by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

FISHERS – Just like it did several weeks ago, big plays became a factor in a Fishers-Hamilton Southeastern football game.

Both teams made their share of those big plays when they met Friday at Reynolds Tigers Stadium in the semi-finals of Class 6A Sectional 4. Fishers made two of them in the fourth quarter: A long touchdown pass and an interception in the end zone. That was enough to give the Tigers a 34-29 win over the Royals and advance to next week’s championship game.

“You need a spark. You need a big win for a program,” said Fishers coach Curt Funk, who picked up his first post-season victory as the Tigers coach.

“We talked to the kids all week about moments, and life’s about them and sports are about them,” said Funk. “And they made their moment tonight.”

Fishers trailed 29-20 going into the fourth quarter. The Tigers cut into that lead midway through the period; after Carson Dunn made a big run to get Fishers into scoring position, Lucas Prewitt punched the ball in from the one-yard line. Southeastern blocked the extra-point kick, but the Tigers were now within 29-26.

Minutes later, Fishers would get the ball back. The Tigers made their way down to the 42, where Prewitt threw a pass to Luke Valerio, who weaved his way into an open space and ran into the end zone. That put Fishers in front, and it added to its lead when Prewitt threw a two-point conversion pass to Shaun Kim.

The Tigers were now up by five points with 1:27 to go. The Royals began a furious drive, getting down to the Fishers 7. But with less than 10 seconds to go, the Tigers’ Shawn Dunnuck intercepted a pass in the end zone, sealing the victory.

“I knew somebody had to make a big play,” said Dunnuck. “They were driving it down the field that whole drive. And it was my man and I did my job and did what I could. All thanks to my teammates. They played their hearts out. They motivated the whole team and we kept it going the whole game.”

“For years they’re going to talk about the Seth Dunnuck interception,” said Funk. “What a way to end an outstanding game, and HSE, they played their tails off. They had a great season and Coach (Michael) Kelly’s done a great job there in his first year.”

Fishers set the tone of the game early. Carson Dunn blasted off on a 78-yard run into the end zone early in the first quarter to get the Tigers on the board first. Justin Sharkey’s extra-point kick gave Fishers a 7-7 lead.

Southeastern was in control for the remainder of the first half. John McCall found Dylan Conner for a 38-yard touchdown pass, and Alex Geroulis tied it up with his extra-point kick. The score was now 7-7, and would remain so through the end of the quarter.

McCall stepped up again for the Royals in the second quarter. He ran in two touchdowns, the first from nine yards and the second from one yard, the latter with 13 seconds left in the half. Geroulis kicked both points afterwards, and HSE led 21-7 at halftime.

“I thought our kids played really well,” said Kelly. “They had a phenomenal game plan and played really hard. I thought our guys showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of poise. At the end of the night, Fishers was the better team than what we were.”

The Tigers mounted a comeback in the third quarter, with Dunn once again making big plays. He zoomed into the end zone on a 69-yard touchdown run early in the period, then caught a 76-yard scoring pass from Prewitt midway through the quarter.

“Carson Dunn did an outstanding job,” said Funk. “We challenged him. We told him, ‘You’re going to have to come out here and you’re going to have to bring it all night long,’ and he did. He just did an awesome job. Real proud of him.”

The Royals blocked the extra point attempt after the second touchdown to preserve a 21-20 lead. Then with less than a minute in the period, McCall scrambled into the end zone from 18 yards. He followed that up with a two-point pass to Will Gerig to put Southeastern ahead 29-20. That lead would hold until Fishers began its fourth-quarter comeback.

Dunn finished the game with 193 yards rushing on 20 carries, giving him the vast majority of the Tigers’ rushing yards. Prewitt completed 14 of 19 pass attempts for 220 yards, with Silas Martin making five catches. Dunnuck totaled 13 tackles, with Collin Malone making seven stops.

