Fishers endured its first big spring thunderstorm, so a take a moment to explain the difference between a weather watch and warning.

I also take a few moments to remember an important mentor from my career as a radio broadcaster, Dave Keister.

I heard the news from the Indiana RadioWatch newsletter from Blaine Thompson.  Dave Keister, radio station owner in Martinsville, Indiana, has died.

I thought back to an evening in the early 1970s, which Dave was putting on a Christmas party for his staff and asked me to work that evening.  That was the first time I earned a paycheck from Dave Keister, but it was not the last.

I worked for his Martinsville radio station, WCBK, while going to college at IUPUI.  The staff at the time was a great group and I loved working with all of them.  I learned a great deal about the business of radio from Dave Keister.

He once told me the story of how he and his family had an AM radio transmitter in the back of a pickup truck, drove from MIchigan to Martinsville, and built a tower.  It was a daytime only station and he added WCBK-FM a few years later.

What I always admired about Dave was his perfect business sense on how to make money in small-town radio.  He had worked as an announcer and knew his way around a microphone as well.

Dave was such a success financially with his operation in Martinsville, his financial adviser pushed Dave to invest his money.  He knew nothing other than radio, so he started buying radio stations and had 30 stations in four states at the time of his death.

I was programming a station in Central Indiana during the late 1970s when it became clear that the station was up for sale and there would likely be no place for me when the new owner took control.  I went back and worked for Dave for about a year in the late 1970s.  One of the hardest things I ever had to do was tell Dave I was leaving to be the morning news anchor in Columbus, Indiana.  Dave and I hadn’t seen eye-to-eye on everything, but overall Mr. Keister treated me very well.

I sent Dave a congratulatory letter when he was honored by the Indiana Broadcasters Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor he richly deserved.

My heart goes out to Dave’s family.  Normally, I wouldn’t miss his funeral, but in the circumstances in which we live today, there likely will not be a traditional service for him.

When I think back to my 15-year career in radio broadcasting, Dave Keister was one of the biggest personalities I had to pleasure to work under.  I hope the City of Martinsville finds a special way to honor the memory of Dave Keister.

Since a number of us are staying-in-place at home, here are a couple of coronavirus items with a local slant.

First, there has been an ongoing back and forth between the Hamilton County Health Department and the publisher of the Hamilton County Reporter, Jeff Jellison.

It all started with Jellison writing a commentary in his newspaper, urging the Hamilton County Health Department to be more specific about where coronavirus positive tests and deaths are happening within the county.  He offered the front page of his paper for health officials to make their case.

The Health Department released a statement that Jellison published on the front page of the Reporter, arguing that health privacy laws would prevent such a disclosure, and could expose the county to litigation if such information was released.

On the front page of the Reporter’s April 7th edition, Jellison openly questioned whether the law is the reason for the lack of transparency or is the Hamilton County Health Department “hiding behind the law” to keep this information private.

I would suspect this discussion is not over.

On another matter, the Hamilton East Library may be physically closed, but both the Noblesville and Fishers Library parking lots will have hotspot WiFi available to anyone needing it.  For a map of the spots, use this link.

For more on the online offerings from the Hamilton East Libraries, use this link.

Allow me one piece of good news non-coronavirus related.  Congratulations to HSE High School’s Mabor Majak for being named to the Indiana High School All-Star basketball team.  A well-deserved honor!

Social media around Fishers has had a number of people wanting to support local businesses, particularly restaurants offering delivery or carry-out service.

The City of Fishers has put together such a listing, and it is available online at this link.

The COVID-19 virus is resulting in more local cancellations.  This time, it is the Spark Fishers Festival scheduled for late June that will not be held this year.  Also, in this podcast, I talk about how so many of us need sports at this time but it is also canceled for who knows how long.  Finally, a look at keeping our local Hamilton County news sources viable through these tough economic times.

Health experts and government leaders, all the way from the White House down to City Hall, have been clear about the need to practice social distancing.  How are people doing in Fishers?

I’ve been watching, and have a few thoughts on the matter.

My wife Jane & I have done our best to shelter in place, but we had important family business that required us to travel to the Florida Panhandle the last few days.  It gave us a look at what is the new normal, at least for the time being.  I personally saw wonderful examples of people going out of their way to stay at least six-feet apart.  Then, there were a few other examples not as encouraging.

Spending time on Okaloosa Island along the Florida Panhandle, I recalled how normally busy this time of year is, with people and families on spring break filling the area.  That is not the case this year.  The beaches are closed, which they should be under the current circumstances.  In one sense it was peaceful listening to the ocean waves along the shore.  However, it was a bit eerie at the same time with no people on the beach other than security personnel patrolling the area enforcing the closure.

I enjoy taking a walk and there were lots of other people walking along the same Florida sidewalk with me.  We all kept our distance, even carefully moving closer to the street in order to keep at least six feet between us as we would meet along that sidewalk.

Driving along the Interstate there was a very different situation at the rest stops.  There was no staff other than those cleaning.  The rest rooms were not busy because the number of motorists traveling is way down.

There was only one rest stop that concerned me, where about 8 men were congregating, telling jokes at close range.  I suppose it’s good news that is the only troubling example I could find along the way.

The health experts nationally and locally are telling us to brace for a very tough couple of weeks.  The news is mostly bad.

I cannot say any more than has already been said or written about those on the front lines.  I have friends and relatives in nursing, teaching and law enforcement.  Those are all jobs on the front lines, along with first responders, such as ambulance crews.  There are doctors and technicians and a long list of people putting themselves at risk showing up for work in hospitals.  They are asking us to stay at home.  It’s the least we can do.

I hope local people here in Fishers, once this crisis has subsided, will put on the biggest party and celebration you have ever seen, with all these special people as guests of honor.  Let’s start thinking about that now, since we need to think of something positive.

One other development on the coronovirus front.  Jeff Jellison, in a recent front page commentary in his newspaper, the Hamilton County Reporter, has called on local officials to provide more specifics on where COVID-19 cases are testing positive, and where those that are dying from this virus are from, more specifically, such as the city in which they live.

The Hamilton County Health Department provided the answer today, and the answer is no.  They cite federal health privacy laws and will not say where any person specifically resides in the county when reporting cases and deaths.

That decision will provide plenty of fodder for future discussion.

Just a reminder that the City of Fishers has a COVID-19 hotline staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – 317-595-3211

The largest newspaper in any metropolitan area is always a very important local institution.  For the Indianapolis area, and the state of Indiana, the largest newspaper is the Indianapolis Star.  Something is happening there and we all must pay attention.  I talk about that and more in today’s edition of Larry’s Log.

Ashton Wolf is a name people around Fishers should know.  He has been involved in many artistic productions in the area for a number of years.

Ashton and Aaron Henze have been working on a new 30-minute weekly television program focusing on people doing important and creative things in all of Central Indiana.

The TV show (Indy – On The Town) premieres this Sunday.  It will air each week Sundays at 11:30am, on WHMB-TV, channel 40, based out of Noblesville.

I spoke with Ashton about his new endeavor, and a few other things, in this podcast.

When dealing with something as serious as a virus rising to pandemic levels around the world, it is good to look at how others view this from a wider lens than most of us.

An Israeli academic, Yuval Noah Harari, has written best selling books on the history of humankind and how we learned to form communities and master the earth.  Harari has an interesting perspective on how mankind handles something like a pandemic now versus two centuries ago.

I discuss that, and more, in the April 1st edition of my daily podcast, Larry’s Log. (Photo is of Professor Harari)