Doug Melville tells the story of his family, which includes battling racism and how his family members became the Invisible Generals, leading to the publishing of a book.

Melville was the featured speaker at the 2024 Fishers City Veterans Day event, the first held in the new City Hall theater.  El Ahlwardt, President of the Fishers Armed Services Commission, handled the duties as master of ceremonies, and called the celebration a ”’Fishersesque’ thank you offered to our veterans.”

Melville’s book, Invisible Generals, tells the tale of Benjamin Davis and Benjamin Davis Junior.  Melville went back as far as documenting the elder Davis’ grandfather, Louis Davis, babysitter for the children of President U.S. Grant.  Ben Senior joined the Buffalo Soldiers of 1901.  His son, Ben Junior, wanted to be a pilot, but faced horrible racism, overcoming it and graduating from West Point.

Ben, Senior and Junior, at the outbreak of World War II, were the only black officers in the military, out of 335,000 members of the armed forces.  Ben junior ended up organizing the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

Author Melville urged those in the audience to document their family history.  Once people age and die, their stories die with them and are lost.

Author Melville provided copies of his book Invisible Generals to those at the Fishers Veterans Day celebration and signed copies as well.

The game Friday night between Fishers and HSE High Schools will go down in the annals of IHSAA competition as one of the best games ever.  HSE had the lead with roughly 2 minutes left and the Tigers executed the classic 2-minute drill to perfection, winning 44-41.

The Royals and Tigers sometimes meet in the state tourney after their regular season Mudsock contest which fills the stands every year.  The game last Saturday decided which local high school would move on to 6A regional competition.

HSE had a very good season and last Friday’s game was hard fought.  The Royals should be proud of their 2024 season.

Now, Westfield comes to Fishers High School Friday night to determine the Regional champion and a chance to move one step closer to a state finals date at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Indy Fuel capped off their weekend series in Reading with a commanding 3-0 victory over the Royals Sunday, thanks to a stellar performance by goaltender Peyton Jones, who recorded his second shutout of the season. A scoreless deadlock was finally broken in the third period when the Fuel found their scoring touch, sealing their win and securing the sweep.

The first period was a cautious affair, marked by solid defensive play from both teams. Each side had a power-play opportunity, but neither could capitalize. The Royals edged out the Fuel in shots on goal 8-4, but Jones and Reading’s Parker GaHagen held firm in their respective nets.

The second period offered more of the same, as both teams struggled to generate offense and avoid the penalty box altogether. While the Fuel managed to outshoot the Royals 9-8, both goalies continued to impress, keeping the score tied heading into the final period.

The breakthrough finally came 8:42 into the third when Ty Farmer powered through Reading’s defense and delivered a slick backhanded shot to put the Fuel up 1-0 with his first goal of the season. The Fuel quickly built on that momentum, with Cam Hausinger scoring on a power play at 12:05 to extend the lead to 2-0. Brandon Saigeon then iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:15, closing out a three-point night for him, with two assists and a goal.

Jones stopped all 23 of Reading’s shots, securing his second shutout of the season and helping the Fuel finish their road series on a high note. The Royals narrowly outshot the Fuel 23-20, but Indy’s disciplined play and timely scoring made the difference.

I moved to Fishers in 1991.  The 1990 census put the population for the Town of Fishers at about 7,500.  My wife Jane and I lived in a Sunblest Subdivision home initially.

At that time, Allisonville Road was a commercial center for Fishers.  We had Sahm’s Restaurant.  We had a Marsh grocery, now a name associated with the past once Marsh went out of business.

That was then.  Over the years, Fishers commercial development moved to downtown and eastern parts of the city.

Three years ago, Fishers officials commissioned an Allisonville Road Corridor revitalization study.  That document led to many actions.

Reporter Daniel Bradley did a deep dive into the city’s efforts to revitalize the Allisonville Road corridor.  This has resulted in a newly-opened roundabout at 96th Street and Allisonville, replacing the controversial Michigan Left constructed in 2012.

The River Place private development north and west of that intersection has been under construction.  It will feature residential and commercial activity.

The City of Fishers is expected to unveil plans for a new park along the White River in coming weeks.

There is a story to tell and Daniel Bradley does a nice job of using many sources familiar with the history and future of the corridor in order to put the whole issue into its proper context.