McCall was 13-of-21 as the HSE quarterback, totaling 185 yards. Conner made five receptions for 103 yards, while Jace Alexander had four catches. Blaine Wertz led the rushing with 100 yards, followed by McCall with 96. Cole Earlewine led the Royals tackles with six stops.

Southeastern finished its season 6-3, and tied for second in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings.

“We grew a significant amount,” said Kelly. “I appreciate what our seniors did for the program, just setting the tone, setting the expectation. I thought they did some great things for us.”

Fishers improved to 3-7 after the win and will travel to Westfield next Friday to play for the Sectional 4 title.

There are a few “bucket list” items world travelers normally cite.  One is traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing.  Local residents John & Ann Craig-Cinnamon took that trip recently and brought back the video they shot along the way.

What resulted is a half-hour documentary film airing locally on WFYI (Channel 20).

Here is my conversation with Ann & John about that experience.

There will be no changes next week for the in-person class situation in Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, as had been tentatively planned.  Grades 5 & 6 will remain 50% in-person following action by the school board Wednesday night.

The vote was 5-2, with board members Amanda Shera and Brad Boyer voting no.  Previously, the board had acted to have grades 5 & 6 go to a 100% in-person classroom schedule.  The action Wednesday keeps the situation the same, at least for now.

Experience with COVID-19 in the schools and the community as a whole were cited as reasons for keeping the hybrid system in place for grades 5 & 6.

An advisory group has been working for months on how to re-arrange class start times in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School, with the school board set to give the plan final approval November 11.

Based on a recommendation presented to the board, grades K-4 would start most school days at 7:40a,  high school 8:20am & grades 5-8 9:00am.

The committee had three additional recommendations for the board.

First, study the possibility of walking zones.  The City of Fishers would need to be involved in this.

Second, take a look at a 3-teir bus transportation system

Thirdly, study a possible “feeder system” allowing student groups to remain together as they move from one school building to another.

You can review the entire presentation to the school board at this link.

For more details on the start time study, the HSE Schools Web site has a special page devoted just to this subject.  Find it at this link.

The City of Fishers Parks Department announced early Wednesday afternoon that the 2020 Boo Bash has been cancelled.  The increase in local COVID-19 positive cases is cited as the reason.  Below is the statement from the city:

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It was 1967, I had turned 16 years and one month, which made me eligible for a driving test and application for my first Indiana driver’s license.  In order to do that, I needed to deal with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles of that time.

That was a time, under the existing Indiana law, when all employees of the Bureau were political appointees.  Your main qualification for the job was your loyalty to the political party of the governor.

It just so happened Indiana had a Democratic Governor, Roger Branigan, at that time, but a Republican governor would have been under the same rules.  You hired people recommended by their work for the party.

I recall going into a completely full room at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and waiting.  The wait stretched for hours.  It was clear the workers were doing the best they could with the limited training and experience they had.  It was a miracle I ever obtained my license.

That is a small example of what life was like in old “spoils system” that rewarded election winners with a number of jobs to fill.  Those employees were hired, and could be fired at any time, for no reason other than that was the whim of the political party in charge.

Dealing with most agencies in the Hoosier State was like that in 1967.  It was setup to benefit political parties but not the citizens governments are supposed to serve.

I recall my grandfather Sam Lannan, heavily steeped in local politics where he lived in rural southwest Indiana, telling me the spoils system was just fine because it was transparent.  Everyone was able to see what was going on and there were no hidden agendas.

I politely listened to my grandfather but never agreed with that argument.  Government should serve the people, not the political system, in my view.  My father was a nearly life-long federal civil servant with the Defense Department and taught me the value of the merit system, which allows qualified people to serve in government positions with civil service protections.

Court decisions and actions by the Indiana General Assembly slowly changed the BMV.  It is now a model of how to run an agency.  All my dealings with the Indiana BMV have been good and professional in recent years.

After nearly 17 years of toiling in the broadcast business, mostly in news and talk shows, I entered the federal civil service in 1983 for 28 years and retired.  I learned a lot about bureaucracy and how it works.

