Nickel Plate Arts Receives $10,000 Duke Energy Grant
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TODAY’S WEATHER A slight chance of showers, then a Vol. 4, No. 14 Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low Sheridan, Noblesville, Cicero, Arcadia, Atlanta, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield around 47. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. HIGH: 60 LOW: 47 The County Line Nickel Plate Arts receives Local media $10,000 Duke Energy grant keeps focus Funding will fuel arts programs for underserved residents NOBLESVILLE — Nickel Plate at home Arts has received a $10,000 grant from By FRED SWIFT the Duke Energy Foundation to support In Hamilton County we have local community-building efforts in Hamilton news media, but it reaches a limited County’s Jackson Township. The fund- audience among the county's 300,000 ing will help the organization invest in residents. the creative economies of communities There are currently battling population decline. three pub- The grant will fund several significant lications initiatives in Atlanta, Arcadia and Cice- including ro, including the development of strate- the Re- gic plans to strengthen arts and culture porter and in each community. Specific projects one local include a makerspace and collaborative TV chan- arts workspace in Atlanta, a series of nel. Most community-centered arts events in Cice- of our res- ro and an operating plan for the Arcadia idents are Arts & Heritage Depot. "tuned" “It’s easy for our attention to be to the In- diverted to Noblesville and Fishers be- dianapo- cause those communities are larger and lis media which includes several TV more robust,” says Nickel Plate Arts Di- channels, numerous radio stations and rector Aili McGill, “but we think that our a major daily newspaper. greatest impact in 2017 will be in Jack- You may ask, so what? The prob- son Township, through the unification lem is that Indianapolis media does and strengthening of the projects out- not cover all the local news, and what lined in our grant application.” is covered sometimes gives the Indi- The grant will help Nickel Plate anapolis and Marion County view of Arts connect underserved residents with a situation. Many of our people there- cultural, arts and entrepreneurial oppor- Photo provided fore miss a lot of Hamilton County tunities. Grassroots efforts will include Nickel Plate Arts staff members Kristi Rowe, Kavita Mahoney, Rachael news and information. O’Dell and Director Aili McGill thank Duke Energy’s Government & Something I have found is that the See Grant . Page 3 Community Relations Manager Mark LaBarr for Duke’s generous support. Indy media sometimes relays the de- sires of their city's leaders to see sur- rounding counties help pay for proj- ects and services that are of principal benefit to Indianapolis. There may be an argument for a regional approach to certain improvements. But, not always and not when our people do not know when or how to make their voice heard in the decision-making. The fact is our big city neighbor often finds a need for money, and Hamilton County is a good place to look for that. Whether it's sports and convention facilities, public transpor- tation, greater assistance for public ed- ucation or other matters Indianapolis political leaders go to the state legis- lature. The major media often reports these requests for help from that city's point of view. When there is talk of "a regional approach" or regional cooperation that usually means our county is involved Photo provided in the discussion. Again, not always The first cohort of TeachPlus statewide policy fellows, five of which are teachers in Hamilton County. a bad thing, but something we should be aware of. A few years ago "govern- ment reform" was a topic of potential legislation. That included proposals to have a single county executive, elimi- Five of 20 Teach Plus educators nation of townships, one county-wide library district and no more elected judges. Fortunately for this county come from Hamilton County most of that failed to pass into law. All we lost was our elected township as- Teach Plus, a national non-profit that “It was a pleasure to meet with the Napolitano and Abby Taylor of Fishers, sessors. empowers teachers to lead improvements Teach Plus Fellows,” said Superintendent Megan Bilbo and Allison Larty of No- Some of the news media not only in policy and practice, has selected 20 of Public Instruction Jennifer McCor- blesville and Kelly Day of Westfield. reported on this so-called reform, but highly-effective teacher leaders as Fel- mick. “I am encouraged by their commit- The Fellows come from elementary, supported it. While this might have lows of the inaugural Indiana Teaching ment to strong, healthy education policies middle, and high schools, across