by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Primary of special importance . . .

The sometimes heated Republican primary election campaign comes to an end Tuesday when Hamilton County voters go to the polls. Voter turnout is not expected to be large, but results of the primary may have substantial consequences for the next four years, especially in county government.

Great interest, both here and statewide, is focused on the GOP ballot where an often nasty, hard-fought race for the nomination for U.S. Senate will be decided. Mike Braun, Luke Messer and Todd Rokita are seeking the right to face incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly in this fall’s general election. The race is considered a toss-up.

Fifth District Congresswoman Susan Brooks gets a free ride in the primary where she is unopposed for nomination to a third term.

County Races

At the county level, the primary is of extreme importance because Republican candidates nearly always sweep fall elections. The greatest interest appears to be in three county council races which could determine control of the county’s fiscal body.

Currently, there is a factional divide, sometimes more personal than philosophical, with very conservative fiscal members Rick McKinney, Fred Glynn, Brad Beaver and Paul Ayres (who is retiring) on one side. (McKinney and Beaver’s seats are not up for election this year.) On the other side, current members Steve Schwartz, Jeff Hern and Amy Massalmany are somewhat more progressive on fiscal matters.

In District 1 (parts of Clay and Delaware Townships) incumbent Glynn faces a determined effort by Sue Maki. In District 3 (Noblesville, Jackson and White River Townships) a contentious contest features incumbent Steve Schwartz challenged by Mark Hall, and in District 4 (Adams, Washington and parts of Clay Townships) a four-way race features Ken Alexander, Sheldon Barnes, Christine Pauley and Rick Sharp.

These three Council races are expected to be close, as is the race for County Sheriff where four career lawmen seek the GOP nomination. Bill Clifford, Eddie Moore, Dennis Quakenbush and Mitch Russell are waging aggressive campaigns, but have kept it a generally ‘clean’ race with each touting his own considerable credentials. The outcome is considered anyone’s guess.

A three-way race shapes up for judge of Superior Court 1 with the winner to likely take retiring Judge Steve Nation’s bench. Mike Casati, Will Riley and Jeff Heinzmann are vying for the nomination. The contest is low-key compared to some of the other races.

Incumbent County Commissioner Christine Altman is being challenged by an outspoken Matt Milam. The winner will run in November seeking to join Steve Dillinger and Mark Heirbrandt on the three-member board.

Unopposed in Tuesday’s voting are Prosecutor Lee Buckingham, Superior Court 6 Judge Gail Bardach, Kathy Richardson for County Clerk; Robin Ward, incumbent Assessor; Jennifer Hayden, incumbent Recorder and John Chalfin, incumbent Coroner.

Legislative Races

In Noblesville, Wayne and portions of White River Township, four candidates are competing to capture a seat in the state House of Representatives, vacant with Rep. Kathy Richardson’s decision to not run again.

Brad Beaver, Garen Bragg, Charles Goodrich and Greg O’Connor are running to represent the district. Another race for a House nomination is set in Clay Township where incumbent Jerry Torr is challenged by Tom Linkmeyer. And, for State Senate, incumbent Mike Delph is opposed by Corrie Meyer in a district that includes most of Clay Township and portions of Marion County.

Township Ballot

At the township level, there is only one contest for trustee, it pits Robyn Cook of Atlanta against incumbent Chris Miller for Jackson Township trustee. There are also a scattering of township board races in Noblesville, Clay, Delaware, Washington and Fall Creek Townships.

Democrats

Voters in the Democratic primary will have precious few choices to make. They will help choose a candidate for Congress along with voters in the entire Fifth District. Five candidates are seeking the nomination: Dion Douglas, Sean Dugdale, Eshel Faraggi, Kyle Moore and Dee Thornton. The winner will challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Susan Brooks in November.

For county office the only contest is between Jeremy Hawk and Gregg Werling in County Council District 3. In one township (Delaware) there is competition with four candidates running for three spots on the ballot, and in a county-wide race there is competition for 27 delegate positions to the Democrats’ state convention, but, these are party positions and not public offices.

At this time Democrats have no candidates for most county offices, leaving Republicans unopposed for two Superior Court judgeships, sheriff, prosecutor, county clerk, Assessor, Recorder, Commissioner and Council in District 2. The party has no candidates for township trustee in eight of the nine townships.

