They called it the “Battle of Mudsock” in the late 19th century Indiana town of Fishers Station, where the City of Fishers is located today.  The rough-and-tumble town of that time had a battle that led to what some news reports described as a riot.  One man was dead in the end that led to a murder trial.

All that was recreated Sunday at the historic Ambassador House in Fishers, with a large crowd watching the original production of The Battle of Mudsock & the Trial of Hamp West.

All the funds raised by the two performances went to the local police and fire foundations as well as the Ambassador House.  Relatives of Hamp West traveled all the way from North Carolina to see the production.

Most of the cast members were current police & fire personnel.

This is the second consecutive year the Battle of Mudsock has been produced at the Ambassador House.  A number of people were involved in the production, including Fishers resident Ashton Wolf.

A perfect weather day drew a good crowd for the annual Safety Day at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Fishers Saturday.  There were about 70 booths of all kinds, including some food samples.

The Fishers Fire Department, St. Vincent’s and Ascension Health sponsored this year’s event.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern came just a few yards shy of stunning one of the best teams in the state Friday night.

The Royals were given a tough assignment for their Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener, taking on Avon at TCU Field. The Orioles are ranked No. 1 in the Class 6A Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the IFCA poll. They played like a top-rated team during the first two and a half quarters of the game, eventually leading 35-6 in the middle of the third quarter.

But Southeastern roared back, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half.

The Royals took the game to the very last play, during which they used a lateral
play to get down the field with no more time left on the clock. But Southeastern
was stopped short of the goal line, allowing Avon to escape with a 35-27 win.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason,” said HSE coach Adam Morris. “I just think we gifted them too many things in the first half. You have to give them credit. Obviously, they did a good job. But I also thought we made some mistakes that they were able to capitalize on. Second half, we played a little bit better, especially defensively, and that’s why the game ended the way it did.”

The Royals were held to just two field goals in the first half, both by Alex Geroulis. The sophomore kicked a 23-yarder in the first quarter, then converted a 38-
yard kick in the second period.

Avon led 28-6 at halftime, then added another touchdown early in the third quarter. But the Orioles would not score again after that. Southeastern began its run when Tony Myers caught a 24-yard pass with 14 seconds left in the period, then Geroulis made the kick. That got Southeastern within 35-13 as the quarter ended.

The Royals shaved another seven points off the lead with 8:54 left in the fourth. Hobson found DeAndre Rhodes, who took an 18-yard pass into the end zone. Geroulis kicked the extra point again, making the score 35-20.

Southeastern’s Clayton Toner made a big play late in the quarter, when he intercepted a tipped pass and took it to the Avon 30-yard line. The Royals made the most of the opportunity, getting down to the 4, and Hobson lobbed another touchdown pass to Rhodes; it was Rhodes’ second TD reception of the game and Hobson’s third scoring pass.

Southeastern then got the ball back on downs, and flew down the field before it was finally
stopped short of the goal line.

“I think our quarterback and our entire corps of receivers are a group that is definitely underrated and under-appreciated,” said Morris. “They had a great off-season.

Andrew Hobson as a senior stepped in at quarterback and done a great job. They’re
a really talented group and I would put them up with anybody’s.”

Hobson finished the game by completing 19 of 39 passes for 264 yards.

The Royals are 1-2 overall and will travel to Fishers next Friday for the Mudsock game.

by

Crag Adkins

Hamilton County Reporter

NOBLESVILLE – It didn’t take long to figure out how they would take control
of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener on the road, but the Fishers Tigers
proved themselves in lopsided 28-7 win at Noblesville on Friday night.

Seventh-ranked Fishers was out to make a statement in the HCC opener and
it wasted very little time in establishing their rushing attack against Noblesville.

The first possession of the game saw Fishers run right through Noblesville’s
defense for eight plays and 56 yards, resulting in senior quarterback Marcus
Roux sneaking it in from one-yard out for an early 7-0 lead.

After forcing the Millers to punt following a quick three and out, the Tigers marched right down the field again. This time it was senior tailback Dylan Scally that punched it in from the one, pushing the advantage to 14-0.

Noblesville’s defense did not have an answer for the Fishers rushing game and it made that quite obvious very early in the first quarter.