People can be fired from the civil service and are fired.  There are processes for appeal so the employee can make her/his case but that system prevents people from being dismissed from employment for no good reason.

Tom Friedman is a New York Times opinion columnist that has traveled the world writing for the Times.  He has written often about how Americans do not know the value of a professional civil service.  He would cite cases where you were expected to bribe a civil servant in another country just to complete what one could consider a routine government transaction.

I bring this up because the president has issued an executive order creating a new category of federal workers, technically called “Schedule F” workers.  The details are very vague, but the president’s goal is to bring tens of thousands of federal civil servants into political appointees, hired and fired at any time by order of the president.

Presidents already appoint the top policy-making people at every federal agency.  His people run those agencies.

The federal government decided in 1883 that the spoils system was not serving the public and passed the Pendleton Act, which created the federal civil service.  Hiring and promotions were to be based on merit from then on.

The new executive order is an attack on the Pendleton Act and takes us on a road to another spoils system.  Citizens of the United States are entitled to professional treatment, whether you are applying for Social Security benefits, dealing with the VA or trying to solve a problem with the IRS.

A Washington Post editorial described the presidential order as “insidious,” and an effort to put loyalty to the president above performance in evaluating these workers.  The action is already being challenged in the courts.  A presidential executive order must be consistent with the law.

I think about all this every time I interact with the Indiana BMV.  I am thankful there are qualified professionals to handle my needs.  It wasn’t always that way.

With Halloween a few days away, Fishers is offering a number of activities for families.  Fishers will have Trick or Treat hours October 31st, 6-8pm.

Here is a full listing of activities, as provided by the City of Fishers”

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Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza 
Residents will show off their jack-o-lantern carving skills with the Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza on Tuesday, October 27 from 4-7 p.m. at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater (NPD AMP). Fishers Parks will provide the pumpkins and carving tools for this sold-out event, and all pumpkins will be displayed at the Boo Bash event on October 31! Pre-registration is required, and this event is currently full. To join the waitlist, visit www.playfishers.com/BooBash.

Boo Bash
This Halloween enjoy a new, socially distanced Boo Bash Trick-or-Treat Trail. Fishers’ annual Halloween tradition will take place on Saturday, October 31 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the NPD AMP. The free event features outdoor, socially distant trick-or-treating at over 50 vendor booths, bewitching giveaways, and lots of spooky fun for the whole family. 36 Teal Pumpkin Project booths will offer non-food items for children with food allergies and special needs. To ensure attendees comply with social distancing and COVID-19 guidelines, guests will be asked to wear masks (ages 5+) and follow a one-way pedestrian pathway and event entry will be monitored to limit attendance to ensure appropriate distancing. For more information on the COVID-19 precautions for the event, visit www.playfishers.com/BooBash. No registration is required for this event.

Trick-or-Treat Hours
Fishers’ citywide trick-or-treating hours will be from 6-8 p.m. on October 31. The Fishers Police Department and Fishers Health Department have provided community recommendations to stay safe and healthy on Halloween, including tips on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Visit www.fishers.in.us/Halloween for the full list of recommendations. The FHD strongly recommends avoiding gatherings of more than ten people.

WHEN/WHERE: 
• Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza: October 27, 4-7 p.m. at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater
Boo Bash:  October 31, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater

• Citywide Trick-or-Treat Hours: October 31, 6-8 p.m. throughout Fishers

We are now just a little over one week before election day.  Voters will be choosing a president, governor, members of congress and many local offices.  In Indiana, there are school board elections.

Here in the Fishers area, all registered voters residing in Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships are eligible to vote in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board election.  The city of Fishers takes up large parts of Fall Creek and Delaware Townships.

I won’t comment on the state of the various campaigns.  There have been some good, solid discussions and some not so good.  But this election will have a major impact on the school age children attending public schools in those three townships.

I have evolved a bit on how I personally evaluate candidates for my local school board.  For years, I looked at the positions taken by each of the candidates.  That is still a factor, but it has been trumped by another consideration for me.

