There are at least two news reports that Kroger has decided to remodel its current location at 116th Street and Allisonville Road.  Last year, Kroger said it would construct a new grocery across Allisonville Road.  Now, the company has apparently decided not to construct the new building.  When I have more information, I will pass it along.

In this week’s Hamilton County Goes To The Movies podcast, Adam & I review The Death Of Stalin.  Our guest is the manager of the Hamilton 16 multiplex in Noblesville, Mitch Ross

Fishers is a very safe place and it is to our credit that crime is rare here.  However, that doesn’t mean crime is totally absent from our fair city.  I was reminded of that during a recent chat with Police Sergeant Tom Weger, the media relations point person for local law enforcement.

Sergeant Weger talked about how people living in certain neighborhoods have a tendency to leave valuable items in their unlocked vehicles, which is an invitation for someone with evil intent to steal your valuables.  Keeping your items in the trunk is not a guarantee the thieves will leave you alone, but it greatly lowers your probabilities of being a crime victim.

A good example of keeping valuables out of sight would be garage door openers.  Never have your garage door opener in your car parked on the street or in a driveway.

Living in a low-crime city is a good thing, but letting down our guard on basic prevention steps is not the way to act.  Let’s keep Fishers a low-crime area by using some common sense.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The architectural style of the Hamilton County Courthouse continues to bring questions from visitors to Noblesville. The building is so familiar to locals that we don’t think much about it, but it is unusual among the state’s 92 county courthouses and one of the oldest in central Indiana. It’s called French Second Empire style which was briefly popular in post-Civil War America. The distinctive features are the mansard roof, dormer windows and huge clock tower.

The courthouse is 140 years old this year. It housed all county government offices for nearly a century. Since the 1960s many government functions have had to leave the Courthouse to find more space. Courts and court related offices moved to the new Judicial Center in 1992, but the Courthouse with its iconic tower still dominates the downtown area.

The courthouse was designed by Edwin May, a popular architect of his time who also designed the Indiana Statehouse about ten years after doing the courthouse. Through the years there were alterations to the interior and to the mansard roof, but in 1994 a major renovation restored many of the original features.

Getting the building started in 1877-78 was controversial. A referendum on whether to build the courthouse showed a majority of voters opposed spending the estimated $100,000 for construction. But, county commissioners decided to proceed. The site was the location of an older courthouse. The property had been given to the county in 1823 by William Conner with the provision that it would be used strictly for the seat of county government.

Construction on the present courthouse apparently began without a groundbreaking ceremony common today. It was the setting of the cornerstone that was ceremonially marked. During the 1994 renovation the cornerstone vault was opened. Its historic contents were copied or photographed and returned to the vault.

When the building was first occupied it had no electric lighting, no municipal water supply, no telephone and heating was to be provided by 16 fireplaces fitted with coal grates. But, almost immediately a central steam heating system was installed.

The building was the scene of two major events that drew national news coverage. In 1925, D.C. Stephenson, powerful leader of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan, was tried and convicted of murder in the Circuit Court. The outcome broke the power of the Klan which had controlled much of state and local government.

In 1965 national news carried the story of Circuit Judge Edward New’s citing of Noblesville Ledger editor James Neal for criminal contempt for a column Neal wrote criticizing a court policy on drunk driving. The case, eventually thrown out by an impartial special judge, was considered a significant test for ‘freedom of the press.’

For those who pass the courthouse often, but have never entered, it is worth a brief walk-through. The second floor courtroom is especially impressive. Some pieces of original furnishing are displayed around the building. Next to perhaps Conner Prairie, the courthouse is the county’s best historic gem.

We continue to patiently wait for genuine spring weather, but we are beginning to see genuine road construction activity in and around Fishers.

Here is the road construction listing for the work week starting Monday, April 2nd, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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SOUTHEASTERN PARKWAY
Beginning on Monday, April 2 at 8 a.m., Southeastern Parkway south of 136th Street will be closed to traffic for up to one week to allow for storm sewer installation. Traffic will detour to Prairie Baptist Road and 136th Street.

106TH STREET
106th Street is closed to through traffic from Eller Road to Allisonville Road and from Allisonville Road to Hague Road for the 106th Street Infrastructure Project. Closures for through traffic will also take place from Hague Road to the Crosspoint Boulevard/Lantern Road roundabout. For more info on this project, view the Fact Sheet.

HOOSIER ROAD
Hoosier Road south of 116th Street will be closed to all traffic through the cemetery for sanitary sewer repairs. A detour will be in place on Cumberland Road while work is completed.

131ST STREET
Periodic lane restrictions will occur at the intersection of 131st Street and Cumberland Road as utility relocation work is completed.

