Fishers Police issued a news release early Sunday morning on a homicide investigation linked to a shooting late Saturday night (use this link).  Fishers Police Department Public Information Officer Angela Ellison sent a message to local media outlets late Monday morning  saying “detectives are working around the clock” in an ongoing investigation into this shooting death.

Ellison also thanked area police agencies for assisting FPD Saturday night.  She also emphasized this appears to be an isolated incident.

Bottom line, as of late morning Monday, there is nothing new to report and no arrests have been made.  FPD will release updates once there is something to say.

One person is dead following a shooting late Saturday night in 10000 block of Apple Blossom Circle, just north of 141st Street between Cumberland and Howe Roads.  Police say there does not appear to be any active threat to the community at this time.

At 11:40pm, Fishers Police responded to reports of shots fired in the area and found one person with gunshot wounds.  That individual was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.  Fishers Police say several people have been detained in connection with this shooting.

Authorities have identified the victim as Cameron Doaks,24.

Police describe this as an ongoing investigation.   Anyone with information about this incident (including camera footage), please contact Detective LaShawn Tyler at 317-595-3300.

Look for sidewalk work to wind down in the Windermere neighborhood and commence in Brooks Chase in the coming week.  Also, be aware of drainage improvements impacting Master Road from 91st to 96th Street.  That and much more is included in the latest Fishers-area road construction report.  Here is the rundown for the work week beginning Monday, March 18, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. 

STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Spring 2024. View detour routes here. 

View how to merge safely onto Northbound SR 37 from 141st Street here and onto Southbound SR 37 from 141st Street here. To navigate the merge, remember:

• Use the accel lane to gain speed, not stop
• Use your mirrors and pay attention
• Look for a gap in SR 37 traffic and safely merge

To learn more about the Clear Path Improvement Project and sign up to receive text and email updates, visit clearpath465.com 

I-465 & I-69
Drivers will see an increase in construction along the I-69 corridor in the coming months. This work will focus on reconfiguring the interchange at I-465 and I-69. New ramps will provide direct movements from eastbound I-465 and northbound I-465 to northbound I-69. Binford Blvd. will also be reconstructed to separate local traffic from traffic entering and exiting I-69 and I-465. Access to I-69 from Binford Blvd. will remain open. 

Crews closed the two ramps at 82nd Street on Monday, January 29. These ramps will remain closed throughout most of 2024.

• Ramp from I-69 South to 82nd Street
• Ramp from 82nd Street to I-69 South

Thursday was a night of talking about all the joint projects the City of Fishers has offered to support the local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  The list is a long one.

Every department head in Fishers City Government spoke before the school board, explaining the many joint endeavors each has with the school district.  Mayor Scott Fadness talked about a program started by the Town of Fishers in 2014 when Fadness was Town Manager, taking over the responsibilities of groundskeeping and snow removal for the HSE Schools at a time of serious budget difficulties for HSE.  Fadness says that program saved enough money to fund 5 teachers.  That program continues to this day.

Fadness’ Chief of Staff Jordin Alexander explained the new fund created by the City Council in the 2024 budget, establishing a $500,000 fund for new and innovative programs submitted by HSE Schools’ teachers.  A board has been formed of mostly retired teachers to decide which proposals are funded.  Alexander & Mayor Fadness emphasized this program is not in any way replacing the work of the HSE Schools Foundation, but plans to supplement the foundation’s work.

The city’s PowerPoint presentation before the school board is available at this link.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Deputy Superintendent Matt Kegley wants to make one thing clear to families of graduating seniors at both high schools…the date for the 2024 graduation is set and is not changing…rehearsal is May 31 and commencement is still on for June 1.

But there is a proposed change to the 2025 graduation date.  Instead of May 31, the 2025 HSE Schools graduation will be held on June 7.  This will be the first commencement to be conducted at the new Fishers Events Center, currently under construction.

Kegley told the school board the 2025-2026 school calendar will be before the board and the 2026 graduation date will be reflected on that document..