You can read Daniel Bradley’s story, featured on the front page of the November 8,2024 print edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal, at this link   (NOTE:  If you do not subscribe to the IBJ, your access to this story may be limited.  Once again, subscribe to your local media.  If you do not, it will go away)     

Fishers police arrested a 17-year-old juvenile early Saturday morning following reports of gunfire near the 12000 block of Sunrise Circle, just west of Lantern Road, in the Sunblest area.

Officers responded to a call of shots fired at approximately 1 a.m. Saturday. Police arriving on the scene observed a vehicle fleeing the area and initiated a traffic stop, detaining the driver, who was the sole occupant. The individual was identified as a 17-year-old male from Noblesville, and he was subsequently arrested.

According to the Fishers Police Department, the shots appeared to have been fired into the air and ground by individuals attending a party in the area. Authorities said there were no reports of injuries, and no one was targeted in the incident.

The juvenile suspect faces charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement, and dangerous possession of a firearm.

Detectives are continuing to investigate and are seeking any video footage of the incident. Anyone with information or relevant video is asked to contact Detective JP Smith at 317-595-3331.

Indiana State Representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn, with a district that includes a part of western Fishers, has just secured election to another 2 years in the General Assembly.  She is wasting no time getting back to work, with an event coming up at the Hamilton East Library in Fishers.

She is telling young people in her district “It’s okay to not be okay.”   It is a message that if you are battling mental health issues, there is help for you.

“We’re Listening: Youth Council on the State of Youth Mental Health” will take place on Monday, Nov. 18 from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the Fishers Public Library (5 Municipal Drive, Fishers, IN 46038) in the Center Room. While the event is for middle and high school-aged youth, parents are of course encouraged to attend.

This will include:

• A free pizza dinner;
• An open dialogue with Rep. Garcia Wilburn on the mental health and well-being of you and your friends;
• Tools for advocating for more mental health support from the Indiana state government; and
• A workshop on how to cope and deal with mental health issues.

“This discussion and workshop is specifically for some of my youngest constituents – middle and high schoolers,” Garcia Wilburn said in a news release. “As a mom and  someone who works with kids all the time, I can see that your generation is struggling.”

Ms. Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana House District 32.

In the weekly Fishers area road construction report, watch for lane closures along 116th Street in downtown Fishers, as work continues on the Cafe Patachou sidewalk installations.  Rumors are that the restaurant should be opening late this year or early 2025.  In the meantime, watch for lane closures in the area.

Here is the full road construction update for the work week starting Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, as provided by the City of Fishers:

======= Continue reading Fishers area road construction update for the work week starting Monday, November 11 →

The election is over and Leila Kheiry joins me in this podcast discussion about the election, roundabouts and much more in this podcast.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board will be asked to approve a $15 million bond, funding 12 new classrooms at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate and Junior High School (also known at the HIJH), along with additional cafeteria space.  The debt should come from other bonds being paid-off, keeping the school District’s tax rate stable.  School board member Ben Orr emphasized that the funds for this project come from a  pool of money apart from most staff salaries.  This HIJH project is not part of the 10-year plan in place to maintain district buildings, but Superintendent Patrick Mapes told the Finance Committee he and his staff are working on an updated 10-year plan, which will be presented to the board at a future date.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the committee his office is looking into “creative ways” to hold down the spiraling cost of health insurance.  Insurance premiums are set to increase $2 million for the district in 2025, but increased use of high-deductible plans could bring that increase down to about $500,000.  Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used to handle costs not covered by a high-deductible health plan.  HSAs have tax incentives for employees.  More details on that should be known once bargaining is completed between the school administration and the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA).  Mr. Mapes told the committee bargaining sessions with HSEA are scheduled for Monday and Friday next week.  If no agreement is reached by November 15, the state process begins with mediation and possibly fact-finding, where a contract could be imposed on both parties.

Superintendent Mapes told the committee the district is working on adding scoreboards and video boards to each high school gymnasium.  He expects most or all of the expense would be covered by commercial sponsors over time.  This could be installed over the winter school break.  Also, a phone app is in the works that would not provide a video feed of sports contests, but would update scores and time left, with commercial sponsorship on the screen.