Mayor Scott Fadness made one thing clear in his remarks at the Disability Awareness kickoff event Monday morning – he was there mostly to listen.  Listen, he did, and moderated a panel discussion among deaf Fishers residents.

Jason Wagner, Irina Burke and Greg Gantt served as panelists and told stories of how something like a simple police traffic stop for speeding can become complicated and even dangerous for a deaf person.

The theme for the 2025 Disability Awareness Month is “Connected Through Language.”  One language highlighted is American Sign Language (ASL).

Three awards were presented Monday morning:

Life Without Limits Award -Carter Schmidt

Cornerstone Employee Award – Spokenote

Accessibility Award – Mari Kennedy

For more on Fishers March events for Disability Awareness Month, use this link.

I pulled into the parking lot next to HSE High School’s Reynolds Royals Stadium 35 minutes before the scheduled balloon release in honor of Mason Alexander.  I took one of the last parking spots left.

Walking to the field, all I could see were students and some adults waiting to enter the stadium with their balloons.  The number of people crowding the field numbered into the thousands.

It was a well behaved and quiet crowd.  They were there to remember a former fellow student that had touched so many lives during his time at HSE.

Mason Alexander had committed to play football at the University of Pittsburgh (known also as just Pitt).  He had graduated from HSE in December but wanted to walk with his classmates in the graduation ceremony this coming June.

He was killed in a tragic car crash at 113th Street and Florida Road Saturday night.

Once the balloons were released at 5:15pm Monday, the crowd stood quiet and staid.  There were some public address comments.  Even then, students didn’t seem to want to leave.  They quietly spoke to each other.

Below is a news conference held by Hamilton Southeastern High School Head Football Coach Michael Kelly, talking about Mason Alexander.

I was asked to speak before the Fishers Newcomers Club, consisting of ladies considered senior citizens.  The one point they made to me during that visit was their concern that the City of Fishers wasn’t doing much for the senior citizen community.  That may be changing soon.

Fishers has announced the launch of an Aging & Wellness Task Force to assess and improve services available for seniors in the community. The task force will evaluate existing offerings, identify gaps, and recommend new programs and initiatives, including the possibility of a dedicated senior services facility.

Co-chaired by Fishers City Councilman Bill Stuart and Dr. Juanita Albright, a local physician and President of the Hamilton Southeastern School District Board of Trustees, the task force includes residents and care providers. As part of its evaluation, the group will distribute a community survey and host focus groups to gather input from seniors and stakeholders.

“This initiative demonstrates the City’s commitment to supporting its senior population and ensuring that this demographic has the necessary services, programs, and resources to attain the highest quality of life within Fishers,” Stuart and Dr. Albright said in a joint statement. “This is an exciting opportunity for seniors to share what matters to them and make a direct impact on future programming and infrastructure. We can’t wait to get started.”

The formation of this task force aligns with Fishers’ Culture of Health initiative, which promotes wellness and healthy living for all residents. Discussions about a senior-focused facility initially arose during the planning of the new Fishers Community Center, scheduled to open this fall.

“Over the past few years, we’ve debuted exciting new quality-of-life amenities for our community, including a world-class event center and art center, new parks, trails, and more,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “As more seniors are selecting Fishers as the place to spend their retirement, it’s important that we understand which amenities and resources can best serve this growing population.”

The task force will officially begin its work this spring, with plans to present recommendations to city staff by mid-summer.

It is always a tragedy when a young life is lost in any community.  The Saturday night traffic crash at 113th Street and Florida Road in Fishers, that claimed the life of Mason Alexander, 18, has resulted in an outpouring of grief and sadness in the Fishers community.

As a standout football player for Hamilton Southeastern High School, Mason had committed to playing football at an ACC school, Pitt.  He was rated as one of the top college prospects by ESPN and other experts rating such things.

The comments from leaders in the Fishers community poured in all day Sunday.

