The Charlestown Volunteer Fire Department will host a fish fry on Saturday, September 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Station 1 on Park Street in Charlestown.
    The department will offer a fish dinner including a fish sandwich, fries, slaw and a drink or a brat dinner to include a brat, fries, slaw and drink. Free delivery will be offered to local businesses by calling 256-4790.
    All dinners are $5 with 100 percent of the proceeds to benefit the WHAS Crusade for Children.
    Door prizes will be given away every half hour beginning at 1 p.m.

    The North Clark Outreach Center has received the first Honorary Membership issued by the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce. Honorary membership is reserved for special organizations making a unique contribution to the community, and was awarded to North Clark Outreach for their tireless service to those in need. Honorary Membership in the Charlestown Chamber grants non-voting membership status at no cost to the organization receiving the honor. The Honorary Membership will be awarded at the next Chamber meeting on September 21 at the Wilson Education Center.
    Ruthie Jackson, a representative of the Outreach Center, said, "We are so pleased to be honored in this way. The Chamber is an important part of our community and it is nice to be able to work with them. We have never joined because our limited resources are better applied to the needs of the community."
    Barbara Gallegos, Charlestown Chamber President, said, "The Outreach Center does very important work providing for those in the community in times of need. They help our community be a better place to live and work. We appreciate so very much all that they are doing."
    Jackson addressed the Chamber at the April meeting and provided information on the programs operated by the Outreach Center. The Outreach Center provides temporary assistance with food, clothing, utility bills and medication. It is located at 240 Harrison Street in Charlestown. The Charlestown Chamber (www.charlestown-in.com) meets quarterly in March, June, September and December.

    The K-9 teams from local police departments have been training together for several, several months.
    The teams are often found training at the Law Enforcement Training Center located on Highway 62 and have even developed a core group who continually train together.
    The local teams traveled a little farther last week as they traveled up Interstate 65. The teams had a little different mission as they were traveling to help train National Guard Reserve soldiers at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville in Jennings County.
    Local teams participating in the training of the soldiers included: Sellersburg’s Matt Crump and K-9 Vader, Charlestown’s John Cheney and K-9 Max, Jeffersonville’s Glen Jackson and K-9 Bak, Denver Levertt and K-9 Dutch and Darren Vaughn and K-9 Hawk, Clarksville’s Tim Beyerle and K-9 Vudy and Clark County Sheriff’s Mark Meyer and K-9 Cali. Other K-9 teams participating included one from the Aurora Police Department, two from Seymour Police Department, one from the Rising Sun Police Department, one from Davies County Police and one from the Lawrenceburg Police Department for a total of 12 teams.
    The teams were part of the dog training that took place at Muscatatuck late last week. The police K-9 training was held last Thursday and Friday at the 1,000 acre training center.
    The local K-9 teams participation in the training developed after a phone call from the military to the Seymour Police Department.
    "They called Seymour and they contacted me, they are part of our core group," stated Cpl. Glen Jackson of the Jeffersonville Police Department. "They suggested we get the whole K-9 group together. Ian called the Master Sergeant and I called her about a month and a half ago. We then e-mailed back and forth from there."
    Jackson traveled to Muscatatuck a week prior to the training to finalize the details of what the military wanted.
    The military needed their soldiers to be trained in the same way and see the same things they will see when they are deployed to Kosovo.
    Captain Shawn Gralinski was the officer in charge of the training.
    "Our big focus is to train, mobilize and equip soldiers with realistic training for what they will experience in theater," Gralinski stated.
    He continued by explaining the term theater and theater immersion– "theater is basically any military operation held outside the United States, our process called theater immersion is train as you fight. It’s tough, realistic training that is exactly what you see in the combat zone."
    The soldiers were exposed to six days of dog training. Two days of humanitarian dogs, two days of police dogs and two days of military dogs.
    Gralinski wanted to see the teams introducing dogs to soldiers who will be working with them in the combat zone. A lot of the soldiers did not have any experience with dogs prior to the six days of training they received at Muscatatuck.
