Green Earth Players production opens Friday in Palace
The 25th anniversary of Green Earth Players brings them back to the Palace Theatre Friday when the musical comedy "Sanders Family Christmas" opens. Above, cast members take part in a dress rehearsal Tuesday. They are: (from left) Terri Ebert, (seated in back) Traci Carlson and Phil Voigt, Shane Amborn and James Harsma. Cast members not pictured are Bruce Baartman, Louella Voigt and Cheryl Nath. The play involves all local people except for director Paula Herrig, who lives in Slayton. Linda Dummer is assistant director and stage manager and Sue Sandbulte is the musical director.

The small cast of players presents a "gospel sing" in a Baptist church, with the audience being the congregation. The play is set in 1941 in the south and uses familiar Christmas music and gospel hymns. It will be of particular interest to local people who saw the GEP production of "Smoke on the Mountain," the prequel to "Sanders Family Christmas." In the play, Pastor Mervin Oglethorpe, a young and enthusiastic minister, enlists the Sanders Family Singers in his efforts to bring his tiny congregation into the modern world. The family members tell personal stories that relate to their trials of faith between songs.

The play runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 15, 16, 17 and 22, 23 and 24. The Carnegie Cultural Center, 205 N. Freeman, serves as the box office and is open from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Carnegie phone number is 283-8294.

Margaret Lois Scherff, 84, Beaver Creek, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002, in Luverne Community Hospital.

Services were Sunday, Nov. 3, at St. John Lutheran church in Luverne. Burial was in Beaver Creek Cemetery, Beaver Creek.

Margaret Wendorf was born to Louis and Bertha (Gust) Wendorf in Sioux County near Hull, Iowa. She was baptized on July 19, 1918, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hull. She grew up helping on the farm and attending country school. She was confirmed on April 9, 1933, at Lakewood Lutheran Church in Lyon County, Iowa.

She married Melvin Scherff on Dec. 8, 1936, at Lakewood Lutheran Church. The couple moved to farm near Beaver Creek, where they lived for five years before moving to a farm near Rock Rapids, Iowa. They then moved to a farm near Alvord, Iowa, before moving to a farm three miles north of Beaver Creek. They lived and farmed there until their retirement and then moved to Beaver Creek. She helped on the farm but also worked for several businesses in the area. Later, she worked at Campbell’s Soup Company in Worthington.

Mrs. Scherff was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne and was active in Women's Society and Ladies Circles. She was also active in the Ladies Circle of First Presbyterian Church and Senior Citizens in Beaver Creek. She enjoyed her flower garden and bird watching.

Survivors include two sons, Marvin (Bonnie) Scherff, Luverne, and Duane (Linda) Scherff, Albert Lea; one daughter, Roseann (Merlin) Winselmen, Adrian; eight grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; one sister, Viola Renken, Worthington; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Scherff was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Melvin, on April 16, 2001, one grandson, Darrin Scherff, one great-grandson, Theron Scherff, one great-granddaughter, Anne Jirele, and two sisters, Alvine Finck and Alice File.

A tree will be planted in memory of Margaret by Luverne Community Hospital Hospice Program.

Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Services for Pieternella “Nellie” Remme are at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Revs. Dell B. Sanderson and Maurice E Hagen will officiate. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne. Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home in Luverne.

Pieternella “Nellie” Remme, 66, Luverne, died Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2002, in Luverne Community Hospital.

“Nellie” Lolkus was born to Johannes and Hermina (Prinsen) Lolkus on July 3, 1936, near Chandler. At a young age, her father died. Her mother remarried John J. Tinklenberg. Hermina and John raised Nellie as a child. She attended country school in rural Lake Wilson and graduated from Edgerton High School in 1954. She later attended Nettleton College in Sioux Falls, S.D. She worked as a telephone operator in Luverne.

She married Gale Remme on Aug. 30, 1957, in Edgerton. After their marriage, the couple lived in Luverne for a short time before moving to Windom. In 1960, they moved back to Luverne.

Mrs. Remme was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne, past president of the GLCW; the Quilters Club, and Luverne VFW Ladies Auxiliary. She enjoyed gardening, bird watching, music and reading.

Survivors include her husband, Gale Remme, Luverne; one son, Bradley Remme, Sioux Falls, S.D.; one daughter, Patricia Audette, Maple Grove; one granddaughter, Kimberly Kovach, Minneapolis; her mother, Hermina Tinklenberg, Luverne; two brothers, Harris (Rose) Tinklenberg, Madelia, and Clarence (Sandy) Tinklenberg, Grandville, Mich.; and two sisters, Joyce Bristow, Luverne, and Anna Mae (Sidney) Berghorst, Steen.

