A Mudsock game is always more than a sporting event, it is a community celebration.  Unfortunately, at the end of the game, someone has to lose and their celebration ends.  But even with that, most people in and around Fishers enjoy taking in the Mudsock contest, be it football or basketball.

The HSE High School gym was filled to capacity with Tiger and Royal fans Friday night.  The basketball game itself was one of the best I have seen in some. time.  Both teams had their surges during the game, but it ended in a 45-45 tie, so an overtime period was tacked-on to determine the winner.  The Tigers held on for a hard-fought 54-51 win.

Several local TV stations were on hand for live broadcasts during local newscasts.  Lots of other sports media paid a visit to the HSE gym.

Here are a few photos from the 2019 boys basketball Mudsock Game:

Continue reading Mudsock basketball game packs HSE Royal Gym →

Hamilton County Reporter

The County Commissioners have approved an amended sign ordinance that should help eliminate confusion between similar ordinances in Hamilton County’s cities and towns.

In a unanimous vote, the commissioners passed Amended Ordinance No. 11-25-19-A at the Dec. 19 meeting. The amended proposal prohibits the placement of all non-public safety signs within public rights-of-way in the unincorporated areas of Hamilton County, along roads and bridges maintained by Hamilton County, and on land owned by the county.

“When it comes right down to it, this is really a matter of safety,” says Steve Dillinger, President of the Commissioners. “Poorly placed signs increase visual clutter, distract drivers, and make it difficult to obey street and traffic signs.”

Hamilton County streets are defined in the new ordinance as all public streets within the unincorporated area of Hamilton County, 146th Street east from the Boone County line to Marilyn Road, Campus Parkway east from Marilyn Road to the Interstate 69 bridge, Olio Road from 96th Street north to, and including, the roundabout at Campus Parkway, and any bridge of over 20 feet in length located within Hamilton County other than bridges over I-69, U.S. 31, State Road 37 and Keystone Parkway.

“It can be difficult to know where the city limits begin and the county limits end,” Dillinger said. “That’s why we’ve been working with the cities to create an ordinance that will work for all of us. Fishers, Westfield and Noblesville plan to adopt similar amendments at upcoming council meetings. Carmel’s current ordinance is nearly identical to this one.”

Traffic, utility and construction signs approved by the Board of Commissioners or the Hamilton County Highway Department are not prohibited by the new ordinance, as are signs placed on private property with the consent of the property owner. Signs found to be in violation of the ordinance will be collected and taken to the Hamilton County Highway Department. They can be retrieved for $3 for each sign of six square feet or less and $15 for each sign larger than six square feet. Fees help cover the cost of trucks and crews used to collect the signs. If the signs are not collected before June 30 or Dec. 31 of each year, the signs may be destroyed.

The sign ordinance will be enforced starting Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. Copies of the ordinance are available in the Hamilton County Auditor’s Office. A copy will also be posted at hamiltoncounty.in.gov.

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)

These are financially good times for Hamilton County government. According to County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt in a recent mailing to voters, the county has an unobligated cash balance of $56.3 million, which is likely more than any other county in Indiana.

County officials have done a great job of financially providing for the services residents want and need without excessive taxes. But, in one recent instance they have not done what they could do to save our citizens money.

It’s a little complicated, hard for the public to understand, and that’s probably the way some in this story wanted it.

The county wants to hold on to the $56 million, saying they have needs for State Road 37 cost overruns, partial payment for a parking garage, etc. But, that does not add up to the $56 million.

So, some county officials encouraged city and town leaders to increase the Local Income Tax to pay for the Emergency 911 Communication Center. That’s because the larger cities were paying a disproportionate share of the $9 million annual 911 cost, a third of which is paid by state-collected cell phone taxes. Ever-increasing county revenue could pay for it. And, why shouldn’t it be county funded? After all, 911 communication workers are county employees working in a county facility. And, if the worst happened, a tiny increase in countywide property taxes could cover the needs. So, most of the cities and towns adopted a resolution to enact a local income tax increase of 10 percent. In an ironic twist, since the county council did not vote on this tax, their members can say they did not vote to increase taxes.

The Local Income Tax next year will rise from one percent to 1.10 percent, which amounts to about $17 million. That doesn’t sound too bad, and maybe few taxpayers will notice this increase each year. But, it is the principle of the thing that matters and the fact that only half that amount will be needed. And, it may not be the last increase. (If Marion County’s Red Line mass transit system is a success, look for local officials to push for another increase to help fund expansion of the Red Line into Hamilton County.)

