Photo of the burnt flag, as provided by Fishers Police
Two Fishers men are accused of observing the 4th of July by burning an American flag, and are under arrest as a result, on a number of charges.
Fishers Police say they have arrested Christopher Graham and George Drake, both 18 years of age and both from Fishers. The suspects were taken into custody Friday at 2pm, near 116th Street and Lantern Road.
Reports came into authorities early Friday morning that the large flag being used as a backdrop at the Fishers Nickel Plate Amphitheater, literally across the street from police headquarters, had been partially burned overnight. The flag was large, 15 by 25 feet.
Fishers police are also investigating additional minor fires that officers say appear to be intentionally set in the area during the same time frame. At 12:05am a smoke detector alarmed after a piece of paper was set on fire in an elevator at the Edge Parking Garage. Also, during the early morning hours, multiple small fires were reported in the Sunblest Apartment Complex. All the fires burned themselves out and caused minor damage.
Graham and Drake now face charges of arson, criminal mischief and flag desecration. They are both being held in the Hamilton County Jail.
Anyone with information regarding these fires is asked to contact Fishers Police Detective Tracy Jones at 317-595-3417.
The story of Eva Kor is one of the most amazing you will find. She was told by the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele that she would be dead within two weeks at a Nazi death camp. But Eva was able to survive.
She spent a good part of her life dedicated to remembering the Holocaust that she somehow survived. But she is best remembered for finding a way to forgive the Nazis for what they had done to her and her family.
Local documentary filmmaker Ted Green directed a film about Eva that won a number of awards at film festivals last year and was broadcast on WFYI public television locally.
Eva died while on a trip to Poland visiting the former Auschwitz concentration camp.
During May of last year, Adam Assen & I interviewed Ted Green about his documentary film about Eva. The link to that podcast is below. The discussion with Ted Green begins about 38 minutes into the podcast.
Summer is my favorite part of the year, with people getting outside and enjoying the weather. Maybe that’s why I enjoy the July 4th holiday so much. It’s all about getting outdoors and gathering to celebrate the birthday party for the United States of America.
We look back on what happened in 1776 and honor the men (and they were all men at that time) choosing to sign the Declaration of Independence. It is good to understand what that document meant at the time.
America had been a British colony and from the point of view of the Brits, the North American colonists were an ungrateful bunch. We protested taxes levied by the British Parliament to pay for wars to preserve and expand the British Empire. The United Kingdom felt it was protecting the colonists, so why shouldn’t Americans pay for all that?
Americans took a very different view. The American colonies had developed their own ways of governing themselves without much need for any guidance from across the Atlantic.
Keep in mind that if the American Revolution had ended differently, the individuals with names on the Declaration were signing their death warrants. They were taking a stand that the only way to move forward was to make a full break from the British and fight for independence.
The prose written by Thomas Jefferson was an amazing document for its time. To declare that all men are created equal with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was not a concept common in the world of 1776.
I fully understand some of the contradictions within that document. For example, Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal yet he owned slaves himself. Even though that doesn’t make sense to us today, that language paved the way for changes that came to America decades later. Remember, it took a savage civil war to settle the slavery issue.
The 4th of July is a birthday party to celebrate every year, honoring the birth of America. We know there are problems and I won’t write about them here, because a birthday party is not the time and place to talk about what’s wrong.
Enjoy the party today, then do your part on July 5th to find your way to make America a better place.
Two independent candidates for municipal council office have filed for this fall’s election. Kate Snedeker has filed in Westfield City Council District 5, and Brad Baker has filed for Cicero Town Council, District 1. The deadline for independents to submit petitions to enter the race was July 1.
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The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, former operators of the Nickel Plate Railroad, accepted bids on June 28 for removing the rails from Noblesville to downtown Indianapolis. The removal is in preparation for converting the rail line to a pedestrian and bicycle trail. Only one bid was received. It will be opened at the port authority July meeting.
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Hamilton County Commissioners, County Council members and Noblesville city representatives held a joint session last week to consider major projects concerning both units of government. High on the list was discussion of the long-discussed Pleasant Street bypass of the downtown area. The project is now slated to get underway in 2022. Studies have shown the bypass will take nearly 40 percent of vehicular traffic off Conner Street.
Hamilton County Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush (center) and Chief Deputy John Lowe (left) present the Life Saver Award to Deputy Melton (right). (Photo provided)
Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Melton was presented the Sheriff’s Office Life Saver award for actions taken in the line of duty.