Mrs. Remme was preceded in death by her father, Johannes, stepfather, John J., and an infant son, Gregory, on July 6, 1958.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, is in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
On a night the Luverne volleyball team had to play its best match of the season, it did not.

The seventh-seeded Cardinals were huge underdogs during Friday's quarterfinal-round match of the South Section 2AA Volleyball Tournament going into a tilt with No. 2 Jackson County Central.

They entered the match knowing they had to play their best game of the season in order to advance, but it wasn’t in the cards for LHS.

Luverne did battle with the Huskies for more than one hour, but it wasn't enough to extend what finished as a 12-16-1 campaign with a 3-0 loss to JCC.

"The final score is not indicative of how well we played in the match," said LHS coach Mary Jo Graphenteen. "With the exception of the first game, we played pretty well. We didn't have our best serving, hitting or receiving matches of the year, but we hung right in there with a good JCC team. That tells you how hard we competed."

The Cardinals didn't lose the match for a lack of effort. In fact, there were times in Games 2 and 3 Luverne looked to be the better team. In the end, JCC proved it was the better club by putting together extended runs in all three games.

Cardinal Emily Oksness served a point to tie Game 1 at one point each, and LHS trailed 3-2 after an ace tip from Brittney Williams.

Luverne, however, was limited to one ace serve from Oksness the rest of the game as the Huskies went on a 12-1 run to ice a 15-3 win.

Game 2 was Luverne's for the taking, but the Cards couldn't put the game away.

The score was tied at four when Oksness served an eight-point run featuring three aces and one kill and one block from Stephanie Morgan to give the Cardinals a 12-4 lead.

The score was 14-6 after Williams and Morgan delivered service points as the game progressed, but JCC bounced back to score the next 10 points while stealing a 16-14 win.

"It seemed like every player we had on the court had a chance to get the 15th point for us in Game 2, but we just were unable to get it," Graphenteen said.

Trailing 2-1 in Game 3, Luverne used ace serves from Cassie Pap, Tera Boomgaarden and Oksness and a block from Morgan while putting together a 6-3 surge that ended with the Cards sporting a 7-5 lead.

As they did all night, JCC met the challenge by scoring the next 10 points to cap a 15-7 victory.

Oksness, a senior playing her last match for LHS, completed 16 of 18 serves. She had 15 points and five aces. Rashel Boeve, who had nine kills, and Casey Kleinjan, who received limited action coming off the bench, also capped their LHS careers.

Morgan led Luverne with 11 kills.

Callen Bosshart and Taylor Nelson drew praise from their coach for making contributions while coming off the bench.

Adrian senior tailback Dusty Henning eludes Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin defender Kody Karschnik during Friday's Section 3A championship game in Mountain Lake. The Wolverines ended Adrian's 8-3 season by saddling it with a 19-7 setback.

By John Rittenhouse
Adrian's bid to qualify for the state football tournament for the first time since 1998 came to an end Friday in Mountain Lake.

Playing Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in the Section 3A championship game, the third-seeded Dragons were hoping to upset the No. 1-seeded Wolverines and make their first appearance in a state tournament since placing second in 1998.

But, on a cold and windy night in Mountain Lake, AHS simply couldn't get the job done.

ML-B-O controlled the line of scrimmage while compiling 300 yards of total offense, and the Dragons helped the host's cause by turning the ball over five times. When the game’s final gun sounded, ML-B-O came out on the better end of a 19-7 decision.

The Wolverines advance to the state quarterfinals Friday night in Brownton, where it takes on Section 2A champion McLeod West. Adrian ends an 8-3 campaign.

When the game was over, all Adrian coach Randy Strand could do was tip his hat to the 11-0 Wolverines.
“They are a good football team,” he said. “The difference was ML-B-O handled us at the line of scrimmage. That was the big key - that and the fact that we just couldn't catch a break. While we would drop a possible interception, they ran for 12 yards on fourth down to pick up a first down. It just wasn't our night.”

With a couple of breaks, Adrian could have won the game.

The Dragons led 7-3 after scoring the game's first touchdown 2:29 into the second quarter. ML-B-O, however, moved in front 10-7 by halftime before outscoring AHS 9-0 in the second half to win by 12 points.

Each team's defense dictated play in the early stages of the game, and an AHS punt from deep inside its own territory into a strong wind is what set up the first tally of the game.

ML-B-O began its second offensive possession on the AHS 44-yard line and advanced the ball inside the 10 before the Adrian defense stiffened. On fourth down, Wolverine exchange student Sonny Skaaning booted a 28-yard field goal to give the hosts a 3-0 edge at the 5:22 mark of the first quarter.

