Charlestown Bicentennial 
Celebration to kick-off 
week long event on June 14

    The City of Charlestown’s Bicentennial Celebration is just around the corner, and this year’s festivities are going to be better than ever! They have planned a week of fun to celebrate Charlestown’s 200^th birthday.
    The kick-off of the week will be on June 14 with the 2^nd Annual Founder’s Day Dog Show and the first ever Square Dance.
    But that’s only the beginning.
    The fun roars through Saturday, June 28 with a full week of family activities including a parade, stick horse race and hula hoop contests, clowns, 5K walk/run, 3-on-3 basketball and new this year is a balloon glow and balloon race. But there’s more, amusement rides for the kids (and kids-at-heart), bargain hunting in the arts and crafts booths, great food and dancing. And as the light fades over Greenway Park Saturday night, they’re going to light it back up with a fantastic fireworks show, bringing the festival to a brilliant end.
    There’s going to be something for everyone. And with a projected attendance of over 30,000 people, that’s saying a lot.
    The Bicentennial kick-off event will be announced next week. The group has worked hard this year to bring the city a great festival. Now they would like local businesses to join in the festivities. Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall, committee chairperson Donna Coomer and committee co-chair Harold Goodlett invite all businesses to become a supporter of this wonderful community celebration. Whether a small business or a corporate organization the CBC welcomes your donation of any amount.
    All proceeds benefit the Charlestown Beautification Committee. The purpose of the committee is to improve the community’s pride and spirit through voluntary participation in civic actions that enhance the appearance of Charlestown’s public areas and provide family-oriented activities for the residents of the community. Their goal is to live in a community everyone can be proud of.
    You won’t want to miss this tremendous opportunity to show your support and the chance to foster goodwill with local patrons. If you have any questions, please call Donna Coomer at 256-7126. Don’t forget to visit the website at www.charlestownbicentennialcelebration.com.
    The next planning meetings are going to be held on March 11 and March 18 at the Charlestown Arts & Enrichment Center.

    The New Washington State Bank is pleased to announce that 2008 marks the 100th Anniversary of the bank. Bank officers and staff have planned a variety of events to commemorate this year-long celebration. "100^th Anniversary Luncheons" will be held on Saturdays at individual branches throughout the year. The schedule for the luncheons will coincide with the order in which each branch was opened. The bank will serve steak sandwiches with chips, drinks, and cake. The event will include activities for kids and a "Cash Booth" in which customers will have 10-15 seconds to catch as much cash as possible. At the end of the day, the customer who caught the most cash will receive a prize of $100. In addition, The New Washington State Bank is compiling a cookbook entitled 100 Recipes to Bank On, which will include recipes from current and former bank employees and customers.
    The cookbooks will be sold at the 100th Anniversary Luncheons and at bank branch locations. Proceeds will be donated to the Crusade for Children charitable foundation.
    The New Washington State Bank was founded in 1908 in New Washington, IN by a group of ten, prominent business leaders and farmers who felt that New Washington and surrounding farming communities needed a bank of their own.
    The founding fathers were: Sanford Peck, Thomas Ray Stevens, Henry F. Schawe, J.L. McGurdee, A.M. Fisher, J.C. Bower, N.H. Lenithecum, Albert R. Miles, F.N. Manaugh and Dr. R.S. Taggart.
    On March 6, 1908 the original branch opened on Main Street in downtown New Washington, at the site of today¹s New Washington Branch. The bank was charted under its original name, New Washington State Bank, with 250 shares of common stock and an initial capital of $25,000. An archaic law of the 1920¹s required that banks liquidate all their assets and close every 20 years. On March 2, 1928 the bank opened under a new charter and The was added to the name. Since that time, it has remained The New Washington State Bank. As a result of bank acquisitions and growth, The New Washington State Bank has increased its number of banking branch locations to nine. The branches were opened in the following order: New Washington, 1908; Henryville, 1940; Charlestown, 1994; Borden, 1996; Jeffersonville, 1996; Sellersburg, 1998;New Albany, 2001; Charlestown Drivethru branch, 2002; Scottsburg, 2007.
