In the early hours of Sunday morning, a dramatic series of events unfolded as Fishers Police officers arrested an Indianapolis man, Fredrick Nance, 24, following a robbery and carjacking at a local restaurant.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 30, police were alerted to a robbery in progress at the Taco Bell on Allisonville Road. According to preliminary reports from dispatch, multiple armed suspects had entered the drive-through window and demanded money. One suspect, identified as Nance, fled the scene in a blue Dodge Challenger stolen from one of the victims.

Officers quickly responded to the Taco Bell, verifying the safety of the employees who were found unharmed, and commenced an investigation. At the same time, police say they spotted the stolen Dodge Challenger heading south on Allisonville Road and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Nance, the vehicle’s sole occupant, led officers on a pursuit into Marion County before abandoning the car and fleeing on foot.

Several officers, including a K-9 unit, pursued Nance. During the chase, a gunshot was heard.  Fortunately, neither the K-9 nor the officers were injured. The K-9 unit successfully apprehended Nance, who was taken into custody and later medically evaluated before being transported to the Hamilton County Jail.

Police recovered multiple pieces of evidence belonging to the victims from Nance. Additionally, a Glock handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device was found near the arrest site. Authorities say the victims positively identified Nance as one of the perpetrators.

Police say that  during an interview, Nance confessed to the robbery, auto theft, and discharging his firearm. He now faces 12 preliminary charges. The Fishers Police Department is seeking information regarding the other suspects involved in the robbery. Anyone with information is urged to call 317-595-3300.

The Fishers Police Department expressed gratitude to several agencies for their assistance during the investigation, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana State Police helicopter unit, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, Carmel Police Department, and Noblesville Police Department.

I am writing this during the morning of Saturday, June 29th.  Something I had planned, and looked forward to doing today, will not happen for me.

I have been a big fan of the Fishers summer festival, held just before the 4th of July.  It started in 1989 as the Fishers Freedom Festival, run by a local nonprofit group.  In recent years, the celebration has been taken over by the City of Fishers and rebranded as the Spark Fishers Festival.

Spark has expanded to a nearly week-long event, but the best is saved for last, with a big street fair at the Fishers Municipal Complex and a parade in the evening.  Most years since starting this local news blog, I have covered the event and parade.  But not this year.

Being the clumsy old guy I am, I injured my knee Thursday evening.  I had it checked-out the next day and it was nothing more than a very bad bruise, but the pain will linger for about a week. This 72-year-old guy is in no shape to cover a big event and parade with a badly bruised knee.

So, I will not be there with you, but if you are reading this prior or during Spark, please enjoy.  It is one of the major Fishers events each year bringing the community together.  If you are reading this after attending Spark, I hope you enjoyed it.

Another busy week of road construction in and around Fishers.  Fishers also offers a road status map you can find at this link.

Below is the full listing for the week beginning Monday, July 1st:

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Continue reading Fishers area road construction update for the week beginning Monday, July 1 →

The major reconstruction at the intersection of Allisonville Road and 146th Street is continuing, with material deliveries requiring some night & overnight lane restrictions.

Below are the details, as provided by the Hamilton County Highway Department:

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 Please be advised, beginning on or after the dates listed below, between the hours of 7PM and 5AM, our contractor will utilize a lane restriction for the delivery of materials in the work area and to set bridge beams.

Upcoming Nighttime Lane Restriction Dates:

Monday, July 1^st: Westbound left lane of 146^th Street will be closed.

Tuesday, July 2^nd: One Westbound and Eastbound lane will be closed. A temporary crossover will be utilized on both sides of the intersection to shift traffic into the appropriate lanes.

Drivers should expect short-duration intermittent stoppages along 146^th street and Allisonville Road, so the contractor can move materials and equipment within the work area. Please watch for flaggers within the construction zone and use extreme caution while driving through this construction zone.

The conservative political group Fishers One has endorsed a candidate in each township of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board at-large election in November.

In Delaware Township, Greg Lannan is the group’s endorsed candidate.  He faces Latrica Schooley.

In Fall Creek Township, former HSE Board member Terry Tolle is the endorsed candidate.  He faces incumbent Suzanne Thomas.

In Wayne Township, John Stewart has the group’s endorsement.  He is opposed by incumbent Sarah Parks-Reese.

In this at-large election, each candidate must reside within the township but all voters in the HSE District vote in each township race.

Fishers One endorsed the winning candidates in the 2022 HSE School Board district election.

(NOTE:  Greg Lannan & I share the same last name and are distant cousins.  We did not know each other until a few years ago)

The Hamilton Southeastern Superintendent of Schools Patrick Mapes has been on the job about 4 months, and provided an update Wednesday with plenty of numbers on academics and financial matters.

On the academic front, here are some major take-aways from Mr. Mapes’ presentation, centering on testing data:

–In English Language Arts, HSE performs at 59.1%, compared to the state average of 40.7%.  Mapes noted the state changed the test a few years ago is now more in line with national standards.

–In math, for 2023, HSE scored  63.2%, with the state number at 40.9%.

–The 3^rd grade IREAD score was for  88.6% for HSE, state 81.9%.  Mapes explained there are students taking summer school now that will retake the test.  The 2nd grade IREAD score for HSE was 58%, a very high number.

–Mapes told the board SAT scores may not be a fair assessment, since it is a college-bound test, yet all HSE students take it, but the HSE score of 56% is much higher than the state average of 28.4%.

