“Look what I found” signals Scott Loller while taking part in an archeological dig activity.

Durbin hosted a Family Fun Night with a “discovering Egypt” theme. Students heard a read-aloud, made cartouches, constructed stained glass windows and went on an archeological dig for bones and jewels. While the students had an adventure, parents worked on reading strategies to help their children with reading at home.

Back in 1989, these individuals were part of the founding group for the Fishers Parade and Festival and decided to execute a community gathering to celebrate Independence Day. With the help of Bryant, Dragoo and Wright, the event originated as a one-day community picnic, parade, and a few games for the children. Due to the overwhelming participation by the public, this event grew to a two-day event.

“They have been a great asset to our organization and should feel very proud of what they have done for our community,” stated Festival Executive Director Jennifer Kehl. “Giving 20 years of dedication and time as they have is a very recognizable accomplishment. With an event of such magnitude as the Fishers Freedom Festival, it takes hundreds of volunteers to make it successful. The community you live in is what you make of it. To make it the best it can be, you need to contribute by volunteering.”

Darcy Bryant helped with the first festival in many various tasks. When food vendors were added to the festival the second year, she managed and supervised the vendors so that non-profit organizations sold food on Saturday and local businesses sold food on Sunday. In 1999, Bryant moved on to handle the Business Tent switching from a smaller group of individual company tents set up at Holland Park to one very large tent encompassing over 100 vendors through 2007. She has also served on the festival’s board as Treasurer, a Division Leader for the Main Parade since 1990 and has been on the Scholarship Committee.

Don Dragoo handled the clean-up of the first festival which lasted one day, then managed the Children’s Parade for eight years watching the participant level increase to around 350 children. In 1998, Dragoo progressed by taking on the responsibility of organizing the Main Parade which he still handles today. This parade draws in thousands of attendees filling in all spots of the parade route year after year. He has been President since the festival’s board of Directors’ inception in 1994. Lastly, Dragoo is on the Strategic Planning Committee for the recently operational “Volunteers of Fishers” organization, supported by the Fishers Freedom Festival, which helps Fishers residents who want to volunteer in the community and match them up with various Fishers organizations and businesses that need assistance for events that help improve our community.

Rhonda Wright has managed the Entertainment Tent which hosts a wide variety of local performing groups and been a Division Leader for the Main Parade since the festival’s inception. In the early years of the festival, she helped with the Free Games Booth. Wright, long-time Fishers resident who grew up attending the Hamilton Southeastern schools, also has been a frequent member of the Festival Board as Vice President over the years.

All three volunteers were valuable contributors to the idea and creation of the Fishers Freedom Festival twenty years ago, are long-time Fishers residents, and have assisted with various festival fundraisers throughout the years. Such events include golf outings and the “Christmas in October” craft fair which draws in a crowd of approximately 1500 visitors and contributes tens of thousands of dollars to the festival’s budget.

The mission of the Fishers Freedom Festival is to encourage fellowship through civic partnerships and citizen involvement by creating a safe environment, developing needed community services, promoting family integrity and striving to improve the quality of life for every resident by investing in human potential.

The 21^st Annual Fishers Freedom Festival will be Saturday, June 27 & Sunday, June 28, 2009. The Festival is always in need of volunteers at different levels of participation. For more information on volunteering or about the festival, please visit www.FishersFreedomFestival.org, email freedomfestival@sbcglobal.net, visit 8601 East 116^th Street in Fishers or call 317-595-3195.

This yearʼs court will be:

• Queen: Sarah Hamby of Lantern Road Elementary, age 6
• King: Quinn Heiking of Cumberland Road Elementary, age 7

Princesses:

• Savannah Kennedy of Fishres Elementary, age 7
• Kavaree Mason of Cumberland Road Elementary, age 7
• Olivia Porter of Sandcreek Elementary, age 7
• Megan Pitts of Lantern Road Elementary, age 6

Princes:

• Alec Field of Fall Creek Elementary, age 7
• Jeremy Roesner of Sandcreek Elementary, age 6
• Nathan Shatkowski of Geist Elementary, age 7
• Connor Stidham of Harrison Parkway Elementary, age 6

Royal Court entry forms were sent to all Hamilton Southeastern school children who would be six to seven years old by June 1, 2008. Over 500 entry forms were received by March 10th and were placed in a box according to gender. At a Fishers Town Council meeting, the winning names were randomly drawn.

Back in 1989, the founders of the Fishers Parade and Festival decided to have a community gathering to celebrate Independence Day. With the help of volunteers, the event originated as a one-day community picnic, parade, and a few games for the children. Due to the overwhelming participation by the public, this event grew to a two-day event.

