One thing I have always noticed about Fishers is the way the city honors military veterans.  That includes the creation of the Fishers Armed Services Commission, established by the Fishers City Council.

That Commission will be in charge of the Veterans Day ceremony set for Friday, November, 10th, 11am at the Fishers YMCA on 126th Street.

This year’s guest speaker is Vice Admiral Terry M. Cross, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired. Cross served as Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from July 2004 until June 2006. In this role, he was the U.S. Coast Guard’s second in command and the Agency Acquisition Executive. Cross previously served in several positions with the U.S. Coast Guard, including Commander of the Pacific Area, Assistant Commandant for Operations, and a deck watch officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter McCulloch. After retiring from the Coast Guard in 2006, Cross accepted a position as Director of Homeland Security Programs with EADS North America (now Airbus North America), retiring in 2011 as the Vice President for Homeland Security Programs.

All are welcome to attend this free event.

There will be some changes coming to the Fishers City Council.  The 2 Democrats currently on the council lost their bid for re-election Tuesday.  One new Democrat will be serving the South West District, Bill Stuart.

Democrats Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann lost.  A new Republican will assume an at-large Council seat, Tiffanie Ditlevson.

Democrat Howard Stevenson was unsuccessful in his bid for an at-large Council seat.  “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I’m proud that I ran a positive campaign,” said Stevenson in a social media post. “I want to congratulate Todd Zimmerman, Cecilia Coble, and Tiffanie Ditlevson and wish them the best. I will continue to serve the Fishers community that I love to make it even better for everyone.”

The only Republican to lose in this round of city elections was David Giffel, with Democrat Bill Stuart the winner.  “While the election didn’t go our way, I want to congratulate Bill Stuart on winning the Fishers City Council SW (South West) seat,” Giffel said in a post-election written statement. “Your campaign resonated with the voters, and I wish you the best in your new role.”

Some races were not particularly close, but others were.

Stuart’s win over Giffel was by a margin of less than 2% of the votes cast.  In the at-large council race, Jocelyn Vare was less than .5% away from winner Divletson.  In the North Central District, John DeLucia won by less than 2% of the votes over Crystal Neumann.

So, Bill Stuart, John DeLucia and Tiffanie Ditlevson will be new members of the Fishers City Council as of January 1, 2024.

The result of this election is that Republicans will retain solid control of Fishers city government.

I have written previously about the attacks some candidates have withstood in this city election.  Sadly, negative campaigning often works and that’s why it is utilized so often.  But it is my view that campaigning in the mud does extend into governing and makes good government more difficult to achieve.  Fishers will pay a price for this campaign over time.

So, let’s see what happens in 2024.  After all, Scott Fadness was unopposed as Mayor of Fishers and we will see what the coming 4 years bring us.

An army of volunteers rolled-up their sleaves and went to work advocating for passage of a school funding referendum at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, part of the Advance HSE Political Action Committee.  With no organized opposition, the operating referendum passed by a wide margin Tuesday, and is projected to provide $24 million per year for HSE Schools beginning in 2024 and will last for 8 years.

“Once again, our community has demonstrated the commitment that it has for our schools. Thank you for supporting this referendum,” said Dr. Matt Kegley, Interim Superintendent, in a written news release. “The engagement of our community stakeholders in shaping HSE’s future, the tireless efforts of dedicated volunteers in conveying the importance of the referendum and the voter approval for renewal, attests to the strong relationship we have with the residents of Fishers and neighboring Noblesville.”

In the news release issued after the vote counting was complete, HSE officials gave “thanks to Advance HSE led by PAC chairperson Laura Smoots, Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), Mayor Scott Fadness and the Fishers City Council, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, and the countless HSE staff, parents and community members who generously volunteered their time, efforts and financial resources to this cause.”

The final vote total was 15,751 Yes…..6,733 No.

With the “yes” vote on the referendum, HSE Schools will plan for staffing and programs in this school year and beyond. Since I moved to Fishers in 1991, HSE Schools have won every referendum placed before the voters.  That string continued in 2023.

(There was an error in the vote total in the story which has now been corrected)

208 out of 208 Precincts (all of Hamilton County)

HSE School Funding Referendum

Yes          15,751

No            6,733

City Clerk

Jennifer Kehl (R)            11197

Janet Pritchett (D)        9549

City Council At-Large (top 3 win)

Cecilia Coble (R)                     11482

Tiffanie Ditlevson (R)            9859

Todd Zimmerman (R)           11117

Howard Stevenson (D)        9560

Jocelyn Vare (D)                     9621

City Council  South East District

Pete Peterson (R)

City Council  Northwest District

Selina Stoller (R)                  1785

Bill McLellan (D)                   1651

City Council  North West District

John DeLucia (R)               1258

Crystal Neumann (D)       1216

City Council  South Central District

John Weingardt (R)          2113

Lane Skeeters (D)              1559

City Council South West District

David Giffel (R)                1907

Bill Stuart (D)                   1967

City Council  North East District

Brad DeReamer (R)               2262

Samantha Chapman (D)     1677

It is Tuesday, November 7, 2023…time for our once-every-four-year city election here in Fishers.  In this election cycle, there is an additional item on the ballot – an operational funding measure for Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

First, if you are cutting it close getting to the polls before the 6pm deadline, do not fear if you happen to see a line of voters waiting.  Indiana law says as long as you are in line by 6pm, you will be allowed to vote.

