Noblesville plans to construct a new sports stadium, saying no referendum or tax rate increase would be required to fund the project.  According to my news gathering partner, The Hamilton County Reporter, the new facility will be located off of Field Drive behind Noblesville High School where the district’s former Transportation building sits.

The new on-campus stadium will be larger than the existing space, with 50 percent more seating, expanded concessions and restrooms, and on-site parking. It will also be designed to maximize traffic flow and provide a safer environment for appropriately monitoring and managing crowds. Enhanced lighting, locker rooms for home and away teams, up-to-date broadcast technology capabilities, practice fields, athletic training space and additional storage are also included in the plans.

“This new stadium has been a long time coming for Noblesville and we’re excited to be making it happen,” said Dave Mundy, associate superintendent for Noblesville Schools. “We have outstanding support in our community for both athletics and performing arts, and the demand for more space to accommodate our programs has continued to increase as we have grown to be one of the largest high schools in the state.”

The district has studied the issue of a new stadium for several years and new construction was determined to be a more-cost effective option than trying to expand the current facility. Construction will be approximately $14 million, financed through a bond without the use of referendum dollars or an increase in the tax rate. It’s expected to be completed in the spring of 2021 for track and fall of 2022 for football and band.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County voters in this year’s Republican primary will encounter the longest ballot in recent history when they go to the polls May 5.

At the top of the ballot, Donald Trump will probably be alone for president as will Eric Holcomb for governor, but from there on unusually large numbers of candidates will be listed.

All four Hamilton County judges up for re-election this year appear to be going back into office unopposed. With the filing deadline at noon Friday, only the incumbent judges have filed for the Republican primary, and no Democrats have indicated intentions to run.

Circuit Court Judge Paul Felix and Superior Court judges William Hughes, Richard Campbell and David Najjar will be running for new six-year terms. The three other Superior Court judges: Michael Casati, Jon Brown and Gail Bardach, are not up for election this year.

Voters will see a contested race for Treasurer with Kim Good and Susan Byer running.

Nine people have so far filed for the county council At-Large position, including one Democrat.  Those individuals are:

• Ralph F. (Rick) McKinney (R)
• Brandon (Brad) Beaver (R)
• Sue Maki (R)
• Jeff Hern (R)
• Steven R Nation (R)
• Lyneen Burrow (R)
• John Ditslear (R)
• Gardiner P. Bink III (D)
• Tony Scott (R)

Ten candidates have filed for Congress following incumbent Susan Brooks’ decision to retire. They are:

• Kent Aberthany
• Andrew Bales
• Micah Beckwith
• Allen Davidson
• Beth Henderson
• Matthew Hook
• Danny Niederberger
• Mark Small
• Russell Stwallley
• Victor Wakley
• Victoria Spartz

Running for state representative whose districts are in whole or in part within Hamilton County are:

• Donna Schaibley, Dist. 24
• Chuck Goodrich, Dist.29
• Mike Vick (D), Dist. 29
• Daniel Bragg and Tony Cook, Dist. 32
• Todd Huston, Dist. 37
• Jerry Torr, Dist. 39
• Chris Jeter and Leah McGrath, Dist. 88

Running for state senate in local districts are:

• Scott Baldwin and John Gaylor in Dist. 20
• Terry Michael and John Ruckelshaus in Dist. 30

The board of directors for the Fishers Arts Council (FAC) has elected Tom Rich as the organizations new president in 2020.

The long-time Fishers resident has been a board member since 2016, and most recently served as vice president. His goals are to work with the city of Fishers, local businesses, and various artist organizations to expand opportunities for artists to exhibit and sell their art; to expand the opportunities for residents and visitors of Fishers to enjoy the visual arts; and to promote additional opportunities for the performing arts in Fishers.

FAC named new board members for 2020: Pat Grabill – watercolor artist and retired MSDLT educator; Jill Lehman – founder and managing consultant of High Frequency Arts; and Laura Villanyi – glass artist and former board member of the Children’s Museum and Indianapolis Art Center. Villanyi was elected to Vice President of the board for 2020. Returning board members include Madeline Romeo (Secretary), Les Reinhardt (Treasurer), Olivia Holt, and Michael Patrick.

The Fishers Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax exempt organization.

The Fishers Plan Commission listened to proposals from the city staff on commercial open space standards, and decided to allow the Fishers City Council to make the final decision.

Plan Commission members listened to proposals by Fishers Planning and Zoning Director Tony Bagato, who was following-up on language in the 2040 city comprehensive plan.  The debate centered on how fee structures for open commercial space would impact business entrepreneurs and small business owners.

After a lively discussion, commission members voted unanimously to bring the proposals before the Fishers City Council for a final decision.

In other Plan Commission actions Wednesday night:

–Warren Harling will once again serve as president of the plan commission and Pete Peterson will be vice president.

