By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board members began the process of hiring a new superintendent at their Monday night board meeting.

Superintendent Tom Knoll notified each board member by letter prior to the meeting of his intention to resign. Knoll accepted a position in the Hayfield school district, located about 25 miles southwest of Rochester.

Knoll advised the board to not hurry in their search for his replacement. "You don't want to pressure yourself in that selection," he said.

Knoll suggested a deadline of Jan. 1, 2002, would give the board a reasonable amount of time to select a candidate.

The timeline could, however, limit applicants because some would not leave their current districts in the middle of a school year.

Knoll also encouraged board members to attend an in-service on superintendent hiring because only two of the current members have been involved in the hiring process before.

The board discussed the possibility of combining the superintendent, elementary and high school principal positions but questioned if such a combination would be too much responsibility for one person.

"You don't want to make a slate so long everyone will run from it," said board member Ann Boeve.
Dean of Students Steve Wiertzema could handle the "day to day stuff" in the high school, according to Knoll.

Board member Gary Esselink made a motion to search for a superintendent with elementary licensing and a district administrator (similar to Wiertzema's position in the high school) for the elementary school to replace Elementary Principal Kim Grengs, who recently resigned. These positions will be filled by different individuals.

The board currently has 12 applicants to replace Grengs and will begin advertising for the superintendent position.

Knoll stated several applicants were not licensed for elementary principal but could complete the steps necessary to obtain a license in the future. Only one applicant was from within the district.

In other board business:
oThe district has received only one application for the vocal and instrumental instructor position vacated by Dawn Griepp. "So that is just a wait and see thing," said board chair Roland Crawford.

oThe 2001/2002 budget was adopted unanimously by the board. The budget banks on more than $2.7 million in revenue, dependent on the state aid currently being debated by the Minnesota State Legislature. Certified staff salaries account for $18,000 less in the 2001/2002 budget because of a retirement. The district currently has $1.4 million in the bank, according to Knoll.

oThe board moved the next board meeting from Monday, July 9, to Monday, July 16.

By Jolene Farley
Assault charges will not be filed against Hills-Beaver Creek Superintendent Tom Knoll, according to County Prosecuting Attorney Terry Vajgrt.

Vajgrt's office received law enforcement reports concerning an April 26 alleged assault on 19-year-old Derek Ehde at Hills-Beaver Creek High School.

Normally, Hills City Attorney Doug Eisma would be responsible for prosecuting a misdemeanor within the city limits. But Eisma stated a conflict of interest prevented him from reviewing the case so it was passed on to Vajgrt. Eisma was not available for comment.

After reviewing statements from six students and two teachers Vajgrt determined there was not sufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing to prosecute.

The Minnesota assault statute states that it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt the perpetrator intended to cause harm or fear of harm.

"The decision I make is very narrow," said Vajgrt. "I don't look at whether Mr. Knoll behaved appropriately. I look at whether or not I think there is evidence he intended to cause injury to the student."

Derek's parents, Rick and Lori Scholten, were notified of this development by letter, according to Lori. She said she believes the School Board did not address the issue because they were afraid of Knoll and knew he would be leaving the district.

"They are supposed to represent us, the parents of children in the school district, and they didn't do this," said Lori.

The Scholtens have retained an attorney and intend to pursue the matter further.

"They were hoping we would drop everything, but that is not going to be the case," Lori said.

Tim DeHaan, Hills, admires a red 1967 Jag XKE owned by Pete Kramer during the Country Cruisers Car Show Saturday morning.
Photo by Jolene Farley

By John Rittenhouse
Three Luverne High School boys made a big impact at the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships in Blaine over the weekend.

Although LHS was limited to a trio of entries at the meet, the three Cardinals scored in four events and compiled enough points (20) to place 13th as a team in state competition.

"We sent three boys to state, and all of them won medals," said Cardinal coach Craig Nelson. "You have to finish in the top nine at state to receive all-state awards, and all three of the boys did it. We're very pleased with our boys. To score 20 points at state is a big accomplishment."

