Correction — In the Feb. 2 edition of Current in Carmel, Noah Scholl was misidentified in a photo about the 10,000th dose of the COVID-19 vaccine being given at IU Health North Hospital. Scholl was depicted on the right.
Traffic Stop Dashboard — The Carmel Police Dept. has launched a Traffic Stop Dashboard to share statistics on traffic stops made by CPD officers. Users can filter the information by type of stop, driver race, driver ethnicity, driver gender, driver age range and violation type. The dashboard will be updated monthly. View the dashboard at carmel.in.gov/government/departments-services/police/research-reports-demographics.
Battery suspect — The Carmel Police Dept. is seeking assistance in locating a person allegedly involved in a battery that occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at Lowe’s, 14598 Lowe’s Way. After the incident, the suspect was seen leaving the scene in a vehicle described as a silver Infiniti SUV. Anyone with information is asked to contact CPD at 317-571-2500 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
Flower sale — Carmel Elementary will kick off its annual flower sale March 5 to support the school’s PTO. The sale will include a variety of flowers and plants from potted annuals to hanging baskets. Order flowers through March 22 at carmelflowersale.com.
Virtual judges needed — The Indiana Historical Society is looking for volunteers to serve as virtual judges for the 2021 National History Day in Indiana contests. NHDI is a yearlong program dedicated to enhancing history education in Indiana’s schools. Students in grades four through 12 explore a historical subject that fits under the annual theme. This year’s theme is “Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.” No experience is necessary to serve as a judge, but judges must attend a webinar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 25. Register for the webinar at indianahistory.org. The volunteer time commitment is approximately six hours.
Humane Society releases 2020 numbers – The Humane Society for Hamilton County recently released its numbers for 2020. The HSHC had an intake of 3,223 cats and dogs during 2020 and 2,181 of those animals were adopted. The HSHC team reunited 445 lost pets with their families, and the HSHC received 574 animals from other Indiana shelters. The HSHC’s Survivor Program funds lifesaving and emergency medical care to animals in need, and in 2020, it provided services for 1,440 animals. Canines spent 174 days in training with Paws & Play and PetSuites. For more, visit hamiltonhumane.com.
Governor’s Fellowship — Applications are being accepted through March 15 for the 2021-22 Governor’s Fellowship, which provides places fellows in various state agencies on a rotating basis throughout the year. The program is open to college graduates who receive their bachelor’s degrees beginning in the fall of 2019 through the spring of 2021. Fellows are paid, full-time employees who participate in the day-to-day activities of state government. Apply by March 15 at in.gov/gov/governors-office/governors-fellowship-program.
TIF survey — The City of Carmel is conducting a 15-minute survey that asks community members if they believe using TIF to finance projects — such as the Palladium and Midtown Plaza — have produced a good return on investment. It also seeks to understand how well the Carmel community understands the financing mechanism. Participation in the survey is voluntary, and individual responses will be kept confidential. Take the survey at carmeldataplatform.com/survey.
Graduate school scholarships — The Beryl Showers Holland Fellowship will offer a $3,000 first place and $2,000 second place scholarship to graduating seniors at Indiana University who will attend graduate school in the fall. Learn more and apply at trikappa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BSH-Application-2021-Packet-FF-2.pdf.
Kindergarten registration — Carmel Clay Schools’ kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 school year is open. Students must be at least five years old by Aug. 1 to start kindergarten in August. When registering children, parents/guardians will need an official birth certificate (not a hospital record) and proof of residency. Registration is encouraged to be complete by March 5. Learn more and register at ccs.k12.in.us.
New state troopers — Hamilton County residents Benjamin Beyler and Erin Fillenwarth are among 36 probationary troopers who graduated from the 80th Indiana State Police Academy on Dec. 19, 2020. Beyler and Fillenwarth are assigned to the Indiana State Police Post in Indianapolis. The probationary troopers will undergo a three-month field training period riding with veteran troopers.
Free math, science homework help — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s free AskRose homework helpline is available to help middle and high school students get a head start on understanding their math and science homework problems through a simple phone call, email or chat session. Rose-Hulman students are available Sunday through Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. during the school year to help youth in grades 6 through 12 review math and science concepts. Connections can be made at 877-275-7673 or AskRose.org.
Real estate stats — Carmel’s residential real estate market continued to see steady growth to start to the new year. According to F.C. Tucker Company, Carmel homes saw an average sale price increase of 12.1 percent in January 2021, to $488,772, compared to January 2020. The average price per square foot for a home in Carmel also increased, up 6.1 percent to $173.78. However, homes left the market more slowly, spending an average of 14 more days on the market than this time last year.
Smart College Selection hire — Stephanie Aikins has joined the Smart College Selection team, where she will be responsible for working with high school students to help them identify their strengths, build strategic college lists and fill out compelling applications. Aikins has 15 years of experience as a guidance and college counselor and has previously worked at International School of Indiana and Carmel and Greenwood high schools.
State Bank honored — State Bank is Indiana’s Small-Business Lender of the Year for 2020. The award was made by Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation and is for loans made by State Bank to small-business owners using the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program. Ryan Murphy and Kevin Hall were State Bank’s officials making the loans. The Lender of the Year Award is made to the Indiana bank that makes the highest dollar volume of SBA 504 loans with Indiana Statewide CDC as a percentage of the bank’s total deposits.
Pierce Aerospace lands Air Force contract — Carmel-based Pierce Aerospace and the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing was awarded an Agility Prime contract from the U.S. Air Force for “Decentralized Remote ID for Air Vehicles: Optimization of Low Latency, Scalable Data Networks Via Emulation, Modeling, and Simulation.” This award comes on the heels of Pierce Aerospace’s recent advances with Flight Portal ID, a Remote ID and Combat ID technology suite. In addition, Pierce Aerospace recently received a matching grant through Indiana’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program.
Realtor makes Hall of Fame — Shell Barger, a Realtor at RE/MAX Ability Plus in Carmel, was named to the RE/MAX Hall of Fame in December 2020. The honor is given to agents who earn at least $1 million in commissions during their RE/MAX career. Only 34 RE/MAX agents earned the honor in 2020.
Construction scholarship — Old Town Design Group has established the Orchard Project Scholarship to provide tuition assistance to a Hamilton, Boone or Johnson County student preparing for a career in the construction industry. Applications are being accepted through March 19. For more information or to request an application, email [email protected].
New hire at MJ — Carmel-based MJ Insurance has added industry veteran Leea Ashfeld-Schwarz to its benefits consulting team, where she will serve as an employee benefits client executive. In her new role, Ashfeld-Schwarz will work to develop and execute the most cost-effective and strategic benefits options for both new and existing clients. She will lead and support the internal team to ensure the timely delivery of each segment of MJ’s value proposition.
Synergize blood drive — Synergize will host a blood drive from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in Carmel as part of an effort to donate 200 units of blood in 2021. Additional drives are scheduled for May 25, Sept. 28 and Dec. 14. The drives coincide with four of the group’s 12 annual 4:30 Meetup events. Sign up to donate blood at donate.indiana.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/146137. Learn more about Synergize at SynergizeIndy.com.
