It’s that time of year when people look back on the previous 12 months and look at the top news stories of the year. In 2018, Fishers had more than its share of stories to cover. I suppose that is normal for a community growing as much as Fishers has in recent years.
A top 20 news story list is normally the result of several meetings and many large arguments within a news organization. I have no one with which to argue, so this list is entirely mine. I expect many people will take issue with it, and that’s fine, this is totally subjective based on my coverage of news in and around Fishers the past year. So, if you disagree, feel free to fire away!
My wife Jane and I have lived in Fishers since 1991, and I have been covering Fishers as a reporter since January of 2012. So this list is the result of what I have gleaned from being there when news happens, talking to the elected officials and the view of people living in Fishers. So, with that in mind, here is my list of the 2018 Top 20 news stories in Fishers.
20. Democrat Wins An Election Rachna Greulach was elected to the Fall Creek Township Board in the November general election. Township board seats are not the highest-profile offices in Indiana, but her election is important because she is a Democrat and Republicans have dominated elections in Hamilton County for a very long time. Republicans point out that Greulach was helped by a state law that did not register township office votes on a straight party ticket. Even considering that, any Democrat winning, especially in southern Hamilton County, is still news.
19 Mike Beresford Goes To Carmel Dr. Mike Beresford had been a fixture in the administration of Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools for a very long time. When Carmel was in need of a new superintendent and came calling, Dr. Beresford said yes. I had known Mike during my entire time covering HSE Schools and will miss him. Carmel made a good decision in hiring Mike Beresford.
18. HSE School Nurses When the HSE Schools recommended turning over the nursing staff in the schools to Community Health Network, most of the nurses fought back, wanting to remain employees of the school corporation. After much back and forth, what was described as an “acceptable” agreement was reached to allow the nurses to continue handling their jobs much as they had before after becoming employees of Community Health. School officials said the contract with Community will save money.
17. IOT Lab Opens This operation may be in Fishers, but it is the state’s lab. Governor Eric Holcomb and officials from Indiana University were on hand for the big announcement. 2018 was the year of the grand opening of this high-tech facility that enhances the reputation of Fishers as a high-tech hub.
16. MetroNet Resumes Construction The company has been installing its own underground cables to offer high-speed Internet and television service to Fishers. The firm ran into trouble with many neighborhoods in Fishers when gas lines were being ruptured, along with other issues. City officials and MetroNet worked out an agreement on how the company must handle construction work moving forward.
15. Inaugural Spark Fishers Festival The Fishers Freedom Festival was the premier summer gathering in Fishers, traditionally just before the July 4th holiday. That festival started in 1989 and continued through 2017. When the city did not provide financial and in-kind support for 2018, the Freedom Festival began dissolving the organization and the city led a new celebration at the same time of year, taking on the name of Spark Fishers (the branding shows it as the Spark!Fishers Festival, with the exclamation mark in the middle). It was an oppressively hot day for the one-day festival in 2018, but the parade & fireworks garnered a large crowd.
14. Fishers Enacts New Cycling Ordinance Cycling enthusiasts pushed for an ordinance aimed at protecting cyclists while on Fishers roads. The biggest change in the ordinance provides a 3-foot “halo” around the cyclists where motorists are required by law to give those on bicycles space. The vote was fairly close, with the City Council voting 5-3 to approve the measure.
13. Renovated Amphitheater City officials had an aggressive timeline to finish renovations between City Hall and the Amphitheater. The entire area was revamped, including a new pavilion named the Cube. The stage itself was widened, other parts of the building were expanded and renovated. The area in front of the stage was redone to allow better sight lines for the audience. The new stage opened in mid-summer with the Cube opening shortly thereafter.
12. Kroger at 116th & Allisonville Road The Kroger company had announced plans to construct a new grocery across Allisonville Road near 116th Street. However, once Amazon announced its intention to get into the grocery business, Kroger stock went down and the firm made a decision to cut back on expansion plans nation wide. This Fishers project was axed as a result. Kroger did announce plans to renovate the current grocery location. City officials say they are working on ways to enhance the first commercial area the Fishers area had in its growth years.
