The partnership between IU Health and Mudsock Youth Athletics goes back a long way, and that relationship will continue with a renewal announced Tuesday.  IU Health remains the primary scholarship provider and an official community partner of Mudsock Youth Athletics, per a news release.

IU Health is expanding support this year by including personal protective equipment in their tri-annual delivery of first aid kits that are distributed to all coaches in the Mudsock Youth Athletics program.

IU Health is continuing to direct a portion of their funding towards the scholarship program that allows children within the HSE school district one free or reduced scholarship per registration period.

“IU Health is grateful to Mudsock Youth Athletics for its focus on physical activity and health in our community. We are proud to support their work and the children and families who participate in their leagues,” said Joy Davis, IU Health Indianapolis Suburban Region manager of community

IU Health is making a  commitment to educate the families in the HSE school district and Fishers community on navigating the changing landscape of healthcare during unprecedented times.

“IU Health exemplifies what it means to be a great community partner. We are extremely fortunate to have the continued support of IU Health so we can focus on the health and well-being of our programs and families,” said Scott Spillman, Executive Director of Mudsock Youth Athletics.

Mudsock Youth Athletics is an independent nonprofit organization, providing sports programs for young people in the Fishers area for over 30 years.

One of the wisest people I have known in my lifetime was my maternal grandmother, Mary Alice Kidwell.  She always told me that being a parent is special, but being a grandparent is the best thing ever.  She lived to be 99 years of age and taught me much during our time together.  That thought came to mind as I became a grandparent on August 11, 2020.

Dakota is the name of my grandson.  My daughter and son-in-law chose that name because it is a Native American word that translates in English to “friend.”  They want their son to be everyone’s friend.  I am sure he will be just that.

I had no idea how it would feel to become a grandparent, but Jane & I have now experienced the thrill.  I cannot speak for my wife, but there is no way to describe the birth of your first grandchild, it defies description.

In late March, I announced an end to the news blog I have written for over 8 years.  However, COVID-19 and the racial issues facing all of us kept me writing.  I still plan to write.

The move to virtual meetings helped me stay in touch with local issues, but you may see fewer posts and not as quickly as in the past.  I hope to pick up film reviews as movie theaters slowly begin to open.

I also plan to continue podcasting, but at my own pace.  My past interviews with political candidates will not continue.  It is difficult to communicate how much time goes into preparing, recording and producing that number of podcasts.  For example, there are 11 candidates in the at-large Hamilton Southestern school board election.  I just cannot produce all those podcasts along with everything else I am doing.

So, I plan to enjoy being a grandparent and continue writing on the blog and producing some podcasts, but at my own pace and not at the pace set in the past.

After all, Dakota is here.  I am a grandfather!

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers dropped its season-opening football game on Friday, falling to North Central 40-20.

The Class 6A No. 9 Panthers jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Tigers got on the board early in the second when Landon Morris caught a three-yard pass from Lucas Prewitt. But North Central scored again later, giving it a 20-6 halftime advantage.

Fishers began the second half with a bang, as Dominic Oliverio took a kickoff return 90 yards into the end zone.

The Panthers answered by scoring after a seven-play, 80-yard drive. But the Tigers kept things interesting: Carson Dunn caught a long screen pass to get Fishers to the North Central four-yard line, then a couple plays later, Prewitt scrambled in to the end zone from six yards.

Wayne Christian made both extra-point kicks for Fishers after its two third-quarter touchdowns. The Panthers got one more score in the third quarter, then added another touchdown in the fourth while holding Fishers scoreless in that period.

Prewitt finished the game with 141 yards on 11-of-24 passing. Morris caught four of those throws. Dunn led the rushing with 35 yards. On defense, Evan Miller led with eight tackles, while Tyler Green, Curtis Kearshner and Billy Reiter all had six stops. Kearshner made two
sacks, while Joel Coston had one. Green and Kearshner both had two tackles for a loss.

The Tigers will play their home opener next Friday, welcoming Pike for a 7
p.m. kickoff.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern had a great first game on both sides of the ball, and that led the Royals to a 24-0 victory at Lawrence Central on Friday.

It was the first time Southeastern had shut out a team since 2017. First-year coach Michael Kelly praised his defensive linemen and his defensive backs, with the linemen doing “a tremendous job” with the defensive pressure and the backs getting into the zones.

Giovanni Ragland had five tackles, while Jake Karwowski and Louden Sundling both made
four stops.

“I thought overall our defense played outstanding,” said Kelly.

