Hamilton County may be a very affluent area overall, but there are many families struggling to make ends meet, and several local groups have come together so school children will receive food during the summer vacation time.

Hamilton County Kroger stores. along with the police and sheriff departments, are partnering with countywide Summer Lunch programs that will provide 75,000 meals to over 1,400 children for the ten weeks of summer vacation.

There are programs designed to serve children most in need throughout the county who would typically receive free or reduced lunches throughout the school year. Summer Lunch programs in Hamilton County are dependent on the local community for support, since most of our communities do not meet federal or statewide Summer Lunch funding criteria. These lunch programs, led by a group of local volunteers, have stepped in to fill the gap for those in need.

The Pack the Cruiser Food Drive was piloted in 2017 in Fishers to help jump-start food contributions. Last year, Fishers filled eleven cruisers from three stores. This year, nine Kroger stores will be matched with five Hamilton County city police departments and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, to help the Summer Lunch programs in each of the six public school communities across the county.

Police officers and sheriffs will be at the stores on June 2nd with lists of the specific items that each of the programs need. Kroger Gift cards are very welcome also as this enables programs to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables and protein throughout the summer. Please help by donating the items from the list and Packing the Cruisers!

Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank works closely with the Summer Lunch programs year-round and is proud to be a partner of Pack the Cruiser 2018. This is the sixth year of monetary and food support for the Summer Lunch programs of Hamilton County. For more information; please see HCHFoodBank.org or contact Anita Hagen at hamiltoncountyharvest@gmail.com.

WISH-TV/Hamilton County Reporter

Officials are investigating after a vehicle owned by the Indiana Deportment
of Transportation was taken from the Fishers area Wednesday morning.

It happened in a work zone on Interstate 69 near 116th Street after an INDOT employee noticed the vehicle was missing around 10:15 a.m. The vehicle was left with the keys inside
and unlocked.

Workers in the area said they saw a white man in his 30s with a brown
sweatshirt driving the vehicle, but did not inform officials because they thought the man
was an INDOT employee.

Indiana State Police troopers in Fort Wayne later found the vehicle abandoned. It is not yet clear if anything was taken from the vehicle.

There have not yet been any arrests in the investigation.

If you have any information on the incident, you are urged to call ISP at
317-899-8577.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Local Democrats are not happy with me. They think my story on the primary election was unfair in predicting that Republican nominees would likely win election in this fall’s general election. After 150 years of nearly uninterrupted GOP victories, what in the world lead me to believe another sweep is likely?

But, admittedly, likelihood is not certainty. Almost anything is possible, and Democrats can point to a few encouraging signs. The party has new leadership since the last general election. There are more Democrats moving into Hamilton County, and some political experts think 2018 will be a big year for the party nationwide.

Obviously, candidates are needed to win elections. County Democrats have a few, but need a lot more. To date, they have no candidates for the important county positions of Sheriff, Prosecutor, Superior Court judge or County Commissioner. They do have the opportunity to fill their ticket before November, but don’t expect to see it done this year.

County Chairman Joe Weingarten said earlier this year that he will produce some candidates for county office, probably for county council, county commissioner and maybe a few others. They do have candidates for State Representative in District 29, county council in Council Districts 1 and 3, Noblesville Township Trustee and a scattering of candidates for township and town board seats. But, there are about 50 offices on the various county ballots this year, so there’s a long way to go. The party has until June 30 to recruit and file candidates to fill the many vacancies on the November ballot.

Although Hamilton County has prospered with Republican leadership over the years, it would be well to have a two-party presence. Even if a majority continues to support the GOP, choices in the general election would give both parties incentive to get greater voter participation. The 19 percent turnout in the recent primary certainly shows we could use something to encourage participation in our elections.

The public received an update from officials involved in the rebuild of State Road 37 from 126th Street north to 146th Street, and there was a lot to discuss.  The main news is what the current plans are for constructing the various roundabout interchanges.