    "The police K–9, the law enforcement use of working dogs will be helpful because of the task the soldiers will be performing in combat theater. I want the K-9 to teach general conduct around the animals, the right way to approach and the right way to act," Gralinski stated. "Some of these soldiers have never been exposed to this. The K-9 guys are used to working with them. That will help with the mission."
    The K-9 teams participating in the training of the soldiers was a win-win situation according to Gralinski.
    "The good thing is that it benefits us but it also benefits the police departments. I know they have certain criteria they have to meet to keep the dogs proficient. Setting this up, we also wanted to know what we could do to help them. It is a win-win situation," he added.
    The soldiers who were being trained by the K-9 were in the process of a three week training period. A total of approximately 200 soldiers were training with the K-9 teams with Col. Franscio Neuman leading the way.
    Col. Neuman is with the Puerto Rican National Guard. He has "been everywhere" including the Persian Gulf in 1991 and Haiti in 1994 and even New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
    He is ready to be deployed again and was learning the process of K-9 on Thursday and Friday.
    "I have some guys that have been over six times. Some missions are six months or 10 months others can be 12 to 14 or even 18 months," he stated.
    Neuman explained the difference of a National Guard soldier and a active soldier.
    "The family likes this. They really support it. A National Guard soldier is different than an active soldier. You cannot compare the two. We get to do this every few months. National Guard have better experience. The world changes."
    Neuman expects to be using his experiences for traffic investigation, searches and traffic control and to provide law and order when he and his unit are deployed.
    Neuman will be deployed with 150 soldiers with 44 of those being from the Puerto Rico National Guard.
    When Neuman is not leading soldiers on a mission he works for American International Group.
    "In the civilian world I work for AIG," he concluded.
    Neuman and his soldiers are gaining valuable experience while training at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
    "We want them to train just like they fight," stated Sgt. Tommi Meyer. "They should go into similar environments they will be working in. The troops that are sent to Camp Atterbury have role player training. It is excellent."
    According to Gralinski the soldiers preparing at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center will have three to five dog teams when they arrive in Kosovo.
    "We want this to be of real training value, not just entertainment value," he added.
    Gralinski concluded, "Properly being trained is good. It’s just the right thing to do."
    Each of the local officers felt it was important to participate in the training of the soldiers.
    "It is important to teach the fundamentals of dogs. For most of them it will be their first time handling dogs over there. It was a chance for me to give them something back for what they are giving to us," Sellersburg’s Matt Crump stated.
    Before traveling to the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center Crump said he was just hoping to learn a little more about what the soldiers are accomplishing.
    "I was hoping to learn how the military is handling things over there. All we know is what we read in newspapers. I wanted to connect with them and learn a little of what is going on," Crump added.
    He concluded, "I feel we left the troops with a positive image of what we’re doing here while they are overseas protecting our country."
    Clarksville’s Tim Beyerle was still excited about his experience at Muscatatuck on Saturday night after a public K-9 demonstration during the Sellersburg Celebrates! festival.
    "I had a great time, anytime you can deal with the military, they are why we have our freedom. I’m from a military family," Beyerle stated. "We all had a blast. I would love to go back. It was a great honor for me."
    Jackson tends to lead the local K-9 group and during demonstrations is appointed to explain the tactics to the gathered crowd. He is the instructor training the local K-9 teams when they train together.
    "That was really different. We are used to doing crowds like this (the Sellersburg Celebrates! K-9 demonstration) and schools. We don’t usually do a lot with adults," Jackson stated. "They (soldiers) asked good questions. They participated. It is very rare for us to have crowd participation."
    Jackson explained what the military wanted out of the mission.
    "The mission that the Captain wanted was to educate with what we could being civilian police. They wanted two days of a lot of fun. According to them, they had gone through a lot of extensive training. They needed a nice little break. I think we gave them that," Jackson explained. "We all had a ball. I had a blast!"
    Jackson said he had talked to the guys in the core group and all are ready to go back.
    "We will take the dogs back up for training. They left that open for us. I would like to work in that environment again," Jackson concluded.
