It was January, 2012.  I had been retired for a few months, looking for a project I could do in retirement.  I wanted to volunteer, but wasn’t sure how.  I could help the local schools, the library, local hospitals, parks….the list was endless.

I had just spent 28 years as a federal civil servant, but previous to that I was a journalist.  I missed being a reporter, so I thought, what if I started showing up at local meetings and write about what I heard and witnessed, as a volunteer?  Even in 2012, local news was often hard to find.

So, when I suggested this idea, my wife Jane had no objections.  I think she was happy I was doing something in retirement.  She also likely believed I would tire of the project after a few months.

As most of you know, I am in my 13th year of writing this LarryInFishers.com local news blog and could not be doing this without the full support of my lovely wife Jane.  Neither of us knew this news blog would last over 12 years.

Jane began to realize how important my local news blog was to the Fishers community when I was nominated for Volunteer of the Year by the City of Fishers (I didn’t win but it was truly an honor to be nominated).  Then again when I was presented a Jefferson Award for my volunteer work.

Jane has always been supportive and an important sounding board for me.  She has truly talked me out of doing some very stupid things.

It all started on May 11, 1991.  Our wedding day was warm and sunny.  We began a life together.

Our beautiful daughters Allison & Mary came along a few years later.  We are so fortunate to have them and our precious grandkids.

Jane has been by my side through good times and tough times.  Having her there has been so special.  Without her, I am not sure LarryInFishers.com would be what it is today.

Jane, happy anniversary on this May 11, 2024, celebrating 33 years of marriage.  I love you very much!

When I began covering Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools in 2012, I often heard then-superintendent Brian Smith talk about his visits to other school districts.  He sometimes commented on the number of central office administrators he found in other school corporations, much smaller then HSE.  His point was this – HSE has always worked to keep central office administrative staff as small as possible.

HSE swore-in a new school board in January of 2023 and that board has hired a new superintendent.  Several administrators have left HSE and last Monday the board approved some new administrative staff.

Michelle Fullhart served 2 terms on the HSE School Board and chose not to seek a third term in the 2022 election cycle.  She had several comments to make before the board during Monday’s meeting, about how the central office staff is organized.

Her comments were focused on the consent agenda, which added an assistant superintendent for operations.  The district has moved from one superintendent and 2 assistant superintendents previously, to a situation now that features one superintendent, a deputy superintendent and 4 assistant superintendents.  Fullhart expressed concerns about how the changes have been communicated, or not communicated, by current Superintendent Patrick Mapes.

“I would love to know (Mapes’) assessment of our administrative system,”  Fullhart said.  “We have always been lean in administrators, despite what some people in the community had said, and what some people said during (the most recent school board) campaign.”

Fullhart did say she is not commenting on whether the new positions are now needed, but “it would be nice to know why they have been added.”

She made clear she does not consider an attachment to the board consent agenda as transparent.

She closed her remarks by saying the next HSE Schools funding referendum will likely happen after Superintendent Mapes retires.  These extra central office administrators were not part of the explanation to the community of how the recent referendum money would be spent.  Fullhart is concerned these administrative staffing changes could be used to oppose a future referendum.

Neither Superintendent Mapes nor the school board responded to Ms. Fullhart’s comments.

As motorists in the area already know, Allisonville Road at 146th Street is in the middle of a 90-day closure.  Hamilton County Highway officials have promised to keep 146th Street open during the construction.  However, lane restrictions  along 146th Street will be coming.

Here is the latest statement:

As of March 1st,  Allisonville Rd. is now under a 90-day closure. Eastbound and westbound 146th Street will not be closed at the intersection. However, lane restrictions will be needed from time-to-time along 146th Street. Allisonville Road between 146th Street and Kensington Drive (north of 146th Street), and between 146th Street and Helmsley Court (south of 146th Street) are the closure limits. The posted detour route will be 131st Street, SR-37, and Greenfield Avenue.

Beginning on or after Monday, May 13, drivers should expect more frequent short duration intermittent stoppages along 146^th street, so the contractor can place asphalt material within the center work area. Please watch for flaggers within the construction zone and use extreme caution while driving through this construction zone.

Once construction is complete, Allisonville Road will be a roundabout at ground level with 146th Street traffic unobstructed with an overpass.

With a new school board in office for more than a year and a new school superintendent hired, many top administrators have chosen to leave the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, which means new administrators come on board.  HSE Schools announced 3 major hires this week.

Tige Butts will be the new principal at Fishers Junior High School.  He replaces Crystal Thorpe, who left HSE for a central office position with nearby Washington Township Schools.  Butts has played an integral part at FJH since its inception in 1999, starting as a health educator and advancing to assistant principal in 2005.

Drew Tower has been hired as Athletic Director of Hamilton Southeastern High School. Tower is replacing Greg Habegger, who is retiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Habegger has served as Athletic Director alongside Jim Self for the past 19 years.  Tower comes to HSE from Brownsburg High School where he has served as Athletic Director since 2018.

