By Jolene Farley
Fifty years ago adoption was very different from the way it is now, according to Marilyn Nelson, Hills. She thinks things have "changed for the better."

Nelson was adopted by Harold and Ethel Sather when she was three weeks old. World War II was raging when her future parents got the call.

"My aunt, my mom and my dad collected all the war stamps they could get and went to Sioux Falls to try to get baby stuff," said Nelson.

Because of the war, civilians were allowed to purchase a limited amount of goods at one time, so they split up and went to three different stores.

Marilyn Nelson clearly remembers the moment she found out she was adopted. When she was 7 or 8 years old, she was watching a television show about children without parents.

Marilyn said she was expressing sympathy for the kids on TV. Her mother turned to her and told her she, too, was adopted.

"I remember crying," said Marilyn. "Every time I asked, they would never give me any information."

Marilyn thinks dealing with questions about her birth was difficult for her mother. "I wasn’t anyone else’s (child)," said Nelson. "I was hers." When Marilyn got that through her head, she felt better.

"I really had a good life growing up," said Nelson. "I am so thankful."

Nelson continued to ask occasionally about her birth parents, but she never really received any information from anyone until after her mom died. An aunt then asked her if she wanted to know more.

Nelson found out she was adopted through Lutheran Social Services and her mother was a twin from Iowa.

Her adoption records were closed, but Nelson asked Social Services to contact her birth mother. Nelson's birth mother chose not to see her.

"I am thinking she probably had her own family," said Nelson. "And to bring all that out after that amount of time would be hard."

Nelson said she doesn't blame her birth mother, and the only thing she regrets is she doesn’t have any medical history for her two children, Mark and Marie.

"I am content not knowing," said Nelson.

It was Nelson’s history that led her and her husband, Duane, to become foster parents themselves.

"I needed to give back what I had gotten," said Nelson. "I think I was very blessed."

After their son, Mark, graduated in 1988, the Nelson's took in their first foster child.

The Nelsons helped to raise 10 or 12 children, mostly teens, throughout the years.

Some stayed for a couple of days, some for months. Many still keep in touch with the Nelson family. Nelson said foster parenting is a wonderful experience.

She found the kids would appreciate the little things most. With some, if you asked them how their day went they were shocked. No one ever took the time to ask them that before.

The kids couldn’t believe Duane would wave good-bye every day as they left for school.

Marilyn was richly rewarded when she got a call from a former foster child who told her, "I just want to tell you I still haven’t forgotten making Christmas cookies with you".

All the kids want is to be talked to and to have someone to be there for them, according to Marilyn.

The Nelsons always encouraged the kids to see the good in their parents. They didn’t talk birth parents down.

"I truly believe every mother is doing the best that she can," said Nelson. "Some just lack parenting skills."

She turned to her own children and admitted, "I made some mistakes with you".

"You were a great mother," said Marie, quickly contradicting her mother's words.

The Nelsons want to encourage couples to look into becoming foster parents. "There are kids out there who need someone," said Marilyn

Ann (left) and Erin Boeve share a special mother-daughter moment at the Hills-Beaver Creek prom Saturday evening in the H-BC High School. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13.

By Jolene Farley

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne baseball team played its way to a split during a Southwest Conference double-header against Jackson County Central in Luverne Tuesday.

The Cardinals dropped a disappointing two-run decision to the Huskies in the opener before rolling to an 11-run win in the finale.

Luverne ended the day with a 4-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the SWC. The Cards play a double-header in Marshall tonight and two games at the Redwood Falls Tournament Saturday before hosting Redwood Valley for two games Tuesday.

JCC 7, Luverne 5
The Cardinals let a four-run lead slip away during a discouraging two-run loss to JCC in the first game of Tuesday's twin bill.

Luverne took a 5-1 lead in the first three innings, but the Huskies rallied to score the game's final six runs to steal a potential win away from the Cards.

JCC started the comeback by scoring once in the top of the fourth inning before knotting the game at five with a three-run sixth inning. The Huskies plated two more runs in the top of the seventh to complete the rally.

