By Jolene Farley
Steen Mayor Mel Van Batavia goes above and beyond the call of duty when needed. He takes calls from residents who call when they need dead squirrels removed from their mailboxes or when they want to complain about dogs "depositing" on their lawns.

Talking to people is what Van Batavia enjoys the most about his job as mayor of this community of 192. "Trying to keep the town running smoothly, you get to talk to everyone," said Van Batavia. "They always come to you if they want something."

It all started seven years ago when Steen needed a mayor. Van Batavia, who owns M & M Repair in Steen, was asked to take the job three times before he finally gave in.

"Since then I've always just re-run and never had anyone run against me," he said.

Van Batavia said Steen used to be a retirement community, but recently young families are moving to town. Most work in Sioux Falls and came in search of cheaper housing.

Some of Van Batavia's goals for Steen are to pay off the city's debt, blacktop the roads and upgrade the sewer system. He would also like to see more businesses locate in town. He said when the feed store and elevator closed it really hurt the town.

According to the most recent census, Steen has enjoyed a population boom. Steen is at 192 residents, up from 160 residents 15 years ago.

Van Batavia would also like to see property values continue to increase. When he began his term as mayor, properties were literally selling for hundreds of dollars rather than the thousands they sell for now. He approached homeowners and told them they didn't have to sell so cheaply.

Demand has increased so homes don't stay empty for long, according to Van Batavia. "It seems like there is a real demand for homes in smaller towns," he said.

He is proud that a new home has been built in Steen almost every year since he took office.

"I know everyone in town, the number of kids they have, the name of their dogs and cats and the make of their cars because they all bring them (the cars) here," said Van Batavia.

Residents of Steen feel safe leaving their children home because they know their neighbors will automatically look out for them, Van Batavia said.

Van Batavia was born and raised in Beaver Creek and moved to Steen in 1964, after buying the auto repair shop from Clarence Erickson. He built his current building on Steen's Main Street 10 years ago.

Van Batavia's business is about 99 percent auto repair, but he has fixed washing machines, vacuum cleaners or whatever else came along.

Van Batavia enjoys fishing so much that he recently added a fishing tackle section to his business - kind of a novelty in a town with no lake. Friends call it Mel's Cabela's, after the national hunting and fishing retailer.

Van Batavia and his wife, Minnie, have four boys, one married and three attending Hills-Beaver Creek school.

Jessica Sandbulte can't wait for the next fun activity, a tour of an ambulance, at Steen Reformed Church Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School, with a theme of "Jesus to the Rescue," began Monday, June 18, and continues through Friday. More than 107 children attended the weeklong program.

By John Rittenhouse
A season-long, four-game winning streak came to an end for the Luverne Redbirds when the local amateur baseball team dropped a four-run home decision to Brandon, S.D., Tuesday.

The streak reached four games with seven- and one-run wins over Wilmont and Hadley respectively on Sunday at Redbird Field.

Luverne, 5-3 overall, plays Heron Lake and Jackson at 4 and 6 p.m. respectively Sunday in Jackson. The Redbirds host Wilmont for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday.

Brandon 12, Luverne 8
Luverne's baseball roll ended Tuesday when visiting Brandon topped the Redbirds by four runs Tuesday.

The Redbirds played their way to an 8-3 advantage through six innings, but Brandon scored nine unanswered runs in the final three frames to pull out a come-from-behind victory.

"We didn't play very well," said Luverne manager Micky Sehr. "We basically have Brandon two games this year."

The Redbirds got off to a good start when Jeff Sehr, who was three-for-five at the plate, doubled home a run to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Brandon scored three runs off Luverne starting pitcher Jon Jarchow in the top of the second, but the Redbirds scored four times in the third and three runs in the sixth to take an 8-3 lead.

Cole Irish, Jeff and Micky Sehr all slapped RBI singles during the four-run rally in the third. Mike Wenninger added a sacrifice fly.

Brian Weber singled home a run and Corey Nelson added a two-run single during Luverne's sixth-inning uprising.

The final three innings belonged to Brandon.

The visitors pulled to within one run (8-7) of the Redbirds by scoring four runs in the seventh before moving in front 10-8 with a three-run eighth inning. When Brandon added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth, the scoring was complete.

Jordan Petersen relieved Jarchow in the seventh, and left the mound after allowing four runs while registering two outs. Travis Eernisse allowed three runs in the next inning and one-third. He was saddled with the loss. Derek Ohme, who had three hits at the plate, yielded two runs in the ninth.

