By Lori Ehde
The Adrian and Rushmore communities are mourning the loss of two young girls who died in a one-vehicle rollover Wednesday, July 31, near Lismore.

According to information from the Nobles County Sheriff's Department, emergency crews responded to a 911 call at 3:42 p.m. on 190th Street about three-quarters of a mile west of Durfee Avenue.

There were five juvenile girls in the van, which had rolled and then burned.

Killed in the accident were Christine Anne Talyer, 15, daughter of Tim and Deb Taylor, rural Adrian, and Bethany Anne Feit, 12, daughter of David and Chris Feit, rural Rushmore.

Also in the vehicle were Christine's sisters, Katherine Taylor, 11, and Alexandra Taylor, 16, who was driving. The other passenger was Melissa Jo Weidert, 12, of Lismore.

The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and the other three were taken to Luverne Community Hospital.

Weidert was airlifted to Sioux Falls, and has since been released.

The accident remains under investigation, but Alexandra spoke about the accident at her sister's funeral.

She said after the van rolled, she was able to run for help. She said Bethany had been unresponsive, but that her sister was trapped in the vehicle and they were unable to free her before the van burned.

According to the girls' obituaries, they were both students in the Adrian School District.

Feit would have been a seventh-grader and was involved in band and cheerleading.

Taylor would have been in the ninth grade in Adrian High School and "loved her special needs classmates and teachers."

By Sara Strong
The Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute defines community policing as a different structure of organization, emphasizing problem solving and partnerships - partnerships with the community.

Some interpret this as mere public relations work, but itÕs more authentic than that.

Dennis Cusick, interim director of the Policing Institute, said, "It's a true partnership. The stakeholders have a share in identifying problems, finding solutions and implementing change to fix those problems."

The Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI wrote a report on community policing that said in part, "police organizations that have been engaged in community policing and problem solving for at least three years are receiving an 85 percent increase in information and a 50 percent increase of intelligence information compared to traditional police practices."

Implementing community policing means open communication with the public, frequent exchange among units within the agency and ongoing communication and networking with other public and non-profit agencies.

Patrol time is another point community policing hits. Studies have shown that a significant amount of a patrol officer's time is spent in uncommitted patrol activities and that it doesn't reduce communities' fear of crime, nor does it deter crime in any real sense.

Rock County citizens have voiced complaints about the department's perceived lack of visibility, but Cusick maintains that patrolling doesn't encourage citizen cooperation or make deputies approachable.

Kansas City, Mo., did an experiment on random and routine patrol that showed there was no measurable impact upon crime, arrest rates and citizen fear.

Cusick said that completely random patrol is less useful than directed patrol. Tactics of community policing help officers understand how to maximize their impact by focusing on solving problems rather than merely being visible.

Patrolling is still a part of the job description, but patrol officers in community policing know their neighborhoods and the people living in them. Conversely, people know their officers and they are more likely to communicate.

Role definition is another important part of community-oriented policing. Resentment, confusion and lack of consistency within the department usually result from unclear organizational roles.

Once roles are assigned, duties can still be flexible. Department members can be accountable for actions when allowed to make their own decisions, rather than feeling trapped between or within job duties.

Community policing allows officers to make decisions, take risks and then stand behind the decisions they make.

If a role is defined to make an officer responsible for an activity, he or she must be given the authority to take action and account for the outcome.

Cusick said he looks forward to continuing work with the Rock County Sheriff's Department, which he said has been accommodating and willing to learn.

Cusick is retired from 33 years in law enforcement, 18 of which he served as director of public safety and chief of police.

Sheriff's Department Personnel
Names and year employment started
Sheriff Ronnal McClure, 1977
Investigator Clyde Menning, 1968
Sgt. Kurt Kester, 1977
Sgt. Mike Winkels, 1990
Deputy Evan Verbrugge, 1991
Deputy Jeff Wieneke, 1991
Deputy Greg Lingen, 1998
Deputy Ken Baker, 1998
Deputy Gerald Vorderbruggen, 1977
Deputy Craig Martinson, 1998
Deputy Jason Aanenson, 1995
Part-time Deputy Lon Remme, 1981
Part-time Deputy Jim Sandstede, 1981
Part-time Deputy Keith Aanenson, 1967

By Sara Strong
The Luverne City Council Tuesday officially signed off on the deal to keep a major employer in town.
The council transferred $750,000 to the Luverne Economic Development Authority to fund expansion of the Berkley Technology Services building.

Berkley Corp. is the parent company of Continental Western Group (formerly Tri-State) and Berkley Technology Services (formerly Berkley Information Services).

