Writing a local news blog as a one-man-band is not easy, so I often need to pick-and-choose the stories I cover.  One part of the local political scene I have not written much about is the 5th Congressional District.  It encompasses a wide geographic footprint.

The 5th District includes not only Fishers, Carmel and Noblesville.  It also takes-in cities such as Anderson, Kokomo, Marion and Muncie.

But the political scene of this district took a big turn this week when the incumbent Congresswoman, Victoria Spartz, changed her mind.  After saying for months that she will not seek another term, she has done an about-face and says she will seek re-election after all.

There is already a long list of candidates announced for this seat.  Some have raised enough money to compete in the May primary election.

Not long after Spartz announced her intention to run again, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness entered the fray.  He is endorsing Chuck Goodrich, a business owner from Noblesville that has been serving in the Indiana House.

In his statement endorsing Goodrich, Fadness cites Goodrich’s support of “innovative companies that call Fishers home.”

It will be interesting to see how many candidates remain in the GOP primary now that the incumbent Spartz is back in the race.  Goodrich shows no sign of leaving the contest.

On a side note, Mayor Fadness has not been shy about supporting candidates he favors outside Fishers.  He has been publicly supporting Brad Chambers as he runs in a crowded Republican Primary for governor.

The 5th Congressional District was drawn as a majority Republican district.  That’s why so many are vying to be the GOP candidate in the fall.  This is a race worth watching.

A robing ceremony for new Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Bloch has been set for February 7, 4:00pm, at the Historic Courthouse in Noblesville. Bloch was appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb to replace Judge Paul Felix, who was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals last summer.

“I am grateful for the trust placed in me by Governor Holcomb,” Judge Bloch said in a county news release. “As I take on this new role, I am eager to contribute to the continued excellence of our legal system and to serve the good people of Hamilton County. I look forward to the journey ahead.”

Prior to his tenure as a magistrate, Judge Bloch worked as an attorney at Cross Pennamped Woolsey & Glazier, specializing in family law and appellate law. He is also an active member of the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum.

It appears the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board has made a decision on a new superintendent, has set a public hearing on the contract but will not announce the name until February 28.

HSE Schools announced Monday morning a public hearing will be held Wednesday, February 21, 6pm, on the provisions contained in the new superintendent’s contract.  The base annual salary of $215,270  is an indication this superintendent candidate has prior experience.  There is also a benefits package in the pact.  You can read the entire contract at this link.

After the February 21 public hearing, the board will convene on February 28 to announce the new HSE Schools Superintendent.

Dr. Yvonne Stokes submitted her resignation as HSE School Superintendent September 13 last year with a severance package.  Dr. Stokes’ base salary at the time was roughly $180,000  a year.

Dr. Matt Kegley has been Acting Superintendent since Yvonne Stokes’ resignation.

The board hired an outside consulting firm to assist in the search for a new superintendent.

The construction by the Hamilton County Highway Department at 146th Street and Allisonville Road will reach in new phase on March 1, if all goes as scheduled.  Allisonville Road is scheduled to close in the area of 146th Street for 90 days “on or after March 1.”

The county is constructing a roundabout at street level on Allisonville Road and an overpass on 146th Street.  County highway officials are giving motorists an advance warning of this planned road closure.

Below is the statement issued by the county Friday:

 Please be advised, beginning on or after Friday, March 1, our contractor will be closing Allisonville Road between 146^th Street and Kensington Drive, and between 146^th Street and Helmsley Court for 90 calendar days. Property owners within the limits of the closures will have access to their property during the closure. Both eastbound and westbound 146^th Street will remain open to all through traffic throughout the closure of Allisonville Road.

The contractor will be placing detour route markers as we approach the road closure. Please utilize the posted detour route to avoid the road closures on Allisonville.

When I began writing this blog in January of 2012, it never crossed my mind there would be a local story related to international auto racing, but that is what is happening now.

Andretti Global announced some time ago it will locate its new racing operation headquarters in Fishers.  That plan is still in place.  Andretti may be best known as an IndyCar racing team, but there are other series in which Andretti competes, including the IMSA sports car series.

Andretti has been lobbying Formula One to join that prestigious, world-wide racing series.  The answer came Wednesday from the Formula One powers that be.  Not only was it a “no,” it was a disrespectful “no.”

The statement from Formula One basically said Andretti would not be competitive.  There were other reasons provided in that statement, except the one that is most likely true…the current teams do not want to divide the massive amount of money flowing into Formula One with another team.