Indiana is one of only 6 states offering a straight-party voting option, meaning you can vote for either Republicans or Democrats across the board.  However, the straight-party option does not apply when voting for at-large city council members.  You must individually cast those votes.  There are 5 candidates on the Fishers ballot, you are allowed to cast a vote for up to 3 of the 5.

Also, a straight-party vote will not register on the HSE Schools referendum, that requires a separate selection by the voter.

Although there is no mayor race in this Fishers election (Scott Fadness is unopposed for another term) the city council election has been an interesting set of races to watch.

I plan to be in Noblesville at the Judicial Center for the vote count tonight and will update the numbers as I get them here at LarryInFishers.com.

Fishers Arts Council is hosting the Watercolor Society of Indiana by showing artwork by their members in the FAC Hub Gallery in November, along with a free public Second Friday reception to meet the artists from across Indiana. The exhibit opens Monday, November 6 and runs through December 1 with a Second Friday reception on November 10 from 6-8pm. The gallery is located at 11810 Technology Drive inside the Collaboration Hub at Hamilton County Community Foundation.

The Watercolor Society of Indiana (WSI) –a statewide organization– held its first organizational meeting in October 1982, at the Indianapolis Art League, now the Indianapolis Art Center. The organization became a registered nonprofit corporation in September 1983, and its first annual Juried exhibit was held in November of that year. The organization’s talented artists appreciate and continue to produce high quality paintings and to educate the public about this beautiful, transparent medium.

“This is the third year we’ve hosted the WSI Members and it’s our largest WSI exhibit to date – 74 paintings by 30 artists – it’s so impressive!” said Les Reinhardt, Executive Director of Fishers Arts Council. “It’s such an incredible showing of talent from across Indiana, right here in Fishers, for all to enjoy. There’s a wide variety of styles, skills, and subjects. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with many of these artists so I hope folks will come to the gallery on November 10 to meet the artists, see their works, and learn more about the Watercolor Society of Indiana.”

Many of the artworks are for sale at a variety of price points, which makes this exhibit a perfect one for gift giving. The gallery is open 9am to 5pm Monday through Thursday. Friday gallery visits are by appointment only by contacting Fishers Arts Council directly. During the Second Friday reception on November 10, there will be live music from Happy Accident – a duo featuring Jim and Angela Sullivan, along with snacks, drinks, and a cash bar featuring Sun King beer and Daniel’s Vineyard wines. Additionally, FAC board member Pat Grabill will interview WSI’s executive director and member artist, Tanya Roberts, at 6:45pm.

As I write this on Sunday night. we are close to election day on Tuesday.  There is something bothering me about our local municipal election.

It started on social media and is now showing-up in some of the direct mail campaigning.  Negative attacks are everywhere.

Just about every attack ad, wherever you may find it, is mostly (or sometimes completely) not accurate.  Keep that in mind as you decide how to cast your vote.

Negative campaigning is bad enough, but it sets up Fishers in a more difficult place to govern once the election is over.  After, all, we all need to live together once election day is past.

I will not get into the details.  Most of you have likely seen what I am writing about here.  I studied political science in college and found that not always, but in most cases, the campaign that goes negative first perceives itself to be behind.

On the HSE Schools referendum vote, no organized opposition has surfaced.  I have had a few negative comments about the referendum posted on the blog, but we will see how much support the local school district has with the voting public once the ballots are counted.

I hate to see so much negativity in a local election.  Perhaps this is a reflection on how large a city Fishers has become.

I am planning to cover the vote count in Noblesville Tuesday night, so watch this space to keep up with the election results as the votes are counted Tuesday night.

The weekly Fishers-area road construction report is a bit smaller than during the peak construction season, with updates on a number of ongoing projects.  Watch for lane restriction in the area of Fall Creek & Geist Road, plus State Road 37 between 131st & 141st Streets.

Here is the road construction weekly report for the work week starting November 6th, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Weekly Fishers area road construction report for the work week starting Monday, Nov.6 →

A donation of $20,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation will lead to the planting of 200 trees in the City of Fishers following a Thursday ceremony.  This is part of a plan for greening and revitalizing the Allisonville Road corridor between 106th Street and 126th Street, along with growing the tree canopy at Heritage Park at White River off Eller Road and 106^th Street.

Both the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board and the teachers in the district had few complaints and much praise for the new collective bargaining agreement with the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA, the union representing teachers in the district) Thursday evening.

The starting teachers’ salary under this agreement, if ratified, would be $48,500 a year, up from $44,074.  Interim HSE Superintendent Matt Kegley expressed his belief that the starting salary is the highest in Hamilton County.  “We are really excited about understanding and knowing that these salaries are super-competitive with our competition in the district and hope that continues to folks wanting to come to HSE,” said Kegley.

A teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree and 36 additional credit hours can earn $91,801 at the top of the scale with 19 or more years of teaching experience.  The only teachers not receiving a pay raise in this contract would be those after 2 years of teaching rated “ineffective” or “improvement necessary,” but HSEA President Abby Taylor told members of the school board only a handful of teachers in the district are in this situation.

The pact is the product of two full days bargaining and one additional day cleaning up contract language.  Taylor says the teacher ratification process is underway and she is receiving much positive feedback from teachers.  Once teachers ratify, the school board is scheduled to hold a ratification vote November 8th.  Board members had questions but appeared to be generally positive about the tentative agreement.

A public hearing was offered but no one chose to speak.  This is a one-year contract covering the 2023-2024 school year.

You can view the PowerPoint presentation to the board at this link.