Updates and Happenings Throughout Fishers
Writer / Larry Lannan
Photography Provided
The Hamilton Southeastern School Board voted on March 22 to remove language in the student handbook referring to “microaggressions.” The vote was 5-2. Board member Ben Orr supported the action, saying the microaggression language “actually works counter to its intended goal and it stifles free speech, open dialogue, and offers no due process. Board member Sarah Parks-Reese voted no, reading a letter from a teacher citing a long list of microaggressions that teacher has witnessed in her school.
The school board also passed a resolution providing “preliminary support” for placing a renewal of the operating referendum that expires December 31, 2023, on the November election ballot. The board gave the initial indication that it favors keeping the referendum property tax rate at the current .2275. The final vote providing the rate and specific language to be contained on the ballot initiative will likely happen in June.
The Fishers City Council approved a resolution supporting the “vision” for a revitalization program along the Allisonville Road corridor, between 106th and 126th streets. A 96-page report laid out some details of that vision. The steering committee for the study, consisting of residents and commercial interests along the corridor, focused on green development, attention to the surrounding neighborhoods, and lighter density compared to downtown Fishers.
The City Council has decided not to change the process for handing out local nonprofit group grants. Fishers councilors had voted on first and second reading to dissolve the council panel that recommended how much money to provide for nonprofit organizations, and the amount each group would receive. Council President John Weingardt says the decision was made to leave the current system in the annual budget process unchanged with no final vote on the measure.
The City of Fishers announced over $87,000 in vibrancy grants for 21 neighborhoods. The amounts ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 each. The grants finance projects such as landscaping, ponds and benches.
The expansion of Fishers District, east of Interstate 69 and north of 116th Street, has a name. Developer Thompson Thrift is calling the project The Crossing at Fishers District. Ashlee Boyd, managing partner at Thompson Thrift, says the new moniker “helps build energy and creates a buzz for the community.”
The city is working out cost estimates in an effort to fix deteriorating roads in commercial areas owned privately, not in the city’s inventory for maintenance. Fishers is using a legal strategy called the Barrett Law to finance the work on these roads. The first roads targeted are just east and west of State Road 37, south of 131st Street. More Fishers private roads are expected to be impacted soon with Barrett Law actions.
My thanks to Students in Action, a club at Fishers High School, honoring me with a Jefferson Award for my work in the larryinfishers.com news blog and podcast series. It was a big surprise and I accepted the award humbly. Other award winners at the ceremony included Fishers Junior High School teacher Mike Fassold, Kit Malone of the Indiana ACLU, Fishers High School teacher Tammy Snyder, student Sam Wain, Women & Hi Tech, and the Heart & Soul clinic.
