After viewing the video updated Tuesday, posted by Fishers Health Department Epidemiologist Josh Robinson, I had to do a double-take in order to ensure the numbers were correct.

Over the most recent 2-week period, Fishers has seen a 62% decrease in the number of COVID cases reported among the city’s population.  That includes  a 51% decrease over the most recent week measured by the Health Department.

I thought about how proud Mayor Scott Fadness was about the vaccination rates in the city and wondered if that had any impact on those eye-popping decreases in Fishers COVID cases?  After all, among adults over 18 in Fishers, the vaccination rate is somewhere around 80% at last report.

So, when I asked Mayor Fadness how the vaccination program impacts the reduction in cases, he gave me an answer of “yes and no.”

“In full honesty, I think it had a lot do with the Omicron variant and how quickly it moves in and moves out,” Fadness said.  “What I would really attribute, or credit, our vaccination program for is the death rate, the hospitalization rate in our community, (which) has been very low.”

Most of those testing positive for COVID lately had the Omicron variant and were unvaccinated, and those vaccinated and boosted that tested positive had mild symptoms, according to the mayor.

COVID positive tests are trending downward in the area, with Hamilton County seeing a 29% decrease over the most recent week measured, and the entire state of Indiana saw its first decrease during the same time period of 28%

As of late Friday morning, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness says his snow plow crews “did okay” but not every neighborhood and street had been plowed at that point.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” said the mayor.  “I would ask everyone to be patient as we get into cul-de-sacs, they take a while.”

The city is already hearing from residents Friday morning asking when their cul-de-sac will be plowed, but the mayor emphasized “there is a lot of snow in the neighborhoods.”

The city continued with a full slate of snow trucks on the streets Friday and expects the crews will be out most of Friday night into Saturday before clearing most of the snow & ice.

With air temperatures forecast to plunge near zero tonight, the mayor says his crews will clear-off as much as possible during the daylight hours Friday before some of the slush on the streets begins to freeze where salt and chemicals are less effective.

Most cities in the area have had trouble recruiting snow plow drivers and Fishers is no exception.  Fadness says the city can use 10-12 additional drivers.  “We’re better than we were last year, but we still have vehicles that are not operating due to a lack of staff,” the mayor said.

February is Black History Month.  The City of Fishers has compiled some of the activities coming throughout the month.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is planning a Black History Month classroom book reading with HSE Schools.  Also, Fishers Parks & Hamilton East Public Library in Fishers will have a February Storywalk program at Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve, featuring “Mae Among the Stars.”  No dates were provided for either of these events.

On February 4th, the This Is Fishers Blog will feature an “Embracing Black Culture” art exhibit.

On February 9th, This is Fishers will have a “Meet Your Neighbor” with Ben Yoder, a member of the Fishers Arts Commission and a teacher of Orchestra & Performing Arts at HSE Intermediate/Junior High.

On February 11th,  the This is Fishers group is sponsoring a “Meet Your Neighbor” event featuring the Fishers Health Department Future Black Leaders Club.

On February 11th, watch social media for a  Black History Month Reception at City Hall.

On February 16, watch for another This is Fishers group “Meet Your Neighbor” event at Eastern Star Church.

On February 22nd, the This is Fishers Blog will look at the Conner Prairie African American Curator.

Several ongoing activities are planned in the city during February, including social media shares and posts supporting community organizations’ programming for Black History Month.

City Spokesperson Ashley Elrod says the This Is Fishers Committee decided to form a Cultural Events subcommittee, which has been working on Black History Month.  She says many of the details for these listed events are still in progress.

This list is not a complete listing of Fishers Black History Month observances by any means, this is the listing provided to LarryInFishers.com by city officials.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools announced Thursday afternoon that Friday will be another e-learning day with the school buildings closed.  Here is the HSE School announcement, posted on social media:

The Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation is set for its biggest fund raising event of the year, Game Day.  It will be held once again at Conner Prairie, Friday, February 18, starting at 6:30pm.

The foundation raises money to support teachers and schools in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District.

Here are the details of this year’s Game Day, as provided by the Foundation:

1. Join us at Conner Prairie at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, February 18. A very limited number of event tickets (age 21 and over) are available for $75. Event tickets include tailgating themed games, delicious game day food, a DJ playing live music and the annual district-wide Pop-A-Shot contest. Each ticket is a tax-deductible donation used to inspire innovation in local education with discounts available for HSE Schools staff and alumni. Masks are recommended for event attendees with hand sanitizer stations available throughout the building. To purchase tickets to attend Game Day at Conner Prairie, click here.
   
   
2. Virtual Trivia Night teams are also available for $75. HSEF is again teaming up with Hambone’s Trivia to offer a virtual trivia team option on Friday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m. for a $75 tax-deductible donation. This year’s virtual host will be Ben Yoder, a teacher within HSE Schools.  Friends and family can play together on a team, with discounts available for HSE Schools staff and alumni. The playing field is up to you as the participants can be located anywhere (up to 8 people can play together remotely). To register as a Team Captain for Virtual Trivia Night, click here.
   
   
3. The Game Day Silent Auction goes live on Friday, February 11. The auction annually features unique items, amazing trips, memorabilia, and experiences, plus baskets from each of the HSE school PTO’s. You can view the auction items online from anywhere until bidding closes at 9:15 p.m. on February 18. Follow @HSEFoundation for sneak peeks of all the amazing items available for bid.
   
   
4. The very popular Rare Bourbon Raffle also returns this year. For a list of the available bottles and to secure tickets visit www.hsefoundation.org/raffle. There are 125 prizes including many amazing bottles and a custom bourbon barrel bar, with only 500 tickets being sold, making the odds of winning 1:4!  Must be 21 to enter and win. The raffle will take place via a live drawing (YouTube) at approximately 8:30 p.m. on February 18. Winners do not need to be present to win. To register for the raffle click here.

The weather forecasters have been correct this time around.  As of 8am Thursday morning, Fishers has a few inches of snow and some ice underneath.  City crews have been out battling the storm and likely will continue well into Friday morning as another round of snow is forecast Thursday.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness assured the community that his Department of Public Works is ready for this storm.  The Fishers Emergency Operations Center will be activated if the situation warrants, according to the mayor.  Hamilton County announced Thursday morning that their Emergency Operations Center has been activated.

The National Weather Service says 4-7 inches of additional snow may fall today.  The Winter Storm Warning remains in place through 1am Friday.  As of 8:15am Thursday, no power outages have been reported in Fishers by Duke Energy.

City Hall is closed for in-person business Thursday and the COVID testing and vaccination sites are closed today.  Call 317-595-3211 for any questions.

Fishers city crews do plow snow in local neighborhoods.  In a Twitter message, the city suggests removing vehicles from the streets to allow the city crews to 1) completely clear roadways 2) plow safer and more efficiently and 3) keep your vehicle from being “snowed in” from plowed snow.

We are in the early days of February, but the City of Fishers has already announced plans for Disability Awareness Month, celebrated in March.

The 2022 event lineup includes the following, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers announces March schedule for Disability Awareness Month →

It was late August, 2021, when a big grand opening celebration happened at the Round Room, the former Roche office building one can see clearly from I-69.  Now, TCC, a part of Round Room, has been awarded Top Workplace USA honors from Energage, an employee engagement company.  This is the second consecutive year TCC has been so honored.

“We are incredibly honored to be named a USA Top Workplace again,” said Scott Moorehead, President and CEO of Round Room, TCC’s parent company. “We take employee engagement very seriously and understand that our employees want to feel connected to our company and the people they serve.”

More than 1,100 organizations nationwide participated in the 2022 Top Workplaces USA survey. Winners of the Top Workplaces USA list are chosen based solely on employee feedback gathered through an employee engagement survey, issued by Energage. Results are calculated by comparing the survey’s research-based statements, including 15 culture drivers that are proven to predict high performance against industry benchmarks.

TCC is one of the nation’s largest Verizon authorized retailers with nearly 850 locations in 39 states.

For the second week in a row, there is good COVID news from the Fishers Health Department (FHD).

“It’s the second week in a row that we’re seeing quite a quick and precipitous drop in the number of Omicron cases, or COVID cases, that we’re seeing reported across our Fishers community,” says Fishers Health Department Epidemiologist Josh Robinson in his weekly video update.

Robinson reports a 62% decrease in reported COVID cases among the Fishers community over the past 2 weeks.  Last week, Fishers saw a 26% decrease in the number of COVID cases compared to the previous week and this week shows a 51% decrease in cases compared to the week before.

Fishers is showing a larger drop in COVID cases compared to Hamilton County, which reports a 29% reduction compared to the previous week.  In the entire state of Indiana, reported COVID cases are down 28% compared to the week before.

In another measure, the Hamilton County unique individual positivity rate is down to 40%.

The Fishers testing site COVID positivity rate is down to 33.8%

The case incidence rate, a 14-day rolling average, is down from 262 to 190.

Testing demand is down here in Fishers, according to Robinson, particularly school prioritized tests.  Same-day testing is available and results are generally ready within 1-3 days.

Robinson says hospital capacity in our area is improving some, with Intensive Care Unit (ICU) availability up slightly.  There is a 2-week trending decrease in Emergency Room (ER) visits, hospitalizations and ICU admissions for COVID.

Due to winter weather, the Fishers Testing & Vaccination site will be closed Thursday,  February 3. The Testing & Vaccination site will be open normal hours on Wednesday, February 2. The department will update social media if weather causes Friday closures. FHD will reach out to reschedule appts or you can call COVID hotline at 317-595-3211.

Also, with HSE Schools on an e-learning day Wednesday, come in the Fishers Vaccination site (12520 E. 116th Street) and get your vaccine or booster before the snow hits. The vaccination site in Fishers is open 9am-4pm.

Here is the full video update from FHD Epidemiologist Josh Robinson.

Verizon applications for two 5G towers were denied in the Fawnsbrook neighborhood, but 4 towers in other subdivisions were approved Tuesday morning by the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety.

The board had approved one tower previously in Fawnsbrook, but the towers under consideration Tuesday, located at 12956 Fawns Ridge and 13013 Fawnsbrook Drive, were voted down by the board.

“I am not supportive of any of these locations,” said Mayor Scott Fadness, a member of the 3-person panel.  “They don’t fit the criteria we’ve given Verizon.”  The two proposed towers are not at intersections or in common areas, but rather in the middle of residential areas.

“I’m not going to demonize Verizon about that,” according to the mayor.  “That may be just the logistics of the topography.”

The first tower approved in Fawnsbrook meets the criteria established by the city but these two do not, the mayor added.

Four residents of Fawnsbrook spoke on the proposed towers, all arguing against placing them in the proposed locations.

Russell Brown, legal counsel for Verizon, told the board these towers have a directional signal and are intended to cover narrow areas in the neighborhood with the 5G signal.  Other locations suggested by the residents do not meet the signal coverage objectives, according to Mr. Brown.

“Our objection to the (city’s) criteria utilized in locations like this is, by establishing, utilizing, those criteria, that forces Verizon to, we believe, effectively prohibits coverage from being provided in this area,” Brown told board members.  He cited the trees in the neighborhood as impacting the signal strength in the Fawnsbrook neighborhood, creating the need for more towers there.

All three board members, the mayor, Jeff Lantz and Jason Meyer, all voted to deny the Verizon tower location request.  Mayor Fadness reminded the Fawnsbrook residents at the meeting that nothing in the law prevents Verizon from coming back to the board with another tower location plan for their neighborhood in the future.

Here are the Verizon 5G towers approved at Tuesday’s meeting:

–One tower at 11069 Stratford Way in Oxford Park

–One tower at 10738 Briar Stone Lane in the Berkley Grove subdivision

–One tower at 8699 Royal Drive in Morgan Meadows

and

–One tower at 12693 Mustard Seed Court in The Reserve at Lantern.