Finally, Bryan Rausch is poised to take the HSE Assistant Superintendent of Operations post in July.  Since 2008, Rausch has served as superintendent of Liberty-Perry Community Schools located in Selma, Indiana. During his tenure, Rausch implemented systems and procedures to manage changing student demographics and increases in enrollment.

The City of Fishers will once again offer free Tuesday night concerts at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater in 2024.

There were two major election contests on the May 7 ballot – Indiana state governor and the 5th Congressional District.  The outcomes may have an impact on Fishers.

Our Mayor, Scott Fadness, was a big supporter of gubernatorial candidate Brad Chambers, even hosting fund-raising events for him.  In a crowded Republican primary, Mike Braun was the winner.  Chambers finished third in the vote count, behind second-place finisher Suzanne Crouch.

Fadness was also a supporter of Chuck Goodrich, an area business owner and member of the Indiana General Assembly, in his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District.  This race was a bit strange, because incumbent Victoria Spartz had stated for months she would not seek another term.  Then, a day before the filing deadline, Spartz announced she would run for re-election after all.  Spartz won by about 6 percentage points.

How does this impact Fishers?  Our fair city depends on actions (and sometimes, inactions) at the Indiana Statehouse and on Capitol Hill.  Mayor Fadness took a gamble by backing specific candidates in the primary election.  This time, he lost.

I want to say emphatically I do not fault Mayor Fadness for backing those hopefuls.  Had his candidates taken office, Fishers would have more influence in important decisions made in downtown Indianapolis and Washington D.C.

It was a calculated risk on behalf of the mayor and he is known to be a risk taker.  But, risk takers do not win every time.

No doubt, as a suburb of Indianapolis with a population likely well over 100,000, Fishers will have a say in actions taken by state and federal governments.  It just won’t be as strong as it might have been following these primary election results.

One other post-primary thought.  James Briggs has a provocative commentary posted election night on the IndyStar Web site, essentially saying the campaigns and election  results should be a source of concern for the Republican Party in Indiana.  You can read the piece at this link, but you may need to be a paid IndyStar subscriber to access it.

This coming November is a presidential general election.  I expect long lines at the polls, much like past presidential elections.

I did vote in today’s primary election.  There was no line at all at my polling place.  Based on what the poll workers were saying, things were not very busy when I arrived at about 9:30am.

I have seen numbers showing early voting is up this year compared to the last primary election cycle in Hamilton County.  In the governor and U.S. local congressional races, the direct mailings and TV ads were all over the place.

We will receive a respite of a few months before the political ads hit the airwaves and mailboxes, probably in late August.  The candidates will be determined, in many cases, based on the primary election results.

I had one Republican voter tell me that person is not voting in this primary because there are no candidates that voter can support….that is a sad commentary on the state of our politics in Indiana.

The only way to increase primary voting, in my view, is to enact an open primary, where your primary vote is not totally tied to declaring a political party.  It would be an improvement, but don’t hold your breath, that is not likely to happen anytime soon.

Indiana continues to have one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the nation.  Is anybody talking about how that could be improved?

As the warm weather surrounds us, the Fishers Parks & Recreation Department is poised for another busy summer season.  Director Marissa Deckert and Assistant Director Jordan Brouillard talk about those plans, including our first peek into acts that will be appearing on the Nickel Plate Amphitheater stage in weekly concerts and Spark Fishers.

Listen to the podcast at the link below.

We had a decent weather weekend May 4-5 in Fishers.  Here are some brief thoughts on what is going-on news-wise in our fair city.

–Visited the first Farmer’s Market at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater Saturday.  Skies were overcast but the temperature was comfortable.  There was a large crowd at the event, with many vendors seeing lines of customers waiting to buy.  It looks like this year’s market is getting out to a good start.

–It appears Gaylor Electric has opened a new headquarters office in Fishers.  I write it “appears” because I never received a release from Gaylor.  But, I am sure the Crosspoint office complex will welcome Gaylor to the neighborhood.

–This is not exactly Fishers, but major road work has begun on State Road 32 in Noblesville, which runs in the middle of the city’s downtown.  Businesses in downtown Noblesville remind everyone they are all open during this construction.  County government is also part of the Noblesville downtown.

–Fishers city departments are gradually moving into the new City Hall.  Construction continues and the building is closer to completion.  An open house is being planned. No word on when the open house will happen, but look for June at the earliest.

Finally, X (formally Twitter) is not what it once was, but I continue to post there because so many people follow me on X (Twitter).  But I have added two platforms where you can find a heads-up anytime I post a story here – Mastodon and Threads.  Just search within those platforms for “LarryInFishers.”

Also, if you want an e-mail alert each time I post on this blog, check near the top of the page on the right.  You will see an area titled “Subscribe to Blog via Email.”  Just enter your e-mail address in the block provided, click subscribe, and you will receive an a-mail alert each time I post a new story here.

Thanks for reading!