Senior Darren Cook, junior Craig Bosch and sophomore Marcus Walgrave all were competing at the National Sports Center in Blaine for the first time. All three seemed comfortable in their surroundings after placing in the top six in their individual events to capture medals.

Cook and Walgrave turned in strong performances as hurdlers.

Cook took the track in the 110-meter preliminaries Friday and ran a 15.12, which was the fourth best qualifying time for Saturday's finals.

The Cardinal senior ran a 15.37 in the 110 finals the next day, securing fourth place individually. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City's Kent Anderson is the state champion with a time of 15.01.

"Darren ran an outstanding race in the preliminaries on Friday," Nelson said. "He didn't get the start he wanted in the finals, but he came on real strong at the end of the race. To place fourth at state is a huge accomplishment. Since he is a senior, Darren is one of those kids who will be difficult to replace."

Walgrave stepped up and turned in a stunning performance while placing fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in Blaine.

Walgrave produced the fifth best qualifying time for SaturdayÕs finals by running a 40.66 during Friday's preliminaries.

He turned in an even stronger performance on Saturday, running a 40.56 while placing fourth overall. A-C-GC's Anderson won the event with a time of 39.91.

"Considering he's a sophomore, weÕre thrilled with what Marcus accomplished. You just don't see many sophomores place at the state track meet," Nelson said.

Bosch may not have placed as high as Cook or Walgrave, but he did place in more events at the meet. The LHS junior locked up fifth- and seventh-place performances in throwing events.

Bosch's top effort came in SaturdayÕs discus competition, where he placed fifth. Becker's Jerod Posthmus won the event with a toss of 163-10.

Bosch came up with the seventh-best throw during Saturday's preliminaries to reach the finals, where one of his three throws ended up with a personal best distance of 150 feet. That toss gave Bosch a fifth-place medal.

The Cardinal thrower missed picking up another medal during FridayÕs shot put competition by one place.

Bosch's first throw in the preliminaries covered 49-9 1/4, which was a personal best effort.

He had two more opportunities in the preliminaries and three more chances in the finals to extend the distance, but his first throw of the day gave Bosch a seventh-place finish overall. Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Nathan Wells won the state title with a distance of 153-3.

"Craig had an outstanding weekend," Nelson said. "He came up with personal best throws in both events, which is really difficult to do at state. He's only a junior, so the experience of competing at state should be a fantastic thing for Craig next year."

The five Luverne girls who competed in Blaine produced a combined one point. The Cards finished 76th as a team.

The 3,200-meter relay team consisting of senior Hannah Dietrich, junior Patricia Willers, eighth-grader Sadie Dietrich and seventh-grader Victoria Arends came up with the team point by placing ninth during Saturday's finals.

The Cardinals ran a 10:00.04 during SaturdayÕs race, placing ninth in the field.

The Luverne team entered the meet with the eighth-best qualifying time of 9:49.97, but it was unable to match that effort in Blaine. Roseau emerged as the state champion in the event with a 9:29.41 effort.

"The girls didn't quite have it on Saturday. It was a little on the warm side, and I think it influenced them as distance runners," Nelson said.

Amanda Aning completed her third consecutive trip to the state meet by placing 11th overall in the pole vault Saturday.

Aning came into the event with the state's second best vault (10-6) of the season, but the best she could do Saturday was 9-6. BOLDÕs Lindsay Kazina won the state title with a vault of 11-6.

"Amanda was having problems with her grip on Saturday. Her hands were slipping on the pole, which makes a big difference. If she could have gone 10-6 like she did in the section meet, Amanda would have placed second. It just wasn't her day."

Sadie Dietrich also made an appearance in the 400-meter dash preliminaries on Friday, running the 15th place time of 1:02.49 without making the finals.

Dietrich needed to run a 59.92 to gain the ninth qualifying spot for SaturdayÕs finals. Blake's Anne Hillier won the state title with a time of 56.54.

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
On Tuesday night, in a joint meeting of the School Board, Luverne City Council, and Rock County Board, members decided on a course of action to create a community day-care center in City Centre Apartments.

The three boards had drawn up a contract with Don Dunham Jr., a Sioux Falls developer, who renovated the old elementary school.