Andretti would be the only truly American Formula One team, but now the big shots at Formula One say 2028 would be the earliest Andretti would be able to enter the series, if at all.

Jenna Fryer of Associated Press, one of the best auto racing journalists in the world, wrote the following

“The decision outraged American fans of the series and left Michael Andretti and GM exploring potential legal avenues. F1 said it would be willing to revisit the issue if GM has an engine ready for the 2028 season, but was adamant and sharply critical in telling Andretti no for 2025 and 2026.”

Formula One is just getting popular in America, with races in Miami, Austin & Las Vegas.  How North American racing fans will react to the Andretti snub remains to be seen.

Jenna Fryer quoted Mario Andretti’s reaction in a social media post:

“I’m devastated,” the elder Andretti wrote on social media. “I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated.”

There was speculation that the new Fishers Andretti Global headquarters would include the Formula One operation.  At least for now, it will not, but there should be plenty of land to expand Andretti’s footprint in the coming years if minds change.

In the meantime, let’s see what legal avenues the Andretti family may explore.

Fishers Police arrested a man Sunday accused of robbing Target stores throughout the country of $90,000 worth of merchandise.

Fishers Police were called to the Target store on Commercial Drive, following a theft report. Target’s Asset Protection called authorities saying a suspect had left the store. Asset Protection gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Within minutes, Fishers officers stopped the suspect, with the driver identified by police as Frank Covington.

The police report discovery of a device used to disable anti-theft devices in the suspect’s pocket.  Officers also say they found, inside Covington’s rental car, the following:  23 Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus calculators, two Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus calculators and one Texas Instrument TI-Nspire CX 2 calculator.

According to Target’s Asset Protection Team, Covington is listed as a suspect in various Target theft cases throughout the United States with an estimated value of $90,000 dollars.  A Fishers police Department news release says Covington had ten active warrants from several states with crimes ranging from burglary to theft and shoplifting.

The popular Fishers entertainment center Pinheads will re-open Thursday, February 1st.

The Facebook post says, “Thanks to the incredible efforts of our team…Pinheads is reopening on February, 1 2024!”

Pinheads closed after a kitchen fire January 10th.

More than 4 months following the resignation of Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Yvonne Stokes, with a large separation package, the school board is moving closer to naming a permanent superintendent.

At the end of the January 24th session, board President Juanita Albright said the board, with the help of outside contractor Administrative Assistance, has chosen one candidate for the job.  Dr. Albright did not reveal the name, or any other identifying information about the chosen superintendent candidate.

In the coming days, Albright expects an announcement of a public board meeting to review the proposed contract for the new superintendent, but before the name of the new superintendent candidate is revealed.

“We anticipate that we’ll announce the final candidate shortly after the process closes,” said Albright.

Approval of the superintendent’s contract will be conducted at the same meeting when the name of the superintendent is revealed, according to the board president.

Matt Kegley, formerly assistant superintendent, has been acting superintendent since the resignation of Dr. Stokes.

In other news from the board session.

–Julie Alano, former Teacher of the Year for the district, presented information on the Computer Science Honor Society at HSE High School in celebration of Hour of Code, held the week of December 4-10.  The video presented at the board meeting is available at this link.

–Reilly Harmeyer was announced as the new Assistant Principal at Fall Creek Junior High School

–President Albright announced the committee assignments for board members in 2024.  They are as listed here:

Policy Committee:

Sarah Donsbach

Dawn Lang

Ben Orr

Budget/Finance Committee:

Dawn Lang

Ben Orr

Facilities Committee:

Suzanne Thomas

Wellness Committee:

Sarah Parks-Reese

Tiffany Pascoe

Curriculum Committee:

Sarah Donsbach

Tiffany Pascoe

Noblesville Economic Redevelopment:

Sarah Parks-Reese

Fishers Economic Redevelopment:

Dawn Lang

Legislative Liaison:

Sarah Donsbach

Foundation:

Sarah Donsbach

Suzanne Thomas

I was thinking last week that in 12 years of writing this local Fishers news blog, I have never taken any time away.  Even when traveling, there was an effort on my part to update this blog.  Since I am a one-man-band, when I am away, there is no one to fill-in for me.

I decided Jane & I needed some time to ourselves so we did just that the past few days.  It was nice.

Now that I am back, I see there was some news in Fishers during my time away.  I will try to get caught up as quickly as possible.

Thanks for reading!

Just a heads up. I will be taking a few days off blogging. Don’t do this often, but is something I need to do every now& then. But the blog will return in a few days.