The Clark County 4-H Corporation will be sponsoring their 6^th annual consignment auction at the Clark County 4-H fairgrounds on Saturday, March 8 starting at 9 a.m.
    They will be selling farm and industrial equipment. 
    To consign an item or for more information please contact Diane Graf at 248-0712, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
    Deadline for listing items in the sale advertisement is Wednesday, February 20.
    Please consider participating in this auction as this is Clark County 4-H’s largest fundraiser.

    The Charlestown Senior Citizen, Inc. will host their monthly luncheon meeting on Thursday, February 7 at the Arts and Enrichment Center.
    Blood pressure and blood sugar checks will be available from 10 to 11 a.m.
    The pitch-in lunch will begin at 11 a.m. Roast beef, turkey and baked seasoned potatoes along with drinks will be provided. Please bring a vegetable dish, salad or dessert.
    The speaker for the meeting will be Bonnie Wise, Charlestown Historian with "What’s Up in 1808-2008 Fashion?" What are you wearing to the Charlestown Bicentennial Celebration?

    Three Charlestown High School Wrestlers are preparing for Semi-State this Saturday. Eddie Duran, Aaron May and Jeff Stotridge will compete at the Semi-State level at Roberts Arena in Evansville at 10 a.m.
    According to Coach Tom Kendrick, Duran and May are also Regional winners.
    "This is the first time we have had two Regional winners since 1990," Kendrick explained.
    Duran took the Regional title by defeating David Bates of Pike Central 3-1 in overtime. Duran won in the 119 pound division.
    May won 5-3, also in overtime, over Brad Kramer of Southridge. May won in the 135 pound division.
    Teammate Jeff Stotridge, wrestling in the 125 pound division, was runner-up at the Regional competition which also qualifies him for the Semi-State.

    Officials in the City of Charlestown including newly elected Mayor Bob Hall, City Council President Jeff Aaron, Chief of Police Steve Dean and Assistant Chief Keith McDonald met last Friday afternoon to announce plans for a new city wide program.
   The new program is a city wide Block Watch that all officials are very excited about the implementation of the program.
   "I am very excited about this. This is a new and exciting idea for Charlestown," Hall stated.
   Dean added, "We are excited as well. This is going to be a great program."
   The program will be successful as many will come together and work as a team to provide a safety zone for families.
   The Block Watch Program will be divided into districts that will correspond to the Councilmen’s districts. The Charlestown City Councilmen will be the Coordinators of the program in their district.
   "We are asking the Councilmen to be the coordinators. We envision 50 to 60 people actively involved. With those 50 to 60 people we will contact each of the homes in the city. We are going to develop a window decal to identify the homes that are participating in the Block Watch Program," Hall explained.
   According to Hall, it will be relatively easy to become involved in the program. The first step will be a city wide informational meeting.
   The initial meeting will be held on Saturday, February 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Arts & Enrichment Building located at 999 Water Street in Charlestown.
   The police department will also have a major role in the new program. A role that citizens may even be able to fill.
   "On the police department end, our intentions are to expand the Reserve Officer Division," McDonald stated. "We want to primarily involve them with the Block Watch Program. We will basically assign several to different districts for saturation patrols. Saturation patrols will include everything from, obviously car patrol, to bike patrol to foot patrol."
   Now the police department needs to add Reserves to their Reserve Division. Chief Dean and Assistant Chief McDonald are now calling for anyone interested in becoming a Reserve to take the step.
   "We are now calling for Reserves. They go through the same screening process as full-time officers. We would like to have a Reserve Force of 25 to 30 Reserves," Hall stated. "We now have eight Reserves. As the program builds we envision, during warm months, foot patrols in neighborhoods plus full-time officers patrolling."
   Hall continued, "We are looking for Reserve officers in the area they live in. We want those who are good upstanding people who want to go through the program. It would be great to get as many as we can. We want those who want to be a part of our community policing."
   Dean added, "I want to encourage personal contact with each of the officers on this patrol. The police department is excited to be a part of and work hand-in-hand and side by side with the Councilmen and Mayor’s Office and community."
   Aaron is also excited about the implementation of the program.
   "It’s a great thing for the whole community. Anytime you can protect neighbors and friends with an extra set of eyes, it’s a great thing. I’m personally very excited about it," Aaron explained. "I think this will be a great partnership. I know in my district I have already had people call me."
   Each of the officials are working toward the feeling of safety and hometown pride that they hope this program will bring to the citizens of Charlestown.
   "We are trying to get the gated community feeling," Hall explained.
   Dean agreed, "We are making Charlestown a place to come home to. Everybody wants Charlestown to be a safe place to come and raise your family."
   Dean further explained one of the top priorities of the police department, drugs.
   "Drug enforcement is our top priority. We are going to use all of our resources we have. I don’t want citizens to be afraid to walk up to a police officer and talk to them. We are taking great strides to make the department more friendly. We are taking the tint off the windows. I have told them to talk to the people when they see them," Dean stated.
   McDonald, Dean and Hall know the plan they have for the city cannot be successful without the help of the citizens.
   "We realize as a police department we can’t do it by ourselves. We know the more eyes and ears the better," McDonald stated. "We don’t want to put ourselves on an island. We want to be shoulder to shoulder with those we serve."
   Hall added, "Together we can do this. We’re looking at the big stuff. We want them to feel safe and that they can let their children go out and play and know they will be safe. If the residents see these guys (as he nodded to McDonald and Hall), doing their job, then the residents will do their job and help and they will know we have a unique community."
   Hall concluded, "Especially the Reserve Force, they will be friends of the community. We believe if we do this right, we can be a model for other communities."
   For more information regarding the Block Watch Program please call the Mayor’s Office at 256-3422 or e-mail- ctownblockwatch@cityofcharlestown.com.