The first Mayor for Fishers

A newly enacted State Law calls for the election of a Mayor in 2014. Of course this is very upsetting to all the Town Council members who were expecting to stay in office until 2015. What this does is set up two elections for Mayor and City Council one year apart, 2014 and 2015. If the citizens elected a Mayor that turns into dud in one year they can replace him or her. Same for the Council members. It also means they have to raise money to run for two elections. So I see a lot of arm-twisting and if the past is any indication – town contractors and law firms will be hit hard. After all this is Fishers. The mad dash is coming. The Town Council is going to have shortly pass an ordinance with new districts and call for an election of a Mayor. I expect a lot of candidates for this new office and it is going to be very interesting to see who runs. Concerning the new districts, under a City there are six set districts, currently we have seven, so one of the current council seats will have to go. But if any of the current council members run for Mayor they can’t run for Council. So finding one to drop out should not be difficult. I am certain the behind the scenes discussions are going on right now. After all this is Fishers. The Republican Primary will be overflowing; so far I have heard several names and even a posting on Facebook asking the same question. https://www.facebook.com/FirstMayorOfFishers Names that have been mentioned and or whispered so far: Dan Canan Renee Cox Wayne Crane Scott Fadness Scott Falutless Walter Kelly Pete Peterson John Weingardt The City Council seats are going to be even more interesting. Under a City Charter six of the seats are going to have to be firmly defined and not all at large as in the past. This means you for the first time actually elect someone from your district. It also means that a current seat holder may have to run against someone who is know in that district and who does not have to run at large. One more thing. I am certain the Town Council is trying to figure out how to get around the new law and delay the election until 2015. After all this is Fishers.

Are you ready for next May?

The state passed a new law because of the mess brought about by Fishers in the trick question election. As you remember the Town Council tried to trick everyone to keep them in power, not these voters. Smarter than the town council yes. Well other communities tried other mergers etc and all of them failed. Then the state lawmakers noticed. A little push from a couple of citizens including our own Brian Baehl and a number from Evansville got things moving even faster. The law passed 49 to 1 in the Senate and 97 to 3 in the House. So to the Town Council your lost again. To other citizens all over the state you will not have to go through what we all did. By the way the Town attorney travel to another town to try and sell them on this crazy plan, so the new law stopped that game. The Current had an article and Scott Fadness said the new law does not effect Fishers. Wrong again. The new law requires the Mayor and new Council election in 2014 and they wanted it in 2015. Another year to built up their war chests with money to run an election. I can't wait to see how they try and delay the election from 2014 to 2015. The Town Attorney must be up all night trying to figure this one out. Ok election 2014 and the list of Mayor candidates keeps growing, real or not real the names keep popping up. So far my count is up to seven, but I am not into the rumor spreading of candidates so you will have to figure out your own list. But what it does is open the field, lets say three of the current council members run in the primary, that means two or three seats open up depending on the new districts. If you run for Mayor you can't run for election in a district seat. That was one of the tricks they tried to play on the voters. Then three at large seats which translates into an open contest for 5 or 6 council seats. Hopefully people who want to see good government for the people step forward and run. Instead of the same old people who want government for the government and not the people.

Rep Ubelhor and his dumb propsed Law. And I mean dumb.

This has got to be one of the dumbest moves yet by a Representative in the Indiana House. Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Bloomfield wants to allow farm raised deer to be hunted in 200-acre fended-in farms by hunters. He claims it would result in 400 jobs and so it would be good for Indiana. Most of the hunter groups and DNR don’t agree. In fact they claim that farmed deer get diseases and if one escapes it could spread far and wide. Well I guess that is one way to reduce the deer population in the state. But not one I would want to see. Maybe he should figure out a way to bring 400 real good paying jobs to Indiana instead. But that would require someone to think and it appears that is beyond his capability. Below is a note I sent to him, I doubt I get a reply. But if I do it will be posted here. Dear Representative Ubelhor What is next Hungry Games? Are you going to propose that Indiana adopt a program similar to the ones in the books? After the hunters are done shooting deer in a cage what will they want next? Why are you even bothering to have the hunters waste their time coming to the state, just have the farmers kill the deer and ship the head to the hunter. After all that would make them even more money. Are you so eager to try and make a few dollars for a few hunters you are willing to risk disease for all the deer in the state. If in state hunting groups and DNR are against this why are you for it? Just so a few can make a few dollars you need to re-examine your position and come to your senses. Or maybe you do want hunger games next.