The contract stated that Dunham would provide a rent-free area for a day care in the apartment complex, and in return for that, Dunham would receive a tax abatement. The abatement would forgive 100 percent of the school, county and city taxes for 10 years - or about $35,000 a year.

The day care was supposed to be completed by the end of this year, but Dunham has refused to furnish the day-care space that is estimated to cost $178,000.

Dunham has said that by providing the vacant space, he is fulfilling his part of the agreement and shouldn't have to furnish it.

At the meeting, Don Klosterbuer, school, city and county attorney, gave the boards two courses of action.

One option was to wait until the Dec. 31, 2001, contract deadline when Dunham must have the day care completed. Klosterbuer did not recommend this option because the boards would have to decide if they should pay Dunham's abatement for the 2000-2001 year after the year was over.
In the second option, that won't be an issue.

The second option was to send Dunham a letter informing him that he had breached the contract. The contract was set up so that it could be terminated at any time if one side had breached it. If the letter is sent out, Dunham would have 45 days to respond.

The boards discussed the options at the meeting. Keith Erickson, City Council member, brought up the solution of having Dunham donate the space and have the three boards furnish it. However, all three groups agreed that they did not have enough money in their budgets to furnish the day care.

Erickson also brought up the point that Dunham is being paid through the abatements to furnish the day care. "There is no incentive for him to do anything and no incentive for him not to do anything," Erickson said. "Either way he comes out zero-zero."

Jane Wildung, Rock County Board member, reminded the boards that Dunham would come out with a profit, because he would have a finished space in his building.

After much discussion, the boards decided on the second option, to send Dunham a letter informing him of his breach of contract by not providing the contracted furnished day-care facility in the building. Dunham will be given 45 days to respond to the letter, and depending on that response, the boards can determine the next course of action.

The boards also decided to send Kyle Oldre, Matt Hylen, Vince Schaefer and Don Klosterbuer to meet with Dunham after the letter is sent in order to negotiate with him.

Background
One year ago, LCEDC was formed to meet with Dunham to finalize plans for the community day-care center in the center of the City Centre Apartments. The committee applied for an estimate to furnish the space, and the bid came back at $178,000. About that time, the LCEDC could not get a commitment from Dunham that he would do it.

Dunham's attorney sent Klosterbuer a letter last November stating that Dunham did not have the duty to construct a day care. He only had to offer the space.

During early November, Klosterbuer sent a letter to Dunham's attorney stating that his clients believed Dunham was required to furnish the space.

Klosterbuer did not hear back until March, when Dunham's lawyer informed him that Dunham would be meeting with Mayor Glenn Gust and other officials.

The Luverne Community Economic Development Corporation reported on the meeting stating that Dunham and the committee disagreed on the terms of the abatement. Dunham would not furnish the space. Because of this, the boards did not pay the abatement amount to Dunham this year.

After not receiving the abatement, Dunham did not pay the first half of the real estate taxes. When asked about this, Dunham responded that when he received the abatement amount, he would pay.

By Sara Quam
Area youth looking for recreation other than playgrounds are closer to getting a skate park.

The Luverne City Council Tuesday approved a location north of the tennis courts and south of the power plant for the park. It also committed $1,500 to the project.

The equipment funds of $4,000 have already been spent by the Rock County Collaborative, which spearheaded the efforts with a student group.

"We thought it would be a good start on a skate park, and maybe in the future we could get more stuff through fund-raisers," eighth-grader Brett Hood said.

In addition to the equipment, though, the skate park needs to be set in a concrete pad that could cost $10,000. The Collaborative will pay $3,000 of that, but the rest is still up in the air.

In order for the Collaborative's money to be used, the project has a June 30 deadline or the money goes back to the state.

Equipment at the skate park will be rails and three-foot-high ramps. The park itself with be 50 feet by 50 feet as the students determined from testing measurements in the school gym.

The skate park plan was started when Rock County students in grades six through 12 were surveyed by the Collaborative. The overwhelming response was that they wanted more entertainment options.

