Last Wednesday night, our local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board found four votes on a measure setting scheduled start times for students in the coming school year, but it wasn’t easy getting there and a big decision has been handed to a new committee yet to be appointed.

There were two votes that failed to receive the required majority of four votes (out of seven total board members).  One motion offered did not pass because no other board member seconded that motion, meaning no other member of the board supported it.  Finally, on the third try, a motion by HSE Board President Michelle Fullhart was approved, but barely, with the minimum four votes.

Why did our local elected school board appear so divided on the issues of school start times and a revised bus schedule?  After covering this issue over the past several months, the board was divided, in my view, because the school community was (and still is) divided.

During a podcast recording done the day after that board meeting, Superintendent Allen Bourff arrived at the same conclusion.

“We came to the meeting (Wednesday) night with seven board members with seven very different points of view,” said Dr. Bourff . “Those points of view were reflective of the very different points of view out in the public right now.”

In case you haven’t been following this issue, this discussion began with two proposals offered by school administrators.

First, a 3-tier bus transportation system would ease the bus driver shortage and allow the elimination of early release for students on Mondays.  It would also eliminate the need for most shuttles between school buildings.

Second, there is growing scientific evidence that high school age students need more sleep, and moving back the class start time would help those students have that extra sleep.  Of course, the other side of that coin is that elementary students would then be reporting for class earlier.

When the public comments began rolling into school officials, a clear split in opinion could be seen.  Many supported moving back the high school start time but moving up elementary students reporting time in the morning.

But many others pointed to downsides of the change, such as high school students not being available to watch younger siblings in the late afternoon.  There were other family related issues raised.

Here is the important point here – this is a very tough call for our elected school board.  Board members want to be responsive to the public and also do their own evaluation of the options.  But with the community split, our elected officials are split, and that should be no surprise.

Another important point – I have listened to this debate and have come to the conclusion that there are very valid points on this issue….not just on two sides, but many sides.

There have been complaints from time to time that local officials do not always represent the community in their actions.  This is a case where the board is reflecting the public on these issues.  The public is split and the board is split.  Sometimes, that happens in democracy.

As things stand now, there will be some tweaks to the start times in the upcoming school year to accommodate the new bus scheduling, but there will be no “flip” of start times for high school and elementary classes.

However, what happens to school start times beginning in the following school year, 2021-2022, will be up to a committee that will soon be appointed and charged with studying all the data and coming back with a recommendation to the board later this year in October.

The start time debate is not yet over.  I would encourage everyone interested in this issue to keep up to date on developments.  One place to do that?  Right here at LarryInFishers.com

Three men were convicted of the 1965 assassination of Black Muslim leader Malcolm X.  But there has always been some doubt about two of the men convicted – were they actually innocent?  In a six-part Netflix documentary series, there is an exploration of the facts connected with this murder case.  The local district attorney, after the release of this film, has ordered the case be reopened.  Here is my review of – Who Killed Malcolm X?

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers girls basketball team’s historic season came to an end on Saturday, as the No. 3-ranked Tigers fell to No. 1 Northwestern 67-40 at the Class 4A Marion regional at the Bill Green Arena.

Fishers came out ready to play, as the Tigers used back-to-back 3-pointers from Katie Burton and Kaitlynn Feagan to take an early 6-2 lead. Another Burton basket put Fishers ahead 8-4 midway through the first quarter.

But Northwestern took over after that. Kendall Bostic, one of its two star players, made a three-point play to put Northwestern up 9-8, and it never trailed again, eventually running out the first quarter and taking a 20-12 lead. Northwestern then cruised through the second period to lead 37-19 at halftime.

“Their length on defense just gave us a lot of trouble,” said Tigers coach Lauren Votaw. “We turned the ball over way more times than we have and I’m going to credit a lot of that to Northwestern. They were solid defensively and like I said, their length really bothered us. We hit some shots early, I thought we might be okay. We couldn’t find a way to get the
ball in the middle, which is where we felt like it was open.”

Fishers continued to fight in the third quarter. Burton added another four points,
then Audra Emmerson made a 3-pointer.