Fishers shoots for a new Tax

Fishers claims to have the lowest tax rate. I just love this fake claim; they make it up with fees and other hidden taxes. Such as the Stormwater Fee (tax) we all had to just pay. Now here comes another hidden tax, House Bill 1070 would authorize the Fishers town council to adopt, on or before December 31, 2013, an ordinance to impose a town food and beverage tax of not more than 1% on taxable food and beverage transactions in the town. Specifies that the revenue from the tax must be used to reduce the town's actual property tax levy (but not maximum permissible levy) or for economic development purposes, including the pledge of money to bonds, leases, or other obligations for economic development purposes. Since the Town's actual levy is above the 1% cap it means the Town can impose a 1% tax on your restaurant bill. What is very interesting is only two towns in the entire state are trying to get this. Fishers and Cloverdale. So behind our backs the Town Council is once again at it, raise taxes, sort of keep it hidden, but still claim to have the lowest tax rate. Hopefully the State Senate will stop this nonsense.

Tme to tax bullets

The NRA has proposed that armed officers be placed in every school as a solution to the gun problem. This is a wonderful sound bite but not a real solution nor did the NRA come forward with the funds to achieve this process. This solution places a burden on the taxpayer and even has resulted in proposals in the current session of the legislation. Yet at the same time the Governor want to lower taxes. The police protection of schools is just a transfer of cost to the local level and in essence a tax against all of us to the benefit of gun owners. I believe the State of Indiana should at once impose a bullet tax. Apply a tax for each bullet sold in the state or shipped into the state by a mail order vendor. The citizens of this state should not have to raise school taxes to pay for this protection the gun users should. We tax other direct usages or apply fees in this same manor. So it is time to tax the gun owners with a usage tax on bullets. This in no way violates the 2nd amendment or limits their rights to own guns.

Time Passes Histories Lost

As time passes on much is lost and history becomes more and more condensed. How many times have you wanted to ask a loved one what happened? Or someone who live hundreds or thousands of years ago what happened? But even in a short spam of time much can be lost. Sometimes we can get lucky and find an old document that sheds light on a question. Recently I found out when and where my maternal grandparents were murdered by the Nazi’s. It took 70 years to find out and a slip of paper in an archive in Switzerland provided the hint to start a trail that led to a forest where they were machine-gunned down. My father’s family was much luckier. A great uncle came to this land in 1905 and prospered and so in 1935 he returned to Europe to start the process to save the Weingarten Family and bring them the United States. But even mush of this has been lost to time. My father would never speak of what happened or how they managed to survive, I have been able to get some of the relatives to speak and put their accounts in a book, but the book is more than just about the survival of family. My father wrote 100 hundreds of poems and always hoped they would be published. I have taken all the poems, added pictures of family, some from long ago and placed them in a book. Today the book was published by Amazon. The following is the description from the book and should you wish a copy the ordering information. The title of the book is one letter, it is the nickname of my father, very simple and a name he was called by all who worked for him and all his friends: H Herman H. Weingarten A Collection of Poems And A Family Holocaust History "Herman Weingarten was born in Vienna during WWI, the oldest of three brothers. The family did well in Vienna until the dark cloud of Hitler came and the hardships for many Jews and almost certain death. With the help of an uncle who came to America in 1905 much of the family was brought to the land of liberty. “H” as he was known worked as the chief chemist in a pharmaceutical factory, was drafted seven times and sent back each time to continue war production. He worked in that same factory until he retired. His middle brother was unable to go to medical school because of quotas against Jews so he became an engineer and invented the color picture tube and his youngest brother went into service to his nation moving up the ranks to a high position in the Census Bureau. But it was in retirement that “H” found a new love, poetry. This book is a collection of his poems along with family pictures not in any order but a cross section of both European and American snapshots. He always hoped some day his poems would be published but unfortunately he will never see his words in actual print. Many of the relatives and friends shown in photographs in this collection will never be able to see themselves. But a new generation can and they will be able to read, see and keep alive the words. The poems capture the twinkle in his deep blue eyes and happiness in family and living in a free nation. The Holocaust and World War II killed 50 million people, yet many names will not be remembered, many stories of survival will not be known and much of what happened will be forgotten. Presented here some of the stories from just one family. How many other family’s histories will vanish in the next few years. It is time to record as much as we can. It is time to never forget." List Price: $10.00 6" x 9" Black & White on Cream paper 290 pages ISBN-13: 978-1481866569 ISBN-10: 1481866567

The cart before the horse or how not to plan a downtown.

The Fishers Town Council is once again placing the cart before the horse. They are moving full speed ahead with a downtown redevelopment plan but forgot to do a town wide plan first. Plus the plan sets up districts within the downtown instead of one district called “downtown” so if we view these small districts as the criteria for the rest of the town we should have at least 100 districts by the time they are finished. Then they are giving away green space in front of he Town hall and Post Office for an apartment building. Just what we need more cars and congestion on 116th street and the loss of green space. Once again it shows a total lack of vision and planning by this council.