Senior quarterback Andrew Smith prepares to pass the ball during the Pirates contest 
              last Friday.

             
                The Pirates offense lines up on the ball.                      On the way to another score.

    4-0. The perfect mark has not been seen by Charlestown football fans in many years. The fans continue to pour into Dutch Reis Field to help cheer on their undefeated Pirates on the gridiron. Charlestown has enjoyed wins over Madison, Brownstown Central, Clarksville and their latest victim, the Musketeers of Eastern.
    Last Friday night the crowd seen the Pirates roll past the visiting Musketeers 58-0 for the homecoming win. Charlestown gained 472 yards in the ballgame including 327 yards on the ground.
    Charlestown’s scoring drive began after the Pirate defense forced Eastern to punt on their first possession. The drive ended with a one yard dive into the endzone from junior runningback Cameron Metzger. The extra point attempt was missed as Charlestown took the early 6-0 lead.
    Charlestown would strike again late in the second quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Andrew Smith to junior wide receiver Damon Vest. Craig Brown split the uprights to give the Pirates the 13-0 advantage with 2:37 left in the opening quarter.
    The Pirates were not finished as Metzger found the goal line from seven yards out as time expired in the first stanza. Brown tacked on the extra point to give Charlestown the 20-0 advantage heading into the second quarter of play.
    The second stanza started much like the first ended when Charlestown’s Vest broke free and sprinted 39-yards for the Pirate touchdown. Brown added the extra point to give Charlestown the 27-0 lead.
    Some 2:22 seconds later, the Pirates again found the endzone.
    Metzger scampered 14 yards to the goal line before Brown nailed the extra point for the 34-0 lead.
    Eastern again was forced to punt as junior Aaron May and freshman Alex Shepherd were ready in the backfield to receive the kick.
    Brown would close out the scoring in the first half on a 31 yard field goal with 1:14 remaining in the half. The field goal gave Charlestown the 37-0 advantage heading into the locker room for the halftime break.
    During the halftime festivities Charlestown crowned their 2007 Homecoming King and Queen. Seniors Julio Labra and Katlyn Kling were crowned this year’s homecoming royalty.
    After the homecoming festivities the Pirates were back on the field ready to continue their scoring frenzy.
    Charlestown received the second half kick off. Smith hooked up with Metzger for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Brown spilt the uprights to give the Pirates the 44-0 advantage.
    Vest recorded his third touchdown of the night at the 5:45 mark of the third quarter on a 27-yard sprint to the endzone. Brown again tacked on the extra point for the 51-0 Pirate lead.
    Charlestown would score for the final time at the end of the third quarter.
    Sophomore Josh Graham rambled 50 yards for the last touchdown of the night. Brown hit the extra point attempt for the final score, 58-0.
    Metzger led the Pirates with 159 yards on 15 carries and three rushing touchdowns.
    Graham tallied 90 yards on five carries and one touchdown while Vest recorded 74 yards on four carries and two touchdowns.
    Smith completed six of 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
    During the ballgame Charlestown had 10 possessions and scored on nine of those possessions including eight touchdowns and one field goal.
    The Pirates will travel to Providence this Friday night as kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