Luverne got off to a good start by plating four runs in the bottom of the first.

Brad Walgrave doubled home two runs in the frame, and Mark Huiskes added a sacrifice fly. Another counter scored on an error.

JCC scored in the top of the second to make it a 4-1 game before Ben Winkels singled and scored on Walgrave's ground out in the third to make it a 5-1 game.

Jon Jarchow went the distance on the hill and took the loss for LHS. He yielded eight hits and seven walks.

Box score AB R H BI
Fick 3 1 1 0
Sandbulte 4 1 0 0
Jarchow 4 1 0 0
Winkels 4 2 2 0
Huiskes 3 0 0 1
Walgrave 4 0 1 3
Fisher 2 0 1 0
Bouwman 3 0 0 0
Iveland 2 0 0 0

Luverne 14, JCC 3
The Cardinals gained a split of the twin bill when they rolled to an 11-run win over the Huskies in Game 2.

The game was tied at three when JCC plated a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Luverne erupted for five runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the seventh to win handily.

Tony Sandbulte put the Cardinals in front to stay when he singled home the first of five runs in the top of the sixth.

Walgrave doubled home two counters, James Fisher supplied an RBI double and Winkels added an RBI single to the rally.

Luverne put the game out of reach with its seven-run seventh inning.

Jarchow doubled home two runs and Tom Frey singled home a pair of counters. Sandbulte added an RBI single, and another run scored on an error.

Huiskes picked up the pitching win by working the first six innings. He allowed three runs and seven hits. Fisher pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Box score AB R H BI
Fick 5 2 4 0
Sandbulte 3 3 2 2
Jarchow 4 1 2 2
Winkels 4 3 1 2
Huiskes 4 2 1 1
Walgrave 4 1 1 2
Fisher 5 0 3 2
Bouwman 3 0 1 0
Frey 2 0 1 2
Iveland 2 2 1 0
Schmidt 1 0 0 0

By Sara Quam
Depending on interpretation of the rules, Rock County Pool and Fitness Center rates may not increase as much as the Pool Commission had earlier decided.

It's questionable whether the latest increase is legal without consent from the joint powers who run the facility - Luverne City Council and Rock County Board.

The Pool Commission’s April 24 vote to increase rates by 50 percent met with immediate protest from members and numerous membership cancellations.

A closer look at the joint powers agreement by City and County Attorney Don Klosterbuer left him interpreting the vote as invalid.

"It does seem to be reasonably straightforward that the Pool Commission recommends budgetary items to the county and city, which then approve them," Klosterbuer said. "It's my interpretation that rate increases are a function of the budget."

The Pool Commission can make operational decisions, and some could interpret that as including rate increases.

But Klosterbuer said, "To my knowledge, rates have been approved by joint boards and were discussed during the budget process."

Klosterbuer worked on the last set of contracts for the Pool and Fitness Center.

The Pool Commission meets every other month and isn’t due to meet until June. However, this unusual circumstance of a vote that may be invalid could be reason for a special meeting.

The rates were increased because the Pool Commission saw the center was operating at a deficit.

The city and county increased their funding last year, but operational costs, including wages and health care expenses, absorbed those funds.

Pool and Fitness Center management maintains that steep rate increases drive away members and make the facility less accessible to everyone.

By Lori Ehde
Farmers aren't the only ones waiting for drier soil this spring. The harsh winter and wet spring have complicated normal processes at area cemeteries this year.

Todd Evans, Luverne, is wrapping up his first year as manager of Maplewood Cemetery and said he's learned a lot in a short time.

In the midst of one of the coldest and snowiest winters on local record, Maplewood Cemetery handled an extraordinary number of burials.

"We had 51 funerals this winter," Evans said. "That's a lot when you consider we average 65 to 70 in a year."

Now, when he's scrambling to catch up on winter burials and preparing the cemetery for Memorial Day, Mother Nature won't cooperate with drying weather.

The cemetery still has 20 graves that need to be packed and seeded, but the work can't be done until the water table drops.

