An omnibus spending bill enacted by Congress and signed by the President on December 26 placed a national moratorium on consolidating Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices until September 30. The issue will be on hold until that date, or sooner if it is addressed by Congress in the current formulation of the new farm bill.
    The Clark County FSA Office was scheduled to be consolidated with the Scott County FSA Office after March 15. Some Clark County land owners had contacted the Clark County FSA Office to request that their farm records be transferred to an alternative neighboring county office rather than Scott County. These farm record transfers would not have occurred until March 15, therefore they are on hold as well. The requests will be maintained at the FSA Office until the matter is addressed in future legislation.
    Clark County farm operators or owners with questions may contact the Clark County FSA Office at 256-2330, ext. 2.

    High school juniors have a chance to join other Indiana youth on a trip of a lifetime. Applications are now available for the 2008 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. Indiana’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives have hosted the Youth Tour since 1960, providing hundreds of young Hoosiers the opportunity to visit the nation’s capital and learn about the federal government and the cooperative utility industry. The trip begins on June 12 in Indianapolis and ends June 19.
    According to David A. Vince, GM/CEO of Clark County REMC, the Indiana delegation will be approximately 60 students from throughout the state, each selected by a local Touchstone Energy cooperative. In 2007, nearly 1,500 students from around the county were in Washington for the conference.
    "Clark County REMC is pleased to be able to provide this opportunity for local students," Vince said. "It’s a great trip and a wonderful chance to see the sights, make new friends and learn how everyone, even young people, can make a difference in the political process."
    The Indiana delegation will meet in Indianapolis on Thursday, June 12 to get acquainted and learn about the Indiana legislative process. The students will depart early on Friday and spend their first evening in Gettysburg, PA. On Saturday they will tour the Gettysburg National Battlefield, spend the afternoon in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and arrive in Washington, D.C. that evening. Sunday through Wednesday is a full schedule of sight-seeing, speakers, visits to the National Memorials, a collection of museums and a night cruise on the Potomac River.
    Students will participate in a Monday morning "Youth Tour Rally" where they will share their thoughts and opinions on a variety of timely issues. This will prepare them for a busy Tuesday on Capitol Hill, when Indiana’s students will visit with representatives of Indiana’s Congressional delegation. The week will end on a high note with the "All-States Dinner Dance" at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
    For more information about the 2008 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., or to receive an application, contact Cindy Hockensmith at 246-3316 and visit their website www.theremc.com or Indiana’s electric cooperative website at www.indremcs.org. in the section entitled "Youth Tour."

    As the Charlestown Beautification Committee organizes the schedule of events for the city’s 200^th Birthday Celebration to include eight days of festivities and activities for the community and guests, it is becoming apparent the huge "Birthday Bash" will require many more helping hands from the citizenry to succeed.
    The celebration of Charlestown’s 200^th Birthday, from June 21 through June 28 this year will still feature the traditional Founder’s Day festivities including the 5K race, talent show, prince, princess and queen pageant, talent show, amusement rides and booths in the park, parade and fireworks, to name just a few, but the CBC wants to sponsor a Bicentennial Festival that will offer the community memorable events and activities to enjoy every day for a full week.
    Many new ideas have been considered, and many exciting features have been added, including a street dance, kick-off luncheon, fine arts and photography exhibit/awards contest, a fashion show/tea, old-fashioned picnic/ice cream social, storytelling, tour of homes and gardens, "Open Doors/Open Hearts" quilt, the building of an authentic log cabin for displays of historic memorabilia and photos, helicopter rides, antique auto show, balloon glow, etc. Such a celebration will require input and organization from many more citizens and businesses of the community, the members of the CBC are making an appeal to all interested persons to attend a City-Wide Meeting at 6:30 p.m. on January 31 at the Arts and Enrichment Center, Water Street, to join in participating in these events.
    Many additions to the festival will require people to ‘chair’ the different committees, and help at the event to make each successful. Donna Coomer, Co-Chair of the Charlestown Beautification Committee, has a lit of the events they want to provide and many people have joined in to serve as a chairperson or a team volunteer on several committees, but they will need at least 10 new volunteers to serve on several new committees for the Bicentennial. The CBC welcomes all volunteers to attend this important event organizational meeting on January 31 or call 256-7126 to share ideas and volunteer to help. Each business of Charlestown is asked to send one representative from your company to this City Wide Meeting and find out how to participate and be a helping hand in this huge birthday celebration.
    Save the Date and Mark Your Calendars for the spectacular Bicentennial celebration, June 21-28, 008 and attend this very important organizational meeting to guarantee they will be able to provide more activities.
    The CBC thanks the many wonderful community individual and corporate sponsors who have already stepped up to participate in the Bicentennial party plan, they need more volunteers to support them in organizing and serving to make it fun for everyone.
    One CBC member stated, "We want to provide a memorable event that our children and grandchildren will remember all their lives, and there won’t be another bicentennial party in their lifetime! Please step up and volunteer, that is the only way we can make it happen."
    Watch The Leader for the future plans as they develop, they will have t-shirts, bonnets, beautiful garden stepping stones and other nice items available for sale soon to raise funds for the special events.
    Contact the Charlestown Beautification Committee at 256-7126 to volunteer if you can not attend the city wide meeting.