The HSE Football X (formerly Twitter) account announces that there will be a balloon release at Reynolds Royals Stadium at 5:15pm Monday, March 3, in honor of Mason Alexander.

HSE Schools will have special counseling services available to students dealing with the sad news.

Allow me to join the rest of the Fishers community in expressing my sincere sympathies for  the Alexander family.

An open net goal, after the Indy Fuel pulled goaltender Ben Gaudreau with 42 seconds left in the game, cemented an Iowa Heartlander 4-2 win Sunday afternoon, before a Fishers Event Center crowd of 6,003.

The first period did not start well for the home team, with Iowa’s Jack O’Brien and Kelti Jeri-Leon finding the back of the net.  That created a 2-0 lead for the Heartlanders.

The second stanza saw the Fuel roar back with goals from Kyle Maksimovich and Nathan Burke, tying the scoreboard at 2-2.

The deciding score came only seconds into the third period with a power play goal from Iowa’s Kyle Masters, due to a Fuel penalty that carried over from the second period.

There was plenty of contact and effort from both teams, even though this was the third game in three days for each team.  Iowa has been battling with Fort Wayne for second place in the Central Division.  The Fuel have been working to stay in the fourth place slot in the Central Division, the final playoff spot.

There are plenty of games left on the schedule so it is early but the Fuel are in the mix for that final divisional playoff position.

The Fuel return home Friday to face our intrastate rival, the Fort Wayne Komets. The puck drops at 7pm.

A traffic crash on Florida Road in Fishers Saturday night claimed the life of an 18-year-old victim.  The accident was investigated by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.

WTHR has the details on the story at this link.

It was a big night for Indy Fuel goaltender Cam Gray as he picked up a shutout with help from a first class defense Saturday night as the Fuel picked up 2 big points in their quest to move up in the Central Division standings.

Nearly 7 minutes into the first period, Nathan Burke picked up the first goal of the contest, and the only goal in the opening stanza.

Period 2 was much more lively, with plenty of penalties handed out and the Fuel killed every one of the them, keeping their status as the best penalty-killing team in the ECHL.  At point the Fuel were 2 players down in the penalty box but the penalty was killed by the home team.

But the Fuel also went on the attack offensively, with Kevin Lynch and Kyle Maksimovich each finding the back of the net in Period 2.

The Fuel entered Period 3 with a 3-0 lead, and added one more lamp-lighter from Bryan Lemos, cementing the Fuel victory over the Heartlanders, second place team in the Central Division.

There were some fisticuffs, and a few roughing penalties handed out by the officiating crew.

A sellout crowd of 6,611 left the Fishers Event Center happy fans.

These two teams will meet again tomorrow (Sunday) again at the Event Center, with the puck set to drop at 4pm.

The two major political parties in Hamilton County elected officers Saturday.

Re-elected was Mario Massillamany as Chairman for the Republicans, Raju Chinthala as Treasurer, and Beth Sheller as Secretary, along with the election of Stephanie Flittner as Vice Chair, all for four year terms.

For the Democrats, County Chair Jocelyn Vare chose not to seek re-election.  Precinct officials elected Josh Lowry as Chair, Meredith Fox Vice Chair, Aimee Cole Rivera Secretary and Jim Harter Treasurer.  All will serve four-year terms

INDOT held a press event the past week, saying the Clear Path Project, essentially rebuilding the interchange of I-69 and I-465 on the northeast side of Indianapolis, is projected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2025.  I have spoken with some local officials that are skeptical of that timeline, but let’s hope INDOT is correct and the mayhem to our south will end by the start of 2026.

Locally, there are a number of lane restrictions expected in Fishers, so read the update below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers area road construction update – for the work week of Monday, March 3 →

The Indy Fuel kicked off their weekend with a tough matchup against their in-state rivals, the Fort Wayne Komets, on Friday night. After a closely contested first period, the Komets took control in the second, ultimately handing the Fuel a 7-2 defeat.