many been good for some areas, if local Policy Fellowship. During the twelve- that serve students and respect teachers. I subjects. Fellows bring a wide range of residents didn't read local papers they month program, Fellows will look to look forward to working with them in the years of experience and have entered the could easily get the idea this legisla- magnify the impact they have in their future.” profession from a variety of teacher prep tion was a good thing for all. classrooms through personal interactions The new Fellows come from across programs. Many of the Fellows are lead- The point is Hamilton County cit- with education leaders and opportuni- the state and teach in a variety of urban, ers in their schools and communities and izens should pay attention to how ini- ties to advocate for policies around key suburban, and rural districts. Of the 20 ed- have been recognized for their outstand- tiatives in Indy and subsequently the state-level issues, such as the creation and ucators, four come from the Fort Wayne ing instruction. The demand for the Fel- Statehouse affect our county beyond expansion of career pathways for teacher area, five come from central. Local Ham- lowship was highly competitive, with 72 what a TV reporter tells us. The Re- leaders. ilton County teachers include Carmen applicants for 20 spots in the final cohort. porter tries to do that. 2 News Letter to the Editor Dan Stevens reflects on Dick Russell In 1975, Dick Russell and I joined especially in our line of work. it, but you would always be laughing loyal friend. the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Dept. as Over time Dick and I became great just as hard listening to him trying to Dick, Kate, Peg and I shared many patrol deputies. Dick was a seasoned friends. He stood as Best Man at my finish. trips together, especially our visit each officer with a few years of experience wedding to Peg. Our daughter was When Dick accepted the Chief summer to the FBI National Acade- under his belt and I was an untest- nearly born in the back seat of his pa- Of Police position at Noblesville he my annual conference. We watched ed rookie. We struck up a friendship trol car on the fourth of July in 1978. brought a new level of energy, expec- our kids grow up, become productive and Dick took me under his wing and Dick agreed to serve as Chief Deputy tation and work ethic. His 13 years as citizens, and start their own families. showed me the ropes. He was there during my tenure as Sheriff. He ex- Chief speaks highly of his leadership Dick loved to fish and loved even more when I covered my first fatality and pected good work, honesty, and com- and vision. teaching his grand kids how to fish. guided me through the investigation mon sense from the officers he worked Dick Russell exemplified what Thank you Dick Russell for all that and report process even though his with and commanded. He taught by we expect from our law enforcement you gave to your to community, your shift had ended. I learned a lot about example. His sense of humor was am- community: professionalism, integrity, family, your friends. life, loyalty, brotherhood, getting the plified by his infectious laugh. If Dick compassion, common sense, and the I will miss you my friend, mentor, job done right and the importance of got tickled when telling one of his sto- ability to laugh. He shared with me the and brother….Hamilton County will having a sense of humor and laughing, ries, you were lucky to hear the end of skill to be a good leader, hard worker, miss what you represented. Do you have a . Community announcement? Wedding? Anniversary? Birth announcement? SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY! Contact the Hamilton County Reporter HamiltonCoNorth [email protected] or call 317-408-5548 Thank you for reading the Hamilton County Reporter! News 3 GRANT from Page 1 public art events, classes for children coordinates arts and cultural experienc- and adults and professional resources for es across communities to improve the creative entrepreneurs. quality of life for residents, strengthen “We are excited to be able to help local economies and enrich experiences fuel the arts-related efforts that have just for visitors. Nickel Plate Arts is a project started bubbling up in Atlanta and Cice- of Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. The ro and are very happy to be able to help Nickel Plate Arts Trail extends 30 miles Arcadia’s Arts and Heritage depot find through Fishers, Noblesville, Cicero, new vitality for the future,” says McGill. Arcadia, Atlanta and Tipton. Visit us at “We are so grateful for the Duke Foun- 107 S. 8th Street in Noblesville, online dation’s willingness to invest in the cre- at nickelplatearts.org or call 317-452- ative economy and envision an inspiring 3690.