“We run what we run. We didn’t do anything real special for them. We just ran our offense and we executed it very well,” said Fishers head coach Rick Wimmer on the Tigers’ steady rushing that was key to victory.

The second quarter also belonged to the Tigers and they showed no letting up. The defense forced another punt that turned into another QB sneak from Roux from the one-yard line to get Fishers comfortable at 21-0.

The Millers just weren’t able to muster anything offensively during the first half. Another punt gave the Tigers another opportunity to score and that’s exactly what they did.

This drive took just five plays and 75 yards of offense. Roux found a wide open Reggie Cook-Graham down the middle for a 33-yard touchdown strike that put the Fishers up now 28-0, leaving Noblesville searching for answers.

Grayden Addison got out his boom stick and sailed a spiral punt that was downed at the four-yard line, netting 76-yards, pinning the Tigers deep.

Fishers was backed up for the first time in the game. On the second play of the drive, Roux tossed an interception right into the hands of Noblesville junior cornerback Blaine McNabb, returning the pick to the Tiger 18.

A couple of penalties on the offensive line put a damper on the slight momentum for the Millers. They were faced with a third and 26 from the 34 of Fishers. Addison was brought in for a 51-yard field goal attempt, but the kick fell just short of the crossbar and Noblesville trailing by four scores at the half.

“We were just trying to find guys. They didn’t do a good job in the first half.
This group is so young, inexperienced,” said Noblesville head coach Justin Roden on his team’s play in the first half.

The second half became a different story on both sides on the ball. Fishers had put the game into cruise control and Noblesville was doing everything that it could to try to get back into the game.

Forced to punt once again, Addison sent another great kick toward midfield. Tiger punt returner Reece Boland called for a fair catch, but mishandled the return right into the hands of Miller senior Kody Leach, giving the football right back to Noblesville.

For the Millers, it was just another night that their offense would struggle to produce.

Noblesville’s special teams shined again, this time punting toward the Fishers goal line. Boland muffed the punt inside his own 10 and junior Zach Blevins recovered the ball in the end zone for the Millers’ lone score at 28-7.

“I just think, physically, in the second half they still were able to run the ball,” Roden continued on Fishers’ rushing game.

“We’re going to bend. I’m OK with bending. We’re trying to do some many things. Fix is not the right word and when you try to do that, you make mistakes. We did a better job of that in the second half,” Roden said on his team not giving up, trying to make things work.

Overall, Fishers showed that it is a solid football team. It doesn’t just come down to what the Tigers did offensively. Their defense showed their true worth by
holding Noblesville’s offense under 100 total yards, as the Millers netted 75 yards.

“I don’t think we can get away from this and not talk about the job of our defense. They were just phenomenal, but for a half our offense was played on the part of our defense. It’s what we have been looking for and it’s the best half of football we’ve played, I think, especially with the running game,” Wimmer said of his defense and in turn how well the offense ran.

Noblesville (0-3, 0-1 HCC) was held to just one first down on the ground and another by penalty. It was a night where the Millers searched for offense and came up empty, limited to just 66 rushing yards and nine passing.

The Millers hit the road west to face HCC rival Westfield (2-1, 1-0 HCC), who won big at Zionsville, 51-24.

Fishers (3-0, 1-0 HCC) dominated all facets with 328 total yards, including 211 rushing. Dylan Scally carried 20 times for 118 yards and a touchdown. Shaun Kim had a great night spelling Scally, rushing 94 yards on 18 rushes. Marcus Roux didn’t need to run much for his two touchdowns in three carries.

The Tigers will host Hamilton Southeastern for the battle of the Mudsock next week. The Royals lost a home game Friday to top-rated Avon, 35-27.

by

Jeff Jellison

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers Arts Council is on the lookout for people in the local community ready to help the nonprofit organization promote visual and performing arts around the city.  Those stepping forward would be asked to give 2-3 hours per month, be creative and not be hesitant to get your hands dirty.

You can apply online at this link.  You can also join council members at Pure Eatery Restaurant at 8235 E 116th Street on September 25th from 7pm-9pm.  Meet the current board members, ask questions and decide if you will be a part of shaping the future of art in Fishers.

