The Reservoir, west of Hills, is serene on a Thursday in December. The Reservoir was built around the turn of the 20th century by the Great Northern Railroad, or the Sioux City and Northern, as it was known at the time. They needed a place to supply their locomotives with water so they took advantage of a creek running in from north of Hills which was wet most of the time. The "Rez" became a popular swimming spot and has been developed into a community park.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Avis Schroder, 70, rural Wykoff, formerly of the Kenneth area, died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, in her home.

Memorial services for her were Saturday Dec. 1, at Chatfield Lutheran Church in Chatfield. The Rev. Christine Finsand officiated. Burial will be in Fillmore Cemetery in the spring.

Avis Sunde was born to Ingolf and Alma (Halverson) Sunde on Jan. 24, 1931, in Luverne. She graduated from Bethany Lutheran Academy, Mankato, in 1949.

She married James W. Schroder on Aug. 14, 1951, in Kenneth. They moved to rural Wykoff in 1954. She was a bookkeeper for Nelson TV and Appliance, Orlen Ross Furniture and the Gallery in the Kahler Hotel, all in Rochester.

Mrs. Schroder was a member of Chatfield Lutheran Church and the Wykoff American Legion Auxiliary. She was an avid golfer and enjoyed playing bridge.

Survivors include her husband, James Schroder, rural Wykoff; one son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Glenda Schroder, Pine Island; four daughters and sons-in-law, Sandra and Terry Severson, Judy and Brad Beckman, all of Rochester, Vicki and Donn Schmidt, Onalaska, Wis., and Shirl and Tom Boelter, Chatfield; 12 grandchildren; two brothers, Ralph Sunde, Luverne, and David (Kay) Sunde, Preston; and one sister, Eileen (Walter) Kopp, Kenneth.

Mrs. Schroder was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister.

Memorials are suggested to Seasons Hospice in Rochester.

Riley Funeral Home, Chatfield, was in charge of arrangements.

By Patricia Willers
For the Star Herald
The Luverne wrestling squad had two unfortunate losses last week at a triangular in Luverne. The triangular included the teams of Madison and Pipestone-Jasper.

The Pipestone Arrows started out strong in the Cardinals' first match of the night. The Arrows won with a final score of 12-61.

The second overall match of the night finished with a final score of 19-42, the Madison Bulldogs beating the Pipestone-Jasper Arrows.

The Cardinal team showed more depth in their second match versus the Madison Bulldogs but ended on the low side as they lost with a final score of 23-48.

Pipestone 61,
Luverne 12
The Cardinal wrestlers took a hard loss against Pipestone on Thursday Dec. 20, but nevertheless had some good moments during the night. Chris Tiesler pulled in his 100th win against Pipestone as he wrestled Travis Manderscheid of Pipestone.

The Cardinals had two pins during the meet. Joel Evans pinned Paul Peterson in 1:01 at 189, and Tiesler pinned Manderscheid in 2:32 at 125.

Luverne had some tough matches versus Pipestone with Anthony Boyenga being pinned by Zach Morgan at 112 in 0:34, followed by Jesse Evans scoring on L-H-BC-EÕs Kerry Fink in a major decision at 119.

Tiesler's pin helped to build the teamÕs confidence, but unfortunately, a rough streak started with a pin by PipestoneÕs Justin Fruechte over Dustin Donth in 0:38 at 130. That was followed by Mike Evans pinning Dusty Seachris in 2:19 at 135 and Chittakorn Keophilalay pinning Justin Mann at 140 in 1:16, bringing the team score to 6-28.

Pipestone's streak continued with Ryan Bullerman winning a major decision over Canaan Petersen at 145 with a score of 5-8. Pipestone firmly kept their lead with three forfeits to Luverne at 152, 160, and 171.

