It was the summer of 2017.  I had posted stories about a series of investigative reports about the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board’s decision not to reveal details concerning the reasons for Fishers High School Football Coach Rick Wimmer’s 5-day suspension.  Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt had issued 2 opinions clearly saying HSE Schools were required to disclose the reason or reasons for Wimmer’s suspension.

Mr. Britt’s opinions as Indiana Public Access Counselor are advisory.  HSE Schools chose at the time to ignore Mr. Britt’s findings.

I was asked to meet with a top official of HSE Schools as this was going on because I had written extensively on this blog, pointing to WTHR Television news 13Investigates team reporting on this issue.  Let’s just say we each expressed our own views on the subject.

WTHR was able to obtain legal help with the Wimmer suspension issue from the nonprofit group, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.  WTHR went to court with that legal assistance and won a ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court, with the justices unanimously saying governmental units in Indiana must, under state law, provide specific facts as to why a public employee is suspended, fired or in some way disciplined.

These court cases can be very expensive and it is unclear whether WTHR would have been able to handle the attorney fees to take this case to the state’s highest court without the support of the nonprofit organization.

Katie Townsend, Deputy Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, wrote an Op-Ed piece for the January 5 edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal.  She announces that her group will launch the Indiana Local Legal Initiative, providing an attorney to local Indiana news outlets in need of legal help in supporting their investigative journalism.  The initiative is made possible through the generosity of benefactors such as the Lumina Foundation.

There is no way my small blog can do investigative journalism.  It takes the support of many journalists, editors and lawyers to conduct investigative work.  My blog is just myself so there is no way I could do investigative reporting.

However, I support news organizations with the resources to do this type of journalism.  I am very happy to see nonprofit organizations doing whatever they can to support good, investigative work by local reporters.

That kind of journalism benefits us all.

You can read Katie Townsend’s IBJ Op-Ed piece at this link. (NOTE:  You may not be able to access this story if your are not an IBJ subscriber)

It is an office building easily seen on the east side of Interstate 69 in Fishers.  It has housed many operations in the past, including a bank call center and a pharmaceutical firm.

The company occupying most of that building now is Round Room, and the company is one of the nation’s largest Verizon Authorized Retailers.  Round Room is letting everyone know how much the firm has donated in 2023.   Round Room’s donation total is $3.1 million.

“Since 2014, Round Room’s nonprofit organizations, including Round Room Gives, TCC Gives and Wireless Zone Gives, have collectively donated more than $22 million to communities across the nation,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room, in a company news release. “We are so proud of the impact we are making and our continued growth year after year. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a team that supports our deep commitment to giving back.”

Round Room also points to its best-in-class employee retention, employee engagement and employee satisfaction.

Look for sidewalk repairs in the Sunblest neighborhood starting January 8.  also, look for a road closure on eastbound 106th Street to thru traffic from Fall Creek Road to Hoosier Road on Monday, January 8th.

For more details, see the weekly report below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers Road Report for the work week starting Monday, January 8 →

Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents a district in the Indiana State Legislature encompassing the Nora area of Marion County, Southern Carmel and the West side of Fishers.  She completed her first session serving in the House last year and is ready for the 2024 short session.  Representative Wilburn took time to talk with me about a number of issues in the General Assembly.

I will once again ask my readers for a point of personal privilege to celebrate the 30th birthday of my twin daughters, Mary Cahill and Allison Lewis.

It was 30 years ago today that I was there for the birth of my twin daughters.  Daddy’s little girls have grown into outstanding young women.

Thanks, Mary & Allison, for making your Mom & Dad very proud parents!  Happy 30th birthday!

It is always odd that summer camp registration begins in the depth of winter, but here we go again in 2024.  The Fishers Parks & Recreation Department will begin accepting registrations for the 2024 summer camp program for Fishers residents now, for nonresidents beginning January 8.

The summer  camp program is for children ages 5-10 to explore their interests, make friends, and shake their summer-break boredom. Whether your kid is an adventurer, nature-lover, artist, all-star athlete, or scientist-in-training, Fishers Parks offers something for everyone to keep kids active and learning.

Here is a listing of what the camps have to offer in 2024, as provided by the Parks Department:

• An engaging and vibrant camp experience focused on a variety of physical, mental, and social learning opportunities. Each week of camp will include outdoor play and exploration, sports, water play, arts and crafts, STEM activities, music, and more!
• All camp counselors must pass a criminal background check and are required to complete over 40 hours of mandatory training.
• Two T-shirt(s) per registered camp week, to be worn each day of camp (for camps at Holland Park, Billericay Park, Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve, Fishers AgriPark, and HSE Schools locations only)
• Outstanding counselor-to-camper ratios
• Procedures to ensure camper’s safety, including on-site medical forms, and photo identification for child sign-out

Access the camping schedule, and online registration, at this link.