Here is the Fishers Arts Council mission statement – “To support, advocate and cultivate visual and performing arts opportunities that educate, enhance and/or enrich the lives of those who live, work and visit Fishers.”

You have likely already read about how the ILEARN test did statewide, with results down substantially.  Overall, students in the  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District saw their test results go down, but HSE students still far surpassed the state average.

In the 2019 ILEARN testing, 56.1% of HSE students taking the English Language Arts (ELA) and the Math test passed them both.  That compares with 73.5% passing both exams last year.  Last year’s test was the old ISTEP, with 2019 being the first year the state utilized ILEARN.

As far as how HSE students did on the individual Math and ELA tests – 64.3% passed the ELA ILEARN test this year, while 69.2% passed this year’s Math test.

Statewide, 37.1% of the students taking both the ELA & Math ILEARN exams passed both, compared to last year’s pass rate of 50.7% on ISTEP.  The statewide pass rate for just the ELA test was 47.9% and 47.8% for Math.

So, HSE saw a dip in test results compared to last year, but that has been the trend throughout Indiana.  However, HSE continues to score far above the state average.

LarryInFishers requested comments from HSE school administrators shortly after the results were announced Wednesday morning, but have yet to receive a response.  This story will be updated once comments are received from local school officials.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County and its eight cities and towns will soon vote on an ordinance that could increase the county’s local income tax (LIT) by 0.1 percentage point. Money raised from the tax increase would help fund the county’s 911 center.

Altman

“For years the county and its four largest cities have funded the county’s 911 services,” County Commissioner Christine Altman said. “The larger cities no longer want to absorb those costs, and while the smaller towns are willing to contribute something, they don’t have deep enough pockets to fund the full amount, so we need to find an alternative funding source.”

Hamilton County Public Safety Communications dispatches emergency calls for seven police departments, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and nine fire and EMS departments. The agency took more than 300,000 emergency calls last year.

“Public safety is the most important service we provide to our residents,” Altman says. “I really don’t think this is a luxury.”

911’s current budget is just under $11 million a year. $3.6 million of that budget comes from a statewide user fee charged to telephone and mobile phone users. A new interlocal agreement renegotiated between the cities and the county this year requires the larger cities to fund $6.9 million dollars of the budget and the smaller cities to pick up $500,000.

At the current time however, the small towns are paying 10 percent of that price tag, while the county funds the rest, approximately $440,000. County officials hoped that the smaller towns could phase 911 costs into their budgets, but according to information provided by county officials, those towns say they don’t have the revenue to make that happen.

A press release provided by Hamilton County to The Reporter said, “That’s why the Arcadia Town Council adopted a Public Safety LIT Resolution for a potential 0.1 percentage point tax increase at its last meeting. The adoption of that resolution now triggers a meeting of the LIT council, which is made up of representatives from each city and town in Hamilton County as well as the Hamilton County Council. If the tax is approved by enough members to constitute 50 percent of the county’s population, it becomes law. It would generate $16 million a year.”

Schemmer

“The tax would not only cover countywide 911 costs, but it would also allow us to expand the communications center,” said Jeff Schemmer, Hamilton County’s Executive Director of Communications. “The call center is currently housed in the basement of the Sheriff’s Office and is busting at the seams. We need to build a stand-alone building to better accommodate our growing population and burgeoning call load.”

Hamilton County’s income tax rate is currently one percent, the lowest in the region according to the Indiana Department of Revenue. Hancock County approved a similar LIT increase last year to cover the costs of its 911 center. If approved, the new tax would go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County Reporter

State and local officials conducted a public dedication ceremony on Friday for an Indiana state historical marker commemorating Ryan White and his efforts to raise national AIDS awareness while battling the disease as a teenager. White attended Hamilton Heights High School at this location from Aug. 31, 1987 until his death on April 8, 1990.

State historical markers commemorate significant individuals, organizations, places and events in Indiana history. These markers help communities throughout the state promote, preserve and present their history for the education and enjoyment of residents and tourists of all ages.

For over 100 years, the Indiana Historical Bureau has been marking Indiana history. Since 1946, the marker format has been the large roadside marker, which has the familiar dark blue background with gold lettering and the outline of the state of Indiana at the top. Over 650 of these markers have been installed over the years.