The sealed vaults are in the ground covered with dirt, but water is seeping around the edges, making it impossible to finish the job.

But things could always be worse. In 1993, there were no burials for six weeks due to wet grounds.

"That was a horror show," said Vance Walgrave, former cemetery manager. "They were keeping them in funeral homes.

"Big patches of grass died from setting in water, and big trees that had been here for 50 to 60 years drowned."

This year, funerals carried on as usual, but at one point this spring, the ground was too wet for regular cemetery equipment, and a backhoe was needed to dig a grave.

The Maplewood Cemetery Association recently purchased 40 acres of land to the west, which will allow for more options in the future.

That soil is on higher ground, but Evans said it won't be available for use for at least another two years.

Meanwhile, Evans said he's holding out for drying weather.

"Every time it gets dry enough to do anything, it rains again," Evans said. "It's just like the farmers out in the field - you can't do anything until it dries."

By Lori Ehde
The axe fell on Luverne's first round of budget cuts during the School Board's regular meeting Thursday, April 26.

The new all day every day kindergarten program survived the cuts but not without other significant cuts at the elementary level.

The most controversial casualty at this point is the visual arts program.

Elementary Art Specialist Cloyce Smith will no longer work with grades K-5 in special art sessions, since her position was eliminated Thursday.

Students will still have access to art, but it will be offered at the discretion of regular classroom teachers.

Board member Becky Walgrave made the motion to approve $329,000 worth of cuts, and board member Cary Radisewitz seconded the motion.

At that point, the meeting was opened to attendees for comment.

Several art supporters spoke against cutting Smith's position, including Smith herself.

"Nobody comes into our classrooms to see what we're doing," Smith said, so she brought samples of work the students have done.

In addition to other projects, she showed the board a first-grader's experience with Pablo Picasso, a second-grader's example of Vincent Van Gogh, a third-grader's Georgia O'Keefe, a fourth-grader's work in the style of Grant Wood, and a fifth-grader's mastery of Claude Monet.

"If you cut the arts, this is what you're cutting," she said, adding that it would be a big step backward for the district.

"We finally got it up to where all the kids are getting art, but if you make these cuts, that's not teaching to excellence, that's hurting the kids."

Luverne artist Jerry Deuschle also spoke against the cuts.

"Being an art supporter in the community, I was elated with the new elementary art program and set-up," he said. "Now I feel the wind has been taken out of my sails when I see the elementary cuts proposed."

After taking comments from attendees, board chair Don Bryan asked board members if there was any more discussion and called the vote.

The motion passed unanimously to approve the cuts.
On the heels of that decision, the board took action on the specific positions related to the cuts:

oThey accepted the resignation of first-grade teacher Dixie Arends, who is retiring.

oThey discontinued the services of part-time middle-high school morning nurse Sharon Bonnema.

oThey did not renew the teaching contract of part-time elementary physical education teacher Bruce Gluf.

oThey placed the following staff on unrequested leave of absence:

Elementary technology teacher Michelle Johnson was reduced by half time
Music teacher Patty Nelson was reduced by approximately one period per day.

High school life sciences teacher Debra Vogt was reduced by about one-third time.

When asked if any of these positions would be reinstated in the event that the Legislature would come through with adequate funding, Superintendent Vince Schaefer qualified his response.

"It is a possibility, but that's a real iffy one," he said. "The intention of the cuts at this stage is to balance the budget."

Luverne School DistrictÕs expenses this year exceeded revenues by $450,000. Thursday's cuts put the district $329,000 closer to balancing the budget.

Now, Schaefer said the board is considering additional cuts, possibly activities or administrative streamlining to get closer to the goal.

Schaefer said other districts are trimming budgets with the expectation of decreased funding from the state.

But if Luverne doesn't balance its budget, and if the state allocates less funding, Schaefer said the financial situation for Luverne could be twice as bad next year.

"Which makes our situation a little more concrete," he said. "If you're $450,000 deficit spending this year, and they don't fund you at a reasonable rate, you have to trim, which is what we're doing."