Dr. Denise Rehfuss, a parent with a third-grade son in Hamilton Southeastern Schools, expressed her concern about how racial minorities are not being represented at the top positions in the HSE District during Wednesday night’s public comment period before the school board.  She referred to recent resignations of African American administrators.  They include Superintendent Yvonne Stokes, Human Resources Director Kim Lippe and DEI Director Nataki Pettigrew.

“It just seems like there is a very defined goal of eliminating anything that is different.” said Dr. Rehfuss.  “Our district and our community has a lot of different type(s) of people.”

She described how her son was initially placed in a private school once the family moved to Fishers, but she changed her mind and placed him in public schools here due to the “stellar” reputation of HSE Schools.  Now, Dr. Rehfuss says recent developments have caused her to rethink this decision because at HSE Schools, “it feels like it (is) no longer a welcome environment.”

Dr, Rehfuss ended her statement saying HSE is almost at the point of posting a sign saying these people need not apply.

There was no response to her comments from school officials.

With a new school superintendent hired, there have been a number of changes announced by Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools in the top leadership.

Brian Murphy will be a new face to the HSE central office staff.  He comes to the local district from the Indiana State Department of Education where he served as Chief of Staff.  Before that, Mr. Murphy served as Executive Director for the Indiana State Board of Education.  At HSE, Murphy will serve as Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and will report directly to Superintendent Mapes.

Cecilie Nunn, who served briefly as HSE’s Chief Financial Officer before stepping down to be an Accounts Payable Clerk, will assume the job of Director of Business / Deputy Treasurer, a position she has held before.

Stephanie Madison has served as Director of Business for HSE Schools and is resigning, but will be paid on a contract to handle the transition.

Ryan Taylor will move from leading Student Services to  Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools.

Danielle Fetters-Thompson will go from executive director for elementary education to Assistant Superintendent of Foundational Learning.

This is a long list of changes coming to HSE Schools in the top leadership.  Those were the only actions approved at the Wednesday evening board meeting at the top of the personnel chart.

Be prepared for a closure of 106th Street between Cumberland Road and Hamilton Pass beginning Tuesday, March 19, through October 18 of this year.  This will require a closure of all thru traffic for a bridge replacement.

Local traffic will continue to have access to their homes, while thru traffic is asked to utilize the posted detour route of Cumberland Road, 96th Street, and Mollenkopf Road.

The announcement came from Hamilton County.  Counties in Indiana generally are responsible to maintain bridges.

Mayor Scott Fadness, Police Chief Ed Gebhart and Fire Chief Steve Orusa gathered at the Hamilton East Library to discuss how the city plans to handle the solar eclipse coming April 8.  Note that I give the wrong date for the recording session during the podcast, it was March 11, not March 12.

Also, Chief Gebhart and Mayor Fadness talk about how the city is handling large car “meet-ups” after such an event happened in Fishers March 3rd.  That part is later in the podcast.

As Fishers has grown, if you are looking for the geographic center of the city, you would find it right around 121st Street and Hoosier Road.  That is the site of the new Fishers Community Center, next to Hoosier Road Elementary School.

A community center for Fishers has been discussed for years, but through the efforts of Mayor Scott Fadness, City Councilor Todd Zimmerman and a number of others, this idea was brought to a reality when the ground-breaking ceremony was held Tuesday morning.

The facility will be a 105,000 square-foot structure, and is designed based on comments from over 3.500 residents in an online survey.  Included in the center will be a dog park, indoor playground, indoor walking/running track, and aquatics facility.

The Center will offer both memberships and day passes with discounts for Fishers residents, while featuring free amenities accessible to both residents and non-residents, including a large indoor playground, indoor track for walking and running, and a café operated by Sahm’s Hospitality Group. The Center will also be the new home of the Fishers Health Department, as well as Outside the Box’s adult day program to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  More details on membership fees will be released at a later time.

The site was once the Johnson Farm. and members of the family have been supportive of using this tract of land for the Community Center.  The ground-breaking ceremony also featured students from Hoosier Road Elementary School.

For more on the Fishers Community Center, use this link.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Fishers Community Ce