There are two Democrats on the Fishers City Council, Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann, and they are sponsoring a Chat with the Chief, featuring Police Chief Ed Gebhart. The event is described as a town hall where residents may ask questions of the Chief.
It is set for Friday, September 9, 6pm, at the Delaware Township Community Center (9094 E. 131st).
Summer is closing as we enter the month of September. The busy schedule for the Fishers Parks & Recreation Department starts with the annual tradition of the Blues Fest, September 2-3. But there is a long list of activities on the fall agenda.
The city released a listing of all the events which you may see here:
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Fishers Police are investigating the deaths of a man and woman. Their bodies were found at a home on Forsythia Lane, near 141st and Cumberland Road.
Police received a phone call Wednesday morning from a person threatening suicide. When officers arrived at the home, there was no response. Police then entered into the residence and discovered the bodies of two adults.
Police detectives, after conducting interviews and collecting evidence, say they believe the man and woman found dead are the only individuals directly involved in this incident and there is no threat to the community.
Authorities ask anyone with information regarding this case to contact Detective/Sergeant Robbie Ruble at 317-595-3319.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce has weighed-in on the Indiana Senate District 31 race and is endorsing Republican Kyle Walker. Democrat Jocelyn Vare is Walker’s opponent in the November 8 general election.
The Chamber cites Walker’s positions that dovetail the business organization’s views, including economic development, jobs, cutting taxes and what the chamber describes as “improving the quality of life metrics”
“Senator Walker has led on key issues to fuel economic development and support job growth, accelerate entrepreneurial activity, strengthen public safety and improve quality of life,” said Indiana Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kevin Brinegar in a Walker campaign news release. “He is an innovative, pro-jobs leader that’s making an impact to grow the Indiana economy and his district.”
Both Walker and Vare have been busy on the campaign trail, raising money, canvassing door-to-door and meeting with voters.
Vare cited a recent Change Research poll of likely voters in District 31 that showed a statistical tie, within the margin of error, but also said 19% of respondents are undecided.
There is now one less candidate for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board in the upcoming November election.
Chad Curtis has notified the Hamilton County Election office that he will not run in HSE District 4 after all.
Here is the updated listing of HSE School Board candidates, with Mr. Curtis’ withdrawal:
District 1
Brad Boyer
Jackie Howell
Tiffany Pascoe
Edward A. Gedeon
District 2
Juanita Y. Albright
Janet Pritchett
District 3
Dawn Lang
Carla V. Cork
District 4
Julie A. Chambers
Harry Delks
Ben Orr
In this election cycle, each candidate runs within the district in which they reside. Voters select one candidate based on where the voter lives.
View the district map at this link
When redistricting happens, the following election is always interesting. The new boundary lines often, but not always, can change the political dynamics. Indiana lawmakers enacted new district lines in the 2022 regular session.
One 2022 election that is shaping-up as one to watch is Indiana Senate District 31. Republican Kyle Walker was selected in a party caucus to serve the remainder of Jim Merritt’s Senate term and is seeking election to a full term. Democrat Jocelyn Vare is an at-large Fishers City Council member elected in 2019. Both will be squaring-off in the November general election.
District 31 takes-in all of Fishers, plus parts of Noblesville and Lawrence Township in Marion County.
I will point out a couple of recent developments to note.
First, the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety passed a resolution August 23rd allowing Fishers Police and other law enforcement agencies to enforce “No Hunting” rules in the Geist Reservoir area. City Attorney Chris Greisl credited Senator Walker with bringing the parties together, making that agreement with Citizens Energy a reality.
Ms. Vare shared a Change Research poll that shows the two Senate candidates in a statistical tie. The Poll shows Vare with 41%, Walker 39% and 19% undecided. The biggest take-aways from the poll are the high number of undecided respondents (19%) and the margin of error (4.7%). This poll shows no clear front-runner at this stage. The pool of respondents consists of 552 likely voters. The Web site fivethirtyeight.com gives Change Research a B- grade as a polling organization.
Campaigns are just getting underway for the general election set for Tuesday, November 8. Expect to see a lot in the news about Indiana Senate District 31 between now and then.