Tyler Amborn and Katie Oksness stroll through the grand march.
More photos in News section.

Photo by Brenda Winter, Myhre Studio

By Jolene Farley
No sale is too big or small for Elbers Auction Service. Keith Elbers, Hills, and Clark Ahders, Rock Rapids, provide complete auction services to their customers.

Elbers attended the Continental School of Auctioneers, Mankato, in 1989. He enrolled in the week-long course at the suggestion of his boss at the Sioux Falls Stockyards. As head feeder salesman, he auctioneers at the stockyards three sales a day, three days a week.

He received the "best auctioneer award" for his class. Of the 40 students who began class with Elbers, only 14 remained at graduation. Elbers said many found out it just "wasnÕt their cup of tea."

His personal auctioneer business just "kind of grew," says Elbers. He started out doing small sales and after meeting Ahders, the business grew even more.

Auctioneers list the items to sell, help determine advertising needs and help organize items for auction.

Because sales can be held outside, summer is usually the busiest time of year for Elbers.

Elbers Auction Service also has four machinery consignment sales every year.

The most unusual item Elbers sold on auction was a coffin. Other items that come to mind are a box of laundry soap and fabric clings from a general store that closed down. The items had been sitting for years before they were put on auction, and Elbers said they "brought more than new."

A number of antique dealers attend sales faithfully, making antiques the best sellers on most auctions. This increases the sale prices for the casual auction-goer but is good for the seller.

"You are always working for the people you are selling for, not the buyers," said Elbers.

"People buy anything," said Elbers. "Don't throw anything away." People sometimes buy boxes and leave the items they do not want. Those items always seem to be picked up by other auction-goers, according to Elbers.

Some bidders are very competitive, according to Elbers. "They just don't want the other guy to have it."

Elbers' job has enabled him to meet many people, and he has made some good friends. Auctioning is just something he loves to do, he said.

Elbers' wife, Annette, and her sister, Coleen Martens, close sales and do the bookwork for the auction service.

Elbers Auction Service has a community consignment sale in Hills on Thursday, May 17, and they hope everyone plans to attend.

By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian High School baseball team had its way with Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth when the squads squared off twice since Wednesday, April 25.

Adrian exploded offensively by slapping 15 hits during a 25-0 victory in a game that ended after four and one-half innings of play due to the 10-run rule in Adrian April 25.

The Dragons scored 13 runs in their final three innings of a 14-1 win over the Patriots in Hills Monday.

After a scoreless first inning, Adrian scored five runs in the bottom of the second, 13 in the third and seven in the fourth during the 25-0 win April 25.

Derek Vastenhout (three hits and six RBIs), Jake Salter (three hits and three RBIs) and Dusty Henning (two hits and five RBIs) led Adrian's offensive assault.

Mark Kroon and Tannar Heronimus pitched a combined three-hit shutout for AHS. Kroon tossed the first three innings to gain the victory.

Steve Swayze, Paul Jess and Darin DeBoer all singled for H-BC-E. Justin Van Maanen took the loss on the mound.

Monday's game in Hills was deadlocked at one through four innings of play before Adrian plated 13 runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to win by 13.

Pete Hohn gave Adrian the lead for good when his two-run single in the top of the fifth made it a 3-1 game.

Two-run doubles by Jake Salter and Tyler Wolf increased Adrian's lead to six runs (7-1) in the sixth.

Adrian put the game away with a seven-run seventh inning. Dusty Henning supplied the big blow of the frame when he doubled home three runs. Joe Kruger, Seth Bullerman, Tannar Heronimus and Matt Eickhoff all added run-scoring singles during the inning.

Heronimus scored the first run of the game in the top of the third on a passed ball. H-BC-E countered with a run in the bottom of the third when Lee Jackson reached base with a single, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.

Mark Kroon tossed three and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief to pick up the pitching win for AHS. Wolf yielded one run in the first two and one-third innings, and Kruger pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

David Top took the loss for H-BC-E, which received a two-hit performance from Matt Buck.