Marion L. Birkeland, 76, Luverne, died Friday, Nov. 22, 2002, at Luverne Hospice Cottage.

Services were Monday, Nov. 25, at Kenneth Lutheran Church in Kenneth. The Rev. Dell B. Sanderson officiated. Burial was in Blue Mound Lutheran Cemetery, rural Luverne.

Marion Scott was born to B.J. and Levia (Trowbridge) Scott on Nov. 15, 1926, in Hardwick. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1944.

She married Thomas E. Birkeland on Feb. 24, 1946, in Luverne. After their marriage, the couple lived in Minneapolis for two years, and then moved to rural Windom where they worked for Thompson Lands. In 1954, they settled northeast of Luverne and began farming. She worked in the Kenneth and Hardwick banks until 1978. She worked on the farm with her husband until his death in 1992. She continued living on the farm until entering the Hospice Cottage in November 2001.

Mrs. Birkeland was a member of Kenneth Lutheran Church. She had a great love for woodworking and had made five grandfather clocks. She also enjoyed socializing and playing cards with friends.

Survivors include four children and their spouses, Rebecca and Gary Herreid, Chaska, Connie and Dennis Lange, Pipestone, Victoria and Randy Smook and Terri and Jake Bruynes, all of Luverne; seven grandchildren, Michael and Sheree Herreid, Aaron (Renee) Lange, Rebecca (Joe) Popper, Jodie Smook and Jacob and Caleb Bruynes; two great-granddaughters, Mackenzie Popper and Brenna Henning; one sister, Ginny Bird, North Mankato; three sisters-in-law, Margaret Skorr, Jasper, Marcella Scott, Hardwick, and Lavonne Scott, Red Wing; and two brothers-in-law, Norb Agnitsch, Phoenix, Ariz., and Henry Berkeland, Willow Lake, S.D.

Mrs. Birkeland was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Thomas Birkeland in 1992, two sisters, Eva Agnitsch, and Louetta Arp, and two brothers, Earl Scott and Dale Scott.

A tree will be planted in memory of Marion Birkeland by Hospice of Luverne Community Hospital.
Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
A pair of girls’ basketball teams from the Star Herald coverage area opened the 2002-03 season in Hills Friday.

Ellsworth and Hills-Beaver Creek, two former members of the dissolved Tri-County Conference, locked horns in their only scheduled meeting of the year.

The game was tight for three quarters, but a great fourth-quarter start by the home-standing Patriots set the stage for a 46-28 victory.

Actually, H-BC put together extended runs in the beginning of the third and fourth quarters. Ellsworth was able to counter one of the runs, but not both of them.

H-BC led 15-14 at the intermission before starting the third quarter with an 8-1 surge featuring three field goals by Erin Boeve and another from Brittney Rozeboom to open a 23-15 cushion in the first four minutes of the second half.

A three-point shot by freshman Stacy Bush gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game at 28-16 as the period progressed, but the Panthers closed the quarter with a 10-1 run featuring five points from Laurel Drenth to trail 29-25 heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Ellsworth was in a position to catch the Patriots at that point. H-BC, however, didn’t let it happen.

An 11-0 run in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter put the Patriots in front 40-25. Ellsworth never got any closer than 12 points to H-BC the rest of the way before falling by 18 points in the end.

H-BC, which outscored EHS 17-3 in the final period, received seven points in the decisive 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Boeve scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the second half.

The game’s first half was very tight.

A three-point shot by Ellsworth’s Jenna Groen opened the scoring, and the Panthers led 5-4 before Rozeboom converted a field goal and one free throw in the final 36 seconds of the first quarter to give H-BC a 7-5 edge.

The second quarter featured ties at seven, nine and 12 before Rozeboom hit a field goal and Amanda Olson added a free throw to give the Patriots a 15-12 edge that was sliced to one point (15-14) by period’s end with a field goal by Groen.

Boeve led the Patriots with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in the game. Sarah Rozeboom had seven rebounds, Cassi Tilstra six steals and Brittney Rozeboom four assists for the winners.

Groen, who netted 12 points in the first half, finished with a game-high 17 counters. Janice Leuthold and Laurel Drenth collected 10 and eight rebounds respectively for EHS. Missy Leuthold charted four assists.

H-BC plays in Edgerton Friday before taking on Central Lyon in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Monday. Ellsworth plays in Edgerton Monday.

