The Charlestown Beautification Committee is once again sponsoring the Charlestown Christmas Home Tour. The tour will be this Saturday, December 9, starting at 5 p.m. and going through 9 p.m.
    Tickets may be purchased at City Hall the week before the tour and on the day of the tour. Tickets may be purchased at the Charlestown Enrichment Center (the old Christian church located behind Drs. Jones and Voskuhl’s office) starting at 4 p.m. The cost of the tickets is the same as last year, $10.
    The tour will feature eight homes, seven never seen before homes. The Beautification Committee is selling tickets from the Enrichment Center in order to give the public an opportunity to see the newly purchased acquisition the City of Charlestown made last Spring.
    City Hall will be providing tours of the building along with refreshments.
    After your tour of homes be sure to come back for refreshments and let the CBC workers know what you thought of the tour.

     Young cancer survivors preparing for higher education may be eligible for scholarships from the Mid-South Division of the American Cancer Society.
    For the fourth consecutive year, the Mid-South Division will award $1,000 scholarships to eligible individuals who have fought cancer and are attending an accredited university, college or vocational/technical school.
    "Childhood cancer survivors have faced incredible challenges and overcome them," said Carlette Hines, survivorship director for the Mid-South Division of the American Cancer Society. "Awarding these scholarships is our way of saying congratulations on winning your fight and keep up the good work."
    To be eligible, applicants must be under 25, have had a cancer diagnosis before age 21 and be a resident of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee or Floyd or Clark Counties in Indiana and a United States citizen. Candidates must also have a GPA of at least 2.5 and been accepted to an accredited school.
    Since the inception of the American Cancer Society college scholarship program in 2000, more than 950 scholarships have been awarded. Last year, 216 survivors were awarded the scholarship.
    Applications are due by February 1, 2007. Scholarships will be awarded on financial need, leadership, academic achievement and community service.
    For more information on the scholarship program or to obtain an application, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

    Local residents may have noticed a couple very special trees around Charlestown in the past couple of weeks.
    These special trees are located at The New Washington State Bank and the Jay C Plus Food Store in Charlestown. While the trees are beautifully decorated the decorations are much more than just normal ‘ornaments’.
    The elves adorning the two Christmas trees are part of the latest project of the North Clark Outreach Center (NCOC).
    Their ongoing Elf Tree project began on Wednesday, November 22. Each elf is a local child with Christmas wishes that may or may not come true. The absolute deadline for sponsoring an elf is Thursday, December 14.
    The elves are waiting for sponsors to help their Christmas dreams become a reality. The elves are in need of basic winter supplies.
    According to Ruthie Jackson, Director of the NCOC, the 40 remaining elves need what most of us just take for granted.
    "You purchase coats, hats, gloves, shoes, underwear, socks, pants, shirts, just whatever the child needs," stated Jackson.
    Once the child’s needs are met, their wish list also includes some wants. An elf sponsor may then get a few items off the child’s wants list.
    According to Jackson the average cost to sponsor an elf is $100 to $125.
    If you choose to sponsor one of the remaining elves, you just need to take your choice off the Elf Tree and take it to the counter. You will then receive the child’s list. All elves on the tree include the child’s age and the sex of the child.
    After shopping for the elf the sponsor may take all the items purchased back to the place where they sponsored the elf, either The New Washington State Bank or Jay C Food Store, or the items may be dropped off at the North Clark Outreach Center located at 240 Harrison Street in Charlestown.
    For more information about the Elf Tree project or about the NCOC please contact Ruthie Jackson, Director, at 773-7474.

    The 31^st annual Charlestown Girls Basketball Holiday Tournament has been set for Friday and Saturday, December 22 and 23. Games will be played at 6 and 7:30 p.m. both nights at Bill Dunn Sports Center at Charlestown High School.
   The draw set Clarksville battling Charlestown in game one with Silver Creek tackling Providence in game two on December 22.
   The following night, December 23, game one will consist of the losers of the previous night’s contest at 6 p.m. with the championship game set for 7:30 p.m.
   There will be no complimentary tickets issued. Coaches, players, managers, statisticians, scorekeepers and cheerleaders (in uniform) will be admitted free. Principals, athletic directors and other school officials are asked to sign in at the door. All other fans are required to purchase tickets. Tickets will be $5.
   Local basketball fans attending the event will help all schools participating. Charlestown, Clarksville, Silver Creek and Providence will split the net receipts with each school receiving 25 percent after all expenses are paid.
   Participating schools should send a roster to Charlestown High School Athletic Director David Null so programs for the event may be prepared. The deadline for submission of rosters will be Friday, December 15.
   The tournament will boast several awards including a championship trophy, an MVP award and a seven-girl All-Tourney team. The winning coach may pick two All-Tourney team members and the Butch Troutman MVP award. The two coaches that win one game may select two players for the All-Tourney team. The coach that fails to win a game may have one selection. There will be no ties.
   This year some past standouts will again be recognized. Past players to be honored include: MVPs- 1981- Jamie Harbin of Silver Creek; 1986- Kelli Tungate of Clarksville and Kelly Powell of Silver Creek; 1991- Kristin Mattox of Charlestown; 1996- Lisa Kleinert of Silver Creek and 2001- Jenna Rhodes of Silver Creek. Past All-Tourney team honorees will include: 1981- Kathleen Burke, Ann Renfroe and Melanie Heavrin of Providence; Jenny Perry of Charlestown and Tammie Logsdon of Clarksville; 1991- Abby Conklin and Gretchen Newton of Charlestown; Amanda Ahlbrand and Andrea Baker of Silver Creek and Stephanie Milliner of Providence and 2001- Sara Gavin and Brittany DeSpain of Providence; Candace Bain and Heather Branham of Clarksville; Cassandra Roach of Charlestown and Heather Hardman and Branda Grainger of Silver Creek.
   These past standouts will be honored between games on Friday, December 22.
   Officials scheduled for the 31^st annual Charlestown High School Holiday Tournament include: Mark Christman, Kevin Christman, Greg Barton, Steve Meyer, Scott Inman, Randy Eudy, Craig McCarty, Dan Morgan, Steve Corya and Kevin Moore.