by Janna Ross
Staff Writer
Green Banner Publications

    The Charlestown Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting a fun fundraiser this Saturday, September 15.
    The fundraiser will be what fire fighters lovingly call waterball. The event will be held at Charlestown High School this Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. Registration will begin at 3 p.m.
    The waterball competition can be explained as a ball being on a line approximately 10 feet off the ground. The ball is positioned in the middle of the two competing teams. Teams consist of two fire fighters. The teams then try to maneuver the ball to the opposite team’s side using nothing but a steady, strong stream of water from their water hoses.
    The competition this weekend will be for a very worthy cause because the event will be a fundraiser for Supporting Heroes.
    Supporting Heroes is an organization founded to help support the families of fallen fire fighters and police officers. The organization was founded by Eric Johnson.
    "We kicked off on September 11, 2004," Johnson stated during a recent interview. "I had had the idea for several years. I had the idea of doing something like this."
    According to Johnson, there were two catalysts in the decision to organize Supporting Heroes. The first was the death of a Kentucky Police Officer and the second was the death of a St. Louis Police Officer, who was the son of a man Johnson attends church with.
    "The family of the Kentucky Police Officer had trouble raising money to pay for the funeral. That should not happen. They pay with their life as a service to the community," Johnson explained. "Then the St. Louis Police Officer was the son of a man I go to church with. His son was shot and his partner killed. After having this conversation, he said he would help if I wanted to start the organization."
    The conversation boosting the organization was held in June just months prior to the September 11 kick-off.
    When asked why he decided to form Supporting Heroes, Johnson was quick to respond.
    "It was hearing so many people say the standard reaction. It’s what they think of within a few hours, if not a few minutes. ‘I cannot afford my home, it’s our comfort zone, this is where our memories were shared and our life was shared’," Johnson stated. "I just thought that was outrageous and we could do better than that. That is the standard reaction. That’s the human reaction. On top of the feeling of the loss, they worry about losing their home. Then they think they must be evil because they are thinking about money."
    He continued, "Now we can be there within hours of the incident and say, ‘don’t worry about it.’ This is one of the things we do."
    Supporting Heroes is with the family of the lost hero within hours of the accident. They go to the family as quickly as possible to help with the financial stresses the come with learning that you have lost a loved one.
    "We try to be there as quickly as possible within a couple of hours. We give the survivor an immediate check and the support to not sweat the small stuff," Johnson said. "Along with the $3,000 check we make a commitment to come back two or three weeks after the funeral to come and sit down with the survivor."s
    After the funeral representatives of Supporting Heroes comes back to the family that recently lost their loved one and makes a monthly budget by checking their finances.
    "We check what they have in payments, car, house, utilities and what they normally spend at the grocery. With that calculated we can provide a check each month until the Line of Duty benefits come," Johnson added.
    According to Johnson the Federal Line of Duty benefits take approximately 10 months to be paid while the state benefits vary greatly.
    "We want to smooth out the road ahead for them until the benefits come," Johnson continued to explain.
    Since the inception of Supporting Heroes, which covers the states of Indiana and Kentucky, in 2004 there have been 41 line of duty deaths. In the last 12 months there have been 21 line of duty deaths.
    The Supporting Heroes organization has just one paid employee, Johnson, who was purely a volunteer for the first 15 months of the organization’s existence and was a police officer for 15 years in Louisville before retiring from Louisville Metro Police Department on August 1, 2004. He spent nine years prior to his law enforcement career with Louisville EMS.
    The volunteers of the organization differ from event to event. According to Johnson, some events require him to engage more volunteers than other events.
    The primary funding for Supporting Heroes comes from membership. Memberships can be obtained for $120 per year.
    "It’s just knowing that we’re there to help, no matter where it happens, it could be the biggest city or the smallest community that you have never heard of. It doesn’t matter how big the community, they are always there to help and no matter how big or how small the community, they are sacrificing the same. Somebody has lost a spouse, mom, dad, sibling. It’s just as a significant loss to the department," Johnson explained.
    Johnson believes many people appreciate what police officers and fire fighters and EMS do. Most people know how they respond.
    "Everyone knows when the Trade Center was going down, and everyone was running away, who was running in? Those are the ones running in. As time has gone on, things are taken for granted. If those towers were in any city in America, the same thing would have happened. Those in those careers would have done the same thing. People appreciate what the police officers, fire fighters and EMS do, they just don’t know how to give back. People know, they care. This is a good vehicle to give back. This will make sure that those families are taken care of."
    Supporting Heroes is headquartered in Louisville. For more information call 502-585-2282 or visit www.supportingheroes.org.