–Mapes turned to enrollment numbers, which have been declining in recent years and is tied to support from the state.  The 2024 HSE total enrollment number is 21,299.  Demographer Jerry McKibben, in a report to the board in May of 2022, projected the 2024 student count for all HSE at 21.146, a bit lower than the actual count.

The discussion then turned to financial matters.  I will summarize some of Mr. Mapes’ comments, but sifting through all the financial data is quite complicated.  I have a link below to Mapes’ entire presentation to the board, including his numbers about new money received from the state and how it has been spent.

Mapes went into what he described as continuing “deficit financing trends” for teachers salaries. The superintendent asserts the District has been “moving money around,” transferring funds, which HSE Schools had been doing for years. He says  this is “not fiscally responsible.”

He also voiced criticism that financial  books were not closed by end of January, or the first part of February this year.

HSE Schools administrators and HSEA officials will be entering into negotiations over teachers’ compensation in the coming weeks.

To access the presentation by Superintendent Mapes, use this link.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board gave final approval to three new administrators.

Steve Guenin will move from the Dean of Students to assistant principal of Hamilton Southeastern High School.

Jordan McCaslin, a physical education teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School, will become the new Dean of Students.

Christopher Conway has been hired as the Assistant Principal at Fall Creek Elementary School.

When the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the local teachers’ union, filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) against the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, it was clear there was a chasm separating the two institutions.  Following a meeting with HSEA members before Wednesday’s school board meeting, and comments made by Superintendent Patrick Mapes speaking before the HSE Board, the gulf between HSEA and HSE Schools appears to have widened significantly.

Teachers met next door to the school administration building prior to the 6pm board meeting.  Referring to comments from a local organization, HSEA President Abby Taylor said,  “There are not sides when it comes to treating people kindly.  We, as teachers, have never chosen a side.  We have chosen to support students, every, every step of the way.”

Becky Slayton, the ISTA Uniserve Director for HSEA, provided a timeline of what led to the ULP filing.  Administration was contacted up the chain of command about allegations of a “toxic workplace” from HSEA President Taylor.  With no resolution when attorneys for HSEA and HSE Schools spoke, HSEA authorized ISTA attorneys to file the ULP action.

“Right now, what (HSE Schools are)  doing is merely trying to bust up the union, so that you do not have a voice,” Slayton told the teacher group.  She adds the union will see to it there is a hearing on the ULP.

While Mapes was providing the board with the District’s update on “Vision, Goals, Organization, and Budget,” he had some direct comments about teachers and those representing them.  He began by talking about people believing everything they read on social media.

“As a school corporation, we will not drag legal issues through social media,” Mapes told the board.  “It’s unprofessional and provides no value.  Education is a service providing profession that is striving to build student skills so they may be good citizens.  That’s the goal no matter what community you’re in. ”

Mapes went on to say the following: “If we’ve employed people who do not want to serve students and put their own agenda in front of a mission to educate students, then those people should leave our district because we’re here to serve students.  That’s why people got into this business.  They want to help kids.  And if they don’t want to help kids, then I really don’t have any place for them.”

Mapes then quoted a comment from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, “…schools help promote our community.”

Slayton says if there is no settlement of the ULP, and as of Wednesday that does not seem likely, the state will hold a hearing, with a decision coming by October of this year.

No Hamilton County official can make a public presentation these days without acknowledging the elephant in the room – the more than 20 road projects underway this summer throughout the county.

County Commissioner Steve Dillinger did his best to run down all the projects and provide an update to the large crowd at Noblesville Embassy Suites for the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce luncheon hosting the annual State of the County address.

He joked about the difficulty in “getting there from here” these days, and tried to answer the question asked of him most often – whey can’t the road construction plans be better coordinated?

Dillinger explained the timeline from the start of a road construction project to its completion, which can often take up to 6 years.  “Sometimes it takes longer,” said Dillinger. Many of the steps involved are outside the control of the county.

One reason road construction is so constant is related to the growth in population.  The 2020 census pegged Hamilton County’s population at 348,000.  Dillinger cites the latest data putting the population number at 377,000.  Hamilton County is the 4th largest county in Indiana, behind Marion, Lake and Allen Counties.

Dillinger did not make news, but provided updates on a number of projects planned or ongoing…including:

–Plans to install the historic Bell Ford Bridge at Geist Park next year

–Work on the upgrades to the 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville has started and is ongoing

–A new 911 Center is planned, and must meet rigid construction standards to withstand the worst weather conditions, including tornadoes

–Plans for the new Public Safety Training facility are continuing

–With an expanding population, the Judicial Center will need expansion soon to the tune of $65 million

–With many county functions running 24 hours a day, Hamilton County is planning a child care center for county workers available to fit those work schedules.

Dillinger praised plans for a memorial honoring local firefighters that died in the line of duty.

He was proud of Hamilton County’s financial standing, with the help of the County Council. Our county is the only Indiana county with a  AAA credit rating.  This high rating lowers borrowing costs for the county.

Dillinger praised the 4 Hamilton County swimmers qualifying for the Paris Olympics later this summer – Drew Kibler, Aaron Shackell, Alex Shackell and Luke Whitlock.

With election season before us, Dillinger criticized “personal attacks” in election campaigns.  He urged political candidates to “campaign with integrity” and “treat others with respect.