The offense did pretty well, too. The Royals scored their first two touchdowns with one-yard punches into the end zone.

Jace Alexander got the ball in during the first quarter, then Blaine Wertz made his score in the second quarter.

Southeastern got one more touchdown in the third period, when John McCall found Will Gerig for a six-yard scoring pass. Alex Geroulis kicked the extra point on all three TDs, then added a 23-yard field goal in the third period as well.

“Our offensive line did a nice job,” said Kelly. He also was pleased with the running and passing during the game.

“Jace and Blaine both did a great job,” said Kelly. “John did a nice job delivering
the football when his number was called.”

Southeastern will play its first home game of the season next Friday, welcoming North Central for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

In a rare Friday session, the Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved a plan to have a 50-50 mix of virtual and in-person students, up to fourth grade, September 8 through at lease October 2.  The vote on the general resolution moving forward on the re-opening was 6-1, with the lone no vote cast by Amanda Shera.  The specific action allowing the 50-50 plan up to 4th grade as of September 8 passed the board unanimously.

In a Skylert message and video posted Friday, HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff said parents should already have information on the details of when their children will be in-person at the school building and when there will be virtual classes.

Dr. Bourff cited guidance provided by the Fishers Health Department in making this decision.  The idea is to have no more than 50% of students in the buildings at one time.    You can view the video at this link.

Grades 5-12 will continue to have virtual classes, but Dr. Bourff said that policy is under review at all times.

Below is the language contained in the Skylert issued by the school district Friday:

================

This morning in a specially scheduled meeting, the School Board approved a recommendation to shift PreK-4 students from virtual instruction to a hybrid or 50/50 model, effective Tuesday, September 8. Students in grades 5-12 will remain in virtual instruction for the time being, and a reassessment will be made weekly.

This recommendation was based on guidance from the Fishers Health Department, which earlier this week, re-categorized the Community Risk Rating to orange, or significant level. At that level, elementary schools are advised to operate on a hybrid model, with an attendance level of no more than 50%. Middle schools and high schools are advised to operate virtually.

Students will be selected alphabetically at the elementary-level based on their family’s last name and/or household in which they reside. Families with PreK-4 students should expect further communication from their principals. Elementary families should also expect, after this message, to receive another Skylert with your child’s group assignment and directions for completing the in-school/virtual and transportation questionnaire.

In the next couple of weeks, teachers will be refining their instructional skills for students who will continue to be with them either in-person or virtually. We had considerable discussion today at the board meeting about this instructional approach, stressing that this approach minimizes the reassignment of students to teachers as the students transition in and out of virtual instruction.

A solid relationship between a student and teacher is foundational to a positive learning experience. Based on observations of other schools in session, we anticipate student absences, and we want our elementary students to know that whether they are virtual or in-person, their teacher is constant and that they can count on that teacher to be there for them.

Now this requires a more complex instructional plan for the teacher, and parents should not expect the same type of virtual instruction to occur that their children are now experiencing. In some ways, it may be richer, but it most likely will not be the same. This virtual choice is explained a bit further in the Skylert communication this afternoon.

This phase using the 50/50 model is expected to run from September 8 to October 2. If all goes well, we hope to transition to 100% on October 5, with the virtual option for the rest of the semester.

We have been asked if the virtual option will be offered in the second semester, and my answer is that the option remains under consideration.

As I said earlier in this message, students in grades 5-12 will remain in virtual instruction, but that status will be reassessed on a weekly basis. We all want our students back in the buildings, and we will make that transition as soon as it is safely possible. Again, I emphasize that we will be relying on guidance from our local health department to make that decision.

I thank all who have contacted us with suggestions and observations. So many, in fact, that personal responses have not been possible for each of you. For that I apologize, but I can assure you that the messages are being read and considered in our planning sessions.

I encourage all in our community to observe safety protocols so that we can drive COVID cases down, minimize unsafe conditions, and get all students back into our classrooms.

Sylvia Shepler, the longest-serving member of the Hamilton Southeastern School Board, has chosen not to seek re-election.  At the noon filing deadline on August 21st, Shepler was not on the list of candidates.  She has been the at-large board member from Wayne Township.  She began serving on the board in January of 2000.

Two incumbents will be on the November ballot – Amanda Shera in Delaware Township and Clint Wilson in Fall Creek Township.  Shera was elected to the board four years ago and Wilson was appointed by the board to complete the term of Mike Bottorff, who resigned his seat in late May of 2019.