The Tigers’ freshman twins, Hailey and Olivia Smith, provided some good minutes in the third quarter, with Hailey making a layin, then Olivia scoring off a steal to keep Fishers within 48-34.

Northwestern’s Klair Merrell made a layin to end the third period and put her team up 50-34. That began a 10-0 run for Northwestern, whose defense took over again and allowed the Tigers only six points in the fourth quarter.

Burton led Fishers with 15 points, both she and Hailey Smith collected four rebounds. Lydia Stullken blocked two shots.

The Tigers finished their season with a school record 23 wins against just two losses. Fishers will graduate three seniors, Stullken, Feagan and Tamia Perryman, who left quite a legacy for the Tigers.

“They win 23 games, which is a school record,” said Votaw. “They won a (Hoosier Crossroads) Conference title outright. They won a sectional title, which we haven’t done since 2014. They got the chance to be a part of not one, but two buzzer-beaters. And I just told them in there, not many high school girls basketball players get to say any of that, let
alone all of that.”

As for the seniors’ legacy, Votaw summed it up with this:

“Sometime in the fourth quarter, I’m watching the game and Lydia Stullken – I mean, we’re down 20-plus, probably, at this point – and Lydia Stullken is going around and finding her teammates and giving high fives, because she knows that talk and touches is what keeps a group together,” said Votaw. “That is the legacy that those seniors are going to leave.
That’s how we do things here. We compete to the end and we’re great teammates.”

Hamilton County Sheriff;’s Department deputies responded to a fatal car crash Saturday night, and officials believe a medical emergency may be the cause.

It happened in the area of SR 32 and Cyntheanne Road near Noblesville.  There was one person in the vehicle and was a single car crash.

The Sheriff’s Department says the investigation so far indicates the vehicle was traveling westbound on SR 32 when it left the roadway and crashed into a ditch east of Cyntheanne Road. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Standard toxicology test results are pending.

This crash remains under investigation.  Anyone with information should contact the Hamilton County Crash Team at 317-773-1872.

Both the Hamilton Southeastern School Board and the Fishers City Council have been live streaming videos of their regular meetings and preserving those recordings online if anyone wishes to view them later.  I recently asked myself this question – how many people are watching these videos?

I submitted requests to the Hamilton Southeastern School Board and the City of Fishers for data on how many views their videos receive.  I have yet to receive a response from the city, but the HSE Schools have responded.  Once I have information from the city, this story will be updated.

The HSE Schools had a few technical glitches when rolling out the video technology in March & April of 2019, which is normal, so I have data beginning with the May 8th, 2019, board session through the recent February 12th meeting.

Based on the numbers provided, during that period, there were 4,056 instances where a person accessed most or all of a live-stream meeting video, meaning they watched live as the meeting was happening.  Also, during that same period, there were 2,834 times an access was made to view most or all of a recorded meeting session.

School officials emphasize that these numbers do not reflect “unique visitors,” meaning one person could access a video more than once.

The most-viewed video by far was the first recorded meeting, conducted on May 8th.  This was the session when the board approved the final version of the school nondiscrimination policy.  There were 1,437 views of that live-stream.  There were 1,055 views of the recorded version of that meeting after the session ended.

The number two meeting, in terms of the number of views, was the most recent one on February 12th, when school start times and revised bus schedules were debated and finalized for the 2020-2021 school year.  There were 526 live-stream views and 124 views of the recording.

It should be noted that only regular meetings held in the board meeting room at the school administration building are live-streamed and recorded.  Board work sessions are not part of the video contract with the vendor.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers picked up its third straight win on Friday, beating Pendleton Heights 66-47 in an away game.

The Tigers outscored the Arabians in each quarter, leading 14-10 after the first. Fishers then poured in 21 points in the second quarter to lead 35-24 at halftime; Alex Szilagyi helped out with seven points in that period. The Tigers steadily increased their lead in the second half, outscoring Pendleton 31-23.

Szilagyi led the Fishers scoring with 19 points. Jeffrey Simmons added 14 and Issac Farah contributed 13 points.

