The Jobvite firm is growing from 7 to 25 employees in the Fishers office, according to a news release.  Jobvite is a recruiting platform with customers such as Universal Music, LinkedIn, Wayfair, and Dollar Shave Club.

“There’s no denying Indiana is a hotbed for tech talent.  As the global head of two talent acquisition teams for ExactTarget (now the Salesforce Marketing Cloud), we utilized Jobvite to attract, engage, and hire the best professionals in tech,” said Andre Boulais, global recruiting leader for Jobvite in Indiana. “When I first joined Jobvite, one of my earliest presentations to our CEO, Dan Finnigan, centered around expanding in Indiana.  Powered by the data, the company began investing in our location.  As each hire exceeded expectation additional positions were added and the results have been extraordinary.”

Jobvite is based in Launch Fishers, a co-working space.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation now has an approved grades kindergarten through 8th grade redistricting plan for the coming school year, but getting there was not easy.  Board members tackled a number of amendments to the “preferred” plan submitted by school administrators following a long process of public input.

The board approved the final vote on the plan unanimously, approved two amendments and turned down another.

Both approved amendments would involve only a handful of students.  The first amendment would let students in the Logan’s Point area remain in their current school.  This effects no more than 11 students.  That amendment passed on a 5-2 vote, with Mike Bottorff and Amanda Shera casting the no votes.

The second amendment will allow about 6 students in the Anchorage neighborhood to remain where they are.  That measure passed on a 6-1 vote with Mike Bottorff voting no.

Other than those two minor changes, the board put its unanimous stamp of approval on the “preferred” redistricting plan recommended to the board by Superintendent Allen Bourff.

Michelle Fullhart offered a motion to move about 66 students in what she described as the “river neighborhood” and a large apartment complex.  That amendment was voted down on a 4-3 vote….Fullhart, John DeLucia and Sylvia Shepler were the yes votes on that proposal.

Mike Bottorff offered a motion to grandfather students in grades 3, 5 & 7 and allow transfer appeals.  It was pointed out that the “preferred” redistricting plan the board was considering already had those provisions, but the board voted to approve the motion unanimously to emphasize the point.

Ten people spoke to the board about the redistricting plan, mostly the same people that addressed the board at the last meeting.

For more details on the board options approved, use this link.

by 

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s girls basketball game with New Castle was both an easy win
and a grand occasion.

The Class 4A No. 2 Royals breezed to a 76-38 victory over the visiting Trojans on
Tuesday. The highlight came in the first quarter when junior star Sydney Parrish
became the latest member of Hamilton County’s 1,000-point club.

Parrish came into the game with 994 points, needing only six to reach the magic
number. She got it midway through the first quarter on a 3-pointer. The game was
stopped to recognize Parrish, then it was quickly back to business.

“I honestly didn’t even know I was close until about two games ago,” said Parrish. “I
didn’t really think about it, but then I was like ‘Oh!’ I was worried this game that I
wasn’t going to get there. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, six points.’

Parrish said she couldn’t have done it without her teammates.

“They’re the reason that I get some of the points that I have,” said Parrish. “That’s a
big help.”

“Syd’s a wonderful kid,” said Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal. “She gave up
the ball when she needed to give it up. She didn’t force any shots, she took a lot of great
shots. And she was hitting tonight.”

“I’m so happy for her,” said Huppenthal. “Having her in our program has been a
blessing for us and for everybody involved. She does a great job of including her teammates in everything she does on the basketball floor.”

The Royals put this game away early. Southeastern led 26-0 before New Castle scored a basket at the last second of the first period. HSE then led 43-12 at halftime and was up 67-25 after three quarters.

“I thought early on, we did a very good job defensively,” said Huppenthal. “I
thought we did a good job against (Cameron) Tabor. We wanted to go ahead
and try and take her out. We thought if we eliminated her opportunities, we eliminated
the rest of the team’s opportunities. Especially the first quarter. We did a very good
job jumping on their 3-point shooters, and again, eliminating Tabor’s dribble penetration
lanes.”

Parrish finished the game with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and also had six
rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Amaya Hamilton also scored 23 points, and earned a double-double by collecting 11 rebounds.

“We all get along so well,” said Parrish. “They understand every part of sharing the
ball. Everybody’s great with each other.”