The at-large election works for HSE School Board this way – there are three seats up for election, one in each of the three townships comprising the school district.  Candidates must reside within the township where they are running.  The entire school district votes on all three township seats.

I have been asked by several people locally whether I will continue the tradition of recording podcasts with all the school board candidates.  Since there are 11 total candidates running, it would be a monumental task to produce so many podcasts.  I am also trying to reduce my work load.  As a result, I am sorry to say there will be no candidate podcasts by me in this election cycle.

Below is the full listing of candidates for the at-large Hamilton Southeastern School Board election:

===============

Hamilton Southeastern School Board, Fall Creek Township (1 seat)

Clint Wilson

Chauna Leigh Holder

Suzanne Thomas

Matt Stolle

Jason Arnold

Hamilton Southeastern School Board, Delaware Township (1 seat)

Amanda J. Shera

Tony Bagato

Sarah Donsbach

Hamilton Southeastern School Board, Wayne Township (1 seat)

Sarah E Parks-Reese

Tiffany Pascoe

Ron Thieme

The process of formulating the Fishers 2021 city budget is running behind schedule this year due to uncertain revenue numbers.  In particular, the Local Income Tax revenue numbers will not be available until September 30th, based on what City Controller Lisa Bradford told the Fishers City Council Monday night.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the council there will be two budget proposals before the council and the public during the the September public hearing on next year’s city spending plan.  One budget will contain the numbers currently projected and the second will be a worst case scenario, requiring cuts to the 2021 budget to balance income and spending, if the income tax revenue is projected lower than current forecasts show.

According to the mayor, COVID-19 is throwing a big wrench into budget projections and state officials say the amount of income tax money expected for Fishers next year will not be known until the end of September.

The city is required to enact the 2021 budget by November 1st.  The September public hearing is also pursuant to state law.

The City of Fishers has released its weekly road construction listing for next week.  126th Street is closed at Ford Road and the Nickel Plate Trail until October.  Also, another closure is set for 131st Street August 24th at the Nickel Plate Crossing.

There is a long list of projects the list.  Below is the plan, as provided by the City of Fishers.

• While this list encompasses numerous closures in Fishers, it does not list all DPW projects throughout the city.
• All construction activities are weather permitting and could change.
• Plan for extra travel time in construction zones and drive distraction free.

Eileen White resigned as an epidemiologist at the Fishers Health Department after a little more then two months on the job.  After resigning, she posted a video on Facebook, which you can view at this link.  Her bottom line message was this – the health experts are sometimes being overshadowed by politics and the health of the public is being harmed.

She then provided an interview with a local newspaper reporter where the story was framed in a way that made it appear she was blaming Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness for the political interference in local health matters and said she has never seen a health department run like a business, and insinuated that is what is happening in Fishers.

“This is absolutely NOT about Mayor Fadness being somehow ‘bad’,” Ms. White wrote in a Facebook post Thursday night.  “I actually think he’s a reasonable man. I also think the leadership of the health department is not ‘bad’.  I think they lack awareness of how the mayor being involved in meetings regularly and introducing a school board meeting and interjecting over and over isn’t exactly normal.  He did not interfere in developing metrics. He did not tell us explicitly what to say. His presence and his level of involvement in health Dept stuff isn’t normal.”

Eileen White did explain what led to her resignation.

“(Mayor Fadness’) presence and involvement in a school board meeting interferes with independent messaging of the health department.” she wrote in the Thursday night Facebook post. “It doesn’t allow public health to be trusted and this is the National Issue I wanted to address.”

Ms. White adds she will be doing no more interviews.  She only consented to the newspaper interview because the reporter told her there would be a story with or without her comments.

Her Facebook page – “Public Health Is Your Job, Too” – will be her way of communicating her views in the future.

The Fishers Police Department is investigating a Thursday night homicide at the Best Fieldhouse.

Shortly before 10:00pm, officers responded to a report of a shooting in the parking lot of the Best Choice Fieldhouse . During the overnight hours, a 17-year-old victim died.  The other victim, also 17, is hospitalized in stable condition.  Police searched the area but did not locate two suspects in the shooting.

Police say this was not a random act and believe there is no threat to the local community.

This investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective LaShawn Tyler at 317-595-3313.

“The Police Department would like to express our deepest sympathy to the victims in this case,” according to the news release from the Fishers Police Department. “There are no words for such an unimaginable loss, and our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.”

Victim #1-      Deceased Juvenile

                        17 years of age

                        Indianapolis resident

Victim #2-      Stable condition at hospital

                        17 years of age

                        Indianapolis resident