During a recent call for a cardiac arrest at Bear Slide Golf Course, Deputy Melton and a Cicero police officer performed CPR and used an AED until paramedics arrived at the scene to take over. The person was transported to the hospital for treatment and is reportedly doing well.
According the Sheriff’s Department, all deputies are trained in CPR and their vehicles are equipped with AEDs.
When Mike Bottorff resigned from the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in late May, the remaining six board members had thirty days to find a replacement. The board decided to accept applications, and 24 were submitted.
From that group, the board selected 4 finalists. There was a public interview session, then the board voted to place local insurance agent Clint Wilson on the board, filling the remainder of Bottorff’s term, which ends on December 31, 2020.
We did get to know a little about Mr. Wilson during the interview process, but the public has not had a chance to get an extended conversation with the newest member of the school board.
Clint Wilson talks about how he would have voted on the school’s nondiscrimination policy and responded to my question about possibly running for this board seat in next year’s election.
Gurinder Singh stars in a dramatized short film about his encounter with TSA (photo from film trailer)
When Gurinder Singh wanted to visit his ill mother, he faced a challenge at the TSA airport security facility. The TSA guidelines required Mr. Singh to remove his turban, which is a religious symbol for men in the Sikh religion.
Singh, a Fishers resident and recent Republican candidate for City Council, challenged those rules and fought for changes in TSA regulations, which were, in the end, successful.
That battle with TSA has been dramatized in a short film starring Mr. Singh. The production, directed by a young new filmmaker, Jenna Ruiz, has just won the “Short of the Year” award at the Covellite International Film Festival, held in Butte, Montana.
The film, simply titled “Singh,” will be shown locally at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film, July 25th-28th. For more on this festival, use this link.
You can watch the trailer for “Singh” at this link.
The West Nile virus has been found just next door to Fishers, in Carmel’s Meadowlark Park. According to my news-gathering partners at the Hamilton CountyReporter, the Hamilton County Health Department discovered the virus in mosquitoes sampled from a trapping site.
The use of personal protection sprays that contain DEET is recommended by local health officials during any outdoor activities throughout the county.
The Health Department indicated the mosquito control website will be updated as new trap sites become positive.
Truck-mounted spraying areas
All spraying activities are forecast-dependent related to precipitation and wind speed.
All spraying has an approximate start time of 8:30 p.m. or local sunset.
In the event of inclement weather (high winds or precipitation) individual routes will be rescheduled on the following business day.
Please be aware that nuisance biting activity is increasing and that the Hamilton County Health Department uses only adulticide sprays for mosquitoes in known areas of positive West Nile Virus activity.
Here are some precautions individuals can take to prevent mosquito-borne disease transmission:
Use mosquito repellent. Use insect repellent on exposed skin when you go outdoors. Use an EPA-registered insect repellent such as those with DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Even a short time being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite.
Clothing can help reduce mosquito bites. When weather permits, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
Be aware of peak mosquito hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many species of mosquitoes. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing during evening and early morning – or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
Drain standing water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items that hold water.
Install or repair screens. Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having well-fitting screens on both windows and doors. Offer to help neighbors whose screens might be in bad shape.
Sydney Parrish led the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team to a Class 4A state championship last February. Since then, Parrish has had an eventful spring, announcing her commitment to the University of Oregon and playing on the Indiana Junior All-Stars team. (Kirk Green / Reporter file photo)
Hamilton County Reporter
Sydney Parrish fulfilled the dream of many an Indiana basketball player when she and the Hamilton Southeastern girls team won a state championship in February.
After a little bit of time off, Parrish was back in the news again, making headlines when she committed to the University of Oregon. Then it was back in the gym and onto the court for summer ball with the Royals.
So while the state may be at the halfway point between basketball seasons, there’s always something going on. The Reporter caught up with Parrish a couple weeks ago at the Westfield Shootout, where Southeastern was playing. Parrish was there with her team, then on her way to an All-Star game in Anderson that night. But she appreciated the break she got after the Royals won state.
“It was definitely a good rest time for all of us,” said Parrish, noting that it was necessary because of HSE’s long and successful season. After that was AAU, then the month of June consisted of “workouts and weights and back into high school ball,” she said.
Parrish, who was named Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year, was selected as a member of the IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Star team, as a member of the six-player core group. The Juniors played the Kentucky Juniors in early June, then took on the Indiana Senior All-Star team a couple days later.