At 189, Joel Evans made a last attempt at a comeback for Luverne by pinning Pipestone's Paul Peterson in 1:01. Cody Jagow at heavyweight was pinned in an intense 5:37 by Justin Olsen. Aric Uithoven ended the match for the team as Kyle Evans of Pipestone pinned him in 1:49 at 103.

Match wrap-up
103 (P) Evans pins Uithoven.
112 (P) Morgan pins Boyenga.
119 (P) Evans m.d. Fink.
125 (L) Tiesler pins Manderscheid.
130 (P) Fruechte pins Donth.
135 (P) Evans pins Seachris.
140 (P) Keophilalay pins Mann.
145 (P) Bullerman dec. Petersen.
152 (P) Smidt by forfeit.
160 (P) Quist by forfeit.
171 (P) Ilse by forfeit.
189 (L) Evans pins Peterson.
Hwt. (P) Olsen pins Jagow.

Madison 48,
Luverne 23
The Cardinals' second match of the night proved to be a better match-up as they fought hard while losing to the Bulldogs with a final score of 23-48.

The Cardinals scored pins through wrestlers heavyweight Cody Jagow, and Aric Uithoven at 103. They secured decisions by Canaan Petersen and Joel Evans at 145 and 189, respectively. Chris Tiesler also scored for the Cardinals with a strong match ending in a technical fall for Madison.

The Bulldogs started out strong with pins by Monte Wire over Anthony Boyenga at 112 in 0:42, and Paul Hansen at 119 over L-H-BC-EÕs Kerry Fink in 1:51. Tiesler's technical fall over Madison's Danny Coomes at 125 brought the team score to 5-12.

At 130, 135, and 140, Luverne lost three tough matches to Madison. Dustin Donth was pinned by Philip Downs in 1:16, Dusty Seachris was pinned in 0:34 by Jerae Wire, and Mitchell Walker pinned L-H-BC-E's Justin Mann in 0:53, bringing the overall score to 5-30.

Petersen brought up the Cardinals with a decision over Madison's Mark Poncelet at 145 with a score of 10-3, which brought the score to 8-30. The Cardinals then sadly gave up three matches to forfeit at 152, 160, and 171.

Evans helped the team out at 189 with a decision over Mike Palmquist with a score of 7-3. Jagow and Uithoven then finished strong for the Cardinals with pins over Ben Kapelle in 0:28 at heavyweight, and Chris Werer in 0:57 at 103 making the final score 23-48.

The L-H-BC-E wrestlers, with a current record of 1-4-1, will wrestle next at the Montevideo Invitational on Friday, where they hope to be competitive.

Match wrap-up
103 (L) Uithoven pins Werer.
112 (M) Wire pins Boyenga.
119 (M) Hansen pins Fink.
125 (L) Tiesler t.f. Coomes.
130 (M) Downs pins Donth.
135 (M) Wire pins Seachris.
140 (M) Walker pins Mann.
145 (L) Petersen dec. Poncelet .
152 (M) Hodne by forfeit.
160 (M) Peterson by forfeit.
171 (M) Hanson by forfeit.
189 (L) Evans dec. Palmquist.
hwt. (L) Jagow pins Kapelle

By Lori Ehde
The Rock County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to terminate the employment of John Burgers as director of the county's Land Management Office.

According to a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Burgers' employment was terminated "without good standing" effective Dec. 26.

The board's action stemmed from Burgers' Dec. 19 guilty plea in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud.

In a signed plea agreement submitted to the court, Burgers admitted that he abused a position of public trust with Rock County and deprived the citizens of the county the right to his honest services.

He admitted to doing so through a scheme whereby he obtained loans and funds in connection with the hog production facility, Global Ventures Inc., in exchange for preferential treatment to the facility.

Burgers admitted in court that in March 1996 he learned that debris and waste were being dumped at a hog production facility owned by Global Ventures Inc.

Instead of notifying the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Burgers contacted a senior officer of GVI and advised him to take care of the problem before he contacted state officials.

A few months later, in June 1996, Burgers approached the same GVI officer and informed him he (Burgers) was in deep financial trouble and needed money.

"I heard rumors the bank and Global Ventures were involved in suspicious money transactions. I knew Dave Logan would see me as something of value and that he would know that I could make it tough or make it easy on Global Ventures," Burgers said in a written statement Sept. 18.

"I expected for that reason Logan could help me get loans at Pipestone Bank," Burgers wrote. "Dave Logan used me as his heads-up guy to tell him of potential problems."

Per the plea agreement, the court has dropped the more serious bribery charge.

Burgers faces a sentencing guideline range between six to 12 months and 24 to 30 months. His fine range is from $3,000 to $50,000. A sentencing date is expected in eight to 10 weeks.

After meeting in closed session Wednesday with legal counsel, commissioners made the decision on a 5-0 vote.

The county will not seek restitution for months Burgers was on paid administrative leave since he was indicted Sept. 20.

By Sara Quam
Reward money of $50,000 in the case of Carrie Nelson's murder expires Dec. 31.

Spotlight on Crime, which offers the reward, selects violent crimes and attaches a time limit to the money.

Carrie's mother, Nan Karr-Kaufenburg, said, "I think the money has generated some leads."

Because the money is still offered for a few days, she hopes people will see that as incentive to call if they haven't already.

"I just talked to investigators this week and they're still working on it and it's still on top of their heads," she said.

Although a lot of time has passed since the May murder, Karr-Kaufenburg and investigators are still hopeful that the crime will be solved.

The original reward of up to $10,000 is still offered to whoever leaves information with investigators that leads to a conviction.

Nelson, 20, was murdered May 20 while working at Blue Mound State Park outside of Luverne.

Still key to solving the murder is information on the watch found at the scene of the beating. Investigators think the watch was worn by the person responsible for the robbery and murder.

The digital watch face bears the logo "Field Ranger" and is silver. The watchband is tan with brown leather accents.

Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call the tip line at (507) 283-1301.

By Lori Ehde
Two Luverne men are in custody in the Nobles County Jail following a traffic violation that yielded a trunk full of stolen firearms.

According to information from the Rock County Attorney's Office, 47-year-old Oliver Crawford and 18-year-old Scott Wentler were pulled over in Luverne for speeding 42 mph in a 30-mph speed zone.

The time was 1:15 a.m. and the car, owned and driven by Crawford, was headed south before it was stopped in front of Taco John's on Highway 75.

When Crawford consented to a search of the car, 23 handguns and a weapon described as an "Uzi" were found in the trunk. The items were later found to have been stolen from Harvey's Trading Post.

According to store owner Kevin Kramer, the stolen items are estimated to be worth nearly $15,000. Included in that figure is the Uzi, a semi-automatic rifle, which costs $1,300 to $1,400 by itself.

Kramer said he's turning that information over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal agency that gets involved whenever a gun dealership is broken into.

Entry was gained through a broken storefront window, and little damage was done inside, except to locks on display cases.

"I would say they could have been in and out in a couple minutes or less," said Kramer, who worked until after 8 p.m. Thursday night.

Had the men gotten away, he said it wouldn't take long to catch up with them. "Every gun is registered with the ATF," he said. "It would have come up stolen if they tried to sell it."

Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt said registration wouldn't help in a case like this. "Stolen guns are not typically sold to people who run registration checks," Vajgrt said. "They're sold to people who want stolen guns, and they're used to commit crimes."

He said law enforcement did a good job of getting the guns off the street.

Kramer's security system reportedly had not been turned on at the time of the break-in, and it was pure coincidence that the Crawford vehicle was pulled over for speeding.

Wentler faces charges of felony-level burglary and theft. No bail has been set, as he is awaiting sentencing on another unrelated case. He pled guilty earlier this year to making terroristic threats.

Crawford's bail has been set at $30,000. He faces felony level charges of receiving stolen property and possessing stolen property.

Both men are scheduled to appear in Rock County District Court Monday.

By Jolene Farley
Dave Deragisch begins his duties as superintendent of Hills-Beaver Creek Schools on Jan. 1, and it's a homecoming of sorts for the Hills native and H-BC graduate.

"It's going to feel very natural," said Deragisch. "It's going to be a nice transition. I know a lot of people."

Deragisch grew up in the Hills area and graduated from H-BC in 1979. His father, Dean, was principal in the H-BC district from 1958 to 1973.

After graduating from Sioux Falls College with a bachelor of arts degree in social sciences, Deragisch taught for two years in the Chandler-Lake Wilson district before returning to Hills to teach from 1986 to 1991.

He left Hills to become middle school principal in the Jackson district, and in 1993 he became middle school principal in Luverne.

Deragisch lists two things among his favorites in Luverne. "The students and the staff," he said. "They are really great people. They are fun to work with - just a wonderful group of people."

Deragisch signed a three-year contract with the H-BC district for $79,000 per year, prorated this year since heÕs starting in the middle of the school year.

The Luverne School Board released him from a middle school principal contract for $77,947 that expired at the end of this school year.

That salary included compensation for other duties such as middle school counselor and middle school activities director.

Deragisch earned his master's of counseling from South Dakota State University, Brookings, and his principal licensure from Mankato State University, Mankato.

Deragisch will fill the position in the H-BC district vacated by Tom Knoll after eight years. The position was filled temporarily by Darold Williams.

Deragisch and his wife, Lori, have four children, Danielle, 17, Brandon, 15, Kaitlyn, 12, and Hilary, 8, and currently reside in Luverne. They will continue attending school in Luverne, according to Deragisch.

By Sara Quam
The Dec. 7 robbery and arson at Luverne's True Value are still holding up the Novotnys from continuing their business operations.

"There have been a lot of people coming and going, but we don't know where we're at yet," co-owner Mark Novotny said.

Deputy State Fire Marshall Steve Kellen is investigating the crimes. He said he "occasionally" sees arson as a cover-up to burglary as in the case of True Value.

Investigating arsons is a complicated task. "It's hard to describe," Kellen said. "There's so much to go through to look for [clues.]"

Kellen said the arson tip line hasn't gotten any calls on the case yet, but he thinks it will. He said time is usually on the side of investigators and someone knows something and will likely come forward.

"We can only hope someone decides that they want to call in that they know who did this," Kellen said.

A safe recently found in Luverne was rumored to be True ValueÕs, but the safe was a private individual's that had been thrown in a dumpster and was unrelated to the True Value robbery.

The Dec. 7 robbery and arson left the Novotnys without the company safe, along with more than $1,200 in it. Their computer hard drives were sent to a company that may be able to retrieve information.

Damage was originally estimated at more than $600,000 on the building and contents destroyed at a time when shelves and storerooms were overstocked for holiday sales.

A new freight shipment worth about $8,000 had just arrived the night before the fire, and included 1,200 gallons of paint.

Mark and Beth have owned the Luverne True Value for six years and employ seven people full- and part-time.

A $2,500 reward is offered by the Minnesota chapter of International Arson Investigators for information leading to the identification of persons responsible for Friday's fire. The arson hotline is 1-800-723-2020.

Unsolved crime
As if the unsolved Carrie Nelson murder weren't enough for one small town, Luverne and Rock County communities fell victim this year to repeated burglaries and vandalisms.

Many burglaries of both town and rural residents occurred when residents were in their homes, often sleeping.

One of the most recent and disappointing burglaries ended in arson earlier this month when burglars attempted to cover the theft of True Value's safe by setting fire to the business.

Owners Beth and Mark Novotny are still reeling from the loss, and future plans remain uncertain as they continue to measure the financial impact.

Rock County rallies behind Relay for Life
On a happier note, and in a story that truly reflects the generosity of local residents, Rock County's first Relay for Life was a resounding success.

During the kick-off meeting Thursday, March 15, more than 30 teams of Relay For Life walkers indicated interest in participating in the June 15 event.

The American Cancer Society had instructed local organizers to shoot for 15 teams as a goal for a first-year event.

"This area is such a committed community for supporting things," said one organizer, Helen Saum. "Certainly cancer has touched a lot of families in this area, so I think people want to do something about it."

When it was all said and done, 41 teams and nearly 550 walkers raised more than $49,000 for the American Cancer Society.

School district
faces budget cuts
It wasn't an easy year to serve on the Luverne School Board - or any school board for that matter - as state Legislatures approved school funding that fell short of rising school costs.

In a painful process, Luverne School Board members cut nearly $400,000 from its budget. Those cuts represented programs and staff near and dear to students and families, many of whom protested loudly at emotional meetings.

To help ease budget woes, many school districts went to their voters to pass operating referendums to stay above water.

In September, voters in the Luverne district approved a 10-year $234,000 operating referendum.

Fledgling Field
debate continues
For the second year running, the debate over the future of Fledgling Field continues to dominate local headlines.

The piece of ground along Highway 75 once served as the site of a Luverne school building, constructed in 1895 from Blue Mounds quartzite.

In 1956, students moved into the present Luverne High School building and the old stone structure was soon razed.

The ground was used as an outdoor play area for Luverne elementary students who walked there from the former Luverne Street building. When the new elementary school was built on the high school campus, the district no longer needed the property.

Cornerstone Construction purchased the land for $41,000 in an April 2000 auction. Cornerstone specializes in architectural services and construction management for designing and building funeral homes. Holm-Dingmann Funeral Home has said it will buy the constructed building, if developed.

A conditional use permit for a funeral home in the residential neighborhood was denied earlier this year. This month, a request to have the property rezoned from R1 to R2 was withdrawn from a City Council meeting agenda.

Cornerstone has said that if that happened, it will develop as many single or two-family dwellings as space allows.

Ethanol smell
doesn't go away
Another tired topic that keeps resurfacing is the debate over what to do about the ethanol smell.

The Luverne business community was thrilled by the economic benefit of Luverne's Agri-Energy ethanol plant which started operations in 1998.

Residents in the southwest part of town, however, have been less than thrilled by what they consider an offensive odor emitted by the plant's grain drying process.

A year ago at this time, a new 175-foot-stack was erected that is 30 percent taller than the original and disperses emissions a greater distance before odors fall on the city.

Residents so far haven't been impressed by improvements, if any, and now plant management is considering installing a $1.5-million thermal oxidizer, which is nearly guaranteed to fix the problem.

Ethanol plant representatives requested help from the Luverne City Council in paying for the equipment. So far, the council hasn't acted on that request.

Perseverance pays off
Luverne's labor-intensive border city bill became law this summer.

Two years of testimony and lobbying seem to have paid off, and now the city has to figure out how to use its new economic development tool.

The border city initiative was designed to help compensate Luverne businesses for lower tax rates in bordering states. The city of Luverne hopes that fewer businesses will move to South Dakota and that more will relocate in Luverne.

The city is working with Moorhead and lawyers who wrote the bill to help it use the incentives in the best possible way. The first business to use border city legislation could be Netbriefings, a Webcasting company that has preliminarily decided to expand a customer service office in Luverne.

Learning to
play well together
At the 2000 year end, local elections topped the annual story list.

LuverneÕs mayoral race drew the most attention, with challenger Glen Gust ousting incumbent Bill Weber by a count of 1,460 to 1,006.

Two other newcomers joined the City Council. Challengers Dave Hauge and Tom Martius took their places in council chambers next month.

Throughout 2001, it's been a year of initiation for the newcomers as they've put their own new spin on old controversial topics, such as Fledgling Field, the fitness center, tax increment financing and others.