Jane Wildung worked with the students and serves on the Collaborative board. She said, "We're always trying to get additional entertainment. We think the skate park would be a wonderful addition."

Because the ramps are low, liability insurance for the city won't be affected. The location is ideal because it's a high-traffic area with restroom facilities nearby.

Councilman David Hauge said, "I think it's a good idea. I've always said that Luverne needs more things for its young people to do."

Council member Keith Erickson agreed. "With the lower equipment, it will draw in the younger kids, and it gives [the older ones] a great opportunity to teach."

Refuse collection
The council clarified its garbage collection policy and decided to allow Ketterling Services to pick up the garbage at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Home, the Minnesota Vets Home and assisted living or congregate care facilities in town.

Councilman Jim Kirchhofer said, "One of the main reasons, in my mind, is that once upon a time, Ketterling did have the Mary Jane Brown Home."

He said the council further reasoned that the facilities are residential, but residents are under someoneÕs care and are paying a fee for that.

Councilman Tom Martius cast the only vote against the change in city pickups. He said, "We really didn't have all the information that I thought we needed."

The city will continue to pick up garbage at city and county facilities, churches and residences.

The 22-year-old Erlandson was stationed at Wheeler Air Field, 20 minutes away from Pearl Harbor. He had just arrived a few days earlier fresh out of basic training.

"I just got there," Erlandson said. "I knew where I was sleeping, and I knew where to go to eat."

Erlandson was on duty at the gate to Wheeler Field until 7 a.m. the day of the attack. After his shift, he went to church. It was Sunday.

"When I came out, I heard bombing. They (Japanese) were there," Erlandson said.

"They bombed one or two hangars and destroyed all our airplanes," Erlandson remembers. "They missed my barracks and hit the one next door."

Erlandson was about a block from the hangar. "I ran the opposite direction away from the hangars," Erlandson said.
The rest of the day and night, Erlandson is unclear about his movements. "I'm not sure what I did, but I know I didn't get any sleep."

That evening, Erlandson was on duty again at the gate. "They gave me a box of ammunition and a gun, but I don't even know if I knew how to use it.

"I remember seeing the smoke from Pearl Harbor," Erlandson said. "It smoked for most of December."

Family members did not hear from Erlandson until six weeks after the attack. "People were worried about me," Erlandson said. "I could receive their letters, but they couldn't get mine."

Erlandson spent 47 months in Hawaii. He finished his service in the Air Force in October 1945.

He has been back to the Pearl Harbor Memorial three times since 1941 and is hoping to go back on the 60th anniversary of the attack in December.

Erlandson is not planning to see the new movie "Pearl Harbor." "I watched the real footage on TV, and that's all that I need to see," Erlandson said.

Native of Adrian, Erlandson is married and has five children.

Erlandson belongs to a Pearl Harbor survivor group, and there are only 73 members left in the state of Minnesota. "It's something you never forget," Erlandson said.

By Sara Quam
Relay for Life's upcoming appearance in Luverne, so far, has local organizers proud and the American Cancer Society smiling.

The Friday event's projections surpassed all initial expectations for a first-time Relay in a city this size.

The American Cancer Society said Luverne could expect about 15 teams and raise about $15,000. Organizers have registered 41 teams, 530 walkers and raised $37,000.

Co-chair Vicki Baartman said, "We're blowing them out of the water."

Janet Marshall, other co-chair, said, "The response has been overwhelming from everyone."

Relay for Life has become the trademark fund-raiser for the Society, the worldÕs largest non-profit health organization committed to cancer research, education and service.

The evening has something for everyone, Baartman said, so people can feel a part of the fund-raiser even if they aren't walking.

Starting at 5:30 p.m. at the high school track field there will be a cookout, booths with haircuts, hair braiding, massage therapy, childrenÕs activities and team fund-raising events, all with free-will offerings.

The opening ceremonies start at 7 p.m. with a Survivor's Lap. Luminary lighting ceremony will be at dusk. This is said to be a moving experience that will be set with 1200 glowing lights around the track. The public is invited to walk the track to read the luminaries, which are each dedicated to a cancer survivor or to someone who has died of cancer.