The LEDA will add 8,500 square feet to the existing 20,000-square-foot BTS structure. CWG employees will move into the BTS building. The expanded building will house about 130 employees.

Berkley Corp. will then donate the vacated Tri-State building to the city of Luverne.

The city agreed to this deal to ensure the company and its payroll would stay in Luverne.

Street assessments
The council declared the final cost of this summer's street project on portions of Freeman, Estey, Bishop, Crawford and Brown streets as well as five alleys. Of the total, the city will pay $327,481.42 and affected property owners will be assessed $464,349.24.

Assessments will be payable in equal annual installments through a 10-year period with a 6-percent interest rate.

Property owners will be notified by mail about their specific assessments. The city called a public hearing at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, for affected property owners to be heard.

McLeod to PrairieWave
The council approved of a transfer of control of phone and cable service from McLeod USA to PrairieWave Telecommunications Inc.

Employees, services and office hours will remain the same, so customers shouldn't notice a change except for the name on their phone or cable service if they use McLeod now.

Blue Mounds Prairie Resource Specialist David Bryfogle shows the Prairie Passage sign that will be placed north of Luverne.

By Lori Ehde
By this time next year, ditches between Luverne and the Blue Mounds State Park will be painted with the colors of prairie wildflowers.

Native prairie species, such as purple and yellow cone flowers, blazing stars and prairie clovers, have been seeded in local highway right-of-ways as part of the National Prairie Passage.

Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources unveiled official signage for the passage during a 9:30 a.m. ceremony Saturday at the park Interpretive Center.

The 2-by-2-foot sign features yellow prairie cone flowers, a native plant found across the prairie states. The blue and black background depicts the wide prairie skies and deep, rich soils.

The sign will be erected north of Luverne by fall. The same signs will be found along the Prairie Passage route, which takes in six states between the Gulf of Mexico and Canada.

The Blue Mounds segment is the first in the nation to be designated.

The goal of Prairie Passage is to promote awareness of prairie-related, natural, historic and cultural resources.

The Rock County portion planted this year includes both sides of Highway 75 from Luverne to County Road 20 (the state park road) and County Road 20 from Highway 75 to the park entrance.

County Road 8, which connects with the Interpretive Center driveway, was also seeded with wildflowers in the north ditch from Highway 75 east to Tom Birkeland's property on the curve.

In all, 200 acres of right-of-way were seeded with wildflowers and native prairie grasses. In addition, 400 acres of local public land were also seeded with native prairie grasses.

This first $750,000 portion of the passage was funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources.

For David Breyfogle, prairie resource specialist at the Blue Mounds State Park, Saturday's ceremony was a culmination of several years of public education and hard work.

"We're trying to reconnect people with their prairie heritage," he said. "Farmers here make their living on the land, but it was 10,000 years of prairie that built up that rich topsoil."

A kiosk at the Blue Mound Wayside Chapel will explain the details of Prairie Passage to stopping motorists.

The Prairie Passage project is just a small part of Breyfogle's prairie restoration efforts in the area. In the past few years, through controlled burns, herbicides and tilling, heÕs getting the state park prairies back to their original condition.

That means eradicating exotic species and replacing them with plants and grasses native to the Blue Mounds soil.

Local roadways were seeded in June, but wildflower growth was delayed by summer drought. Breyfogle said he's noticed some flowers are germinating, but most will not be noticeable for a couple of growing seasons.

By Lori Ehde
Luverne School Board members approved hiring two additional teachers to reduce class sizes in second and third grades.

After weeks of planning and arranging students in the two grades, the dust settled with 91 students in the second grade (23 in each of four classrooms) and 99 in the third grade (25 students in each of four classrooms).

Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff said the second grade, with some struggling students, has been borderline for needing a fifth section. And the third grade saw several families move into the district this year Ð all with third-grade children.

"We're really pushing the bubble with that group of kids," Tenhoff told board members at their Thursday, Aug. 8, meeting. "It (hiring) is something we should take a look at."

At the July 25 meeting, the board heard from Vicki Baartman, who spoke on behalf of several parents who were concerned about second-grade class sizes.

That, coupled with Tenhoff's official report on class numbers Thursday, prompted board action, following words from Superintendent Vince Schaefer.

"It seems a fact that if we can't get kids off on the right foot in the early grades, it's tough for them to make a go of it later on," he said.

"The way I see it, we really don't have much of a choice. The short of it is I'm going to recommend that we hire a second-grade teacher and a third-grade teacher."

The board approved. "I think it's a good choice," said board member Steve Tofteland. "I think it's wise at this point."