The Tigers are 16-5 for the season and play their sixth consecutive road game on Tuesday at Lawrence Central.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

It took Hamilton Southeastern just a few seconds shy of an entire game to get ahead of Carmel, but it was worth the wait.

A three-point play by Vinny Buccilla with 9.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter was the clinching basket for the Royals in their 62-61 victory over the Class 4A No. 8 Greyhounds on Friday. Not only was it a big win for Southeastern on its home floor, but it also kept the Royals’ win streak going. Southeastern has now won 11 games in a row.

“We emphasize the things that we’ve done to make it happen,” HSE coach Brian Satterfield said about the streak. “That’s always the case.”

“The next game as you walk out there, it doesn’t matter unless you’re going to continue to do those things,” said Satterfield. “Tonight, when we started the game, we didn’t do the things that allowed us to have that streak. But fortunately, we were able to claw our way back.”

The Royals had to claw their way back after being down in the first half. After a few minutes of back and forth in the first quarter, Carmel’s Brian Waddell hit a 3-pointer to put his team up 7-4, and the Greyhounds would hold the lead until the last few seconds of the fourth.

That 3-pointer started a 22-7 run for Carmel, and Waddell scored 10 of those points, including a tipback at the first-quarter buzzer to give the ‘Hounds a 16-8 lead. Waddell then opened the second with three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt.

Jackson Jannsen hit a 3-pointer as well.

Carmel led 34-22 with 1:13 left in the second quarter, but the Royals finished the half on a 7-0 run. DeAndre Rhodes made two free throws, John McCall scored on a layin and Sam Jacobs hit a buzzer-beating 3, getting Southeastern within 34-29.

The Greyhounds opened the second half with five quick points; Charlie Williams made a layin and Jannsen nailed another triple. Jannsen hit a 3 late in the quarter to give Carmel a 47-34 lead, but the Royals again responded with a 7-0 run. McCall’s three-point play and two baskets by Mabor Majak, the latter one a dunk, kept Southeastern close, 47-41 at the end of three.

An and-1 by Kole Hornbuckle with 4:34 left got the Royals within 51-50, but the Greyhounds answered with a 6-0 run. Waddell hit his third 3 of the night, then Charlie Williams converted a three-point play.

Two free throws from Connor Gioia put Carmel up 59-52 with 1:47 left, but Southeastern finished the game on a 10-2 run, starting with a 3-pointer from Rhodes. The Royals trailed 61-59 with the clock running down, but Buccilla tied the game with a jumper while being fouled, then made the free throw to put HSE in front. Southeastern’s defense then stopped Carmel in the final seconds.

“To give our guys credit, we didn’t give up, we kept fighting and somehow we found a way,” said Satterfield.

Majak led the Royals with 14 points, one of four Southeastern players in double figures. McCall added 12 points, with Rhodes and Buccilla both scoring 11.

“That’s the one thing that’s been nice about the group this year, especially here lately, is the balance that we’ve had scoring-wise,” said Satterfield.

McCall and Hornbuckle both collected six rebounds, Buccilla handed out six assists and Rhodes blocked two shots.

Waddell led Carmel with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Jannsen hit four 3s on his way to 13 points, while Suder scored 11. Waddell collected five rebounds and Gioia dished out six assists.

The Royals are 15-5 and host Brownsburg next Friday in their final Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the season. The Bulldogs lead the HCC with a 5-1 record, while Southeastern is 4-2 in the conference.

The Greyhounds are 12-6 and return to the Eric Clark Activity Center tonight to play Fort Wayne Carroll. Varsity tip off is at 5:30 p.m.

We have seen some work and a few lane restrictions along State Road 37 in Fishers the past year, but the first big closure is scheduled to start February 24th.  If traveling northbound on State Road 37, the left-turn lane onto westbound 126th Street will be closed to traffic.

Then, on March 1st, more closures are in store.  For the full listing of the latest road construction around Fishers, here is the report released by the City of Fishers February 14th:

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The Hamilton Southeastern School Board made decisions on bus routes and school start times, including a committee to study the issue and submit recommendations on the 2021-2022 school year.  For more details, here is my podcast discussion with HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff