There is no question America is very divided.  I have lived through the Kennedy assassinations in the 1960s, as well as the Democratic Convention in Chicago during that period.  I have seen how the Vietnam War split our population.  I experienced what happened in Watergate.

Yes, we are divided now and have had splits on many issues during my lifetime.  I fully understand all that.

However, a story posted on the news Web site axios.com reminds us that there are important moments when we come together, when “normal people” come through to make a difference.

The biggest example is how regular folks came to the aid of the Highland Park shooting victims during that July 4th parade.  Had those citizens not quickly responded, the death toll would certainly have been higher.

There are a few other examples in that story.  It is all about “normal people” rapidly responding to an emergency and making a difference.

You can read the Axios story at this link.

It feels good to sometimes have good news to report.

There are far fewer journalists covering news at the Indiana Statehouse than was once the case, and that is true in many state capitals around the nation.  A nonprofit organization is setting-up statehouse news operations in a number of states, and has just opened the latest here in Indiana.

In this podcast, I talk with Niki Kelly, Editor-in-Chief for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, about the nonprofit concept used to finance the operation and how she and her staff plan to cover Indiana government.

Find their work at this link (Note:  There is no paywall, this is a free news source)

The Fishers Police Department Citizens Academy is gearing-up for its 40th year.  In 2022, academy sessions will be on Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00pm.  Anyone living in Fishers, age 16 or older, may apply.

The first gathering is August 17, with graduation set for November 16.  If interested, do not wait too long, the class is limited to 30 people.

According to a news release from Fishers Police, “The purpose of the academy is to provide participants with an opportunity to better understand the role of police officers and, more specifically, to strengthen the relationship between the officers of the Fishers Police Department and the community.  Officers will provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of FPD Officers and insight into some of the specialized units and skills within FPD.  Topics will include how to make a traffic stop, how the K-9 Unit works within the agency, the role of the Fishers Dive Team, how Crime Scene Investigators process scenes, and how to safely navigate social media and the internet. Students will have some classroom instruction and practical role play training each day.”

There will be a screening process for anyone applying.  You must register online only at this link.

When the background check is completed, those approved will be notified via e-mail, with more details on the classes.  Registration ends July 22, or when the class if full, whichever comes first.

The move to Fishers happened once I was married  in 1991.  It was a town of less than 10,000 people, based on the census numbers available at that time.  It was a very different place then, a small farm town with a subdivision or two.

That began to change quickly.  As a resident of Fishers for 31 years, there is one statement of fact I can write here.  The only thing in Fishers that has remained the same is the fact that everything is always subject to change.

I have seen massive change in Fishers during my time here.  The local school district began taking on over 1,000 new students every year for many years.  Building a new elementary school every year did not always keep up with the growth.  The amazing part of that story is the way the school corporation was able to handle that massive growth and keep academic achievement generally very high.

When I arrived in Fishers, that small building across from the Depot building on 116th Street was the Town Hall.  A few months later, the town moved into the new Town Hall, our current City Hall.

We are about to lose our current City Hall mainly because it is sinking into the water table beneath the structure and keeping that building going is costing taxpayers so much money it is more financially prudent to build a new one.

We have gone from a time that you only knew you were in downtown Fishers when driving over the railroad tracks, to a developed downtown where the tracks have been transformed into a trail with a tunnel underneath 116th Street..

City Hall will see the wrecking ball in a few months, causing city staff to find other places to work until the new building is complete.  But I have a question about the new building.

An artist rendering of the new facility (see above) has a sign that does not mention the words City Hall.  It is the “Arts and Municipal Complex.”

My question is – why drop the phrase “City Hall” in favor of “Municipal Complex?”

I have no problem giving “Arts” top billing.  Mayor Scott Fadness told me in a recent podcast that he considers this to be a few floors of office space above an arts center.  He believes the arts center is the key part of the building.

In speaking with some city officials, I get the idea that the phrase “Municipal Complex” could be changed, but no one is sure to what.

We still have some parts of Fishers that have historically been here.  We have Conner Prairie.  Sahm’s still has restaurants here.  Reynolds Farm Equipment is still in business here.  Please don’t attack me for leaving something or someone out, this is not intended to be a comprehensive listing, just a few examples that come to my mind while writing this.

There are still some people in Fishers unhappy with the growth and changes in our area.  They say Fishers has lost its small town feel.  I understand where they are coming from but Mayor Fadness has an answer for that.

Some time ago, in another podcast interview, he made clear that, in his view, a city is either moving forward or backward.  In this day and age, it is not possible to just stand pat, according to the mayor..

So, our mayor has clearly chosen the path of moving forward.  Fishers has had massive commercial and residential growth, and Fadness has had a hand in getting that done.

When I married Jane in 1991, we moved into the house she had recently built in Sunblest.  Our twin daughters attended HSE Schools grades K-12 and received a first-class education.  Both are college grads and have grown into outstanding young women.

Jane & I are in our third Fishers home and have no desire to move again.  As retirees, Fishers suits us just fine.

That one fact will continue for the foreseeable future – Fishers will have what remains the same – everything is always subject to change.  That is not always a bad thing.

It was 1962, I was about 11 years old, and my dad was away.  Turns out, he and a group of his friends, all Butler basketball fans, had decided to take a road trip south to Lexington, Kentucky.

The Butler Bulldogs, under legendary coach Tony Hinkle, were about to play in the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time ever.  The Dogs had gone to the NIT a few times, but never the biggest show.

In those days, only 32 teams were invited to that tourney.  Butler had to play Bowling Green, a team from Ohio with two players that later had stellar NBA careers, Nate Thurmond and Howard Komives.

The reason that all came to mind was a June 30th article in the Indianapolis Star by reporter David Woods.  Two players from the team, Gerry Williams and Dick Haslam, have recently died.

Once I was old enough, my brother Tom & I started going to Butler basketball games with my dad and a neighbor.  Butler had some tough years after 1962 but it was always fun to watch the Bulldogs.

They always had some top-tier teams come to the Fieldhouse early in the season.  Hinkle had a reputation for having well-disciplined teams and made a good adversary for teams looking to prepare for the conference season.

I remember seeing Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Notre Dame and Ohio State face the Bulldogs during the 1960s.  Butler once beat Michigan by 20 points at a time the Wolverines were ranked 3rd in the nation.

The Brad Stevens era brought new glory days for Butler basketball, but the history of that program is worth retelling.  Thanks to David Woods for bringing back some great 1960s memories for me.

Be on the lookout for lane restrictions on State Road 37 north of 141st Street to Greenfield Avenue this weekend.  Also, watch for lane restrictions coming along parts of 116th Street.

For the details, here is the weekly road construction update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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STATE ROAD 37 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

STATE ROAD 37 AND 146TH STREET
All left-turn lanes are currently restricted on SR 37 and on 146th Street with traffic moved to the interior lanes. Thru traffic and right turns on SR 37 and 146th Street will remain open. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes for all left turn access. View an alternate route map here.  

Beginning Friday, July 8 at 8 p.m., lane restrictions will be in place on SR 37 between 141st Street and Greenfield Avenue through Monday, July 11 at 6 a.m.

STATE ROAD 37 AND 131ST/135TH STREET
135th Street, east of SR 37, is currently closed as work progresses on the project. This closure will be in place until early July. SR 37 will remain open both northbound and southbound and allow right in/right out access at 131st Street. View the detour map here.

Please drive with caution through this area. To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com.

The inside lane of the Technology Drive is currently closed to traffic to allow for construction of new pavement in the inside lane.  One-way traffic will be in place in the outside lane as shown here.  Access to all businesses will be maintained during the construction.

The intersection at Southeastern Pky. & Cyntheanne Road is currently closed for roundabout construction and is anticipated to reopen by the end of July. View the detour map here.  Schoolhouse 7 Café will remain open for business during construction. View how to access their business here. 

Olio Road between Geist Reservoir and Haven Cove Lane, the first road south of the Geist Reservoir Bridge, may have daily lane restrictions for the reconfiguration and installation of access to Geist Waterfront Park and the Marina. These lane restrictions will occur between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday thru Friday. The estimated completion date is August 1, 2022.  

The outside eastbound lane of 116th Street, just after the Nickel Plate Trail bridge, will be restricted between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through Friday, July 15 for work on the FIB building. Arrow boards will be in place.

Comcast will have daily lane restrictions in place on westbound 116th Street between Cameron Drive and Allisonville Road and northbound Allisonville Road between 116th Street to the Kroger signal for overhead work. Restrictions will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

ADA ramp and curb reconstruction has started taking place in Charleston Crossing, Delaware Point and Waterford Gardens as part of the 2022 Resurfacing Project. Homeowners will be notified via door hangers prior to any curb reconstruction near their home. After ADA ramp and curb reconstruction is completed, those areas will be restored with topsoil and seed. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to water the seed for the seed to germinate. Prior to road resurfacing, residents will be notified via street signage for street parking restrictions.

In the  Fishers city logo (shown above) you will see it lists Fishers as established in 1872.  Yet, the Town of Fishers was not incorporated by state law until 1891.  Why are we celebrating the 150-year sesquicentennial anniversary now?

That’s because of a man named Salathial Fisher.  The Treaty of St. Mary’s in 1818 turned the land around what we now know as Fishers from the local Native American tribe to the government.  Salathial Fisher bought the land and had it platted in 1872, creating a place called Fisher’s Switch.  The “switch” comes from the railroad switch that ran through the area.

The local post office apparently thought Fisher’s Switch was too long and just decided to drop the apostrophe, and the name became Fishers Switch.  The “Switch” part was eliminated in 1908 and we were then known as the Town of Fishers.

The story of William Conner and how he started the commercial development of this area with the first trading post is fascinating.

There is so much more history to this place we call Fishers.  That is why I am partnering with the city to produce a series of podcasts with people that either know this history or lived it themselves.

I had the chance to speak with Mayor Scott Fadness and the city’s Director of Public Relations, Ashley Elrod, to begin the discussion and we just touched the surface of our local history.

Stay tuned for more podcasts in the coming months celebrating the 150-year history of Fishers.

A link to the podcast with Scott Fadness and Ashley Elrod is below.

With the July 4th holiday, many may have missed an Indianapolis Star Op-Ed piece penned by our Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in the July 5th edition.

“In the fickle sport of politics, the assignment of blame is the easy play called,” Fadness writes. “Anger and fear drive headlines and votes. Complex proposals, long-term thinking, candor, boldness and risk-taking are punished and not rewarded.”

Fadness describes a generally favorable government environment for business in the Hoosier state.  However, there are factors that limit Indiana’s ability to attract and retain high-paying jobs.

He argues that our state lags the nation in per capita income, educational attainment, health outcomes and environmental conditions.  The mayor points to the fact that Indiana faced much the same predicament twenty years ago, but state finances were in a woeful condition then.  State government now has a budget surplus.

The state must find a way to create an environment with clean air and water, and a healthy ecosystem, not at the local economy’s expense, argues Fadness, but in way that is a benefit.

Can Indiana mine the gold rush of jobs to be created in the future?

“We must decide whether we will be a state that simply fulfills orders downstream or if we are a state that innovates, creates and generates real wealth,” according to Fadness. “If we harness the power of our higher education institutions and set forth an ambitious goal to lead innovation in the areas of carbon sequestration, battery power, pharmaceutical manufacturing, precision agriculture, environmental reclamation and data analytics, we can generate an innovation-driven economy that will propel our state into the next several decades and provide meaningful, quality of life-sustaining employment for generations to come.”

He ends the piece with a call to action to bring a “collective entrepreneurial spirit” to Indiana, upgrading our educational and medical systems to better serve everyone, as well as the state’s economy.

Mayor Fadness has had a front-row seat in dealing with these issues as his administration continues to develop Fishers economically and hears all about these issues from business leaders considering Fishers as a new home.

One thing this piece will do is fuel speculation that Fadness may be looking at a possible run for governor in 2024 by writing this missive in the state’s largest newspaper.  Of course, he first must make a decision on whether to run for re-election as Fishers mayor next year.  There has been no official announcement on that, but all the tea leaves point to a likely Scott Fadness run for another term as mayor.

Two New York City men are in the Hamilton County jail on felony burglary charges following their arrest Tuesday evening.  They are suspected of attempting to rob a residence in the 15600 block of Allistair Drive, just north of 104th Street near Cyntheanne Road.

According to the news release from the Fishers Police Department, both men have “possible connections to a South American Theft Group.”

The suspects are identified as Charly Sneider Benavides Mayorga, 34, and Jhon Jairo Lopera Munoz, 33, both from New York City.  They face one felony charge each of home burglary, and both are charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and possessing a false government identification.

As officers arrived Tuesday evening, after responding to a residential alarm, they observed two men running away from the scene. Police quickly established a perimeter and began searching for the suspects. One suspect was located and taken into custody without incident. The second suspect was apprehended by Fishers Police K9 Rexo and sustained a minor injury. Both were medically evaluated by Paramedics with the Fishers Fire Department and before being transported to the Hamilton County Jail.

Hamilton County Democratic Chairperson Dayna Colbert announced five candidates for office in the November election ballot, but a number of Republicans will now be considered elected due to no Democratic or third-party challenger.

Here are the candidates appointed and/or selected by a Democratic party caucus:

—Jessica Paxson will challenge the Republican primary winner Greg Garrison for Hamilton County Prosecutor.  She is a currently a Deputy Prosecutor for Hamilton County and worked at a local law firm for two years.

—Josh Lowry will face Republican State Senator Jim Buck for Senate District 21.  He spent five years as a Deputy Attorney General practicing constitutional law, defending state agencies such as the Department of Child Services and the Indiana State Police.

—Matt McNally will challenge Indiana House member Jerry Torr in District 39.  He was a Naval Aviator, serving in Afghanistan and around the world.  McNally also volunteered as an English Teacher at Exodus Refugee.

—Julia Keller is running for the Clay Township Board and Pam Williams is a candidate in Adams Township.

That leaves a number of offices without Democratic candidates, including for Delaware Township Board.  The Delaware Township trustee post will be unopposed in November.

Other offices where Republicans will not be opposed by Democrats include:

–All but one county council seat

–Two county judgeships

–County commissioner

–County clerk

–County sheriff

–County coroner

–County assessor

House Speaker Todd Huston will have no Democratic challenger in District 37.

This is not a complete listing, but gives you an idea which local offices will have no Democratic candidate in the general election this year.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly stated the Fall Creek Township Trustee election has no Democratic candidate.  Nicole Tredup ran in the May primary election as a Democrat and will be on the November ballot for Fall Creek Township Trustee)