    The current Board of Directors of The New Washington State Bank is comprised of Betty Carver, Chairperson, Patrick Glotzbach, President, John Bowen, former President, Nelson Dietrich, former Chairman, Patrick Daily, Joseph Morgan, Carroll Steele, Max Zimmerman, and Kevin Wiggam.
    The New Washington State Bank mourns the recent passing of longtime Board Member Juanita Graves who died on February 11, 2008. Juanita was a longtime bank employee, held a position on the Board of Directors from 1983-2008, and was a member of the 100th Anniversary Planning Committee.

    Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall recently announced the settlement of several lawsuits that have been filed against the City of Charlestown.
    During a early February meeting of the Charlestown Board of Public Works the board voted to accept settlement agreements for the six lawsuits against the city.
    "We now have zero lawsuits against the city," Hall stated. "We have spent well over $250,000 in attorney fees to try to get out of paying at $240,000 contract."
    The contract Hall is referring to was the contract with KBJ Developers.
    According to Hall, the lawsuit with KBJ was settled as the city will pay the attorney fees for KBJ and they will go back to the original contract.
    Hall said the previous contract stated that KBJ received a $1,600 tap in fee each time someone tapped into the line built by the developing firm. The original contract had KBJ build the line and pumping station from their own resources. The firm would be reimbursed from the tap-in fees.
    "We also paid $400,000 on a pumping station that we did not need to avoid using the one built. So we have spent a total of over $600,000 to avoid the $240,000 contract," Hall said.
    Hall continued, "In my campaign I stated I would settle the lawsuit and apologize to KBJ for the treatment they received by the City of Charlestown."
    KBJ and the City of Charlestown have come to an agreement for Charlestown to pay attorney fees calculating to approximately $112,000.
    "For their side of it they will keep the original contract and from our side of it, we can make up for putting them through court," Hall explained. "I just want to welcome KBJ back to the city."
    Bob Bitner, co-owner of KBJ is just glad the situation is finally over.
    "Obviously I am relieved. The whole thing has given me a lot of emotions regarding it. I always felt we had a good relationship with the town," Bitner stated. "I can’t deny I have ill feelings but we will put this behind us. Hopefully this will be good for everybody. Truthfully I am now ready to just put this behind us and move forward."
    Bitner continued, "I believe the development has truly become an asset to the community. Our goal from the beginning was just to bring more people into Charlestown. They are building a new school and that will also draw more people. I’m just glad to put this behind us.
    He concluded about the settlement regarding the attorney fees.
    " We are not getting all of our attorney fees back from what we had put out," Bitner stated.
    According to Bitner, the firm would not receive all the attorney fees due to the different lawsuits. The firm will receive a large portion of the attorney fees they paid out but will not be reimbursed for the total amount.
    Hall continued, "There have been no winners in this situation. KBJ lost tens of thousands of dollars and the city lost tens of thousands of dollars. This has been a terrible experience for them and it has not proven good for the city."
    The Board of Public Works also voted to settle the lawsuit with the citizens of Lakeview/Highview.
    "The Lakeview/Highview suit has us paying their attorney fees also. We will spend $13,869 in legal fees to settle that suit. We would have easily spent that in six to eight months in fighting this if we wanted to continue to fight it," Hall said.
    "This has just sent the wrong message to anyone that wants to do business with the city. The agreement we were not happy with and they were not happy with it. The agreement was just the best for all involved," Hall continued.
    He concluded, "We have spent our first two and a half months re-changing priorities and restructuring the city and our expenses. These lawsuits were a big part of it also." 

    Preparedness.