Box score
Ellsworth
Deutsch 0 0 0-0 0, Boltjes 0 0 2-5 2, M.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, Ly.Drenth 0 0 0-0 0, Lr.Drenth 3 0 1-1 7, J.Leuthold 0 0 2-2 2, M.Groen 0 0 0-0 0, J.Groen 3 3 2-3 17, Kramer 0 0 0-0 0, Timmer 0 0 0-0 0.
H-BC
B.Rozeboom 6 0 2-6 14, Bush 0 1 0-0 3, Feucht 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 2 0 0-2 4, S.Rozeboom 1 0 1-2 3, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 5 1 3-7 16, Wassenaar 0 0 0-0 0, Olson 0 0 2-4 2, Mulder 2 0 0-0 4.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: nine of 48 field goals (19 percent), seven of 14 free throws (50 percent), 35 rebounds, 32 turnovers.
H-BC: 18 of 56 field goals (32 percent), eight of 21 free throws (38 percent), 40 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

Certain conflicts don’t belong in council chambers

It’s not unusual that roles overlap, especially in a town like Luverne. A parent might teach a child in the classroom, or a business owner might compete for customers with her best friend. … And an elected person might personally benefit from work done in office.

In covering Luverne City Council issues, I’ve become concerned about what looks like some conflicts of interest playing out, with little notice.

This week, I got copies of the disclosure of conflict of interest forms filed at City Hall. Surprisingly, council members had little to disclose.

To pick on the popular and newly re-elected Mayor Glen Gust, he doesn’t often enough disclose his personal interests in topics being discussed at council meetings.

In the written forms, Gust was the only city representative who said he might have a conflict, as the owner of Glen’s Food Center, when doing city business.

That can’t be Gust’s only conflict.

To throw out some possibilities, Gust is a firefighter eligible for retirement and talks openly about the firefighters needing a raise in retirement benefits.

Just Tuesday, the council discussed holding landlords liable for utility bills their renters don’t pay, because, by code, they are the utility customer. Gust suggested that the city "write-off" the losses, which would essentially mean taxpayers would be subsidizing landlords. Gust owns rental property, by the way.

In his defense, he is a long-time private businessman who is used to dealing with issues in private. Starting his second term as mayor, though, he should be aware of how his actions affect the entire population of the city he leads, and leave personal issues at the council chamber door.

As they meet three times a month, our elected representatives should at least disclose conflicts, and not try to influence decisions.

Filling out those disclosure forms isn’t enough. Council members should hold each other accountable.

The city attorney and administrator should point out times when a conflict could come into play and advise the member accordingly. And elected people should watch themselves more closely, too.

Again, conflicts of interest can easily happen, especially when active, successful people run for office. It’s a matter of good ethics whether those conflicts are allowed to steer the course the council takes.

By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth was unable to advance out of the quarterfinal round of the South Section 3A Volleyball Tournament when post-season play opened in Luverne Friday.

Playing No. 2 Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster at Luverne High School, a sub-par performance by the seventh-seeded Panthers led to a 3-0 defeat.

The Raiders advanced to Tuesday's semifinals with the victory, while Ellsworth’s 4-15-6 campaign came to a close.

Ellsworth coach Jason Langland was hoping the Panthers would break a trend when they played the Raiders, but it didn't happen.

The Panthers had lost three matches to SV-RL-B during the regular season (3-1 at home, 2-0 at the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Tournament, and 3-0 at the Harris-Lake Park Tournament), and the EHS coach was seeking revenge.

EHS, however, never put anything together on the floor while being outscored 45-15 on a neutral floor.

"We had four days to prepare for the match, but we came out really flat," Langland said. "The energy was never there. We were letting balls drop to the floor that never should have. We were not aggressive at all, and we never got our offense going."

Langland stressed the importance of keeping serves in play prior to the match, but his players didn't respond. Ellsworth missed 10 serves in a three-game match, and nine came during a 15-4 loss in Game 1.

"Serving killed us. We missed nine serves in the first game, and that pretty much set the tone for how we would play for the rest of the match. Losing the first game took the wind out of our sails and we never recovered from it," he said.

The Panthers did a better job of keeping their serves in play the rest of the match, but it didn't help their cause.

SV-RL-B toppled EHS 15-2 and 15-9 in Games 2 and 3 to complete a 3-0 sweep.

