With a lot going on both in the news blog and personally, I was generally aware some changes were underway in plans for a Geist Conservancy District, but had not had the chance to write about it.  Reporter John Tuohy of the Indianapolis Star wrote a story posted online November 3rd, about those changes.  The changes are major.

Geist Lake, a reservoir for Citizens Water Utility, has been around for a long time as a source of water for the area.  As with any body of water used the way Geist is used, there is maintenance needed and expensive work on an ongoing basis to keep the lake healthy.

Keeping the lake healthy costs money.  As a result, a conservancy district was proposed to raise the money needed to keep Geist in shape.  The big question was who would be paying for that expensive work.

The original plan was to have roughly 1,000 homes on the lake and about 3,500 in an adjacent neighborhood pay the costs of maintaining Geist.  That ran into some legal obstacles, requiring those organizing the conservancy district to start from scratch in gathering signatures from 30% of the homeowners.

As Tuohy reports, those working on the conservancy district have faced opposition from residents in the adjoining neighborhood and know any future steps will be opposed by that group of homeowners.

It appears, based on a Facebook page post by those behind the conservancy district, that the 3.500 adjacent homes will no longer be a part of the conservancy district, meaning they will not be required to pay for the maintenance of the lake.

The big question is whether the roughly 1,000 homeowners directly located on Geist Reservoir will be able to raise the annual money needed for this work, which Tuohy reports could be around $1.5 million a year.

The future of Geist is very much tied to Fishers, because the city is constructing a major park facility on the lake, the only public space available on the reservoir.

I will be watching for any further developments on the issue of Geist’s proposed conservancy district.

I write this on the Sunday before election day, which is Tuesday, November 8.  Many have already cast their ballots locally (including Jane & myself) but for those that have not, find your polling place by using this link and accessing “voting location.”

There are many races on this year’s ballot – U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, House and Senate seats in the Indiana General Assembly as well as a number of county offices, some contested, some not.  There are some contested races for township offices.

But here in Fishers, the spotlight is on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board election.  HSE has school board elections every two years.  In 2020, we had an at-large election, where everyone in the district voted in each township race, but candidates ran within their home township (Fall Creek, Delaware or Wayne).  In this election cycle, voters only choose a candidate within one of four districts, based on where the voter resides.

People have asked me which candidates I support.  My answer has been the same since I started this blog in 2012 – I do not endorse candidates.

If you are undecided about who to vote for in this school board election, I would have a couple of suggestions on how to make that decision.  First, find out which district applies to you based on your residence and find out as much as you can about those running in your district.  Second, spend some time looking at what each candidate stands for.  Remember, those with the loudest voice and/or the most aggressive approach may or may not be best suited to serve on our local school board.

I intend to be in Noblesville when the Hamilton County Election Office begins counting votes election night, focusing on the HSE School Board election.  I will update this blog as often as possible Tuesday night, but with a total of 10 active school board candidates, that may take some time for each update.

Thanks for reading.  If you are registered and have not yet voted, I encourage you to cast your ballot November 8!

The 1930 German film All Quiet on the Western Front, based on a German novel, is considered a classic by most film buffs, me included.  But a new German director has taken on the task of remaking this classic.  How is the new version, now available on Netflix?  Here is my review.

I have written previously about Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in America, which owns the largest newspaper in Indiana, the Indianapolis Star.  Job cuts have been a regular thing with Gannett and the latest round of actions aimed at the company’s staff have resulted in some Gannett newspaper staff members walking out for a day on Friday.

It is not clear whether any Indianapolis Start journalists were part of the one-day action, but the union representing the reporting staff, the Indianapolis Newspaper Guild, posted a Twitter message bemoaning the lack of a contract and some staffers at the Star took Friday off from social media in protest.

The Poynter Institute, a respected nonprofit organization that reports on media news, says the Gannett employee headcount fell 6.5% in the last quarter.  400 staff members were laid-off, 400 open positions were not filled, a hiring freeze is in place, company 401(k) contributions have stopped for employees and workers will be required to take unpaid time off in December.

There are newspapers in the Gannett chain that are down to 1 or 2 reporters, according to Poynter.

In Indiana, other than the Star, Gannett owns 10 newspapers, some in towns as small as Spencer and Mooresville.

I know there are other sources of news beyond newspapers, but the print media, and its online presence, often set the stage for other media outlets.  Strong newspapers are in nearly everyone’s interest.

I have no idea whether the one-day protest by journalists at Gannett will make any difference, but I respect their willingness to put their careers on the line to make a statement about how they are being treated.  If the best journalists leave the profession, we all lose.