–The commission voted unanimously to accept a letter from Woods of Britton, withdrawing their proposal for a second phase of the apartment complex.

–The former Ram Restaurant location near 126th Street and State Road 37 received a favorable recommendation from the commission to change rules allowing a dental office and perhaps other tenants to use that property.

In education parlance, the acronym STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.  Wednesday, Fishers High School students were involved in a STEAM competition sponsored by Duke Energy and POWER Engineers.

The project is funded by a $5,900 grant from Duke Energy Foundation coupled with a $6,695 grant from POWER.  The program introduces high school students to STEAM concepts.

In one session, students were tasked with designing power transmission lines, thinking about all the factors involved in accomplishing such a task.  Papers were strung around the room, representing power lines.

“They were told to take their crepe paper and connect point A to point B,” said Lew Middleton of Duke Energy.  “The only restriction was they could not do it in a direct line.  They had to creatively find ways around.  As the exercise went on, they learned about different obstacles, different challenges that would come up, when trying to locate a power line.”

The program kickoff extends through February 5th and 6th.

Teams will continue to work over the next eight weeks. Once proof of concept has been demonstrated, the students will create presentations using selected technology, such as drone photography, 3D printing and virtual reality.

“We feel very fortunate to be included in this endeavor with Duke and POWER. This experience helps make what we’re teaching students in the classroom relevant,” says Fishers High School Principal Jason Urban. “We are thankful of community partners that are willing to invest in our students.”

The event concludes on April 30 at Fishers High School. Teams will have 30 minutes to present their final presentations to a panel of leading industry experts.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

WESTFIELD – Sectional 8 is known throughout Indiana to be one of the
toughest sectionals in any sport, especially in girls basketball.

That was certainly true Tuesday night’s two first-round games. Host Westfield took to the court first, and the Shamrocks defended their home gym with a 54-44 win over Zionsville. In the second game, No. 5-ranked Hamilton Southeastern held off a late surge from No. 10 Carmel to get a 51-44 victory.

Westfield will take on No. 3-ranked Fishers in the first semi-final on Friday,
which tips off at 6 p.m. The Royals play Noblesville in the second semi-final.

THREE-FOR-ALL
The Westfield-Zionsville game started as a “three-for-all.” The Eagles used
a pair of 3-pointers to take an 10-5 lead with 4:30 left in the first period. Jessica
Castor also made a 3 during the early part of the quarter.

But the Shamrocks let loose from beyond the arc in the later part of the period.
Alyssa Crockett hit a 3, then Ava Henson drained back-to-back triples, giving
Westfield a 14-10 lead. The run continued into the second quarter, with Crockett’s
basket putting the ‘Rocks ahead 16-10.

Westfield never trailed again, although Zionsville would remain close for the entire game. The Shamrocks led 27-25 at halftime, but Crockett quickly pushed that lead to 32-25 just a few seconds into the third quarter, making a layin and a 3-pointer.

Westfield coach Ginny Smith said her team had been talking about being mentally tough, “that in this sectional, probably every game’s going to be close,” she said. “We got to be able to take some punches and be able to come back from those. And I felt like tonight we had a really good game plan defensively. I felt like we stuck to the game plan.”

Henson said the team did “a lot of mental training” while preparing for the
game. “And I think because of our preparation, that gave us confidence and just
to not panic and be calm and play our game, because when we play our game,
it doesn’t matter what the other team’s doing. We know that we can come back.
They make a shot, that’s over with, we can come back and get the next one. So
that’s our mentality. When stuff like that happens, just keep playing and just fix
what happens.”

Henson hit a 3 to give the ‘Rocks their largest lead of the game, 35-27, early in the third. Ashtin DeCraene stepped up in the later part of the period, with a triple and two foul shots, making the free throws with 2:06 left. Neither team scored for the remainder of the quarter,
which ended with Westfield up 41-33.

“I think we had a great third quarter, and that’s not been the norm for us this year,” said Smith. “We’ve always struggled somewhat in the third. It was really good to see the kids come out with a level of just grittiness to them. They resolved to not let down. I think it showed in the end.”

The Shamrocks maintained a four- to eight-point lead for most of the fourth period, pulling away in the final minute as the Eagles were forced to foul. Henson made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 18.2 seconds, with Castor and DeCraene both chipping in two.

Henson, a senior, finished the game with 18 points, including three 3s, and led
the rebounding with four. Crockett added 16 points and DeCraene scored 10. Olivia Robey helped out with five steals and four assists.

Westfield improved to 14-10 after the win, while Zionsville finished its season
6-17.