The score remained the same through the remainder of the first as Adrian's next possession ended with the team's first of four interceptions, and ML-B-O’s next series stalled on downs inside AHS territory.

The Dragons took over on their own 17 at that point, where they produced their biggest play of the game. A first-down pass from Levi Bullerman to Dusty Spieker turned into an 83-yard touchdown pass and run. When Bullerman added the extra point, Adrian had a 7-3 advantage with 9:31 remaining in the second quarter.

ML-B-O countered Adrian's quick strike with a long scoring march in its next possession.

The Wolverines advanced the ball 72 yards in 12 plays before running back Kody Karschnik scored on a six-yard run with 4:06 left to play in the first half. Skaaning added the extra point to make the difference 10-7.

Adrian's inability to contain Karschnik proved to be costly in the game. The ML-B-O workhorse carried the ball 51 times for 258 yards, accounting for all but seven of his team’s 265 rushing yards.

Two more turnovers by the Dragons allowed the Wolverines to put the game away in the second half.

After Wolverine Adam Meyers picked off a pass to end Adrian's second possession of the third quarter, the ML-B-O offense mounted a 12-play, 60-yard drive.

The march ended with Karschnik scoring on a one-yard plunge with 59 seconds left in the third quarter. An incomplete two-point conversion pass attempt left the Wolverines sporting a 16-7 lead.

Another interception by the Wolverines set up an 11-play drive that ended with Skaaning kicking a 20-yard field goal to cap the scoring with 8:34 remaining in the game.

Skaaning actually received two chances to boot the final field goal.

His first attempt was blocked by the Dragons, but a ML-B-O player picked up the ball and ran toward the end zone. When Adrian was flagged for a face-masking penalty during the run, the officials awarded Skaaning another shot at booting the field goal he eventually made.

Team statistics
Adrian: 82 rushing yards, 96 passing yards, 178 total yards, five first downs, five penalties for 38 yards, five turnovers.
ML-B-O: 265 rushing yards, 35 passing yards, 300 total yards, 14 first downs, four penalties for 35 yards, zero turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Dusty Henning 13-55, Bullerman 8-25, Joe Kruger 2-2.
Passing: Bullerman 4-16 for 96 yards, Pete Hohn 0-1 for zero yards.
Receiving: Henning 2-84, Hohn 2-12.
Defense: Kruger 26 tackles, Brandon Schettler 18 tackles, Spieker 12 tackles.

By Sara Strong
In response to questions and suggestions from Parents: The Anti Drug and Violence Task Force, the Rock County Board of Commissioners gave an overview of county services relating to family issues and prevention of drug use.

Commissioners also addressed the county curfew issue, which was not passed last time it was on the table.

The Rock County Attorney's Office reviewed a possible curfew ordinance for the board to consider.

Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt said in a memo that there are positives and negatives to a potential curfew imposed by the county board.

Benefits are:
•A county wide curfew ordinance would provide law enforcement with reason to require juveniles to go home and stay there during appropriate hours.

•A county-wide curfew would provide “probable cause” to stop vehicles when it is apparent that occupants are in violation of the curfew. Those brief stops can be a tool to stop other illegal activities.

•A county-wide curfew might help identify at risk youth before other crimes are committed.

Possible drawbacks are:

•Vajgrt said he is concerned “that enforcement of a curfew ordinance will take deputies away from matters that should have higher priority. To date this year, law enforcement has made 31 DWI arrests in Rock County. I see this trend toward higher numbers continuing. A majority of DWI arrests occur during the time periods in which the county-wide curfew would be enforced. A deputy cannot be on patrol observing a drunk driver cross a center line if they are babysitting a juvenile while his/her parents are notified that their child has been brought to the Law Enforcement Center.”

•“A county wide curfew might, in my opinion, strengthen the misguided belief that the supervision of young people is a function of law enforcement, corrections and the courts rather than parents.”

Commissioner Jane Wildung said that the structure of the Law Enforcement Center itself is a part of the issue. With no holding cell, officers have to sit with people in custody. In the case of juveniles, they would have to wait until a parent or guardian can pick up the curfew violator.

In the case of juveniles likely to be out past curfew, Wildung said, parents might not be home or available to pick up their children.

Other concerns for a county-wide curfew are the inconsistencies between cities and the county in general. The cities of Kenneth, Steen and Magnolia don’t have curfews, and other cities have varying hours.

Officers would have to memorize the different ordinances and hope people younger than 18 didn't congregate in the towns without curfews.

The proposed ordinance set curfew hours for children younger than age 16 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. For juveniles 16 to 18, the curfew would be from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. There would be exceptions for work and school activities at the least.

The ordinance wasn't voted on, but the County Board turned it back to the Rock County Collaborative for further review and input.