    The Clark County Regional Site Committee, representing a large group of Clark County farmers and farm businesses, have issued a letter and packet of information to United States Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to ask serious questions about a state-level decision to close the Clark County FSA Office and merge it into the Scott County Office when the Clark population is approximately four times that of Scott County.
   In its September 7 mailing, the Clark committee points out that the typical Department of Agriculture practice is to merge the smaller county offices into larger ones, just the opposite of what is being attempted here. The Clark County FSA committee also points out:
   Clark does at least two times the farm agribusiness that is done in Scott County.
   The number of acres being farmed in Clark County is double the acreage farmed in Scott County.
   Clark County is located on the Ohio River, a major source of commerce.
   A recognized Indiana Port exists in Clark County.
   The proposed location in Scott County is approximately three miles away from the nearest interstate highway.
   Clark representatives Tom King, Jeannine Wiley and Jim Book also expressed concerns about the process used in coming to a Scott merger decision. They raised questions about a "Fact Finding" process described to them that never occurred.
   State officials told the Clark representatives, at a meeting in Indianapolis on August 15, that they were "not being team players" which raised even more questions, according to King, the chairperson of the Clark Regional Committee.
   Finally, the Clark group describes being confronted with something called a Henryville option beginning in late 2006, which never appeared in fact, detail or location from state officials.
   "We have grave concerns that this was a decision made early on and steps were taken to get there, leaving out the details," said Vice Chair Wiley. "It makes no sense to close an office located in proximity to a Port and major interstate connections while attempting to merge it into a much smaller county."
   The Clark Committee is issuing copies of its request for review to the offices of Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, Congressman Baron Hill and State Representative Steven Stemler and Senator Connie Sipes.
   "We hope all of our elected representatives will join us in looking into this unusual course of events," said committee member Book.
   Congressman Baron Hill is taking steps to support the local FSA office. In a recent press release he discussed the issue and his introduction of legislation to prohibit the closure or relocation of the Clark County FSA Office.
   Hill introduced legislation on Wednesday night, September 5, H.R. 3478, to prohibit the closure or relocation of the field office of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Clark County. This bill comes in response to a recent decision by the Indiana Farm Service Agency Committee to close the Clark County FSA office and consolidate it with the Scott County FSA Office.
   "I have been in constant contact with local, state and federal FSA officials urging them to keep the Clark County FSA Office open," Hill stated. "However, although they heard from many farmers and me opposing the closure, the Indiana FSA Committee has decided to proceed with the closure of the Clark County FSA Office."
   H.R. 3478 expressly prohibits the closure or relocation of the field office of the FSA in Clark County for at least two years after the enactment of this legislation.
   In addition, the bill includes several findings to support the argument that the Clark County FSA office must be kept open: Clark County boasts 638 farms with an annual farming income of more than $30 million and the closure of the Clark County FSA would force some affected farmers to travel more than an hour to the nearest FSA office.
   "Clark County has a sizeable and profitable farming community," Hill continued. "They need their FSA Office to remain open and I am committed to ensuring that happens."
   H.R. 3478 is currently pending before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture.
   The Clark County FSA Committee has released numbers and contact information for the public. They encourage those concerned about the closure or relocation of the Clark County FSA Office to contact these individuals and voice their concern.
   Who to Contact
   Regarding FSA
   Consolidation
   Kenneth Culp, FSA State Executive Director- 5981 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278; Voicemail- 317-290-3030, ext. 317; Fax- 317-290-3264; E-mail- Kenny.culp@in.usda.gov Cell Phone- 317-509-0907
   FSA State Committee Members- Bill Beiersdorfer- 812-487-2695, Stephanie Davidson- 765-249-9244, Travis Nolcox- 812-385-3874 or Brian Salomon- 260-693-1730.
   Steve Brown, State FA Executive Officer- 5981 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278; Phone- 317-290-3030, ext. 208; Cell Phone- 317-509-0523; E-Mail- steven.brown@in.usda.gov.
   Jim Phipps, FSA District Director- 5981 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278; Voice Mail- 317-290-3030, Ext. 7227; Cell Phone- 317-409-3994; Fax- 317-747-5511; E-Mail- jim.phipps@in.usda.gov.
   U.S. Secretary of Agriculture- Mike Johanns, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250; Phone- 202-720-3631.
   Teresa Lasseter, FSA Administrator, Washington, D.C.- Phone- 202-270-3467.
   Steve Connelly, Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, Washington, D.C.- Phone- 202-690-2807.
   U.S. Senator Evan Bayh- Jeffersonville Office- 1201 E. 10^th Street, Suite 106, Jeffersonville, IN 47130; Phone- 812-218-2317; Fax- 812-218-2370. Washington D.C. Office- United States Senate, 131 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-1404; DC Phone- 202-224-5623; DC Fax- 202-228-1377.
   U.S. Senator Richard Lugar- Jeffersonville Office- 1201 East 10^th Street, Room 103, Jeffersonville, IN 47130. Phone- 812-288-3377; Fax- 812-288-3339. Washington D.C. Office- United States Senate, 306 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-1401; DC Phone- 202-224-4814.
   U.S. Representative Baron Hill- Jeffersonville Office- 279 Quartermaster Court, Jeffersonville, IN 47130. Phone- 812-288-3999- toll-free- 1-866-440-1321; Fax- 812-288-3873. Washington D.C. Office- United States House of Representatives, 223 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-1409; DC Phone- 202-225-5315; DC Fax- 202-226-6866.