    Charlestown’s Cheney was honored to be a part of the soldier training.
    "Personally I wanted to give back to them. The troops go over and give their lives to protect our freedom and luxuries. I wanted to do it to show my appreciation and gratitude," Cheney stated. "It was a great honor for me to try to put a smile on their faces and in my opinion that is the least I could do."
    Cheney’s K-9 partner Max earned a special recognition during the two day training.
    On Thursday Max was working with Sgt. 1^st Class Douglas Taylor.
    Max stopped Taylor by showing him what Max is capable of doing. He had no problem allowing Taylor to put a few grass stains of his own on the bulky tan bite suit.
    "On Friday, Sgt. 1^st Class Taylor came up to me and handed me a Special Forces patch. I asked him what that was for. He told me it was for Max and that he deserved it. He said he deserved it because he had taken out a Special Forces guy," Cheney added with a laugh. "He told me to be sure and put the patch in Max’s file."
    Cheney said the teams were aware of what the military wanted from them due to Jackson visiting prior to the training.
    "We had an idea of what buildings they had and we were able to show our basic venues of agility and dope. We were able to pick out the dogs that are the best," Cheney stated. "We got the time tables of the rotating groups, basic plans and basic demos. The whole goal was to put on the best and biggest show for the guys."
    Cheney added, "The soldiers were at our disposal. We were able to be personal and talk to them and make it more personal. We wanted to make it the best two days for them. That way when they are in a tough spot they can remember that."
    Cheney said he had mixed emotions on his trip home from the training center.
    "I felt really good. I enjoyed hanging with the soldiers for two days. I was excited about what we did," he stated. "Then I was a bit down. Those guys were great. Some of those guys may not be coming home. They are a great group of guys. That gave me some mixed emotions. I felt really great about what we did and I wish we could be there everyday. I really had a good time."
    Cheney concluded, "It was something we all wanted to do and want to do again. It was awesome and it was awesome people."
    Donald Ross Jr., the Deputy Chief of the Sellersburg Police Department, knew it was important to allow their K-9 team to participate in the training.
    "Matt came to the Chief and I and asked to go to the training. Chief made some schedule changes and made it happen for him," Ross explained.
    Sellersburg Chief Russ Whelan did not expect any less of Crump than he does after any of Crump’s K-9 training.
    "We always expect that any of our guys carry over to the field what they learn at training. Matt has shown he’s that kind of officer. He brings drive with his ability and that combination has always created success," Whelan stated.
    Ross attended part of the training at Muscatatuck on Thursday. He was very impressed with what he saw.
    "I was looking forward to seeing what the K-9 officers from Clark County were going to be doing. I didn’t expect them to be training with part of the Puerto Rican National Guard for a mission. That sure was an honor for these guys."
    Ross continued, "I visited during the first day and everyone at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center was very hospitable, especially Sgt. Tommi Meyer. She was very helpful in answering all of our questions."
    The Muscatatuck Urban Training Center was turned over to the Indiana National Guard last year. Those training or using the center have access to the 180-acre reservoir and the 68 buildings including a school, hospital, dormitories and a dining facility, to name just a few of the types of buildings located on the 1,000 acres.
    According to Meyer, in the first year of operation the training center was used by over 16,000 people from military, government, private agencies and even a girls basketball team who held a basketball camp at the facility.
    Ross concluded by discussing the facility at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
    "They have a great facility and I will be getting with the other law enforcement administrators to let them know what the 1^st Army has available for us," Ross concluded.

    Many young children dream of things they want to do when they grow up. Some want to become doctors and lawyers or firefighters or professional baseball players or even police officers. As children grow up their desires sometimes change and their career paths may not lead them to fulfill their childhood dreams.
   Charlestown Police Department Sgt. Darren Baker was like any other young kid. He had dreams and knew from a very early age what he wanted to do.
   "Ever since I was a little kid," Baker stated as he put his hand just a few feet from the floor to help visualize the small size of a child, " I wanted to become a police officer or a professional baseball player. You see where I am," he stated.