That is important because east-west traffic will be blocked at these intersections for the estimated 9-month construction period in each case.  State Road 37 will have four lanes open during construction, two going north and two going south, although those lanes may be be reduced in size and reconfigured.

Here is the current plan, as outlined in the meeting held Tuesday evening at the Delaware Township Building:

–The first interchange scheduled for reconstruction is 126th Street, which will be closed to east-west traffic during the spring & summer of 2019.

–In 2020, both 131st Street and 146th Street are scheduled for construction, again during the spring and summer months.

–141st Street will be set for construction of the only one-lane roundabout in the plans during spring & summer of 2021.

There was talk of finding a way to continue east-west traffic on 146th Street during construction, but no specific plan has been formulated.

One member of the audience questioned whether the one-lane roundabout planned for 141st could be expanded if needed in the future.  City Engineering Department Director Jeff Hill replied that their studies show the one-lane roundabout will suffice for the next 30 years, but will consider a design allowing for future lane expansion if needed.

Because State Road 37 will be lowered for this project, drainage will be an issue and officials spent the first part of the session detailing plans to handle water drainage for the rebuilt highway.

There is a $500,000 budget set aside for a marketing plan in order to assist businesses impacted by the State Road 37 construction.  The Fishers-based digital marketing firm Imavex has been contracted to provide the marketing services.

Troy Woodruff of RQAW told the crowd most of the right of way has been acquired or is in the process of being purchased, although there may be a few property owners yet to be contacted.

The State Road 37 construction project is aimed at improving traffic flow along that highway by reconstructing it to resemble the design on Keystone Avenue in Carmel, with access from 126th Street to 146th via ramps taking motorists to and from roundabouts, except 146th Street.

This is a $124 million undertaking, with the state providing $100 million – Fishers and Hamilton County are chipping-n $12 million each

When The City of Fishers embarked on a plan to upgrade the entire area of the municipal complex between City Hall and the Nickel Plate Amphitheater, everyone knew it would be tough to have everything ready by the start of the outdoor concert season,  set for the first week of June.  A severe winter season was a setback.

It now appears the construction is at a point where the city believes concerts will be held at the new and improved Amphitheater complex beginning June 29th, based on information provided on the city’s Web site .

That means some major concert events, including the opening Friday night Amp After Dark featuring John Waite and Duke Tumatoe June 8th, will be held in the Central Green area between City Hall and 116th Street.  The musical acts will be performing atop the steps at the front of City Hall.

Based on the city Web site, the first concert to be held at the upgraded AMP will be part of the new Spark!Fishers summer festival on Friday, June 29th.

96th Street from Olio Road, extending east to the county line,  is one of those areas where the road goes in and out of Fishers City and Hamilton County jurisdiction. The two government entities have been discussing what speed limit is appropriate for that stretch.  The compromise reached was 45 miles-per-hour, per Jeff Hill, Director of the Fishers Engineering Department.  The Fishers Board of Works and Safety approved the speed limit Monday.

Hamilton County conducted a study and found that piece of 96th Street should have a speed limit of 50-55 miles-per-hour.  The city staff came to a different conclusion, recommending a speed limit closer to 40 MPH.

In other actions taken by the Board of Works Monday:

–$188,000 will be spent on the second phase of the Experiential Learning Project, a joint undertaking between HSE Schools and the city.  KSM Consulting will provide a technology platform for this project.

–The city will spend $35,000 on neighborhood projects throughout the city, based on a committee evaluation of the 18 applications submitted for the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program.  To look at which neighborhoods received funding, and how much, use this link.     

–The city is selling a 2010 Dodge Charger to the Arcadia Police Department for $1.  Fishers Police Chief Mitch Thompson says his department is trying to help Arcadia because that department is “in a pinch.”

–The board voted to extend the contract with Verizon to provide the city with cellular service.  The contract calls for 550 lines for an annual fee of $335,000, including equipment and service.