Brittney Kramer and Jenna Groen led the Panthers with six and five kills respectively during the match. Laci DeLeeuw charted six set assists.

Ellsworth senior Janice Leuthold (left) wrestles for a rebound with a Dawson-Boyd player during Monday’s girls’ basketball game in Ellsworth. The Panthers won their Camden Conference opener against the Blackjacks.

By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth bounced back from a season-opening girls’ basketball loss in Hills Friday by upending Dawson-Boyd 49-30 in Ellsworth Monday.

Laurel Drenth recorded a double-double for the winning Panthers by scoring a team-high 16 points and collecting 14 rebounds.

Jenna Groen netted 15 points for EHS, moving within 13 points of the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
Some late runs by H-BC set the stage for Ellsworth’s 46-28 loss in Hills Friday.

On Monday, the Panthers put together some runs to put away the Blackjacks.

"I was very proud of the turn-around we had since the game with H-BC. We hit on all cylinders in this game," said Panther coach Dean Schnaible.

With Groen scoring four points, Kayla Boltjes nailing a three-point shot and Drenth recording a field goal, EHS opened a 9-0 lead in the first 6:30 of the opening quarter against D-B.

The Panthers led 12-2 when Drenth converted a three-point play with 16.1 seconds left in the stanza, but a late basket by the Blackjacks made it a 12-4 difference before the period was complete.

D-B went on a 7-2 run in the first 2:00 of the second period to trail 14-11 before Ellsworth closed the quarter with a 16-4 surge that gave it a 30-15 advantage at the intermission.

Groen had eight points in the second-period run.

The Blackjacks scored the first six points of the third period to trim Ellsworth’s lead to nine points (30-21), but a 7-0 surge featuring five points from Drenth gave the Panthers a 16-point cushion (37-21) they maintained at period’s end.

Ellsworth never let the Blackjacks get any closer than 15 points in the fourth quarter before winning by 19 in the end.

Marla Groen, Missy Leuthold and Boltjes recorded three assists each for EHS. Drenth, Marla and Jenna Groen had two steals each.

The 1-1 Panthers play in Edgerton Monday.

Box score
Boltjes 1 2 0-1 8, M.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, Jenniges 1 0 0-0 2, Drenth 6 0 4-8 16, J.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, M.Groen 0 0 2-2 2, J.Groen 4 1 4-7 15, Kramer 2 0 0-0 4, Timmer 1 0 0-0 2.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 18 of 41 field goals (44 percent), 10 of 18 free throws (56 percent), 31 rebounds, 26 turnovers.
D-B: 10 of 54 field goals (19 percent), nine of 18 free throws (50 percent), 28 rebounds, 20 turnovers.

By Jolene Farley
At a Monday School Board meeting, Superintendent Dave Deragisch reviewed the financial situation of the Hills-Beaver Creek School District compared with the budgeted numbers.

With 39 percent of the school year over, actual expenses have fallen below budget at $793,559 or $5,510 per day up to this point. The budgeted amount for the entire school year was $2,926,881 or $8,018 per day.

The district’s fiscal year began July 1, 2002.

Projected revenues were $2,933,277 or $8,036 per day. Actual revenues are at $850,917, $5,909 per day, or 29 percent of the budget.

Deragisch expects more revenues during the remaining months of the budget.

"We are doing well at this time," Deragisch said in a note to the board. "We are over the hump with paying for our supplies."

"We are still OK," he said. "We have received more than we’ve spent."

Mental health services
Deragisch met with Rock County Family Services to explore contracting for mental health services the school cannot provide.

"I think we have some students who have needs," Deragisch told the board.

A licensed mental health professional will work in the district for two to three hours per week. Parental permission will be sought before a child is referred.

Family Services and the district will split the $3,700 cost to run the program from Jan. 1 to the end of the school year. The district would be reimbursed for the $1,850, at a later date, by special education funding from the state.

"We’d have to fund it until the end of the year," said Deragisch.

"I think it would be very beneficial," said board member Lois Leuthold.

In other business…
Deragisch reminded the board of early dismissal on Wednesday, Nov. 27, for teachers and staff to meet with a Web site developer. The goal is for all the teachers to have individual Web pages. The Web site address is www.hbcpatriots.com.