The party central committee does have the right to fill vacancies on their ticket, but as yet have not announced names of any candidates-to-be.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has a phrase he uses very time he has the opportunity – the mayor wants his city to be “smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial.”  The Hamilton Southeastern School District takes in the City of Fishers and some surrounding areas, but the schools have seized that cue from the city administration and have taken on an entrepreneurial and an innovative approach to education.

That was on display Wednesday night at the school corporation’s “Evening of Innovation” at HSE High School.  The booths consumed all of the College & Career Academy and spread into adjacent hallways.  There was a large crowd on hand on a gorgeous spring Fishers evening.

You experienced everything from chickens to robotics to virtual reality, and plenty more.

This event was so big there is no way to write a summary, so I tried to capture it in a series of photos…lots of photos, which you see below.

Continue reading HSE’s Evening Of Innovation →

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter 

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Why do some public officials try so hard to hide the reasons behind the dismissal of an employee when doing so only fuels the public’s demands for answers? This behavior can bring harmful community gossip that sometimes accompanies these actions.

While Carmel Clay Schools is not the only public entity to deny revealing the reasons for employees’ forced departure from high profile positions, two recent examples are certainly cases in point. Last year Carmel finally got resignations it obviously wanted from its school superintendent and its director of human resources. This came after months of questions and speculation as to why the two administrators had earlier been placed on administrative leave.

The Indianapolis news media had a ‘field day’ reporting the schools’ refusal to tell why the actions were taken, how much money was being spent on continued compensation and a demand to see public records. And, the publicity hasn’t ended.

Then, in recent weeks, the highly successful coach of the girls’ high school basketball team was dismissed for reasons not revealed. This also caused an outcry for reasons including a student protest march through town and more negative publicity which will likely continue. In both these cases there was certainly no misappropriation of funds, no illegal misconduct and no violence alleged. In fact, nothing has been alleged because the school says it doesn’t have to tell anything. Maybe so, maybe not, but it’s not very good public relations.

Why all the secrecy? We can logically assume that attorneys in our sue-happy environment are telling school officials to make “no comment” for fear of a lawsuit. But, we should not live in constant fear of a lawsuit at the expense of the public’s right to know the reasoning behind our public officials’ decisions.

Now Carmel has a new blooming controversy involving the possible closing of two elementary schools. This time, there is a reason given. It’s a predicted decrease in enrollment. The plan is apparently to build a new school in a new location to take the place of Carmel Elementary and Orchard Park schools.

Opponents, now passing petitions against the plans, claim both the schools are operating at more than 90 percent capacity and building an expensive new facility will harm established neighborhoods where the two targeted schools are located.

The matter could be a big issue in the November school board election when three of the five Carmel Clay board members’ terms are up. Hopefully, this time officials will give more detail on their reasons for the closings and cost-effectiveness of building a new facility to take the place of the two affected schools.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office has decided not to file any criminal charges regarding last weekend’s campaign sign incident.

Neither Hamilton County Council candidate Mark Hall nor his wife, Lisa Hall, who was seen on camera removing campaign signs belonging to Hamilton County Council President Steve Schwartz from the northwest corner of 211th Street and Oak Bay Drive will be prosecuted.

A press release from the sheriff’s office read, “Investigators from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office forwarded their findings in the case of missing campaign signs to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, May 2. After reviewing the findings, no criminal charges are forthcoming in the incident.”

Marvel Comics has created a new Avenger film, this one titled Infinity War.  Here is my review.

Tropical Smoothie had its first location in Destin, Florida.  Now it is franchising and, according to an Indianapolis Business Journal story by Samm Quinn, there will be Tropical Smoothie locations in Indiana, including two in Hamilton County.

Read more from the IBJ Web site at this link.

The month of May is here, which often means it’s Indy 500 month in Indiana, but Fishers will be ramping up another year of Farmer’s Markets on the first Saturday of the month.  However, the location will move slightly, at least for a while.

The Farmer’s Market has been held next to the Nickel Plate Amphitheater stage for a number of years, but that area is under construction and will be at least a few more weeks.  That means the 2018 start of the Farmer’s Market will be setup on the south end of City Hall in the green area near 116th Street.

The market begins each Saturday at 8am and ends at 12 noon.