Elementary students had already been assigned to their respective teachers and the lists have been posted in the school entry.

The board action means the assignment process will start over, at least for the second and third grades.

"It will be a new parade of little feet to the window," Schaefer joked. "We just about need a new bottle of Windex every day with all the fingerprints out there."

Alternative school
Luverne's Alternative School was the "showcase" item on the board agenda Thursday.

Alternative School staff members include Nancy Swanson four days per week, Rose Toering three days a week, Gloria Perrizo two days a week and Glenda Schneekloth summer help. Luverne Curriculum Coordinator Jan Olson also serves as Alternative School director.

The average monthly attendance for 2001-02 was 33 students per month, and 168 courses were completed during the year.

The teachers reported they offer nearly all the same courses as Luverne High School offers, and the caliber of courses are similar.

Personnel
In personnel matters Thursday the board:

hired Kelly Wild as a fifth-grade teacher at a base salary of $30,212.

increased Joanne GabrielsonÕs contract from half-time to full-time. She is a half-time reading recovery teacher and she shares a first-grade class with another teacher.

hired Susan Nelson as assistant varsity volleyball coach and head junior varsity volleyball coach for a salary of $2,068.

In other business
The board accepted bids for bakery and dairy products, fuel oil and gasoline/diesel fuel for 2002-03. Contracts were awarded to Dean Foods North Central, Earth Grains and Rock County Co-op Oil.

The middle school-high school open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The elementary open house will be Sept. 9. The reason it's not scheduled with the middle school-high school event is to allow younger students to settle into their new surroundings before showing them off to parents and grandparents.

High School Principal Gary Fisher reported two foreign exchange students will attend classes in Luverne. They are from New Zealand and Spain.

Fisher responded to inquiries about why so many high school seniors make the A honor roll.

"Most of the required classes are taken through their junior year, so by the time they're seniors, they're taking electives - things they're interested in," Fisher said.

"They're bound to do better because they like their classes. I would be concerned if we didn't have a high percentage of seniors on the A honor roll.

There are six students attending Minnesota West Community College through Post Secondary Option this year.

Fisher requested the board make it a policy that if they're not in the top 30 percent of their class, they can't use the option.

That policy is already in place, but Minnesota West allows non-qualifiers to attend if they have letters of recommendation from high school staff.

Monday night's storm dropped nearly 1 1/2 inches of rain in Luverne, but along with the needed moisture came strong winds that caused some damage. Above, Loel Olson cleans up a downed limb.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Crews put a final layer of asphalt on Highway 75 in front of Luverne High School Friday. By Wednesday, the stripes had been painted on center lines, edges, and turn lanes, and nearly all the heavy equipment was out of town.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Grace Niessink, 91, Hills, formerly of Luverne, died Saturday, Aug. 17 at the Tuff Memorial HOme, Hills. Visitation will be Monday, Aug. 19 from 4 to 8:30 p.m. with the family present from 7 yo 8:30 p.m. at Roste Funeral Home, Hills. Services will be Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the Reformed Church of Steen with Rev. Dan Ramaker officiating. Burial will be in Eastside Cemetery, Steen.

By Jolene Fairly
Over the last three days much of the region has received one to three inches of rain. This is a weather pattern that will likely continue through August, according to meteorologist Phil Schumacher of the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, SD.

"It does look like we are entering a pattern that will produce more rain," he said.

Schumacher attributes the extended period of dry weather over the last few months to a combination of two factors.

Drought across the western plains has increased in the area causing the air in the Rocky Mountains to warm and spread over our area. Along with that came a pattern of high pressure or an upper level ridge in the upper atmosphere.

"Thunderstorms just aren't developing, or we have scattered thunderstorms," he said.

Schumacher dispelled some explanations for the lack of rain that were circulating around the area as having little impact on weather patterns.

The premise that storms and moisture tend to follow the Buffalo Ridge has some truth but in the end, the ridge has little influence.

"Actually the Buffalo Ridge can be an area were rainfall can be enhanced," he said. "It can have a small influence but it's usually not the dominant reason."

Air lofting over the ridge, in certain situations, may be enough to make clouds and thunderstorms develop, but he said it is fairly rare.

Some believe the heat created by the concrete, pavement and houses of Sioux Falls creates a warm area causing storms to scatter. Schumacher said studies on the "heat island effect," as the phenomenon is called, have been conducted in Minneapolis and on the east coast.

Sioux Falls is not considered a large city, and the heat island effect should have only a small influence, Schumacher said. He added that last year our area had a wet year and the effect didn't seem to matter.

"We'd actually have to study it to really see," he said.