The entry of another insurance company bidding for the business of school corporations will likely save money for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  The district’s insurance broker told the school board Finance Committee Tuesday morning that Church Mutual is now entering the Indiana school market.  In the past, only Liberty Mutual has offered property and casualty insurance coverage for school corporations in our area.  Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bryan Rausch told the committee this would likely save HSE schools $50,000 in next contract.

In other items before the committee:

–Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown is recommending the board purchase an enhanced financial software package.  The cost will go from $290,000 a year to $327,000, but the new software will contain additional features.  Brown said the transition should be seamless because the same vendor is delivering the product.  He also negotiated the cost down to the $327,000 number from a much higher initial quote.

–The Finance Committee may move the meeting date.  In the past, the panel met the day before a scheduled board meeting.  Tim Brown asked that the committee meet the Thursday before the Wednesday session the following week.  Board members Dawn Lang and Ben Orr seemed to agree with the proposed change.

“Overall, things went very well.”  That’s the assessment of how things have been going as the Fishers Event Center opened with its first events, according to Event Center General Manager Mitch List.  That includes Friday and Saturday night dates for the Indy Fuel hockey team.

“I think we’re still learning on parking,” List told the Town Hall Building Corporation Monday afternoon.  List said Saturday night was the smoothest in handling parking and clearing out the lots following the hockey game.

Fishers Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren said INDOT had agreed to delay the start of a major construction project on I-69 from a 9pm start Friday to 11pm, allowing Fuel hockey fan vehicles to more easily exit the lots.  He singled out work by the Fishers Police Department in handling traffic in and out of the Center area, citing the use of drone technology, and having Assistant Police Chief Mike Taylor hands-on commanding the flow of vehicles in real time.

List added that food and beverage sales were strong for all events so far.  He also said the Monday night concert featuring Alabama was nearly sold out as of 4pm Monday.

The first actual event I experienced at the Fishers Event Center was the home opener for the Indy Fuel hockey team.  I looked around the venue and found a standing-room-only crowd.

Then, the following night, I watched the second home game for the Fuel and found a crowd just under a sellout.  It made me think back to May of 1991, when I first moved to Fishers.

The 1990 census put the Town of Fishers population at just over 7,500.  The current population for the City of Fishers is estimated to be well over 103,000.  Fishers has come a long way.

I would point to 2 key moments that propelled Fishers to the city we know today.  First, the 2012 referendum that paved the way for the city, as opposed to remaining a town or transforming into a “reorganized city” that had the name of a city but looked a lot like a town.

In 2014, we had our first city election.  With 6 candidates for mayor, Scott Fadness, the Fishers Town Manager, was the winner.

The new Mayor Fadness had a very specific vision and has been aggressive in promoting development up to the present time.  There have been some controversies along the way, but the city you see today results from the vision Fadness expressed in his first campaign for mayor and has acted upon during his tenure as, so far, the only mayor Fishers has ever had.

A great example comes from three recent major projects he has spearheaded…the new City Hall/Arts Center, the Event Center and the Community Center.  The City Hall/Art Center has been open several months.  The Event Center opened its doors weeks ago.  The Community Center is under construction and should open in 2025.

Scott Fadness is accomplishing all three projects with no increase in the city’s share of the local property tax rate.  The mayor did propose a food and beverage tax to complete the funding for the Event Center and the City Council backed Fadness.

I know there were a number of attempts at constructing a facility for the Indy Fuel in Fishers over many years, and I could see at opening night Fuel owner Jim Hallett and Mayor Fadness were in good spirits, taking in the energy of the sold-out crowd, center ice, at the first Fuel home game December 6.  It was a big night for the Fuel and Fishers.

One wonders what Mayor Fadness has up his sleeve for the next project.

It wasn’t a sellout like Friday for the home opener and first hockey game in Fishers Event Center, but Saturday’s crowd of 6,311 was just short of selling out.  Unfortunately, the loud and boisterous fans could not push the Fuel to a win, losing on overtime 2-1.

Andrew McLean of the Iowa Heartlanders scored a goal with just over 32 seconds remaining in overtime, ending the contest.  It had been a night of defense, penalty killing and goaltending finesse, but the Fuel came up just short in the overtime period.  Had the 7 minute extra stanza ended in a tie, the game would have been decided by a shootout, but McLean’s goal ended that possibility.

The Fuel’s Darby Llewellyn was quick to score with just seconds gone in Period 1. In Period 2, Iowa’s Lincoln Erne lit the lamp was just over 15 minutes to go, tying the score at 1-1.  Penalties were handed out over fisticuffs in the Period 2, and another fracas broke out after the horn sounded ending the period.