There will be musical acts, but without a stage, city officials are working on having the acts locate on the steps of the Braden Building.

There will be no change in the food available, including local produce, baked goods, and prepared foods from over 60 full and part-time vendors.

Best places to park for the Farmers Market will be the garages adjacent to The Switch Building and The Depot.  IU Health Saxony will sponsor the weekly events.

“The Fishers Farmers’ Market represents what it means to be smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial in Fishers,” said Mayor Scott Fadness in a city news release. “We’re proud to work with Indiana vendors and local entrepreneurs who truly make Saturday mornings in Fishers a vibrant and welcoming experience for residents and visitors.”

Some special events for future Farmer’s Markets include:

• Biz Kidz Day – July 14

• Health & Wellness Expo – August 4

• Fall Harvest Festival – September 29

by

Stu Clampitt

Hamilton County Reporter

On Tuesday morning, the Town of Atlanta gave 60-day notice that it is terminating its contract with the Jackson Township Fire Department for both fire protection and Advanced Life Saving (ALS) services.

A letter addressed to Trustee Miller and the Jackson Township Advisory Board reads in part, “The Atlanta Town council is providing notice of termination of the Fire Protection Agreement for 2018 effective as of July 1, 2018.”

That letter, hand delivered and sent via certified mail from the Atlanta Town Council, is signed by Fred Farley, John Phifer, John Benge, Pam Van Hook and Jody Price.

According to a press release given to The Reporter Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta Town Council recently signed a contract with Seals Ambulance Service for Advance Life Support and Basic Life Support Services.

Phifer

“We are pleased to partner with Seals and excited to tell our residents that they will be receiving improved services at a considerable savings,” said Atlanta Town Council Member John Phifer.

According to the press release, “With ambulances stationed in two locations, White River Fire Department and Tipton Hospital, residents can expect to see faster response times when seconds count.”

When asked what this means for the Jackson Township Fire Department, Trustee Christina (Chris) Miller said, “It means we are no longer in a contract with Atlanta to provide fire and ambulance service.”

Jackson Township Fire will now cover a smaller area, but also have a smaller pool of financial resources from which to provide services. When asked what – if any – impact this might have on township fire and EMS service, Miller said, “Service and response will not change for the areas that we serve now.”

Atlanta Clerk-Treasurer and Jackson Township Trustee candidate Robyn Cook told The Reporter she thinks this is good news for everyone in northern Hamilton County.

When asked, as a candidate for trustee, how this could impact the northern Hamilton County community given that there will now be a more complex set of agencies handling fire and emergency services, Cook said, “I think that we need to look at all those pieces and all the dollars involved, but I am confident we can work together to enhance services for the entire community including White River.”

Cook and Phifer both specified that this was a town council decision.

A contributing factor of the timing of this was that Seals has signed a contract with White River Township, which brings Seals ambulances close to Atlanta from two directions.

Cook

“When the [fire] territory first dissolved we had already looked at all out options,” Cook said. “We wanted to work out a deal with Seals but could not afford it, which is why we went with Jackson. But when Seals put the ambulance at White River, it is my understanding that they approached us.”

When asked if she was worried about the timing of this announcement coming only a week before a major primary election, Cook said, “The timing is such that we had the opportunity. My council, being as awesome as they are, asked, ‘Robyn, how is this going to affect you?’ My answer to them was, ‘You have to do what is best for Atlanta.’”

According Phifer, the Atlanta Town Council has not been pleased with their situation, their contract and their fees for fire and Advanced Life Saving (ALS) service since they began contracting with Jackson Township following the dissolution of the northern Hamilton County fire territory a few years ago.

When speaking of the contract the town just terminated, Phifer said, “Since we wanted to keep our community safe and provide them with ALS service, our only option was to contract with Jackson Township. There were no other providers close enough in response time to provide ALS.”

He explained that the fee to contract with Jackson Township has increased over the years.

“We were looking for other options to get out from Jackson Township basically holding us hostage for services,” Phifer told The Reporter.

That situation will change on July 1.

“We got a good fire chief, Jerry Liston,” Phifer explained. “We are forming our own fire department and we were able to contract with Seals and save the residents of the Town of Atlanta $20,000 as opposed to what we were paying in the current contract.”

Seals is the ALS service provider that has recently signed a contract with White River. They also provide service to Tipton.