“It was really fun to play in that game with all the best juniors in the state and then against the best seniors in the state, and against the Kentucky players, because I know some of them,” said Parrish. It was so much fun playing with them.”
The core group contained some well-known players in addition to Parrish. North Central’s Jasmine McWilliams, a Northwestern commit, was in the group, as were Kendall Bostic (headed to Michigan State) and Madison Layden (committed to Purdue) of Northwestern High School, which has dominated the Class 3A state tournament the past two years. Northwestern will move up to 4A this year. Also in the group was Danville’s Ella Collier and Jeffersonville’s Nan Garcia, both of whom have received Division I offers.
“We all got along really well,” said Parrish. “There was no drama at all. It was cool because a lot of us have just been playing against each other for a long time, so having all of us in the same room, we all just connected right away and it was a really good experience.”
The Indiana Juniors split the two-game series with Kentucky, winning the first contest 89-85, but falling 111-107 in the second game. Parrish scored 26 points and handed out four assists in the first game, and had 19 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in the second game.
“But they were both good games, it could’ve gone both ways each time,” said Parrish.
The seniors won the Junior-Senior game 97-58, with Parrish scoring 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and making two blocks.
“The seniors were good, though,” said Parrish. “I got to give them that.”
Prior to that, Parrish made news by committing to Oregon, which has dramatically raised its women’s basketball profile over the past few years. The Ducks have made the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament the past three years, and broke through to their first ever Final Four last season. Junior Sabrina Ionescu, won the John R. Wooden Award for being the most outstanding women’s college player in the 2018-19 season, and will return for her senior season.
The success hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the Ducks have the top recruiting class for the high school Class of 2020. Parrish was the first one to commit, making the decision right after Spring Break.
“It was the team and the coaches,” said Parrish. “I feel in love with the staff, I fell in love with the girls. I felt like I belonged there.”
Parrish said it only took one visit to convince her that Oregon was the right choice.
“And I kept visiting places and I just knew that was the one place that I wanted to go,” said Parrish. “And it was unlike any other place I’d visited. I kept looking back at Oregon and nothing compared.”
Parrish is one of five recruits on a list that includes other five-star and four-star players from all across the nation. Among them are Angela Dugalic of Des Plaines, Ill. who is trying out for the 2020 Serbian Olympic team, Maddie Scherr of Florence, Ky., the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, and Te-Hina PaoPao of Oceanside, Calif., who was touted as a possible college starter when she was 14.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Parrish. “I’m so blessed to be a part of that group and I’m just ready to get there. I get to see them this summer. So we’ve seen each other. When they came to Indy for a tournament, so we got to lunch with them. It’s just an amazing feeling getting to know that people are talking about our legendary recruiting class and I get to be a part of it.”
Of course, Parrish still has one year at Southeastern. She acknowledges things will be different, as the Royals graduated a highly-talented senior class that included Division I players Amaya Hamilton (Duquesne), Tayah Irvin (Northern Kentucky) and Division II Malea Jackson (University of Illinois-Springfield). But there are plenty of returning players who will be determined to give the Royals another great season.
“I think we have really high expectations coming off of a state championship team and state championship season,” said Parrish. “I think people have really high expectations for us. We lost five seniors, we lost five really key players in our offense and in our defense, and we’re not as tall anymore. But I think we just have to make adjustments. Playing with them right now, we’re already getting a feel of how we’re going to start to play different than how we did last year. I think we’re going to have a good season. I think people are going to underestimate us.”
A drone’s eye view of the Spark Fishers Festival (all photos courtesy of Brosmer Photography)
The Spark Fishers Festival wrapped up its second year Saturday, with the city estimating that between 20,000 and 25,000 people visited the celebration at some point during the event, up from last year’s inaugural event.
The 5K run saw a big increase in the number of total participants, with 1,500 on hand. That is up from the 600-750 runners and walkers from last year.
All the available tickets for the Friday concert at the Amphitheater featuring Vertical Horizon and Tonic were handed out, so it was a full house. The Jazz Ambassadors entertained at the Amp Thursday night.
The Kids’ Zone had more activities this year and the youngsters filled the area.
Yes, it did rain during the parade, but it appears not many people there to watch left the parade route and took in the entire event. It was all capped-off with a big fireworks display Saturday night.
Below is a veterans’ video, followed by pictures, courtesy of Brosmer Photography and the City of Fishers:
