By Lori Ehde
Influenza A and other miscellaneous illnesses continue to affect school attendance and the doctor's office waiting room.

"The numbers are still going up," Luverne School Nurse Deb Vander Kooi said Tuesday.

Last week, the Star Herald reported 64 students out of 1,300 in the district were absent as of Wednesday.

That number climbed to 109 Tuesday, and then dropped to 81 Wednesday. Typical absenteeism is 20 to 24.

Vander Kooi said many recovering students from last week's absent list were still sick Monday,
"If kids went home Thursday, they figured by Monday they could come back, but we sent a lot of them back Monday," she said.

"High school kids, I think, are coming back too soon. It's hard, because they have a lot going on."

Because of the length and severity of the symptoms, she said some students, especially those in the younger grades, are now suffering from residual ailments.

For example, she's heard several reports of sore ears, which may indicate ear infections.

Vander Kooi said at the very least, students should wait to return to school until their temperatures have returned to normal. But even then, it may be too soon. "They need to get their energy back," she said.

She said it's especially important to stay home while symptoms are present because the illness is still contagious, especially with an elevated temperature.

According to staff at Luverne Medical Center, patients are coming in with all kinds of illnesses, including Influenza A.

Dr. Diane Kennedy told the Star Herald last week that most people contracting Influenza A are the ones who had not had a flu shot. "It appears the vaccine has been effective," she said.

Nurses Wednesday said that's still the case, but if an immunized person gets Influenza, the illness is not as severe as it would be without the shot.

Symptoms of Influenza A are sudden onset of a high fever, body aches and coughing that typically lasts five to seven days.

In the first of five beginning woodcarving classes, members of the Blue Mound Woodcarvers show starters how to begin a carving project. In about 45 minutes of the first session, the class was close to carving their first loons. Some more experienced carvers took on other projects. Participants represented a wide range of ages and both boys and girls. The carvers say they are always happy to see so many young faces.

Pictured are Jeremiah Johnson and instructor Mark Wieneke painting the finishing touches on a loon. Johnson said that at the next class, he'll start working on a letter opener. Carlos Vega is also pictured painting his loon carving on the second night of classes. This is the second time Vega has taken the class.

Photos by Sara Quam

By Jolene Farley
A car accident near Presho, S.D., Friday claimed the life of 51-year-old Patricia (Gibson) Van Wyhe, and left her husband, Tom, hospitalized.

Tom is the son of Cliff and Vi Van Wyhe, Hills. Patricia's father, Marshall Gibson, is a former Beaver Creek postmaster. Tom and Patricia are both Hills-Beaver Creek High School graduates.

Tom suffered a broken right hand and left collarbone and lacerations and bruising.

"Tom had surgery and he's out of intensive care," said his brother, Steven Van Wyhe, Steen. "His prognosis is good. He'll recover."

The couple was returning to their home in Sioux Falls from a basketball game in Pierre, S.D., when they swerved to miss a stalled semi.

Patricia was killed instantly when their vehicle left the road and rolled.

Co-workers of PatriciaÕs, a doctor and a nurse, were first on the scene and reported the crash by cell phone and administered care until emergency personnel arrived.

Tom was transported to Pierre by ambulance, then flown to Sioux Falls. He is a patient at Sioux Valley Hospital.

A 28-year employee of Sioux Valley Hospital, Patricia was director of surgery and anesthesia.

Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church, Sioux Falls.

Carol Goehle's second-grade class is the featured Luverne Elementary Class of the Week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Front row: Brandon Klein, Matthew Fick, Hanna Hemme, Codi Oehlerts, Jeremy Reisdorfer, Ashley Otten, Steven Verhey, (second row) Haley Boltjes, Logan Deutsch, Melissa Radley, Lucas Nath, Connor Severtson, Chase Hoffman, Michaela Perrizo, (third row) Stephany Balsavage, Jennifer Fick, Tressa Ykema, Erica Marshall, Kaitlyn Van Meeteren, Austin Stroeh, Zoe Forsberg, Macy DeSplinter, (back row) Crystal Ellefson, Mrs. Goehle.

Mrs. Goehle's students enjoyed special activities Monday for the 100th day of school for which they brought their own collections of 100 items from home (pennies, baseball cards, etc.) and also 100 of a snack item. The snacks were mixed together and eaten during milk break, and the students read stories about large numbers. They also wrote stories about what they would do with $100, what they could 100 of, and something they wouldn't want 100 of. Today, Valentine's Day, was also a big day for the students, who enjoyed a class party.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Did Principal Pat Maddox and the Liberty School Board harass and discipline Alex Watson because of an eating disorder? Did their actions constitute a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act? The Luverne High School Mock Trial teams along with more than 2,000 Minnesota high school students will take on the roles of plaintiffs attorneys, defense attorneys and witnesses to argue these questions during the 2002 Minnesota Mock Trial Competition.

LHS team members are (first row, from left) Jamison Tooley, Julia Lovett, Kristi Oeding, Mary Carlson, Emma Reker and Danielle Cook. (Second row) Teacher coach Jim Sanden, Jennifer Lovett, Alisha Moeller, Kristin Miller, Danielle Deragisch and Jesson Vogt. (Third row) John Kreuch, Alison Ceynowa, Audra Novotny, Steven Althoff and Daniel Amborn. (Missing from the photo is Sadie Dietrich, Emily Brandel and Attorney coach Alex Miller.) The group brought a 1-1 record into Wednesday's competition in New Ulm.