“We were looking at different avenues and Seals was available,” Phifer said. “We will have better ALS service now – while saving $20,000 – there is an ambulance in White River that will respond up here and there is also one in Tipton that is part of our Seals contract for ALS. And we just put our fire department back in service.”

According to Phifer, Jerry Liston became Atlanta’s fire chief about two and one-half months ago and now has the town’s fire department ready to go online by July 1.

Phifer told The Reporter there is an issue to be resolved with radios that are in service and in the possession of Atlanta, but which are in the name of and under the control of Jackson Township. Phifer expressed concern that Jackson could turn the radios off at any time.

Assuming that is resolved in a timely manner and that the town’s new fire department received their state certification in the next 60 days, Atlanta is set to provide their own services to residents.

“Now that Seals has come around and we have Jerry Liston as our fire chief, we are getting back on our own feet at a big saving for the residents of this community,” Phifer said.

by

Stu Clampitt

Hamilton County Reporter

As first reported by The Hamilton County Reporter, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the alleged theft and destruction of campaign signs by a woman caught on tape removing signs belonging to Hamilton County Council President Steve Schwartz. That woman has been identified as Lisa Hall, wife of Hamilton County Council candidate Mark Hall.

Mark and Lisa Hall campaigning this past Saturday. (Photo provided)

A press release from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department reads in part, “On April 29, 2018, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into missing campaign signs owned by Hamilton County Councilman Steve Schwartz. Schwartz reported campaign signs missing from the northwest corner of 211th Street and Oak Bay Drive.”

Click here to view the full release.

A press release given to The Reporter by Mark Hall states, “My opponent trespassed and placed signs without the permission of the Property Owner, Dr. Marc Zipper. There is no question that signs were placed illegally by my opponent on Dr. Zipper’s private property.”

Click here to view Hall’s full press release.

Hall goes on to say that volunteers from his campaign are cooperating with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s department.

“The campaign has provided them full written documentation of our agreement for signage and exclusive use of the property in question,” Hall stated.

The Reporter spoke directly with Mark Hall and Council President Steve Schwartz, who are both running for Hamilton County Council District 3, about this incident.

Photo provided by WISH-TV

Hall told The Reporter he was given exclusive permission to place signs on the property by the property owner, Dr. Marc Zipper. Hall provided emails which we are publishing in today’s edition.

Schwartz told The Reporter he has non-exclusive permission to place signs on the property from the farmer who leases the land, William Ray Clark. Schwartz provided a letter signed by Mr. Clark which we are also publishing.

Hall told The Reporter he contacted Zipper in March to get permission to place campaign signs on his property.

“I wrote him [Zipper] a note and said we committed that we would remove all the signs,” Hall said. “He wrote back and said, ‘I did not give anyone else permission to place signs on my property other than you.’”

Hall went on to say, “Just so we are on the same page, that means no farmer. That farmer who cash rents from him three months out of the year does not have permission to put signs on that property. He can’t give permission to anyone else to put signs on that property. This says, ‘I did not give ANYONE else permission.’ My opponent is misleading the public as evidenced by this. Where is his proof?”

Schwartz provided proof to The Reporter in the form of a letter from the William Clark.

“I had permission from the farmer, Bill Clark,” Schwartz said. “He lives within eyesight of where those signs are.”

An undated letter from William Clark reads in part, “I, Bill Clark, gave Steve Schwartz permission to put up campaign signs on many farm fields in Hamilton County that I farm and lease from other people including Dr. Marc Zipper.”

The Reporter also called Mr. Clark to clarify when he both gave Schwartz permission to place signs on the land involved in this dispute and notified Dr. Zipper.

“I don’t know if he [Dr. Zipper] remembers it or not, but I specifically told him,” Clark said. “I didn’t want him to not know. It was March, right before they started putting signs up.”

When asked if he was given permission for the trail-cam, Schwartz said, “That was never talked about. I know they were planning to put out one of their own. I think they were actually going to put out two because he is very upset. The people taking my signs were only taking the cardboard portion and leaving him a wire in his field. He’s upset because if you hit one wire his combine’s done.”

Clark verified he had given two of his own cameras to someone to place on his property, but Jackson Township Board Member Glen Schwartz, father of Steve Schwartz, put his own in place on Friday afternoon.