The month of June will feature work by 60 Indiana artists, displayed at Fishers City Hall.

Pamela Chase Newell, a Fishers artist who paints landscapes and still life in the impressionist style, will be among the  artists with work shown all around the public areas of City Hall.

The exhibit will be on display June 2-29 as part of the monthly Art in City Hall event, hosted by the Fishers Arts Council, Nickel Plate Arts and the City of Fishers. The artists work in traditional and contemporary styles and mediums ranging from painting and drawing to printmaking, mixed media and photography. Many are award-winning artists with regional and national reputations.

“This is a chance (for) the public to see a collection of art by some of the most recognized and accomplished artisans in the state,” James Hubbard, Indiana Artists (IN/A) president, said in a Fishers Arts Council news release.

Art will be on display in the upper and lower lobbies of Fishers City Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. There will be an opening reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., June 2, where visitors will not only be able to view the art, but also meet some of the artists. The artwork will be for sale. Prices range from $125 to $2,500.

Indiana Artists is an association of more than 150 professional artists from throughout the state.

With the 2018 primary election now in the history books, much has been written and said about the voter turnout in Hamilton County.  The local election office says the turnout was just under 19% of the county’s registered voters.  No solid numbers are available on how many eligible voters simply fail to register.

If measured as a percentage of eligible voters that voted in the local 2018 primary election, we have no solid figures.  However, if you extrapolate national percentages locally, the percentage of  eligible voters choosing to cast a ballot would be well into a single digit percentage.

Why do so few people choose to vote in a primary election?  There are many theories, but I have one.  It has to do political party identification.

Primary elections are essentially events for the two major political parties in America, Democrats and Republicans.  The major parties use primary elections to choose their candidates to place on the ballot for the general election in November.

A major reason so few residents vote in primary elections is the lack of identification citizens have with either major political party.  There is polling data to prove this on the national level.

The Gallup organization asked voters nationally this question:  In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat or an independent?  Gallup has been asking this question of the American public since 2004.

In the most recent poll asking that question, taken April 2-11 of this year, 24% identified as Republican, 29% Democrat and 45% Independent.  A clear plurality said they are political independents, not affiliated with either major political party.

I am guessing Hamilton County is not far off those national figures.  That would indicate low turnout in the primary election illustrates a lack of interest in either major political party.

Both political parties know they must attract independent voters to win any election.  It will be a major challenge for Republicans & Democrats to appeal to the independent voter.

Since people clearly identifying with one of the major parties tend to vote in primary elections, both parties must guard against nominating candidates in their primary election process that would alienate the independent voter.  But the primary system inherently tends to do just that in many instances.

Some states have open primaries.  Others have a runoff system where you have a first round of elections in place of the primary, and the two top voter-getters face-off in the general election (assuming no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote).  That can lead to some odd situations, where two candidates from the same political party end up running against each other in the general election.

As long as a large portion of the electorate chooses not to identify with either major political party, primary elections will see low turnout numbers.  Is it time for Indiana to look at options other than the current primary system?

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Bids will be taken Monday by county commissioners for a new pedestrian bridge over White River at Logan Street. The structure is to be connected to the existing vehicle bridge to afford better and safer access to the Federal Hill Commons park complex west of the river.

In their regular meeting, commissioners will also consider the sale of an abandoned section of right-of-way in the platted addition of Farmington as recommended by the county highway department. Following the meeting, commissioners will present their annual Youth Service Award to a graduating senior from each of the county’s high schools. The overall winner will receive a scholarship.

The awards program was started several years ago by now-retired George Kristo, director of the Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs which works to combat the use of alcohol and illegal drugs by county youth.

A documentary film and a film industry screening rep are featured in our podcast this week.  Adam & I review the documentary film, Itzhak, all about the world-famous violinist Itzhak Perlman.  This week’s guest is Julieanna Childs, a film screening rep for The Owens Group and a resident of Carmel.