In October, a resolution calling for the increase, apparently drafted by the Town of Arcadia, was circulated to the county, town and city councils and sold on the argument that fairness was the issue and everyone should pay their share. And, everyone involved wants to keep an effective 911 system, as we all do.

As a result of the increase, the small towns’ budget makers are off the hook for paying toward 911 communications, the larger cities like Carmel, Fishers and Noblesville, won’t have to contribute to 911, and instead can direct the money to other uses. And, county government doesn’t have to face financing the operation countywide in their budget.

So, it seems there is something for everyone, except the taxpayer. And, many of the taxpayers do not know what happened because the matter saw little to no debate or publicity.

As stated earlier, the amount is not large for any one taxpayer, but there is a lesson here. It’s well to watch what officials are considering and demand information regarding true needs for tax revenue because this kind of issue could soon arise again.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers improved to 13-0 for the season with a 59-42 win over Pendleton Heights Thursday at the Tiger Den.

Class 4A No. 4 Fishers got off to a fantastic start, leading 21-7 after the first quarter. The Tigers cruised to a 39-18 halftime lead, then led 50-28 after three quarters.

Katie Burton led Fishers in scoring with 24 points, also making four steals. Katie Howard added nine points, with Audra Emmerson contributing eight points and Tamia Perryman scoring six points. Lydia Stullken had five rebounds.

The Tigers will host 4A No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern Saturday in the Mudsock game.

Fishers Junior High teacher Mike Fassold has won another Indiana Middle School state championship with his We The People team.  The We The People competition is all about knowledge of law and the U.S Constitution.

The team is preparing to compete in the national finals.  However, that means a trip to Washington DC, and that’s where you come in.  The team needs donations for the trip to the nation’s capital.

The Fishers Junior High School “We The People” team is asking for donations to pay for the trip to the national finals.

If you would like to support the team, you can easily do so on the Go Fund Me page at this link.

While in the holiday spirit, take a moment to support these young people competing at a high level of competition based on their civic knowledge.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor 

Hamilton County Reporter

A young coach is ready to take the Noblesville football team back to the old school.

Dave Sharpe was hired as the Millers new head football coach Tuesday during
the Noblesville Schools’ regular board meeting. Sharpe’s tenure as coach officially
begins in January, but he is already preparing for the new job, and was talking with
some of his future players minutes after his hiring was made official.

“It’s a big small town,” said Sharpe. “And I like that in a school. It’s one big high
school right in the middle of the community.”

Sharpe spent the 2019 season at Hamilton Southeastern, where he served as the
team’s defensive coordinator. As a result, he has first-hand knowledge of the Hoosier
Crossroads Conference, which he said “is as good a conference as there is in the entire
Midwest, so we’re going to play some great competition.”

“There’s no bad teams,” said Sharpe. “Every week anybody can beat anybody.
The rosters are so big, everybody’s too platooned. It’s a level playing field for most
schools in the league.”

“Coach Sharpe has a great football pedigree and 14 years of strong, successful
coaching experience,” said NHS Athletic Director Leah Wooldridge. “He knows
we’ve been a team in transition and he’s committed to bringing stability and leadership to build our program. His focus on kids and his great football mind will be huge
assets. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together moving forward.”

Sharpe’s football pedigree comes from Jimtown, as he is the son of legendary
Jimmies coach Bill Sharpe, who compiled a 288-54 record in 28 seasons (1980-2007)
and four state championships (1991, 1997, 1998 and 2005). Dave Sharpe graduated
from Jimtown in 2000, then attended Purdue University, graduating from there in
2004 with an education degree. He will teach physical education at Noblesville High
School.

Dave Sharpe began his career as an assistant for the Jimmies, first under his father,
then for current coach Michael Campbell, who took over in 2008 after Bill Sharpe
retired. Dave Sharpe’s first head coaching job was at John Glenn, where he went 13-9
in two seasons.

In 2015, Sharpe became the head coach at La Porte – another “big small town.” In
four seasons with the Slicers, Sharpe compiled a 26-17 record, including a Duneland
Conference championship in 2016.

“My vision for Noblesville is to be the polar opposite offensively,” said Sharpe.
“We’re going to go incredibly old-school. We’re going to go double tights. We’re
going to go a full house T offense, and we want to be the oddball in the league. With
everybody going to a full spread offense, we’re going to give opponents something
that they only get to prepare for once a year.”

Sharpe said his plans for the next couple weeks include getting to know his players and to “continue to evaluate the kids from the game films that I just inherited.” His
top priority is to hire a coaching staff. “And then just setting the groundwork of what
we envision the program with going forward,” he said.

December 16th marked the last Fishers City Council meeting for 2019, but it also was the final session for three key Fishers leaders.  Council President Rich Block, Council Vice President Eric Moeller and Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath will all be moving on in 2020.