I recall recording a podcast with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Launch Fishers Founder John Wechsler.  John was leaving his post running Launch and was about to take on a new challenge he could not announce at that time.  I later discovered Wechsler’s new endeavor was and is a business named Spokenote.

The way John explained it to me, his new business would place QR Codes on products allowing the customer to access a video.  The example John gave me was a flower shop delivering a floral arrangement.  The person sending the flowers could add a video message with a QR Code on the card.

Wechsler’s latest innovative project has just landed a partnership with the NBA and the Indiana Pacers.  The Pacers will feature Spokenote QR Codes on player jerseys.

Below is the news release issued by the NBA Wednesday:

The Poynter Project is one of the most respected nonprofit organizations dealing with journalism.  A recent post on their Web site provides troubling data on the state of news, particularly local news, in America.

I write this blog as a mostly volunteer activity (I receive a small amount writing for Fishers Magazine and providing an advertising portal for them).  That means I do not need to monitor ad revenue or paid subscriptions to determine whether I continue to publish this blog.

But if you are in the game to make money, the numbers are grim.  Online ad revenue is being gobbled-up by the big players in tech, like the Googles, Apples and Metas.  That does not always leave enough ad revenue left for local news outlets to survive.

Here is part of the story posted by Poynter December 27th:

As the holiday season approached, CNN laid off hundreds of employees. Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain, cut its news division by 6%. The Washington Post, NBCUniversal and ABC News all announced layoffs for early 2023.

What followed has been a bloodbath. Though data from December is not yet available, the news industry has already seen more job cuts this year — 2,681 — than all of 2022 or 2021, according to employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The firm has tracked a total 20,324 job cuts in media through November, the highest year-to-date total since 2020, which saw 30,211 cuts in the same time period.

Those numbers do not reflect what is happening at smaller operations locally.  Many are down to one reporter, others have just closed up shop for good.

I have heard it said by many people involved in local media that this is the best time to be a corrupt local official.  Often, if there is wrong-doing in a local community, it is the local  newspaper that brings it out in the open and forces others to follow-up.

I am not saying there is corruption everywhere, but if you want to be corrupt locally, the lack of a local newspaper enhances your chances of getting away with it.

But local news is much more than that.  Local reporters showing up at government meetings to report on what happens is more important than you may think, even with many government meetings available on video online.  I have had more than one local official tell me a meeting is handled one way with an independent journalist present, and an entirely different way with no reporter in the room.

I will say there are some bright spots in journalism locally.  Capital Chonicle and Mirror Indy are nonprofit organizations doing local news in the Indy area.  Axios Indy and State Affairs are examples of private sector news operations.

But even those news outlets do not replace good, local news coverage.  I sincerely hope a business model emerges to allow local news to become profitable enterprises.

In the meantime, I will continue my Fishers news blog as best I can.  But, once again, I urge everyone to support your local media.  Local news deserves your support!

As I write this, we are in the second day of 2024.  So, what do we know is in store for Fishers in 2024?  There is a little we do know.

First, the City Council will convene with 3 new members and a work session coming on a possible process to take bids on a city-wide trash collection contract.  Many surrounding municipalities either run their own trash collection operations or contract with a private firm to handle the job.  Mayor Scott Fadness has said he has no interest in having a city trash collection department, so a city-wide private contract with the potential to save money for citizens and Homeowners Associations (HOAs) in their trash collection fees is most likely the solution to be considered.  We will see where this goes in 2024.

Another major decision coming locally is on a new Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent.  The previous superintendent, Yvonne Stokes, resigned in September with a generous separation agreement with just under one year left in her contract.  The school board has narrowed the list of superintendent candidates down to 5, according to a statement from Board President Dawn Lang delivered at a recent meeting.  A decision is expected in late January or early February.

There are many big events local residents are awaiting in this new year.  The new City Hall/Arts Complex is expected to open in late spring or early summer this year.  The Events Center, to be the home of the Indy Fuel minor-league hockey team and the indoor football team Fishers Freight in 2025, is on target to open in November of this year.  A new community center should break ground soon. There are also new hotels and restaurants opening in the downtown Nickel Plate District.

So, there is a lot in the pipeline.  When I ask local officials what to expect in new announcements during 2024, most tell me me the year will be about starting what’s already been announced and finishing what the city has already started.

What will the biggest story of 2024 be in Fishers?  My best guess is the biggest story is the one we cannot predict or imagine today.  In most years, it is the stories we cannot envision now that will be big in the new year.

Happy New Year to all my readers!