Luverne 2, Hadley 1
Terry Eernisse's fifth-inning homer proved to be the difference during Sunday's second game against Hadley.

The visiting Buttermakers led 1-0 after scoring in the top of the first, but the Redbirds tied the game in the second inning before Eernisse's lead-off blast in the fifth provided the margin of victory.

Luverne plated an unearned run to tie the game at one in the second inning.

Cole Irish walked and scored when Hadley’s left fielder misplayed a ball hit by Mike Boen.

Jeff Sehr pitched five and two-thirds innings to pick up the win for Luverne, while Mike Wenninger tossed one and one-third innings to gain a save.

Sehr limited Hadley to five hits and one run while recording five strikeouts. Wenninger fanned three of the four batters he faced.

Box score AB R H BI
Schneider 3 0 0 0
Ohme 3 0 0 0
J.Sehr 3 0 0 0
Irish 3 1 1 0
Wenninger 3 0 1 0
M.Sehr 1 0 0 0
Eernisse 2 1 1 1
Boen 2 0 0 0
Weber 2 0 0 0

Luverne 7, Wilmont 0
Micky Sehr and Travis Eernisse tossed a combined two-hit shutout to highlight Sunday's win over Wilmont in the first game of the day at Redbird Field.

Sehr worked the first six innings to pick up the win. He yielded two hits and had two strikeouts. Eernisse pitched a scoreless seventh inning to end the game.

The Redbirds supported their pitchers by scoring one run in the second inning, two in the third and four in the fifth.

Sehr walked and scored the game's first run in the second when Boen singled.

Sehr and Terry Eernisse doubled home runs to make it a 3-0 game in the third.

Three fielding errors by Wilmont and Billy Schneider’s RBI single accounted for Luverne's four runs in the fifth inning.

Box score AB R H BI
Schneider 4 0 2 1
Ohme 4 2 1 0
J.Sehr 3 1 1 0
Wenninger 4 0 0 0
M.Sehr 3 3 2 1
Te.Eernisse 4 1 1 1
Boen 3 0 1 1
Petersen 3 0 1 0
Shelton 2 0 0 0
Tr.Eernisse 2 0 0 0

By Sara Quam
The Rock County Auditor-Treasurer's Office completed property tax receipts for the 2001 taxes, the first half of which was due May 15 for 2001.

The Star Herald is printing a list of the 10 who paid the most.

County Auditor-Treasurer Margaret Cook said that some entities may pay more than the listed Top 10 but aren't accounted for here because they may own property in different names. The assessor decides how properties are tied together.

#1, Agri-Energy, LLC - $193,795
The Luverne ethanol plant has been on the west edge of town since 1998 and also paid the most taxes in 2000. The plant is operated by CORN-er Stone Cooperative, which is comprised of about 200 farmer investors in the tri-state area.

#2, Interstate Power - $119,080
This major electrical supplier is taxed on properties, such as towers and transformers, that occupy land in Rock County. This equipment is assessed at market value and taxed accordingly.

#3, SWMN Farmers
Co-op - $61,024
The Southwest Minnesota Farmers Co-op buys and sells grains, grinds and mixes fees and has a full-service agronomy department. The Co-op is made up of elevators in Luverne, Magnolia, Kenneth and Kanaranzi.

#4, Minnkota Farmers
Co-op - $60,170
The concrete grain structure in Jasper has been known as Minnkota Farm Co-op since the local operation merged with Baltic, S.D., five years ago.

#5, Eagle Broadcasting Inc. - $54,984.64
The company is owned by Grand Forks, N.D., brothers Troy and Todd Ramage. In addition to a number of cable television franchises, they also own motels in several states. They own the Comfort Inn and Super 8 motels.

#6, Christensen Corporation - $52,816
Virgil Christensen, Luverne developer, was instrumental in building several Luverne structures, including the Medical Center and the old and new Pamida buildings.

The Christensen Corporation is listed as the owner of these properties, but most are leased to other entities who likely end up paying the taxes.

#7, Tri-State Insurance Co. - $46,678
The property-casualty insurance company has operated in Luverne since 1902. Future plans for the 33,000-square-foot building are unknown as the company announced last year it was relocating to Sioux Falls. No movement has yet started, however.