“Amaya Hamilton played amazing tonight,” said Parrish. “Everybody’s happy
for her. It’s just a great feel as a team, on and off the court.”

Jackie Maulucci added 15 points. Molly Walton had six rebounds and five assists,
while Malea Jackson also dished out five assists.

The Royals’ junior varsity won 63-12. Scoring were Viele 21, Hinshaw 13, Stewart
9, Etheredge 5, Hill 4, Gabriel 4, Baker 3, Goeglin 2 and Rathbun 2.

Southeastern is now 13-1 for the season and will host Fishers on Saturday in the
Mudsock game.

The City of Fishers plans to reconstruct South Street near downtown Fishers, and the State of Indiana will pay $1 million of the construction costs through the Community Crossings Matching Grant program.  Jeff Hill, Director of Engineering for the City of Fishers, told the Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that the project will cost $2.5 million, but with the matching Community Crossings grant funds, the state will pay $1 million and the city $1.5 million.

The South Street reconstruction will stretch from Fishers Point Boulevard to Lantern Road, according to Hill.  The project will be bid this winter with construction expected to begin in the spring of 2019.

The board approved the matching funds from the state.

HSE High School earned the “We The People” state championship trophy Monday after two full days of competition in downtown Indianapolis.  Fishers High School finished in second place.

HSE will represent Indiana in the national contest, set for April 26-29 in Virginia.

The HSE “We The People” team is coached by Janet Chandler.  The second-place Fishers High School team is coached by Liz Paternoster.

The Indiana Bar Foundation sponsors the annual state-wide competition.  Students field questions from judges on constitutional issues, both historic and present-day.

300 seniors from 14 high schools in the state of Indiana took part in the state contest after placing high in regional competition.

Just as everyone is catching their collective breaths after the 2018 round of elections, the focus of politics in Fishers will switch to the 2019 city elections.

There have been no announcements of anyone on the 9-member city council about their intentions to run for re-election, but most local observers expect most or all of the incumbents to seek another council term.  Also, no challengers have stepped forward announcing candidacies for a council seat.

City Clerk Jennifer Kehl and City Judge Dan Henke are both expected to seek re-election, but no formal announcements have been made…the same goes for any potential challengers.

Mayor Scott Fadness has announced his intention to seek another four years in his City Hall office.  Will the mayor have a challenger in next year’s May primary?  Again, there have been no formal announcements, but one person has strongly hinted he is interested in challenging the mayor in the Republican Primary.

Logan Day testified at a Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) hearing December 4th, arguing the City of Fishers did not follow Indiana law in issuing bonds and authorizing a tax increase to finance the interest on the bond.  The debt is to be used partially to finance a portion of the Nickel Plate Trail, converting the rail line into a trail.

After the hearing, Day posted a video on the “Save The Nickel Plate” Facebook account, announcing he is stepping down from the Save the Nickel Plate organization as spokesman to allow him the chance to weigh a run for Mayor of Fishers.  Day was careful not to announce his candidacy in his video message, but gave the impression he is giving the mayoral run serious consideration.

So, there is one potential opponent to Scott Fadness in the GOP primary, and no one knows whether there are others considering a Republican primary election run for Fishers mayor in 2019.

Here’s what we do know….the first day to file candidacy for the 2019 municipal primary election is about one month from now – Wednesday January 9th.  The deadline to submit official papers if you wish to run is Friday, February 8th.

So, we will know in the coming weeks who the candidates will be in the Fishers city elections.

In 2007, arts organizations in Indianapolis were worried.  Mayor Bart Peterson was a supporter of the arts and had gradually increased the city’s financial support of the arts each year of his tenure leading Indy.

But Peterson lost to Greg Ballard in the 2007 election.  Ballard had been announcing city spending cuts as he prepared to assume office in 2008.  The arts groups were bracing for a financial hit.

Then, something unexpected happened.  The new mayor informed the local arts community that they would take some cuts, since the new mayor was reducing city spending in nearly all aspects of the municipal budget, but the arts would take only a small cut in financial support.  The incoming mayor saw that spending on the arts was one of the most effective economic development strategies the city had.

Why do I tell this story now?  Because the Fishers arts community is beginning to gain traction locally and what support the arts will receive in our city may be part of the discussion in the 2019 local municipal election.

Fishers elected officials have taken some small steps in supporting the arts locally. but our fair city is a long way off from being a big supporter of local artists.