Local and regional competitions are held in January and February, leading to the state tournament March 12 and 13. Teacher Coach Glenda Kuehl and Attorney Coach Terry Vajgrt will work with the Hills-Beaver Creek team. The Minnesota High School Mock Trial Competition is a citizenship education program sponsored by the Minnesota State Bar Association. More than 800 lawyers and judges statewide will volunteer this year. In addition to sponsoring the statewide competition, the Minnesota State Bar Association will host the 2002 National High School Mock Trial Championship in St. Paul on May 10 and 11.

Photo by Lori Ehde

It's not pretty, but Tanner and Tucker Horn (from left) and Lucas Peterson were entertained by this dirty snow pile on the corner of Dodge Street and Highway 75 as they stopped to climb on it on their way home from school Tuesday. Kids in snow pants and boots could use a clean layer of the white stuff as their winter play areas are slowly disappearing.

Photo by Lori Ehde

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls bounced back from a basketball loss to Pipestone-Jasper Jan. 29 by recording a 62-53 win at Edgerton Public School Thursday.

Playing two days after ending a five-game winning streak to the Arrows in Hills, the Patriots didnÕt appear to be bothered by the circumstances in Edgerton.

The Patriots narrowly outscored the Flying Dutchmen in every quarter while improving their Red Rock Conference record to 9-3 with a nine-point victory.

"It was a well-played game," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "Both teams shot the ball well, and both teams played well."

The bottom line was H-BC played a little better than Edgerton.

H-BC led 18-17 after eight minutes of play before using a 10-8 scoring edge in the second quarter to make it a 28-25 game at the intermission.

The Patriots led by five (44-39) at the end of the third quarter. An 18-14 scoring advantage for H-BC in the fourth quarter made it a nine-point margin in the end.

Erin Boeve, who scored 13 points in the first half, recorded a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds for the winners. Becky Broesder added 16 points and seven assists to the cause. Cassi Tilstra had six assists and three steals for H-BC, while Brittney Olson contributed five assists.

The 11-6 Patriots host Southwest Christian tonight before playing road games with Ellsworth and Murray County Central Monday and Tuesday.

Box score
Olson 0 0 1-2 1, Rentschler 2 0 0-3 4, Tilstra 4 0 0-0 8, Broesder 7 0 2-2 16, Rozeboom 2 0 2-4 6, DeNoble 1 0 4-4 6, Boeve 7 0 7-10 21.

Team statistics
H-BC: 23 of 50 field goals (46 percent), 16 of 25 free throws (64 percent), 37 rebounds, nine turnovers.
Edgerton: 20 of 52 field goals (38 percent), 12 of 14 free throws (86 percent), 34 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys' basketball team got February off to a promising start when it secured a 73-62 Red Rock Conference victory over Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in Hills Friday.

The Patriots, who won seven straight games during the month of January, extended their season-long winning streak to eight games with an 11-point win over the Wolverines.

Solid shooting performances from the field by seniors David Top and Matt Buck set the stage for H-BC's win.

Top, who had 12 rebounds for the Patriots, hit a pair of three-point shots and was nine of 16 (53 percent) from the field overall while netting a team-high 29 points.

Buck, who had five assists and a team-high 14 rebounds, connected on nine of 17 field goals (53 percent) and finished the game with 19 counters.

After falling behind 17-15 in the first quarter, H-BC started to assert itself in the second period.

The Patriots outscored ML-B-O 24-15 in the second stanza to gain a 39-32 halftime lead.

H-BC used a 21-18 scoring edge in the third quarter to make it a 60-50 difference before winning by 11 in the end.

Brad Haak had a 10-point, nine-rebound performance for the Patriots.

Lyle DeBoer paced the Patriots with six assists and three steals, while Jesse Leuthold added five assists.

A 46-27 rebounding advantage and 49 percent shooting from the field were keys to victory for H-BC.

Box score
D.DeBoer 3 0 1-3 7, Van Maanen 1 0 0-0 2, Haak 4 0 2-4 10, Leuthold 1 0 0-2 2, L.DeBoer 2 0 0-2 4, Top 7 2 9-18 29, Buck 9 0 1-3 19.

Team statistics
H-BC: 29 of 59 field goals (49 percent), 13 of 32 free throws (41 percent), 46 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
ML-B-O: 23 of 54 field goals (43 percent), 10 of 16 free throws (63 percent), 27 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek High School athletes who are members of the Luverne-H-BC-Ellsworth wrestling team posted a combined 1-1 record at a dual meet in Redwood Falls Friday.

Kerry Fink contributed six points to a five-match winning streak that gave the Cardinals a 30-12 lead during the match against Redwood Valley.

Dusty Seachris yielded six points to RWV, which scored 30 points in the final five weight classes to pull out a 42-30 win.

Fink's win was of the forfeit variety at 112 pounds.

RWV's Shawn Gewerth pinned Seachris with 47 seconds remaining in the first period of the 130-pound match.

The loss left L-H-BC-E with a 1-4 Southwest Conference record and a 3-14-1 overall mark. The Cards close the regular season with a SWC duel in Jackson tonight.

L-H-BC-E drew the 11th seed for the Section 3AA Team Tournament that begins Tuesday in Lamberton. The Cards wrestle No. 6 Lac qui Parle Valley at 6 p.m., with the winner taking on No. 3 Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove after the the first match.