County service overview
Chair Wildung said, “The County Board takes concerns seriously and is trying to develop some type of protocol to address the issues of the community.”

Key services available to families of Rock County were presented to the board and attending public.

•Policing — Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure said the two months of community policing classes have made a big impact on the department. “We have really good guys and they really believe in the concept.”

Deputy Jeff Wieneke said most department members like community policing so far. Related to the drug issue, Wieneke said he thinks the department will be more open and get more information from the public. Beyond that, he thinks reorganization within the department will help in gathering evidence and completing warrants.

McClure said to look for more programs the department will be putting on for the community.

The Task Force had previously expressed interest in grants for a school resource officer, a police officer in the schools. The grants are past for this cycle and some applicants are already in for the next, but the county theorizes that scheduling and prioritizing time may make it possible to get a school officer even without the grant.

The grant Rock County researched is $125,000 over three years. A school officer would probably cost $70,000 a year in total needs, so the difference would have to be made up somewhere. So even if the county gets a grant at some point, local funds would be needed.

Task Force member Elaine Fick said, “I realize the cost is an issue, but my hope is that by the end of the three years, we find that we really need this and the cost is worth it, that we can't get along without it.”

She said the county might actually save money on the front end of law enforcement, rather than spending more money in detention and court fees.

•Public Health - Paula Anderson, public health educator for Nobles Rock Public Health is also a member of the Collaborative. She said the Collaborative looked at curfews in the past and decided it was better to encourage parents to better monitor their children.

As a reference tool for parents, the Collaborative will be distributing magnets that list appropriate curfews for children of different ages. The guideline may help parents set rules for the family.

Through her work with the Collaborative and Public Health, Anderson is trying to reach parents in different ways - through print material, classes and possibly the Internet - to get them information on parenting issues.

She has contacts to help parents and community groups looking for speakers or general information.

•Mental Health — Scott Johnson, director of the Southwest Mental Health Center, said addiction aftercare typically goes through Stephanie Pierce at Luverne Community Hospital.

“When I worked with people on an inpatient basis,” Johnson said, “some of the worst things, the scariest people were on meth. … I knew one patient who had gone through treatment 36 times. It's an ongoing problem.”

•Corrections -
Community Corrections deals with criminals on probation. Random drug tests are done in favor of scheduled tests, but the Task Force voiced concerns that those weren't done often enough.

Now, eight adults are on probation in Rock County for felony drug charges, most of which are fifth degree or for small amounts.

•Rock County Collaborative - The Collaborative's purpose is to empower parents and prevent risky behavior in young people.

The Collaborative is broken down into groups that work within certain ages and tailor programs to those ages. It has ongoing programs such as Healthy Families Home Visiting Project, gifts of “Rock-A-Bye Baby Reader,” Child Guide Program at the elementary school, Big Buddies, Book of the Week Club at Hills-Beaver Creek elementary, parenting seminars, summer recreation expansion, seatbelt checks, Top Teens, middle school after school program, and many others.

Name and place of residence: Layton Gruis, rural Adrian

Family information: Wife, Missy, and two sons, Brandon, 12, and Trevor, 11, both students in Ellsworth School District.

Occupation: Grain and livestock farmer

Education: Ellsworth High School diploma and two-year degree from Canby vo-tech.

Community activities and involvement: Member of Salem Reformed Church, Little Rock, Iowa, where he serves on the consistory. He's also been a board member of East Lyon County Co-op for several years and volunteers for the Little Rock ambulance.

Qualifications for service: Lifelong member of the Ellsworth School District.

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"It is important to me to maintain a school district with a small class atmosphere while offering a quality education. In order to achieve this, we must efficiently use our tax dollars available to us. I will also strive to maintain a safe, well-disciplined atmosphere at Ellsworth Public Schools."

Name and place of residence: Joan Pater, Adrian

Family information: Husband, Darrin, and two boys, Jordan, 11, and Jase, 8.

Occupation: Kitchen staff at Adrian Elementary School

Education: Adrian High School diploma and Southeast Vo-tech accounting degree.

Community activities and involvement: Adrian Park Board and member of the Adrian Blue and Gold Parent Teacher Organization.

Qualifications for service: "I feel I'm qualified because I have two children who attend Adrian Elementary. I attend School Board meetings regularly, and I am very interested in my childrenÕs education."

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"Budget cuts are the main issue right now, and, with the cuts, still being able to provide our students with the quality of education they deserve."

Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Shari Binford runs paper through the counting machine at the Rock County Courthouse Tuesday night. Pictured in back is Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Carol Weber. The counting wasn't complete until 5 a.m. Wednesday. Election story inside.

Photo by Lori Ehde