The Overnight Olympics keep the walkers going from midnight until the sunrise service at 6 a.m. Saturday.

The early devotion will be delivered by the Rev. David Jahn of the First Assembly of God Church, rural Luverne. He has participated in two Relays in Marshall and is walking this year as part of the VetÕs Home team.

Corporate sponsors of the event are Luverne Community Hospital Physicians Group/Luverne Medical Center, Glen's Food Center, Jubilee Foods, First Farmers and Merchants Bank, Luverne Farm Store, Dr. Bob Kaczrowski Family Dentistry, Lutheran Brotherhood #8608 and Minnwest Bank.

Berkley Information Services has two of the 41 teams. With about 33 participants fund-raising mostly within the office, Melanie Strehlow said they had a lot of fun. They sold bars and cookies for snacks and made sundaes one day.

The most unusual of their fund-raising techniques was a raffle called Sing for Your Life. During one company meeting a month, co-workers sing Happy Birthday to those celebrating. The raffle was designed like this: Employees paid for a vote on who they wanted to sing. The top three choices to sing had the option to buy out of their spot and choose a replacement. The replacement could also buy out of the singing so this fund-raiser was productive for BIS.

To date, the company has raised $1,700 and will continue fund-raising the night of Relay for Life where they will be selling glow sticks.

Baartman said, "A huge thanks goes out to all our team captains, team members, committee members, local businesses and organizations who have all given so generously of their time and resources. Bring your wallet and come out for a fun evening and join us in this fight against cancer."

Pictured above are the members of the Relay for Life team from Kaczrowski Dentistry are (back left) Jody Bosch, Nancy Kaczrowski, Julie Haugen, Lisa Hamann, (front left) Gloria Russman, Bob Kaczrowski, and Becky Kaczrowski. Photo by Kate Vander Kooi

By John Rittenhouse
A Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth golfer qualified for section competition during the Sub-Section 10 A Golf Tournament in St. James Wednesday, May 23.

Tom Janssen, an H-BC-E freshman, locked up an individual qualifying position during the event, which was originally scheduled to be played at Worthington's Prairie View Country Club May 21. Rain that day forced the site and date of the tournament to be switched.

The top team and top five individual finishers who are not members of the championship team qualify for section competition at the sub-section meet.

The Section 3A Championships were played Friday in Marshall.

With individual champion Brian Kvamme (82) and runner up Chad Nelson (85) leading the way, Pipestone-Jasper won the boysÕ seb-section crown with 347 strokes during the 18-hole event. Matt Oye and Andy Eitreim, who shot 90s to tie for fifth and sixth place indiviudally, rounded out P-JÕs team tally.

Since the four Arrows who finished in the top six are taken out of the running for individual qualifying positions, one of the individual berths for the section meet was claimed by H-BC-E's Janssen.

Luverne's Tony Smedsrud and Colby Anderson shot 86s, and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's Eric Peterson shot an 87 to claim three individual positions.

Janssen and LuverneÕs Kelsey Anderson shot 93s to secure the final two qualifying positions.

H-BC-E, which finished the team season with a 3-6 record, compiled 406 strokes as a squad to round out the four-team field. P-J, Luverne (360) and T-M-B (374) topped the Patriots in the standings.

Dean Moss and Blake Brommer, who were individual qualifiers for last year's section meet, added 96- and 106-stroke scores to H-BC-E's team tally.

Ben Herman added a 111 to the team effort, while Kyle Sammons and Tom Beaner didn't influence the scoring with 123- and 143-tallies.

H-BC-EÕs girls end a 1-11 season after rounding out a seven-team field in St. James May 23.

Luverne (371), Fulda (393), Murray County Central (403), T-M-B (434), Adrian (447) and P-J (463) topped H-BC-EÕs tally of 536 strokes.

Jessica Wassenaar carded a 117 to lead the Patriots. A 98-stroke round was needed to qualify for section competition.

Jessica Martens, Marla Groen and Melissa Fagerness added 117-, 131- and 166-stroke scores to H-BC-E's team effort.

Angie Bush and Kari Jansma shot 198- and 208-scores without influencing the scoring.