I explained this as part of my hour-long video discussion with Cameron Geesaman recorded in early September.  All voters need to evaluate candidates on their ability to make good decisions as situations change.

For example, I spent time with all current members of the HSE Board and never thought to ask any of them how they would handle a pandemic.  No one could foresee that.  The ability of each board member to evaluate the situation before them and make good decisions is key for me.

If you do not think your vote counts, allow me to provide just one fact for you.  In 2016, Mike Bottorff defeated Howard Stevenson by 41 votes, about one-tenth of one-percent (.01%) of all votes cast in the Fall Creek Township at-large election.  All votes counted in that race.  Mr. Bottorff resigned from the board in May of 2019 and board members chose Clint Wilson to fill-out the remainder of the term.

A couple of reminders – if you vote a straight party ticket, keep going….you will find the at-large Hamilton County Council election, then the school board candidates will be before you.  Also, this is an at-large school board election so all voters may choose one candidate for each of the three townships.

Please allow me to once again compliment and thank Izzy & Casey Alexander, Fishers High School students that offered to record podcast interviews with all 11 candidates for school board.  As of early Monday afternoon, October 26th, I have set a podcasting record.  Combining the number of listens for all candidates, the count exceeded 2,700.  That means at least 2,700 people listened to most or all of a candidate podcast.

I see that people in Hamilton County, Indiana and many parts of the nation are voting early, enduring long lines and long wait times to cast their ballots.  It is clear that Americans love democracy.

If you have not yet voted and want to know more about our local HSE School Board candidates, I have a handy listing below of the candidate podcasts with links.

Remember, our local school board election is of great importance to school-age children in all three townships and the health of our school system is key to the health of our community as a whole.  Vote in the school board election!

FALL CREEK TOWNSHIP

Clint Wilson

Chauna Leigh Holder

Suzanne Thomas

Matt Stolle

Jason Arnold

Delaware Township

Amanda Shera

Tony Bagato

Sarah Donsbach

Wayne Township

Sarah Parks-Reese 

Tiffany Pascoe

Ron Thieme

As I watched the presidential candidate debate Thursday night, my mind took me back to late March, 2014.  Fishers was about to elect the new city’s first mayor.  There were six people running in the Republican primary and it didn’t seem likely a Democrat would step forward to run (no Democrat did).

So, this primary election was going to select our first mayor.  There had already been two debates, or “joint appearances” as many would describe them.  The Fishers Chamber of Commerce and the local League of Women Voters hosted the previous events.

That’s when I received a message from the Fishers Arts Council.  That organization was being encouraged to sponsor one more candidate debate.  The Arts Council asked me to be the debate moderator.

I had participated on a panel of reporters asking questions of the mayoral candidates in Columbus, Indiana back in 1979, but was not the sole moderator.  It was made clear to me I would be the moderator…I would pose all the questions.

I dealt with two people at the Arts Council to prepare for the debate, Jocelyn Vare and Gavin Fisher (Jocelyn now serves on the Fishers City Council).  We worked on the format and tried to come up with a way to form questions.  The Arts Council opened an e-mail account for anyone to submit questions.   I used at least one question from everyone that took the time to respond to that e-mail account.

Although I had help, fashioning the specific questions was totally up to me.  I viewed that as a big responsibility.

I know that journalists as debate moderators are often a target of the campaigns.  I braced for the worst but it never happened.  If anyone took issue with the way I ran the debate and the questions asked, no one told me. I  suppose that was a success in itself.

That election gave us Scott Fadness as our first mayor and he remains the Mayor of Fishers to this day.

I watched Kristen Welker and give her tremendous credit for a job well done in the final presidential debate.  Few people understand what a tough and thankless job that is, but Ms. Welker showed us why she is so well-regarded by her colleagues at NBC News.

Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs and myself get together once again to talk about film.  We have several film reviews, list our favorite horror films with Halloween on the way and talk about the state of the movie theater business.