#8, Luverne Economic Development Authority - $43,500
The LEDA, by nature of its purpose to promote economic development, owns numerous properties in Luverne, both commercial and residential.

#9, Burlington Northern - $40,516
The major railroad company makes the Top 10 list primarily due to right-of-way property it owns along the rail lines. It also has equipment and other taxable properties.

# 10, Cargill, Inc. - $39,049.94
The Cargill grain elevator has been operating near Hills for the past 11 years.

Forty-one teams and 535 walkers were registered, but there were many who decided to walk at the last minute.

The teams camped out in everything from tents to campers. One of the more original camp sites was the Survivor camp. Taken from the popular television show, Survivor, the camp was lined with torches and a tent covered in bark. As each member left to go home, their torch was put out like the Survivor ceremony.

The beautiful evening began with activities and dinner with the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
The first annual Relay for Life amazed even the organizers.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the total amount raised for the American Cancer Society was $49,010.20. By comparison, Pipestone earned $29,000 for its first Relay.

"Overall, we were really pleased," Vicki Baartman and Janet Marshall, co-chairs of the event, said in a written statement. "Heartfelt thanks go out to so many people from Luverne and the surrounding communities - businesses, organizations and individuals without whom this event would never have come to pass."

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
The first major storm of the season didn't leave Rock County without making its mark.

Farmers in Rock County were hit hard by the hail storm Tuesday, June 12.

"I would say that one-third of the county was affected," said Fraser Norton, Rock County Extension Educator. "Mostly the damage was south of Luverne."

About 10 percent of the county has been severely damaged. According to Norton, more than half of a field must be destroyed before a crop is deemed "severely damaged."

The damage was mainly to the soybeans, because the corn plants had not reached the height above ground where they could be destroyed by hail.

Norton said corn should not be replanted this late in the year, but the beans can. He cautioned that replanting beans this late in the season will result in only about 60 percent of yield potential, but leaving the damaged field could still yield at least 75 percent of its initial potential in many cases.

This factor, and the fact that many families have crop insurance, softens the blow of the damage.

Norton also said that the hail will have less of an impact this year than it would have had last year. "The crop this year is not as good as it was last year," he said. "Germination was slow this year, so the crops that were injured aren't the best."

The storm impacted more than just crops. Road crews also were busy on Tuesday night as Interstate 90 had to be closed at about 9 p.m. near the exit to Highway 23 because of flooding. It was reopened about an hour later.

Visitors to Rock County also felt the effects of the storm. A group of students from Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Sioux Falls, were traveling home from a day at Valleyfair, when they were forced to take shelter because of the storm. For about an hour, the group huddled in the social hall of Grace Lutheran Church until it was safe to travel home.

Sixty-six campsites at Blue Mounds State Park were occupied on Tuesday night. Rick White, park manager, talked to the campers about safe areas and offered to lead them to those areas in the event of a tornado. The safest place for campers is a ditch.

Hair Salon was there to braid hair and Shear Reflections also cut hair before the walk began.

One of the Berkley Information Services teams, Rubber Souls, raised money by selling glow necklaces to the participants. "I got the idea from the golf course, when they sold them at the glow ball," Reva Sehr, BIS employee, said.

There was a downpour of rain around 6:30 p.m., but the event kept rolling along. A rainbow spanned the sky at the end of the storm. In response to the rain, Baartman said that they didn't have as many people from the community come to check it out.

The rain stopped in time for the Survivor Walk. Each survivor carried a balloon and walked to the song "Circle of Life." The participants lined the track and gave the walkers a standing ovation as they marched by. At the end of the lap, the survivors let go of their balloons and watched them drift into the sky. For many, this was the most emotional event of the evening.

The Relay crowd saw 1,705 luminarias lit up at dusk and stay lit until dawn.

Entertainment was provided by various volunteers from the community. It ranged from a clarinet solo to a family singing group.

Baartman said they are definitely planning to do the relay next year. "This community should be very proud of the good that has been accomplished on behalf of the American Cancer Society - we salute you!"

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
"I saw their faces. [The Japanese] were flying at the tree-top level," said Gene Erlandson, Pearl Harbor survivor.

The popular movie "Pearl Harbor" portrays the attack on film, but Erlandson, Rushmore, was actually there on the "day that will live in infamy."

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a naval base located on Oahu Island in Hawaii. More than 2,300 people lost their lives that day, and it pushed the United States to enter World War II.