The Reporter asked Hall why his wife was removing signs at night, as the images from the trail-cam indicate.

“We came home from a long day of campaigning,” Hall said. “It was just at dusk. It wasn’t after sunset. It wasn’t in the middle of the night. It was right at dusk.”

Pete Schwartz, Steve’s son, told The Reporter the security camera images were time-stamped approximately 9:15 p.m.

Sunset was at 8:37 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

“My commitment to Zipper is to police the area and keep it clean,” Hall said. “There were other signs that were removed in addition. It’s not pick on you-know-who day.”

When asked where the signs were put and what his intentions were to do with them after removing them, Hall told The Reporter, “We destroyed everything. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Our commitment was to get rid of them. Dr. [Zipper] said, ‘your choice.’ All of them were destroyed.”

Hall said his campaign “told everybody that. We didn’t do anything wrong. Here’s the letter, here’s the proof. We’re to police the area. We are the only campaign that has permission for signs. Even though Your Mama’s Grill and Bar and College Painters weren’t political signs, they’re still a mess and my commitment to Dr. Zipper was still to clean them up.”

Hall said there were two Schwartz signs removed Saturday, but there more signs removed. He listed signs for College Painters, Your Mama’s Grill and Bar and judge candidate Will Riley as others he and his wife removed and destroyed.

Hall said this is the first time they have removed signs from that location, though he says he has had permission to do so throughout the campaign season.

“It’s really very straight forward,” Hall said. “He’s misleading the public. He did not have permission. We have written proof from the owner – the only person who can give permission. He does not.”

Hall indicated he thinks there should be charges filed against Schwartz for trespassing.

“The issue here is that you have a person in power who is trying to mislead the public,” Hall said. “He trespassed. He didn’t have permission. Now whether Zipper presses criminal trespass charges against him or not – that will be up to Dr. Zipper. But clearly you can see he wasn’t in the right-of-way. The stuff he was putting was way out in the middle of the field. That was really odd, because it wasn’t along the side of the road.”

When asked about where the signs were relative to the field, Schwartz said, “That’s where it’s going to become the grey area. The more than I looked at it today, I don’t know where the right-of-way begins and where the field actually stops. I didn’t put signs in the farmer’s field, but in the grassy area next to it. It could be the right-of-way, but the farmer, either way, told me I had permission. Not only did I put them out, but the farmer put them out as well for me.”

Schwartz explained Clark would call when the signs were missing, then Schwartz would leave signs at Clark’s barn door for him to place. This last set of signs was placed by Schwartz himself. He specified that there were three signs total taken over the weekend.

Hall told The Reporter he feels like his campaign was set up by Schwartz.

“How did he even know to put a camera there?” Hall asked. “It was a set up. Did he have permission to put a camera there? No. He didn’t have permission to be there.”

Schwartz said he understands that in a situation with a property owner and a renter, both of whom gave their own permissions to different campaigns, there is clearly room for misunderstanding.

“I understand the debate – that they are saying they had permission and I definitely had permission from the farmer,” Schwartz told The Reporter. “I went to great lengths to make sure I had the proper permission. I’ve known the farmer for quite some time. But at the end of the day it does not give anybody permission to steal my stuff and then destroy it. Last night Pete and I came up with an example. If somebody leaves a car in your driveway, you can call a wrecker and have it towed away. But you can’t drag it behind your house and set it on fire. That’s what’s happened. It is theft and destruction.”

The exact charges, if any, will be at the discretion of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department and the prosecutor’s office. If the issue comes down to destroying the signs in questions, IC 35-43-1-2 reads in part, “A person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally damages or defaces property of another person without the other person’s consent commits criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.”

Criminal mischief is what Jeff Hern admitted to after his own campaign sign escapade in 2016.

When told, in the interest of transparency, that The Reporter will publish the emails he provided, with the email addresses removed, Hall said, “I think that’s appropriate.”

One of those emails, sent from Hall to Zipper on April 3, specifies that he and his wife would not remove the signs themselves. “Even now with your permission it just can’t be Lisa or myself that removes them. In order to avoid issues, with your direction, the plan is to use a third party monitored by a sheriff’s deputy to remove them. That is how we will proceed.”

And yet, 25 days later, Lisa Hall was seen on camera removing a sign the Halls later destroyed.