Expect lane restrictions, weather permitting, along 131st Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road for the construction of the Conner Trail from Conner Prairie to the Municipal Complex. Lane restrictions will also take place on Lantern Road between 131st Street and Municipal Drive.

MEADOWS DRIVE
Meadows Drive is closed between Frances Drive and Morgan Drive, weather permitting, for the installation of sanitary sewer.

ELLER ROAD
Eller Road is closed to through traffic south of White Horse Lane for concrete work associated with the 106th Street Infrastructure Project.

ALLISONVILLE ROAD RESURFACING & INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
Lane restrictions will be in place, as weather permits, along Allisonville Road from 126th Street to 131st Street for tree clearing ahead of the start of the roadway expansion project. Restrictions will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and flaggers will be on site directing traffic, as necessary. For more info on this project, view the Fact Sheet.
MORGAN DRIVE

Morgan Drive is restricted to one lane between Lantern Road and Emmanuel Court for work on stormwater structures.

STATE ROAD 37
The Meeting Minutes and Meeting Presentation from the December State Road 37 Project Public Meeting, along with additional information about the project, is available on the project’s new website. 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 to drivefishers@fishers.in.us.

I-69
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. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT at eastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855463-6848.

While this list encompasses numerous project updates, it does not list all DPW projects throughout the city. The most recent projects are detailed, however please keep in mind that all construction activities are weather permitting. We appreciate motorists’ patience and caution while driving through construction sites.

Teachers at New Britton Elementary School wanted to find a way to get their students involved in the subject of world hunger in a creative way….so creative Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness decided to get involved in a “bug” way.

The students reviewed world hunger statistics at an all-school convocation Thursday afternoon, but the event was capped-off with something special.  If the students met their fund-raising goal to assist those in need of nourishment overseas, members of the teaching staff said they would eat bugs, based on the amount of money raised.

The students had a goal of coming up with $700.  The amount of money donated exceeded $1,300, which meant lots of teachers would be eating bugs.

Then Mayor Fadness discovered the project on social media.  One thing led to another, and the mayor ended up eating a cricket at the student convocation.

The school partnered with a Global Orphan Foundation to learn more about how insect farming works. New Britton Elementary is also raising money in partnership with Christ Community Church to buy and pack meals, then send them across the world through Rise Against Hunger.

Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly, a Democrat, teamed up with Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey to help enact a bipartisan measuring establishing a Day of Recognition for Vietnam Vets.  This year, the City of Fishers held a ceremony at City Hall to honor those vets on this new day carved out in law to honor them.

Fishes is also applying for special status to be a part of a 13-year period is set in law to honor the 50-year anniversary of the Vietnam War.

Master of Ceremonies El Ahlwardt told the crowd he hopes this event will become an annual one in Fishers now that March 29th is officially set as a day to recognize veterans of the Vietnam.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service.

Three Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District students were awarded medals at the Wednesday night school board meeting.

The winners are:

Olivia Keith, Hamilton Southeastern High School

Rahil Thanswala, Fishers High School

Vani Sharma, Sand Creek Intermediate School

Kent Sipe, representing Prudential, made the presentation of the medals as Distinguished Finalists and State Honorees.

When Freedom Kolb left her post as Executive Director of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Foundation, the board has been on the hunt for a replacement.  Justin Hirnisey was introduced to the school board Wednesday night as Ms. Kolb’s replacement.

“I know I have some big shoes to fill,” Hirnisey told board members.  “I’m excited that (Freedom Kolb) will still be around.”

Freedom Kolb now works for the HSE School Corporation as part of the Lilly grant on school counseling.

“I’ve lived here in Fishers for over ten years,” said Hirnisey.  “Have worked in a lot of nonprofits here locally, but really excited and felt a  strong calling to be more involved here with the community in Fishers.”

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board voted to approve a data contract with KSM Consulting, allowing teachers and administrators at the building level to receive real-time information, for the first time allowing them to react to issues some students and groups of students may encounter during the school year.

The vote was 6-1, with Michelle Fullhart voting no.  She objected to paying for school board members’ access to the data directly, which she did not feel was necessary.

The board’s agenda listed the item for information and discussion only, but a motion was made by Mike Bottorff and the board voted on the proposal as presented by KSM.  The final contract will be voted by the board once it is vetted by the school corporation’s law firm.

The pact will cost $185,000.  The funds will come from the Coke Fund, money received by the school corporation for Coca-Cola getting exclusive cola drink rights throughout all the schools in the district.  The Rainy Day Fund is another source of funds, according to school Superintendent Allen Bourff.