   Baker was hired as a Reserve for the Charlestown Police Department in 1993. He was hired as a full-time officer in 1998 before graduating from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in March of 1999.
   He first gained the opportunity to become a Reserve while attending Ivy Tech State College after graduating from Providence High School in 1990.
   "I met Fisher (Kevin) while I was at Ivy Tech," Baker added. "He helped me get on the Reserves. Then it just went on from there."
   Baker attained credit hours in his major of Law Enforcement before meeting the late Fisher.
   Once he was part of the Charlestown Police family Baker felt he had accomplished part of his childhood dream. He was wearing a police officer’s uniform. Then the opportunity came to fulfill the other childhood dream, SWAT.
   "I was always fascinated with special weapons and tactical training," Baker stated. " I always wanted to get into SWAT but I never thought it would happen, it was Charlestown."
   Baker was satisfied with being a police officer but when he heard talk of the department developing an SRT (Special Response Team), he was ready to join the team.
   "When I heard it (SRT) was going to happen, I was pretty excited," Baker said. "I became a police officer to help people and the SRT is just another way to help people and get the bad guys off the streets."
   Unlike many fellow officers, Baker did not have anyone influencing him to wear the uniform. His story is just the opposite.
   "I did not have anybody influence me to become a police officer, probably it was more like influencing me not to become one," Baker laughed. "I don’t have any officers in the family, I guess I am the first. My mom especially did not want me to be a policeman and then especially did not want me to do SWAT."
   Baker was quick to answer the question of why he thought the SRT was important to the police department and the citizens of Charlestown.
   "I don’t know the percentages, I’d say at least around 80 percent of the Clark County SWAT call-outs were in the City of Charlestown. We have a major drug problem, the SRT is just another tool. I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it."
   He continued, "We have been called out four times. It has been 10 to 15 minutes for all of the team to get here," Baker explained. "Before it could be an hour before county or state could get here. Plus we know the area, we work it everyday and that helps."
   The members of the Charlestown SRT train twice a month for a total of eight hours of additional training per month.
   The team trains for entering homes for search warrants "out on the ridge", according to Baker, and also trains in the middle school and high school.
   "We have been in the middle school twice and this (the team held training on Sunday) will be the second time at the high school," Baker added. "Our goal is to train in all the schools. We have also trained in D.A."
   Baker said the continued training helps the team become familiar with the layout of the buildings including the schools and factories where they may be needed.
   "Since the training we know where all the hallways lead and where the steps go," Baker explained. "I have kids so I know the schools, but for the guys that don’t have kids, it is really good. They gain that during the training. Every training we have learned something new. We continually get better as a team."
   He explained, "We use role players simulating bad guys and we use children simulating being hurt. Each time we find a new way for them to kill us and we find a better tactic to prevent it from happening."
   The team also continues to train at the firing range to improve their marksmanship. Each member of the team had to be a remarkable marksmen to be accepted to the SRT.
   Besides being on the SRT Baker is also a Training Commander and Shift Supervisor for third shift for the Charlestown Police Department.
   "One of the first things I wanted to do when I got out of the Academy was to become an Instructor. I guess that was my first goal. I became an ILEA (Indiana Law Enforcement Academy) Instructor. Since then I have become an instructor in several fields."
   He added, "I can teach any law enforcement topic and they would all be certified through the Academy."
   Baker’s knowledge and ability with firearms made him look into becoming a firearms instructor.
   "I am a Firearms Instructor. One reason is because of SRT and then also the department needed one. That is probably my favorite and the toughest class to go through. You have to shoot perfect to get in and then it was tough to get through. I did not want to come back and tell them I did not succeed."
   After successfully completing the firearms instructor course Baker was proud of himself but was glad the course was over.
   Baker is also the SRT’s negotiator. He is a certified hostage negotiator.
   "That is probably my second favorite. That class was a good accomplishment. It was actually taught by the New York City Police Department detectives and officers on their hostage negotiating team."
   Baker just finished the three week class in late July. The course was held in Georgia.
   Also on Baker’s list of accomplishments is his promotion to Sergeant in 2004 and he also received a Medal of Valor.