FIGHT TO THE FINISH
The Southeastern-Carmel game started in similar fashion to the first contest,
with a back-and-forth first quarter. The Greyhounds’ Hannah Lach opened things
up with a 3-pointer, then Jackie Maulucci answered with five straight points, a layin
and a 3.

iara Gill tied the game with a basket, and Bridget Dunn hit a 3-pointer, but HSE’s Lydia Self made a 3 to tie the game again. Lach drained a second triple to put Carmel up 11-8.
Sydney Parrish then scored seven straight points for the Royals, ending the first period with a jumper, then opening the second with a 3 and a layin. Lauren Morris made the run 10-0 with a 3-pointer; that put Southeastern up 18-11 and it would stay in front the rest of the way.

“We knew coming over here that this wasn’t going to be easy,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “They got some really, really good players and they battled the
whole game.”

The Royals led 27-20 at halftime, with Parrish making a 3 to finish the half.

Southeastern then took a 42-29 lead late in the third quarter; Parrish added another nine points, with Self and Morris each hitting another 3-pointer.

Carmel made a 9-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Kate Clarke started it with a triple, then Dunn’s layin was the final basket of the third period.

Clarke opened the fourth with two foul shots, and a putback from Dunn got the ‘Hounds within 42-38.

“We knew they’d make runs,” said Parrish. “We knew it was going to be a game of runs. I give credit to them for making that run. It’s really hard to come back in the fourth quarter and do that. But credit to our team and our defensive end. We were able to get stops, score, stop, score and handle the ball under the pressure and I think that’s what won us the
game.”

Parrish ended the run with a layin, then added two free throws to give HSE a 46-38 lead. Lach cut it to 46-40 with a basket. Southeastern began to drain the clock, and ran it down before Self was fouled in a 1-and-1 situation with 1:39 left. She made both foul shots to put the Royals up 48-40, and HSE was able to hang on from there.

“Something that we’ve talked about all year is, you don’t try to win this game in February,” said Huppenthal. “You start preparing for this back in June and July and get your kids ready to play basketball.”

Parrish finished the game with 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and broke the Hamilton County girls scoring record with a second-quarter putback.

Parrish now has 1,887 career points, moving past the 1,869 points scored by
Noblesville’s Courtney Cox, a record that had stood for over 30 years.

“A lot of it’s my teammates,” said Parrish. “You can’t put up that many points
without getting the ball from your teammates and setting you up, so big credit to
them.”

“It’s good she has the record,” said Huppenthal. “You look at one of the best players ever to come out of this county as well as the state.”

Parrish was named as one of the 10 semi-finalists for the Naismith High School Girls Trophy, presented to the top girls player in the United States.

“What people get to see here and what we’ve got to see for the last four years is
special with her,” said Huppenthal. “She’s obviously a great basketball player. She’s
a heck of a teammate.”

Self scored eight points; she and Morris both had two 3s. Parrish led the rebounds with eight, while Maulucci collected seven rebounds and handed out five assists. Parrish also blocked two shots.

Dunn scored 15 points for Carmel and pulled nine rebounds, with Clarke adding 10 points. Dunn had two blocks.

“I am just so proud of them,” said Greyhounds coach Erin Trimpe. “They never quit.” She credited her team with fighting back after getting down by 13 points.

“But HSE is just such a good team, so you have to credit the things that they did,” said Trimpe. “But I was really proud of our effort and the way we fought back and the way we kept in it and didn’t quit, ever.”

Southeastern is 21-2 for the season, while the Greyhounds finished 15-8.

A lengthy discussion about a proposed expansion of an apartment complex near 141st Street and State Road 37 at December’s Fishers City Council meeting may provide a glimpse into how the council will evaluate such future plans in the city.  The council voted to delay a vote on the rezoning, and the property owners have now advised the Fishers Plan Commission the rezone request has been officially withdrawn.

At the December council session,  three council members (DeReamer, Peterson & Block) voiced support for the additional apartments east of the current Woods of Britton.  Four council members voiced opposition (Zimmerman, Coble, Stoller & Moeller).  Two (George & Weingardt) did not express an opinion.

Steve Hardin, the attorney representing Phil Lambert, the President of Regency Windsor Management and owners of Woods of Britton, saw a possible vote that would not allow the project to go forward, so he requested a continuance at the December session which the council unanimously approved.

Now, Mr Lambert has sent an e-mail to Tony Bagato, Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Fishers, saying “we have chosen to go ahead and withdraw our
proposal to construct apartments ¡n the Fishers Marketplace.” The Plan Commission will have the withdrawal letter before it at Wednesday evening’s meeting.

This gives a hint as to how council members view multi-family housing, and apartments come under that umbrella.  How will the council members evaluate future apartment plans in the city?

Several council members opposed the Woods of Britton expansion because they want that location available for commercial development once the State Road 37 reconstruction is complete.  However, the council members favoring the project point to struggles experienced by the commercial operations just south of Woods of Britton in the Fishers Marketplace.

