayor in 2019.  “I think there is stuff here that I just haven’t finished yet,” the mayor said a podcast interview with LarryInFishers.com recorded Wednesday morning.

“It’s amazing how fast time flies by,” said Fadness.  “You think, Oh my gosh, I have a year to accomplish this or two years to accomplish it and then two years goes and you’re like, jeez, we didn’t get it all done.”

The mayor foresees a busy 2018 going into 2019, leading to his decision to seek at least one more term.  He cited a city council he can work with, and how he will campaign hard, not just for himself, but also for his council members.

“I think they (city council members) have done a great job, they’ve worked well as a team,” the mayor said.  “They understand and believe in the vision for our city.”

In other newsworthy items from the podcast:

–Plans are moving forward for the new park on Geist Reservoir.  The city has legally initiated condemnation proceedings to take the property through emminent domain laws, but continues talks with IMI Incorporated, the owner of the land, for a purchase, so as not to delay the project.

–Fadness expects more regional economic development efforts after his work with Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on a bid for the Amazon2 project.

–The mayor has every reason to believe that Kroger will build the new store at 116th Street and Allisonville Road, but he is not certain when.  He will be meeting with Kroger officials soon.

You can access the entire podcast interview below:

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Big things are coming in Hamilton County in the new year of 2018. Besides what has become “normal” such as continued home building and business expansion, there are going to be new sights and sounds as the county continues its record growth and development.

Most obvious to the casual observer will be the beginning of the huge $125 million rebuilding of State Road 37, essentially making it into a non-stop freeway from Noblesville to Interstate 69. When completed the highway will greatly reduce drive time for daily commuters. No more stop-and-go lights. This will move traffic much more easily.

Within Noblesville, the beginnings of a Pleasant Street bypass and new bridge over White River may materialize this year. More walking trails including the controversial conversion of the Nickel Plate Railroad from the city to the south county line will begin to take shape. The sound of an excursion train back on the tracks north to Atlanta is set for this summer.

Major county government projects in Noblesville will get underway. They include a jail expansion with solar energy and a huge addition to the Government and Judicial Center.

For those who visit or live in Carmel there will be almost non-stop development along the Monon Greenway from Main Street to the Civic Square a half-mile south in a corridor between Range Line Road and 3^rd Avenue. And, of course, more roundabouts everywhere.

Elsewhere in the county, we will find more new construction in the Fishers area including another new elementary school. Westfield will see more development around Grand Park along with the arrival of the Colts who will hold training camp at Grand Park this year.

Political change is coming to the county’s legislative delegation, the local judiciary and perhaps on the County Council.

A new state senator, Victoria Spartz, will represent parts of the county this year, and a new state representative will be elected to take office in 2019 replacing Rep. Kathy Richardson.

In the courts, Judge David Najjar is beginning his first full year in Superior Court 5 and a new judge will be elected to take over next year from retiring Judge Steve Nation in Superior 1.

Candidates claiming to be more progressive on local issues will make an effort to take control of the County Council where four of the seven members are up for election this year. Incumbent Fred Glynn faces a challenge from Sue Maki and incumbent Paul Ayers is not running again. Ken Alexander and Rick Sharp will compete to take his place.

Issues including public transportation to Indianapolis and new parking facilities in downtown Noblesville may be on the ‘back burner’ for this year. Neither is dead, but no immediate plans have been revealed. But, major progress and change are afoot this year in the state’s fastest-growing county. Funding for the new building and public improvements comes from two sources. Private business investment which is obvious and, in the public sector, the not-so-obvious effect of the County Option Income Tax, known as COIT.

Since Hamilton County has by far the highest per capita income in Indiana, the collections on one percent of that income amount to huge sums of money each year for county, city and township governmental units.

COIT collections now exceed property tax revenue countywide and enables local officials to pay for all kinds of public improvements. Therefore, with private investment following (and encouraging) our mushrooming population and big tax revenue (bigger for some units than others) we find the reasons for a year of record growth and development.

Hamilton County Reporter

 Hamilton Southeastern won the Columbia City/Huntington Holiday Hoops Tournament last week.

After Thursday pool wins over Norwell and Scecina, the Class 4A No. 2 Royals held off Huntington North 45-44 in the semi-finals. Noah Smith scored 11 points for HSE and also had five steals.

Southeastern won the championship game over Lake Central, 58-44. Mabor Majak led the way with 18 points, with Chaz Birchfield adding 13 and Aaron Etherington 11. Majak grabbed seven rebounds, with Etherington and Chris Grubbs both collecting five. Smith dished out nine assists.

The Royals are 11-0 and play at Lawrence Central on Friday before hosting 4A
No. 4 Warren Central on Saturday.