The Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its 63^rd Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 25. In addition to a supervisor election and other business being conducted, a live auction will be held with the proceeds going to the Clark County Natural Resources Endowment Fund.
    The Clark County Natural Resources Endowment Fund through the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana supports the Marvin Wright Conservation Scholarship which is given annually to a student pursuing a degree in natural resources related field.
    Featured during the auction are two chain-saw carvings created by Jason Emmons of Bear Hollow Woodship in St. Croix, Indiana. Emmons is a member of the ECHO Carving Team sponsored by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment. The carvings of a bear and an eagle were carved in the SWCD Natural Resources Area during the 2006 Clark County 4-H Fair.
    The Soil & Water District is also seeking additional donations from local artists and businesses for this special event. Donations may be dropped off at the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District Office located at the Ag Service Building on the Clark County 4-H Fairgrounds at 9608 Highway 62 in Charlestown. To arrange for a donation to be picked up or for more information contact the SWCD at 256-2330, ext. 3.

    Greater Clark County Schools is now accepting nominations for the 2007 Teacher of the Year. One candidate is chosen annually to represent Greater Clark County as the WHAS-TV ExCEL Award Winner and the corporation’s candidate for the Indiana Teacher of the Year Program.
    As the ExCEL winner, teachers are given $1,000 to use in their classroom. The winner will be recognized at a ceremony at his/her school in April 2007 and will be invited to a black tie dinner in September. If chosen as the Indiana Teacher of the Year, the candidate will receive $1,000, a certificate, ring and admission to an awards banquet.
    These awards are given to recognize a teacher who exemplifies excellence through innovation, excitement and enthusiasm in teaching. Candidates should possess meaningful personal relationships with students, parents, colleagues and community members and should show a personal commitment to continued professional development. Candidates are required to have five years teaching experience with Greater Clark before being considered for the awards.
    The deadline for submitting a candidate as the Greater Clark County Schools Teacher of the Year is Friday, February 9, 2007. To nominate a teacher, please state the reasons you are nominating this individual in type-written form. Nomination letters should be between 200 and 500 words. Return the nomination form to: Greater Clark County Schools Administration Building; Attn: Erin Boisseau; 2112 Utica-Sellersburg Road; Jeffersonville, IN 47130.