The city is pursuing a low-income apartment project to be developed along Lantern Road south of downtown, and most council members appear to be in favor of pursuing that.

So, it will be interesting to see if any other developers will propose market-rate apartments in Fishers and, if so, how the city council members evaluate any proposal to provide the zoning needed.

For two years in the 1970s my full-time job was hosting a 4-5 hour overnight radio talk show.  The radio station ownership was quite nervous about someone challenging their license renewal, so the talk show provided them with lots of public service time ammunition should the license ever be challenged (there were challenges filed but none were successful).

Hosting a daily talk show for a living is hard, very hard.  Only those of us that have actually done it can understand how much work it is.

My approach to hosting the old Night Action talk show was to have interesting guests when possible (it wasn’t always easy to book guests when the show starts at 11pm) and to allow everyone’s political views to be given a fair amount of time.  I offered my opinions, but never shouted down or shut down people disagreeing with me.

A former listener to Night Action found me on the Internet several years ago.  He listened while in high school.  He wrote to me that my radio talk show exposed his mind to political points of view he had never considered before, and credited the way I ran the show for providing those perspectives. Night Action aired more than 50 years ago.  You never know what impression you leave on people.

Even after my stint on Night Action was over, I still hosted daily talk programs for six more years, in addition to other duties.  I always kept the same approach about welcoming all views.

Why do I write all this?  Because there is a talk show guy that I rarely agree with.  Rush Limbaugh invented the conservative talk show that could also be entertaining.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had on the books something called the “Fairness Doctrine” that required anyone with a radio or TV license to provide time for all political views, not just one.

As broadcasting was deregulated in the 1980s, broadcast licensees were no longer required to adhere to that Fairness Doctrine and had the right to take whatever political positions they wanted, without caring about other views.

This is what allowed talk shows like Limbaugh’s to boomerang into successful radio.  Just providing one side of political issues resonated with enough radio listeners to make it profitable.

Many have been very critical of what Limbaugh and those that later followed him have brought us.  The political radio talk often isn’t about what is and is not good public policy, but what will enrage the proper number of listeners to make money.

I have listened to Limbaugh on occasion – not a lot, but some.  He is a consummate professional radio guy.  He knows how to communicate with a radio audience and does it well.

I would never do a talk radio show like Limbaugh’s but I cannot argue with success, and Rush is successful.  The total radio audience, although less compared to what it once was, is still big, and even if you can just get a decent slice of that audience, you can be successful, just like Limbaugh.

For the record, I do not agree with Rush Limbaugh much.  I think the argument that radio talk shows, such as his, have not been good for the body politic in America, has some merit.

But the purpose of this commentary is not to point out our disagreements, because I am praying for Rush Limbaugh.  He announced on his radio program February 3rd that he is suffering from “advanced stage lung cancer” and will be away from the microphone while undergoing treatment.

I watched my father suffer from lung cancer that led to his death 26 years ago.  I was with him many times as he was treated for the disease.  My dad was a fighter and fought that disease as long as he could.  Watching someone battle lung cancer is an ugly thing to do.

So, Rush Limbaugh, I often disagree with your politics but credit you with finding a radio persona that has been successful.  As one former radio talk person to another, you will be in my prayers as you fight this awful disease.  I wish you well.

Then you can recover, get back on the airwaves, and we can disagree once again.

The Fishers Test Kitchen has been in the works for a very long time.  Marketed as a restaurant for chef entrepreneurs, it has space for three chefs to offer creative meals, and shares the dining area with Sun King craft beer offerings.

Saturday, February 1st, was the first day the pubic could experience the Test Kitchen, and people voted with their feet to try out the food.

The Test Kitchen is located in Fishers District, near Ikea and the new Hyatt Hotel, along 116th Street east of I-69.  The development was once marketed as The Yard, but some legal issues resulted in a change to the marketing name for the culinary center to Fishers District.

The three chefs in the Test Kichen at the opening are Carlos Salazar (Lil Dumplings), Adam & Alicia (Natural State) and John & Kim (Korave).

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers dropped a tough game at Franklin Central on Saturday, falling 58-57 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest.

The Tigers got off to a good start, leading 21-15 after the first quarter. Jeffrey Simmons had eight points in that period, with Charlie Smith adding six.

But the Flashes came back in the second quarter to take a 33-29 lead into halftime. After an even third quarter, Fishers cut into Franklin Central’s lead, but the Flashes were able to hold on for the onepoint win.

Alex Szilagyi scored 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Szilagyi made three 3-pointers. Simmons finished with 12 points.

The Tigers are 2-3 in HCC play and 13-5 overall. They will travel to Kokomo’s Memorial Gym next Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. conference game with Westfield, as part of Basketball Day Indiana.