This week, be aware of a temporary closure on the Nickel Plate Trail and lane restrictions on 96th Street.
Below are the details, as provided by the City of Fishers:
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STATE ROAD 37 AND 146TH STREETAll 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. STATE ROAD 37 AND 131ST/135TH STREET135th Street, west of SR 37, is currently closed as work progresses on the project. 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.
126TH STREETOn Monday, August 29 and Tuesday, August 30, lane restrictions will be in place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 126th Street between Bellingham Blvd. and Thorpe Creek Pkwy. for path work.
96TH STREETBeginning on Thursday, September 1, daily lane restrictions will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 96th Street between Allisonville Road and Masters Road for the installation of small cell structures. NICKEL PLATE TRAIL
ADA ramp and curb reconstruction has started taking place in Hamilton Proper 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.
Dan Henke, the Fishers City Judge and former Fishers Town Councilor, will conduct an independent fact-finding investigation into an incident involving a “Defund the Police?” poster in a high school classroom. According to school officials, the brother of Officer Noah Shahnavaz saw the poster in the class and that resulted in an apology from the school board, assuring the community the school district does not believe in defunding the police and the poster was a student project from the previous year.
Officer Noah Shahnavaz, a Fishers resident, died in the line of duty as part of the Elwood Police Department.
Judge Henke is providing his services at no charge to the school corporation. Although serving as a part-time Fishers City Judge, Mr. Henke also has a private law practice.
According to HSE Schools, Superintendent Yvonne Stokes suggested the idea of an independent inquiry while she and other HSE administrators met with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart, Chris Owens of the Fishers Fraternal Order of Police, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, William Owensby of the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police and Rick Snyder of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police.
Once the fact-finding is complete, Judge Henke will submit a report to Dr. Stokes and the HSE Board of Trustees.
The filing deadline for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was noon on Friday, and we have one new candidate submitting paperwork on the last day. Edward A. Gedeon is running in District 1.
Three of the four incumbent board members, Janet Pritchett, Julie Chambers and Brad Boyer are all running for another term. The District 3 incumbent, Michelle Fullhart, apparently believed eight years of board service is enough and has not filed as a candidate this time around.
Here is the list of candidates as of the Friday, August 26 deadline:
District 1
Brad Boyer
Jackie Howell
Tiffany Pascoe
Edward A. Gedeon
District 2
Juanita Y. Albright
Janet Pritchett
District 3
Dawn Lang
Carla V. Cork
District 4
Julie A. Chambers
Chad Curtis
Harry Delks
Ben Orr
The Hamilton County Election Office says candidates have until noon, Monday, August 29 to withdraw their candidacy.
In this election, voters cast ballots only for the district where they reside within the HSE school district.
To access the district map, use this link and on the right hand side of the page, click under “Current District Lines.”
When Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness wrapped-up a media briefing on the 2023 city budget proposal, he laid-out a reminder of what is coming in economic development – $1 billion in development.
The city has announced a new Andretti Motorsports headquarters in the southeast section of the airport, near Ritchey Woods. That amounts to a $200 million investment in Fishers.
So, what about the remaining $800 million in developments coming? Fadness teased that those economic development projects will all be brought before the City Council at the next regular session September 19. The mayor brought this up because Fadness’ 2023 budget plan will be presented to the full Council at that regular meeting, but Fadness says the spending plan will likely be overshadowed by the big economic development agreements.
When something like this comes up, my mind harkens back to May of 1991, when I first moved to Fishers. The 1990 census counted about 7,500 people residing in the Town of Fishers. It was a much different place.
Many complain that they miss the Fishers of yesteryear. Many years ago, I asked Mayor Fadness about those arguments. He was clear about one thing – his view is that a city is either going forward or backward – staying in place is not an option because that translates into going backward.
There is no question Fishers has the foot on the floorboard with the accelerator at top speed. If Scott Fadness chooses to run for another term as mayor and wins, I would suspect that accelerator will remain at high speed forward.
But as someone living in Fishers since 1991, it is hard to get my head around a number like $1 billion of investment in this community. We should have more details in the coming weeks.