    The holiday season means many different things to local citizens. It’s time for family, time for shopping and time for girls basketball.
    The 31^st Annual Charlestown Girls Holiday Tournament was held last Friday and Saturday night at Bill Dunn Sports Arena.
    The first night set the home-standing Pirates battling the Lady Generals of Clarksville. Charlestown had little trouble taking the 67-34 victory and right to advance to the championship game Saturday night. The second game of the first night of play pitted the Lady Pioneers of Providence and the Silver Creek Lady Dragons. The crowd got their money’s worth as the game was close throughout. After the final buzzer, the Lady Pioneers took the 42-34 win and right to face the Lady Pirates for the crown.
Charlestown- 67
Clarksville- 34
    The Lady Pirates started off hot as they went on a 10-0 run to begin the tournament. Charlestown senior Jennifer Carlisle started the scoring from the free throw line as she nailed both attempts. Teammate LaTonya Lloyd recorded the first bucket of the ballgame at the 7:24 mark.
    The Lady Pirates highlighted their outside shooting as Katie Jackson and Carlisle nailed back-to-back threes.
    Clarksville finally found the scoreboard at the 4:51 mark with a lay-up from junior Leah Page.
    The remainder of the quarter the teams traded baskets as the Lady Pirates held the 21-10 advantage after the first quarter of play.
    The second stanza started with a trey from Carlisle at the 6:44. Teammate Shelia Meredith hit a lay-up before Lindsey Davis nailed a triple for the 29-10 Charlestown advantage.
    Clarksville’s Alex Spainhour tallied all four of the Lady Generals’ points in the second quarter as Charlestown held the 42-14 commanding lead heading into the halftime break.
    The third quarter also belonged to the Lady Pirates as they outscored Clarksville 19-8. Charlestown’s Lloyd led the scorers in the stanza with six points.
    The final eight minutes of play saw Charlestown head coach Tony Hall give his starters a rest in preparation for the championship game. Clarksville took the quarter 12-6.
    Charlestown enjoyed the 67-34 victory.
Providence- 42
Silver Creek- 34
    Silver Creek began the scoring at the 7:13 mark with a triple from Amber McFarland. The Lady Dragons got back-to-back buckets from Caasi Robertson for the 7-0 lead.
    Providence pulled within a bucket with a mini-run of their own sparked from the free throw line by Amber Rogers.
    Silver Creek held the early advantage 12-10 at the end of the first quarter of play.
    The second quarter saw Silver Creek pull ahead by four heading into the break as Donna Ferree recorded four of the Lady Dragons’ eight points in the quarter.
    Silver Creek held the 20-16 advantage heading into the halftime break.
    The third stanza saw both teams trade free throws to begin the half. Silver Creek’s Robertson nailed the first jumper at the 6:41 mark to give the Lady Dragons the 23-17 advantage.
    Providence came storming back scoring nine unanswered points with two buckets from Rachel Fox on their way to the 42-34 victory.
Clarksville- 52
Silver Creek- 41
    Alex Spainhour nailed the first bucket of the ballgame at the 6:48 mark followed by Jessica Johnson also finding the scoreboard for Clarksville.
    Silver Creek’s Tiffany Haddon got in the scorebook with a jumper at the 3:46 mark.
    The teams traded baskets the remainder of the quarter as Clarksville held the 15-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
    The second stanza had Clarksville’s Desiree Powell nail a lay-up to extend the Lady General lead to nine, 17-8.
    Silver Creek’s Donna Ferree nailed a bucket at the 6:45 mark to spark an 11-0 Lady Dragon run. They took their first lead of the ballgame, 19-17 at the 4:03 mark.
    Clarksville’s Candice James knotted the game at 19 with a lay-up at the 3:48 mark.
    The teams battled to a 25-22 halftime score with Silver Creek enjoying a small lead.
    The teams traded baskets throughout the third period with Silver Creek holding the slight advantage, 37-36.
    The final eight minutes of saw the Lady Generals begin to click. Clarksville outscored Silver Creek 16-4 in the stanza.
    Silver Creek’s Erin Richmer recorded all four points in the quarter for the Lady Dragons.
    Clarksville took the 52-41 victory to place third in the annual tournament.
    "We’ve got so many inexperienced kids. We had 24 turnovers with the majority of them coming in the fourth quarter," stated first year Silver Creek head coach Ryan Apple. "I thought we played hard against Clarksville."
Charlestown- 43
Providence- 28
    The Lady Pioneers were looking for redemption of an earlier season loss to Charlestown. The Lady Pirates handed Providence a 59-36 loss in the Tip-Off Classic.
    Charlestown was looking to take their second tournament title in three years in front of the home crowd.
    Charlestown’s Katie Jackson scored nine of the Lady Pirates’ first 11 points as the jumped out with an 11-0 run.
    Providence finally scored at the 3:43 mark with a bucket from Natalie McDounough. She again found the bucket at the 1:03 mark.
    The Lady Pirates held the 15-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter of play.
    The second period saw Providence pull within four points on a trey by Megan Eve at the 7:48 mark. A bucket from Rachel Fox got the Lady Pioneer faithful on their feet.
    Charlestown’s LaTonya Lloyd hit a lay-up at the 6:32 mark to give the Lady Pirate faithful something to cheer about.
    The teams traded buckets the remainder of the half as the Lady Pirates held the 23-19 lead at the halftime break.
    The third quarter began with a Lloyd lay-up just seconds into the half. The Lady Pirates outscored Providence 9-3 with The Lady Pioneers’ only bucket coming with just 13 seconds remaining in the period. Whitney Thomas recorded the only bucket in the quarter for Providence.
    The Lady Pirates held the double-digit lead 32-22 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
    The final stanza proved to be Charlestown’s as they outscored the Lady Pioneers 11-6. The Lady Pirates hit 7-of-11 free throws to clinch the 43-28 victory and claim the 31^st Annual Charlestown Girls Holiday Tournament.
    "Providence played us tough. We were in too much of a hurry during the first half and our defense won us the game tonight," stated Lady Pirate head coach Tony Hall. "We did a lot better job in the second half."
    At the conclusion of the championship game the family of Butch Troutman, the late beloved coach of the Clarksville Lady Generals, were asked to meet at the scorer’s table. Billy Troutman, one of the late coach’s sons, presented the plaques to the Holiday Tournament Team.
    The Holiday Tournament Team included: Silver Creek’s Rachel Everage; Clarksville’s Jessica Johnson and Alex Spainhour; Providence’s Whitney Thomas and Elyse LaGarenne and Charlestown’s Katie Jackson and Lindsey Davis.
    The "Butch Troutman MVP Award" was awarded to Charlestown’s LaTonya Lloyd as Troutman’s family came together to honor the late coach and the MVP of the tournament.

     What is hiding in the collections room? This exhibit focuses on the diverse nature of the artifacts and specimens that are in the park’s collections. Many of the items have never been on display before! Exhibit cases show fossils, river mussels, Native American artifacts, historical artifacts as well as old photos, newspapers and books. Information is provided on what items they seek for the collections and why they don’t display everything that is donated.
   The exhibit, to be held now through March 18, is free with paid admission to the Interpretive Center.
   The Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission to the Interpretive Center is $4 for adults and $1 for children age 2 to 18 on Monday through Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children.