    The word comes up often when discussing drills for tornado safety and fire safety. Students across the country can tell you step-by-step what they do in a tornado drill or fire drill while at school. Many also have come home and helped derive escape plans for a fire at home or have practiced for a tornado at home.
   Being prepared can always save a life. That is just what officers of several local police agencies had in mind over the weekend when they converged on Charlestown High School. Officers with the Sellersburg Police, Charlestown Police, Borden and Jeffersonville Police Departments, along with officers of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office came together at the high school for Active Shooter and Immediate Response Training.
   In a press release from Deputy Chief Donald Ross Jr. of the Sellersburg Police Department the training was explained.
   "After this course police officers from different local agencies will be able to deal with communication problems when responding to Active Shooters or Terrorist Threats in public settings and they will have the skills and tactics necessary to decisively end the violent encounters and minimize the loss of innocent human life," Ross stated in the release.
   The training brought together the local agencies who would work together in a real-world situation. During the training the officers were also looking at students of Charlestown High and Jeffersonville High Schools who became the role players of hostages for the training scenario. Also becoming role players for the scenario were members of the two schools’ faculty and staff.
   "We want to thank the students at Jeff and Charlestown and the faculty for helping in the training," stated Sgt. Darren Baker of the Charlestown Police Department. Baker was the officer who began to organize the local training. "We also want to thank the Administration at Charlestown High School for allowing us to use the building."
   When asked how the idea of training together came about Baker stated, "We just know that Active Shooter is a very important part of our lives now with the past history. Law enforcement is expected to go into schools now and rescue the students. When Columbine occurred officers did not enter the school and lives were lost because of it. The officers did not know at the time. Thanks to Columbine officers now are being trained differently."
   Baker continued, "We knew this was training we highly needed. All area officers would respond to an Active Shooter so we all need to be trained in the same tactics."
   Baker recalled a recent situation where a call was put out of a student being shot at the middle school.
   "At that time different agencies, Jeffersonville City, Clark County, State Police and Sellersburg would all have responded. We would have been all taught different tactics. Now with all the local agencies being taught the same tactics, we can go in and say, you from Sellersburg PD, County and State Officers, you all are on Team 1, you’re the Rescue Team. Each one of those officers, even though they are from different agencies would know what that means. We would not have to stop and explain what a Rescue Team does," Baker stated.
   Prior to this recent training, Baker said the Charlestown SWAT team trained in an Active Shooter scenario. Although they are trained, the SWAT team would most likely be the last officers to arrive at the scene.
   "We needed to get the patrol officers trained because they would usually be the first ones to arrive at the scene. The idea of this training was to get every officer in the area trained with the same tactics," he added. "Jeffersonville City and the Sheriff’s Department trained together last summer."
   The new administration at the Charlestown Police Department has given Baker the go ahead for training.
    The new administration’s number one priority is training. I am the SRT Commander and it is my job to get the training. I first talked with Cpl. Glenn Jackson and Lt. Chris Grimm of the Jeffersonville City Police. After talking with them I realized it’s not just Charlestown or Jeffersonville but Sellersburg, Borden, Utica, State Police, we all have to work together," Baker stated. "When every agency is trained in the same tactic we are all better off."
   Baker said the invitation for the free training was sent to every agency in Clark County.
   "I learned later that the Conservation Officers and the State Police are already trained in the tactics that we were taught within their agencies," Baker explained.
   The training the officers received was very intensive including the role players trying their best to play the role in the same way students and teachers would react in a real situation.
   "We trained with live fire simulation scenarios. It was very intensive training. The goal of this training is to have multi-agencies training together each year," Baker said. "The plan is next year to have the training at Jeffersonville High for a week-long session."
   According to Baker, Charlestown Police Chief Steve Dean is planning to send Baker and Officer Brion Gilbert to the Active Shooter Instructor School.
   "We plan to attend the NTOA (National Tactical Officers Association) Active Shooter Instructor School this summer," Baker added.