11. Parkland Anniversary School Walkouts March 14th was the one-month anniversary of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. There was a nation-wide call for a brief student walkout on that anniversary at the precise time the shooting had happened one month earlier. HSE Schools, in contrast to nearly all school districts in the area, took a very tough stand, threatening discipline for any student walking out. Some students at HSE Schools did walk-out, but the events were orderly and not disruptive. I could find no example of a student disciplined in any HSE School for participating in this walk-out.
10. Commercial Development Fishers saw another boom in commercial development, too numerous to list here. The Yard and One North developments spent the year under construction. The city announced a new development along 116th Street near City Hall that will include a new headquarters for First Internet Bank and a “boutique hotel.” Some older buildings on the south side of 116th Street, such as Nickel Plate Grill, will be preserved. These are just a few of the major projects announced or underway.
9. Mayor Fadness To Seek Another Term If there was any doubt, that was cleared up early in the year when Scott Fadness told me in a January 2018 podcast interview that he had told his department heads he would run for re-election in 2019. He later issued a news release through his campaign formalizing his intention to run for another term. In addition to the mayor, all 9 city council seats are up for election, along with the City Clerk and City Judge in 2019.
8. Geist Park The city spent a good part of 2018 negotiating with IMI Inc. about buying their former property on the lakefront. Those talks broke down, a condemnation proceeding went forward and the city ended up paying an amount somewhat higher than the original offer. City officials have been asking for feedback on how the park, the only public space on the Geist Reservoir waterfront, should be developed.
7. Changes At The Top For Fishers Police In late July, Fishers Police Chief Mitch Thompson was arrested on DUI charges following an auto accident on the north side of Indianapolis. Thompson immediately resigned as chief and resigned from the department in October after pleading guilty to one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. Ed Gebhart was immediately appointed acting chief and was named as the permanent chief in August.
6. Road Construction How many years has this been a top news story in Fishers? Too many to count. However, with the rapid growth comes the need to improve the road infrastructure. There were many projects in 2018. Included in that list would be the roundabout at 131st Street & Cumberland Road, 106th Street and the widening project on Allisonville Road north of 116th Street, which will not be finished until spring or summer 2019. Brace yourself, the construction project on State Road 37 will begin as early as February, 2019.
5. School Safety On May 30th, The City of Fishers and HSE Schools sponsored a school safety event at the HSE High School auditorium. The event drew a large crowd. The impetus for the gathering was the May 25th school shooting in Noblesville.
4. Murder-Suicide Two long-time teachers in the HSE School District died in what authorities described as a murder- suicide involving a couple going through a divorce. The coroner’s office ruled that Kristal Sergi died of multiple gunshot wounds and ruled her death a homicide. Her husband Frank Sergi apparently turned the gun on himself and died of a single gun shot to the head. Both teachers had touched the lives of many young people throughout this community and the shock over the tragedy hangs over this area to this day.
3. Rails To Trails The Nickel Plate Rail Line had been used for the Indiana State Fair Train and other occasional excursions, but the City of Fishers has moved forward aggressively to transform the rail line running through Fishers to a trail. A group called “Save The Nickel Plate” has been just as aggressive in trying to stop the city and advocating the preservation of the rail line, keeping it either just used for trains or dual use as a trail and train track. So far, the City of Fishers has been successful in legal and administrative proceedings, but a few are still pending.
2. School Board Election There will be three new faces on the seven-member Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in 2019 after the November election. Only one incumbent member stood for re-election and Michelle Fullhart won her seat. Three other sitting members chose not to run again…they were Terry Tolle, John DeLucia and Matt Burke. The newly-elected members are Brad Boyer, Janet Pritchett and Julie Chambers.
1…..Redistricting With the new Southeastern Parkway Elementary School under construction and set to open in August, 2019, the HSE School District had to go through a process of redrawing the boundary lines for schools grades kindergarten through 8th grade. As always, the process was controversial, with many parents pushing the school board not to move their children. But after all was said and done, new school districts were drawn and approved by the school board.
Well, that’s it for the 2018 Top 20 list. I also posted a Top 10 podcast listing on my blog, if you want the ten most popular podcasts from the year 2018.
Most of all, thanks to all of you for reading this blog and listening to my podcasts.