It was announced Friday that the Indiana Arts Commission has named the Nickel Plate District in the downtown  Fishers area as a state-wide cultural district.  The city has an ordinance in place creating a local Arts & Culture Commission which is scheduled to begin meeting in early 2019.

But here is the most interesting development….. local arts groups, particularly the Fishers Arts Council, are gearing-up to raise money for a city arts facility, based on a story written by Italia Contreras published November 26th in the Indianapolis Star.  The council is aiming to raise $500,000 by the year 2020 to make that arts facility a reality.

Is it time for our city to incorporate the arts into economic development plans?  Just look at our friends to the west.  Carmel has made the arts a major component in developing their city.  Adam Aasen, a candidate for Carmel City Council in the upcoming election, argued that Carmel’s investment in the arts has paid big dividends.  In a commentary published Saturday in the Hamilton County Reporter, Aasen says even a small government investment in the arts will create a multiplier effect that can help small businesses.  (Full disclosure, Adam is a friend of mine and we co-hosted a weekly film podcast that is in hiatus at the moment)

Now, I know many people in Fishers will immediately say, we don’t want to be like Carmel, why should Fishers get involved in the arts too?  I get that argument and I do not believe Fishers will or should be as deeply involved in supporting the performing arts as Carmel.  I do not want another Palladium here in Fishers….the Carmel Palladium is a wonderful venue but I do not think Fishers needs anything approaching that.

What I believe is that Fishers should consider providing some support to the many artists struggling to bring quality artistic events to Fishers.  Private donations are a major part of that effort.  If the Fishers Arts Council shows there is enough support in our city through fund raising efforts, then the city should consider support for the arts.  What level that takes is up to those with the responsibility for the local purse strings.

Mayor Scott Fadness has a mantra – he wants Fishers to be a vibrant, smart and entrepreneurial community.  It is my view that the arts fit well into all three parts of that mantra.

If the local arts groups are successful in raising money for an arts facility in Fishers, then city officials need to look at the arts as part of the economic development strategy for Fishers and provide support for the artists in our city.  What level that takes is entirely up to those elected to make those decisions.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers traveled to Columbus North on Saturday and came home with a 60-57
victory.

The Bull Dogs led 15-14 after a close first quarter, then the Tigers pulled ahead 28-25
by halftime.

Columbus North came back to tie the game at 45-45 after three periods, with Fishers outscoring the Bull Dogs 15-12 in the fourth.

The Tigers had balanced scoring: Josiah Matthews had 15 points, Willie Jackson added 12, Alex Szilagyi scored 11 and Terry Hicks contributed 10 points.

Matthews had six points in the third quarter.

Fishers is 3-3 and will host Hamilton Southeastern on Friday for the Mudsock Trophy.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern picked up a big win Saturday afternoon at the FORUM
Tipoff Classic at Southport, beating defending Class 3A state champion Culver
Academies 66-55.

The Royals led 20-13 after the first quarter and 34-28 at halftime. After an even
third period, Southeastern outscored the Eagles 18-13 to put the game away.

Aaron Etherington scored 18 points and collected six rebounds, while Chris Grubbs
added 14 points and handed out six assists.

Mabor Majak contributed 11 points and five rebounds. Noah Smith dished out five
assists, Vinny Buccilla handed out four assists and Etherington blocked two shots.

The Royals are 6-0 and will travel to Fishers on Friday for the Mudsock game.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers pulled away from Noblesville Friday to win an all-county girls basketball
game 55-48 at the Tiger Den.

Fishers started out strong against the Millers, leading 18-9 after the first quarter
and 29-19 at halftime. Noblesville made a comeback in the third quarter, getting within
38-37 at the end of the period, but the Tigers outscored the Millers 17-11 in the fourth.

Tamia Perryman led the way for Fishers, with 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Skylar Fulton hit three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points, while Katie Burton added 10
points and six rebounds. Lydia Stullken had six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Audra Emmerson made four steals.

Mallory Johnson scored 25 points for Noblesville, draining three 3-pointers along the way. Sarah Etchison had two 3s. Abby Haley grabbed six rebounds, while Maddie Knight, Anna Kiser and Etchison all collected five.

Fishers is 7-3 and 2-1 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. The Tigers play at Pendleton Heights on Thursday. The Millers are 3-7 and 0-3 in the HCC; they play at Anderson on Tuesday