Look for lane restrictions in the coming week on 141st Street west of SR 37, and on 116th Street around Municipal Drive.  Also note that the list of road construction projects is shrinking as we enter the fall season.

Below is the weekly road construction report for the week of November 7th, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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116TH STREET
On Thursday, November 10, there will be lane restrictions on 116th Street near Municipal Drive between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. as Duke Energy is performing utility work. 

Road Resurfacing has been completed. Restoration and final close-out items continue to take place in neighborhoods.

I have written before about the Indiana State Senate District 31 race that is being watched throughout the state.  Republican incumbent Senator Kyle Walker is facing Democrat Jocelyn Vare.  My mailbox has been full of direct mailings from both candidates.

It seems like Walker is all over television these days with a larger campaign war chest compared to Vare.

One thing Walker touts regularly is the list of endorsements he has amassed.  As an incumbent, that is understandable, but even for someone running as a sitting Senator, he has gained a number of them.

The latest is from the Hamilton County Professional Fire Fighters Local 4416 and the firefighters in Indianapolis as well.  In his latest news release, Walker’s campaign has listed a total of 20 organizations backing his re-election campaign.

Vare also has some endorsements, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in Indiana and former Indiana State Schools Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick.

There has been no public polling released, other than one early in the campaign which showed the candidates statistically tied with a lot of undecided voters at that stage.

This is a newly-drawn district including Fishers and a portion of Lawrence Township in Marion County.

Both candidates and their campaign teams have been out talking with voters, which is always a good thing.  Let’s see what the voters say once the ballots are counted

The Fishers City Council approved the financing package for the new arena, part of the Fishers District expansion, at last month’s meeting, and the Plan Commission is recommending approval of a rezoning needed to move the entire project forward.

The long-time owner of the property. east of I-69 and north of 116th Street, Sunbeam, requested the rezoning from “employment node” to “mixed use” commercial development, allowing the Fishers District expansion plans to move forward, along with the arena, also called an events center.

The arena will be the new home of the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team and is expected to host a number of other events, including local high school graduation ceremonies.

A public hearing was conducted, but no one chose to speak.

Wednesday night, the commission voted unanimously to provide a positive recommendation for the rezone proposal.  The measure now goes to the Fishers City Council for final approval.

The City of Fishers has announced that applications are now being accepted for various grant programs, including including the Fishers Arts & Culture Commission Grant and the Neighborhood Vibrancy Grant.

Below is a city news release with more details:

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The Fishers Arts Council is continuing events on the second Friday of each month.  In November, the art of Michelle “Shelley” Feeney will be featured at the Collaboration Hub Gallery, Friday, November 11, 6-8pm.  Her solo exhibit is her solo exhibit “By Train Light: Travels of Shelley Feeney.”

More than 30 pieces are on display in Shelley’s exhibit, in a variety of sizes and prices. The Collaboration Hub gallery is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, with the following exceptions: November 15, and 24-25.

I have covered six school board elections since starting this news blog, and I have never seen anything like this cycle.

The latest comes from a group called Fishers One, supporting four candidates in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board election.  The latest release from that group cites comments by the Shahnavaz family critical of school officials.

Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz died in the line of duty.  Officer Shahnavaz had many ties to Fishers and HSE Schools, and lived in Fishers at the time of his death.

In August of this year, Officer Shanhavaz’s brother was in a Fishers High School classroom and reportedly saw a “Defund the Police?” poster in the classroom.

In the Fishers One release, Laurie Shahnavaz, the mother of Officer Shahnavaz and his younger brother, is critical of school officials and their handling of the August classroom incident.

When the incident happened, HSE Schools issued a statement expressing regret that the poster, made by a student, was displayed in that classroom.

The statement went on to say the following:

Losing Officer Shahnavaz, a young alumnus of HSE Schools, who not only served his country selflessly, but was protecting others in his job as a police officer, was devastating. HSE has let the Shahnavaz family know how deeply sorry we are to have contributed to more heartache for them. The teacher involved has apologized as well, and is deeply remorseful for causing additional pain to her student and their family.

The school district added it in no way advocates defunding the police, and cited the service from the School Resource Officers in local school buildings.

The district later asked local attorney and Fishers City Judge Dan Henke to conduct a fact-finding report on the August classroom incident.  The report was submitted to school officials, and HSE leaders listed the implementation of several improvements, but did not release Judge Henke’s report, in any form, for the following reason:

As a product of his inquiry, Henke developed a written report. The report has a significant amount of student information. The district does not have consent to release the report with this information.  

So, based on the Fishers One release and statements from the school corporation, the parents of Officer Shahnavaz have one view and HSE School officials have another.