Rich Block and Eric Moeller lost their re-election bids in the 2019 general election.  Leah McGrath is leaving for a job in the private sector, at Knowledge Services, a technology firm.  She has also announced her intention to run for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Mayor Scott Fadness presented each of the three with a remembrance of their time with the city in a City Council ceremony.

As a reporter covering Fishers as both a town and a city since 2012, I can say all three have made major contributions to the community we call Fishers.  Whether you agreed or disagreed with their decisions, they all had the best interests of the city, and its residents, at heart.

The Fishers City Council was clearly split on a rezone of about 5 acres of land just east of State Road 37 near 141st Street Monday night, but the council, at the request of the petitioner, decided to delay action on the request.

The Woods of Britton Apartment complex was eyeing the 5 acres adjacent to the development for expansion, constructing more apartment buildings.  The Woods of Britton currently contains 500 apartment units.

Councilor Todd Zimmerman first came out against the proposal, saying Fishers has only one chance to develop the State Road 37 corridor commercially.  His fellow council members Cecilia Coble, Eric Moeller and Selina Stoller all voiced their opposition to the rezone request.  With four “no” votes on the record before the final vote (5 votes would defeat the proposal), Attorney Steve Hardin, representing the owners of Woods of Britton, suggested his client would be willing to withdraw the proposed rezoning, as council members mull over the issue,  delaying consideration.

The council then voted 9-0 to continue consideration of the rezoning.

Tish Biggs, a resident of Fishers, has been named by AARP Indiana as the recipient of the 2019 Andrus Award for Community Service. This award is named after AARP’s founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, and is AARP’s most prestigious volunteer tribute.

“I feel humbled and honored to be in the company of those who previously won the Andrus Award,” Biggs said. “Facilitating the success of others is my personal mission, and AARP always works to assist seniors to live more productive lives – therefore, a perfect match for my volunteer efforts.”

Biggs has been a volunteer for the nonprofit organization for about 5 years, including work on local Fishers city planning and time working with Indiana legislators at the Statehouse.

“Tish has contributed amazing energy, positivity, and communication skills to AARP Indiana since her first day with the team,” said AARP Indiana State Director Sarah Waddle. “She is a champion for her community and for all Hoosiers through her volunteerism on our Legislative Team.”

Ms. Biggs holds a PhD in Educational/Instructional Technology from Kent State University.  She has worked for Time-Warner Cable, was a local councilwoman in Ohio and has spent time as an educator.

She joined Mandla Moyo of AARP Indiana on a podcast I recorded earlier this year, which can be heard at this link.

When Jocelyn Vare was a candidate for an at-large Fishers City Council seat, she emphasized communicating with the public as one of her issues.  Monday afternoon, Councilwoman-elect Vare released her plans on how constituents will be able to communicate with her.

“My campaign was rooted in the belief that all residents should be informed and their voices should be heard,” said Councilwoman-elect Vare in a news release. “Until now, the City Council and its activities have been, to a great degree, an unknown for Fishers residents. My intention is to open new and more efficient lines of communication so that residents will feel more connected to their city government and feel welcome to participate.”

• Listen to Fishers Hotline – First established during the campaign, her Listen to Fishers hotline allows residents to leave a confidential voicemail. Residents who would like to share an idea or concern with her are encouraged to call (888) 518-7117.
• Monthly Email Newsletter – The councilwoman will share information with residents through a monthly email newsletter, which will feature a schedule of upcoming City Council meetings, public hearings and other events, as well information about important issues affecting the community and ways to participate as a resident. You can register online,  jocelynvareforfishers.com or send an email to hello@jocelynvareforfishers.com.
• Office Hours  – Effective January 29, 2020, Ms. Vare will keep office hours at Launch Fishers every Wednesday morning from 7:45am – 10:45am. Residents are encouraged to stop by for coffee and discuss any questions, concerns and/or ideas for the community. Launch Fishers is located at 12175 Visionary Way, behind Super-Target.
• Monthly Media Update – Each month, Vare will issue an update to the media that reaches Fishers residents, which will summarize Fishers City Council activity for the previous month, highlight upcoming votes and overview issues on which she is working with residents.
• Quarterly Ask Me Anything (AMA) Events – Beginning this winter, Jocelyn will host quarterly Ask Me Anything events via Facebook Live to offer residents the opportunity to ask questions, express concerns and share ideas. Dates and times for AMA events will be posted on Jocelyn’s Facebook page and website

Jocelyn Vare will begin serving as a Councilwoman at-large on January 1, 2020.