   Baker concluded by thanking the agencies for making the training a success.
   "I want to thank Jeff City for the training and Lt. Chris Grimm and Cpl. Glenn Jackson for the instruction and Chris Martin and Isaac Parker," he concluded.
   The feedback Sellersburg Police Chief Russ Whelan received from his officers after the training was very positive.
   "The feedback from the officers and what I seen, the training was excellent. It was very successful. The training accomplished what we wanted," Whelan said. "I am all about getting training for the guys and making it as stressful and real as possible."
   He continued, "If it happens, God forbid, the stress level and intensiveness would be extremely high. I think the training provided that to some degree. After talking to my officers I have not heard anything negative at all. The more training you receive, the better off you are."
   Whelan stated he plans to have the officers of the Sellersburg Police Department complete Active Shooter training annually.
   "The training is very important to the community and the kids, important to the well-being of the kids and the community. Nothing is more important than the safety of our kids. The training will be mandatory training for all of our officers. Everyone will be required to complete it," Whelan added.
   Whelan gave credit to his Deputy Chief, Donald Ross Jr., for the organization of the training at the Sellersburg Police Department.
   "When I was first contacted originally by Charlestown and asked if the department would be interested in the training, I basically told Donnie (Ross) to run with it. He did most of the leg work. With Donnie’s effort and Baker from Charlestown and the instructors from Jeff, we were all able to come together and have a very successful training session," Whelan concluded.
   The training was conducted by Lt. Chris Grimm and Cpl. Glenn Jackson of the Jeffersonville Police Department. The ‘shooters’ were played by Jeffersonville Officers Isaac Parker and Chris Martin.
   "This is the first time we actually used two decoys. Even with two decoys going it was hard to get them to their desired end spot for the scenario," Jackson said.
   The officers were trained in four scenarios including Rapid Deployment in Active Shooter.
   "Everything was the same as the training last summer at Jeff High, it was just different people in a different setting," Jackson said.
   He was quick to answer how he thought the training went, "I think they did very well. It was just like it was at Jeff. The first time is not usually their best run but then when they begin to understand, with each scenario it got better. The proof of that is our decoy trying to get to a particular spot for the end of that particular scenario. It was hard for them to get there because the teams were doing their jobs."
   When the training occurred at Jeffersonville High School last summer, the instructors discussed the scenarios with the role players, they did the same thing this time at Charlestown.
   "We again talked to our role players and told them what the officers did wrong and what they did right," Jackson explained.
   He added, "The reality of it is that we could make the scenarios go on for a long time and bring fresh officers in, but in training you are limited on that so you shrink the school down to get to the desired end."
   Jackson said he thought the officers being trained were surprised at how intensive the training actually was.
   "None of them understood what we were going to throw at them. A lot of them want it in an 8 hour day and you just can’t do that. The thing that really stood out to me was, every training I have ever attended, by the seventh or eighth hour the guys are saying ‘is this almost done?’, ‘is it time to go yet?’ In this training I have never heard not one officer say ‘is this almost over?’," Jackson explained. "So much of police training is not scenario based, they are not put inside the story. You watch a video and then have a speaker talk about what happened to them. They tell you what you should do in a certain situation."
   The Active Shooter Training also starts with a video. A video of a very different kind. The training starts with a video about Columbine.
   "We do show a video of Columbine. Then we tell how different it was then to now. Then we make then apply it in real scenario situations. The training is as intense simulation as you can make it but there is no way you can get what it would truly be like. We make it as close to the real life scenario as possible," Jackson concluded.
   Charlestown Chief Steve Dean wanted to thank those involved for making the training so successful.
   "I want to thank the Jeffersonville Police Department Officers for training us and thank Jeff Police Chief Timothy Deeringer for allowing his officers the time for training the other agencies," Dean said. "We had full cooperation from multi-agencies for this training and without the cooperation from the multi-agencies involved with the training it would not have been successful."