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, this year’s theme is “20 Years Are Great in 2008.” The Fishers Freedom Festival is always in need of volunteers at different levels of participation. For more information on volunteering or about the festival, please visit www.FishersFreedomFestival.org, email freedomfestival@sbcglobal.net, visit 8601 East 116th Street in Fishers or call 317-595-3195.

Caption: Front row from left to right: Kavaree Mason, Sarah Hamby (Queen), Olivia Porter and Megan Pitts. 

Back row from left to right:  Alec Field, Connor Stidham, Quinn Heiking (King) and Jeremy Roesner.

Pictured below: Savannah Kennedy & Nathan Shatkowski.

Fishers Junior High English teacher Tony Sturgeon was selected as the HSE District Teacher of the Year and will represent the corporation in the state-wide competition for Indiana Teacher of the Year. He will submit a portfolio later in the summer and the state honor is announced in the fall.

Sturgeon was selected from individual building winners including the following:
Karin Foster, Brooks School Elementary
Pam Tharp, Cumberland Road Elementary
Emily Tracy, Durbin Elementary
Maria Ging, Fall Creek Elementary
Marilyn Stewart, Fishers Elementary
Aimee Bastin, Geist Elementary
Laura Moos, Harrison Parkway Elementary
Andrew Foreman, Hoosier Road Elementary
Julie McKinney, Lantern Road Elementary
Donna Maple, New Britton Elementary
Heidi Rogers, Sand Creek Elementary
Mike Hufty, Fall Creek Intermediate
Julia Seville, Sand Creek Intermediate
Susan Torrence, Riverside School
Lori Trulock, HSE Junior High
Terri Thompson-Mejias, Fishers High School
Cathy Glick, HSE High School

In addition, the district honored ten retiring employees:
Beth Backus, HSE Junior High
Carolyn Brittsan, Hoosier Road Elementary
Pam Cutcliff, Riverside School
Martha Dafnos, Riverside School
Cindy Gemmer, HSE High School
Marjorie Kimes, Fishers Elementary
Donna Maple, New Britton Elementary
Carlabeth Mathias, Hoosier Road Elementary
Mary Ann Verkamp, HSE High School
Elaine Whitman, Hoosier Road Elementary

Simmons also received a $50 savings bond for being the winner of the contest, which was designed to emphasize safety. The bicycle helmet, which features a brick border in honor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was painted by Michael Jones of Rockstar Paint, who donated his time and supplies to recreate Simmons’ drawing.

(Photo by Nena Ray, director of the Indiana chapter of ThinkFirst, which is funded by the Indianapolis Neurosurgical Group through the Methodist Health Foundation)

• Fishers Rotary Club – Cale Allen, Kyle Jackson
• Riverview Memorial Foundation, Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm Bray Scholarship – Alexander Smith
• Central Indiana Community Foundation, Legacy Fund Community Scholarship  – Sara Lorenz, Sabrina Prodhan
• Central Indiana Community Foundation, Mexican Scholarship Fund – Rosa Xochitlatoa
• Cumberland Road Elementary Senior Scholarship – Sarah Kiel
• Fishers Freedom Festival, Ken Wright Memorial Scholarship – Emily Wang
• Fishers High School Alumni Association – Anna Bockelman
• Hamilton County Choral Club (Silvernotes) – Grace Morgan
• Fishers Chamber of Commerce – Alyson Donica, Andrea Selking
• Knights of Columbus, Carolyn Kirincich Memorial Scholarship – Adam Sopoci, Patrick Axon, Kayla Brooke, Jamie Cavanaugh, Jeffrey Gorgol
• Hamilton Memorial Scholarship – Michele Finger

Academy of Finance:

• USA Funds – Shannon Beatty
• USA Funds – Joey Christoff
• Deloitte LLP – Kyle Jackson
• Fishers Station Kiwanis Scholarship, Kent Riley Memorial Scholarship – Sabrina Prodhan, Kathryn Gonzalez
• Hamilton Southeastern Education Association – Sarah Kiel
• Fishers Sister Cities Association – Shannon Beatty
• HSE Schools Foundation Endowment Scholarship – Cale Allen, Ryan Harris, Megan Roof, Andrea Selking, Emily Thomas

HSE Schools Foundation Scholarships:

• Fishers Dental Alliance – Alexandra Doak
• Richard H. Crosser Memorial – Cale Allen, Ryan Harris
• Dr. Charles Leonard – Sarah Kiel
• FORUM Credit Union – Shannon Beatty
• The Bank of New York – Cale Allen
• Skillman Corporation – Michael Dunn
• City Securities Corporation – Andrea Selking
• Hamilton Southeastern Utilities – Zachary Wallace
• HSE Foundation, Dollars for Scholars – Gretchen Ahlers, Cale Allen, Alyssa Arnett, Alex Barrett, Anna Bockleman, Kayla Brooke, Alana Bruggner, Emily Case, Joey Christoff, Dayna Crawley, Brice Davis, Matt Dodds, Alyson Donica, Michael Dunn, Mohamed Dwairdori, Kristina Faudree, Jamie Fiddler, Rebecca Granger, Jessica Hagan, Ryan Harris, Bailey Hoberty, Mary Holihen, Katie Hoover, Sarah Kiel, Joel Kinsey, Brian Lahti, Felicia Lahti, Nate Ligon, John Long, Siri Lundberg, Taylor MacFarlane, Lanial Madden, Kelsey Millares, Katie Poisel, Emily Pritchett, Abbigail Randolph, Katie Reed, Zach Rogers, Megan Roof, Zach Rothhauser, Justin Schuessler, Andrea Selking, Ross Shafer, Alex Smith, Adam Sopoci, Stephanie Spichiger, Rachel Stone, Steven Sturgis, Laura Tease, Katelin Terpening, Emily Thomas, Sarah Thomas, Kelli Thornburg, Zach Wallace, Emily Wang, Courtney Weiler, Melanie Wicks, Lauren Wilderson, Stephanie Wohrle

• Fishers Tri-Kappa Scholarship – Cale Allen, Claire Kappes, Brian Lahti, Corey Rudell, Steven Sturgis
• Fishers High School Tigers S.T.R.I.P.E.S., Perfect Attendance Award – Steven Bergman, Ho Chi Cheng, Alexandra Doak, Kathryn Kleber, Hobey Tam, Kaitlyn Thompson, Emily Wang
• The Ball State Cardinal Quiz Bowl Scholarship – Coady Owens and Alex Barrett
• Hoosier Scholars – Emily Thomas, Emily Wang, Yuji Xie
• National Merit Scholars – Mary Holihen, Kurt Kellogg, Katherine Poisel, Emily Wang, Chris Womble, Yuji Xie
• Walton Family Foundation Scholarship – Hobey Tam
• Sam Walton Community Scholarship – Sara Lorenz

Department Awards:

• Agriculture – Jacklyn Barber
• Athletics – Patrick Newton, Stephanie Burtch, Zachary Wallace, Rudy Longman, Erik Johnson, Faisal Akbar, Kristen Kluempers, Mihai Iancu,              Sara Ling, Katherine Reed, Rebecca Granger
• Business – Nicholas Kapsalis
• English – Jacklyn Barber
• Journalism – Ross Shafer
• Math – Emily Wang
• Performing Arts – Coady Owens
• Physical Education – Joel Kinsey
• Science – Hobey Tam
• Social Studies – Benjamin Gurin
• Visual Arts – Sarah El-Rahaiby
• World Language – French, Anna Beagle; German, Christina Koenig; Spanish,  Emily Neitzel; Japanese, Sabrina Prodhan

Mattie Mitchel took it a step or two further. He had his father give him a “Mr. Beresford” haircut and created an ID badge with his principal’s photocopied image on it. Beresford, principal of Riverside since its opening two years ago, will be supervisor of student services at the Administration Center next year.

Dressed just like Mr. B., Riverside students gathered around their Principal Michael Beresford include Zack Witt, Kalab Gulley, Connor Sorrell, Zack Curtis, Katie Roberts, Nick Curtis, (Beresford), Mattie Mitchel, Maggie Morrissey (front), Chris Elliott (behind), Cari Vogt, Matt Butler and Luka Skudrzik.

“The children in our community are very important to us and with the success of Teen Academy, we are excited to work with the kids again this year.” said Chief George Kehl.

The purpose of the academy is to allow teens to better understand police officers and to strengthen the relationship between the police department and the community.  Officers will teach blocks of instruction on various topics such as emergency vehicle operations, building searches, drug investigations and domestic violence.  Students will have classroom instruction as well as practical “role play” training each day.

For more information or to enroll in the Teen Academy, contact Sergeant Ed Gebhart at the Fishers Police Department at 317-595-3372.

It is our goal to build on the relationships we have established in the community. The Citizens Academy will consist of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer. The Citizens Academy will give community members the opportunity to ask questions about law enforcement and other related activities. For enrollment information please contact Officer Jamie Alvis at alvisj@fishers.in.us , 595-3300 ext. 8132 or visit our website www.fishers.in.us/police  

On the basis of an essay, resume and application, she received a top-ten selection.  Fleming along with the other nine finalists took a written test and participated in an interview in November. She received a letter this week from the Indiana Department of Education naming her as one of the two state delegates. Last year, Justin Kingsolver received the honor.

The 46^th Annual US Senate Youth Program will be March 1-8, 2008. Among a long list of activities, attendees will hear major policy addresses by senators, cabinet members, officials of the Departments of State and Defense and directors of federal agencies, as well as meet with a U.S. Supreme Court justice.