Period 3 featured no scoring by either team, but it took a video replay to wave-off a possible goal by Iowa.

This overtime loss brings the Fuel record to 8-7-1 for the season.  The OT loss does allow the Fuel to score one point in the standings.  The Fuel host the Allen Americans Friday and the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday, December 13 & 14, at the Fishers Events Center.

I knew it would be a special night when Fuel fans lined up outside the Fishers Event Center as the gates opened at 6pm.  The sold-out crowd was loud and more than ready for the Fuel to be home after starting the season on the road for 15 consecutive games.

Fuel owner Jim Hallett shared center ice with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness to provide some words as the Fuel prepared to drop the puck in its first home game in Fishers. Both men were smiling broadly, knowing there had been many stops and starts in getting the Fuel a home in Fishers.  It all came together Friday night.

Them, of course, there was the game itself.  It was a hard-fought contest, but the Fuel came up just short, losing to Iowa 4-3.

But, it is a long season and the Fuel play again Saturday against the same Iowa team.

The weather may have turned more like winter, but there remains a long list of road construction updates for the Fishers area.  Lots of restrictions and changes coming to the Clear Path construction site on I-69 near I-465.  Also, look for lane restrictions on 96th Street.

This is one update you may want to check carefully, below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Lots of road construction news in the latest update →

Jessica Irwin is a descendant of Charles Irwin, an 1897 graduate of what was then known as Fishers Switch High School.  She was shuffling through some old clothes and family historical documents when she discovered Charles Irwin’s 1897 diploma from Fishers Switch High School.

For historical context, Fishers was known as Fishers Switch, based on the railroad switch.  The local post office eventually dropped the ” Switch” in the early 20th century and the town was known as just Fishers from that point in time.

Once Ms. Irwin discovered her find, she cleaned it up and contacted the Fishers Historical Society.  Robert Bowling arranged a new frame for the document.

Friday afternoon, there was a gathering of school officials, representatives of the Fishers Historical Society and members of the Charles Irwin family.  The diploma, along with questions seniors needed to answer as senior final exams, and a brick from the 1907 Fishers High School Building, were all placed in a trophy case at Fishers High School, in a hallway near the gym.

The 1907 Fishers High School stood where Fishers Elementary is now located along Lantern Road.  Robert Bowling says there is no record of where the Fishers Switch High School was located in 1897.

We do know there were 12 students at the high school in 1897 and 3 teachers.  At that time, townships ran the school systems and constructed school buildings on land donated by local residents.

A closer look at the 1897 diploma for Charles Irwin from Fishers Switch HS

The Fishers Community Chorus will bring holiday cheer to a new venue this year, presenting its annual Holiday Concert at the recently opened Fishers City Hall & Art Center Theater. This free event, showcasing festive music from around the globe, will take place on Sunday, December 17, at 7:15 p.m., with lobby doors opening at 6:45 p.m.

This year’s program invites audiences on a musical journey through time and across continents, blending traditional melodies from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America with American seasonal favorites. The performance will highlight the universal themes of joy, unity, and peace that define the holiday season. To enrich the audience experience, foreign-language passages in German, Spanish, Hebrew, Latin, and Swahili will feature translated supertitles.

The Fishers Community Chorus, an all-volunteer ensemble under the nonprofit Fishers Music Works umbrella, has been a fixture in the community since 2015. Known for its dedication to fostering community connections through music, the group performs at various civic and private events throughout central Indiana.

The December 17 concert marks a festive kickoff to the season, offering an evening of heartwarming and inspiring music suitable for all ages. While admission is free, donations are encouraged to help the chorus continue its mission of spreading music across Hamilton County.

For more information about the event or the Fishers Community Chorus, visit www.fisherschorus.org.

After several months of changes to the architectural plans for a proposed Atwell Hotel, just west of Minden Drive and south of Erlen Drive in the Saxony area of Fishers, the Planned Unit Development (PUD) Committee denied those plans in a 5-0 vote Wednesday evening.

Neighbors in the area have opposed this hotel plan from the start.  The Saxony Community Association submitted a letter in opposition to the hotel.

An attorney representing the developer of the proposed Atwell Hotel indicated an appeal to the Plan Commission would be filed if the proposal failed, which it did later in the meeting.

This meeting was originally scheduled to be held in the City Hall Theater, but a problem with the heating system forced the session to be held in a much smaller conference room in City Hall.  Due to the size of the crowd, mostly those residing the the Saxony neighborhood attending the  meeting, an overflow room was provided with a video and audio feed of the meeting.

The committee approved two other architectural plans presented.  One was for a proposed fuel station and small convenience store for the neighborhood Walmart near 131st Street.  The other was a building for Everwise Credit Union at 12330 Olio Road.