The next school board meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth senior Chris Reid (34) had another big day when the Patriots hosted Southwest Star Concept for a Section 2 Nine-Man Football Playoff game in Hills Saturday. Reid ran for 152 yards and one touchdown on offense and intercepted a pass on defense during a 47-20 victory over the Quasars.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth earned the right to host the Section 2 Nine-Man Football playoff championship game after beating up on Southwest Star Concept Saturday in Hills.

Patriot coach Dan Ellingson expected a tight battle when his top-seeded team hosted No. 4 SSC for a semifinal-round tilt in Hills Saturday, but he got a rout instead as H-BC-E ran its record to 9-0 with a 47-20 victory.

"It was kind of surprising," Ellingson said. "We thought this was going to be a close game, but we ended up playing our best offensive game of the season, and our defense did a good job of containing Leopold (Tyler, SSC's senior quarterback)."

If the Patriots can put together another solid effort on both sides the ball when they host No. 2 Nicollet at 3 p.m. Saturday, they could get the chance to play in the state tournament for the second straight year.

Beating Nicollet, however, may be easier said than done.
The 10-0 Raiders are the state's third-ranked team, and one of their victories came against a former top-ranked LeRoy-Ostrander squad late in the season.

H-BC-E, which is ranked as the state's fourth team in nine-man football, has faced Nicollet in the playoffs the past three seasons. The Raiders have a 2-1 edge in those games.

"They are a very good team," Ellingson said of the Raiders. "They are very quick. They have the same quarterback and running back from last year, so we have a good understanding of what they like to do. The keys for us will be to not turn the ball over, and take advantage of the mistakes they might make. With their quickness, we'll have to concentrate on not giving up big plays when we are on defense."

H-BC-E is a good team, too, and they displayed that while pounding the Quasars Saturday.

After falling behind 6-0 early in the game, H-BC-E scored 40 consecutive points to all but end the contest midway through the third quarter. The 40-point fun featured H-BC-E's offensive scoring with six consecutive possessions, while the Patriot defense was shutting down Leopold.

"Our main concern heading into the game was stopping Leopold. He's their main ball carrier and he can throw the ball. We had to stop him, and we did what we needed to do. He did rush for 93 yards, but he only passed for 52 yards against our No. 1 defense," Ellingson said.

Although the Patriots had him in their sights, Leopold did open the scoring when he capped SSC's second possession of the game with a 22-yard touchdown run at the 3:13 mark of the first quarter. SSC's extra-point attempt was blocked.

The rest of the first half belonged to H-BC-E as it scored 26 unanswered points with four offensive possessions.

During the kickoff following Leopold's touchdown, Patriot senior Chris Reid returned the ball 38 yards to SSC 47-yard line. After a five-yard penalty on the Quasars, H-BC-E quarterback tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Metzger with 2:39 remaining in the opening stanza. Zach Wysong added the extra point to give the Patriots a 7-6 edge.

H-BC-E's defense forced the Quasars to punt four plays into their next possession, setting up a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The drive was capped with a six-yard touchdown pass from Schilling to Metzger during a fourth-and-goal situation. Wysong's extra point made it a 14-6 game at the 9:08 mark of the second quarter.

SCC had to punt four plays into its next possession, and H-BC-E advanced the ball 64 yards in seven plays before Jesse Leuthold found the end zone after a three-yard run to make it a 20-6 difference with 4:45 left in the first half.

H-BC-E's roll continued as Reid picked off a pass five plays into SSC’s ensuing possession, setting up a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Schilling scoring on a one-yard run to increase the lead to 20-6 with 15 seconds left in the second period.

Any thoughts of a second-half rally by the Quasars were quickly erased.

The Patriots opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 54-yard drive that ended with Schilling tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Wysong at the 8:47 mark. Wysong added the extra point to make it 33-6.

Patriot Clint Roozenboom blocked an SSC punt four plays later and teammate Brant Deutsch recovered the ball on the SSC 14.
Reid scored on a three-yard run five plays later, and Wysong added the extra point for a 40-6 cushion with 4:55 left in the third stanza.

Reserves played the rest of the game for H-BC-E, and SSC outscored the Patriots 14-7 in the fourth quarter.

Leopold threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Scheevel with 7:43 remaining, and Mitchell Leopold scored on a one-yard run (a successful conversion pass from Tyler Leopold to Scheevel followed) with less than four minutes remaining.

H-BC-E countered with a 19-yard touchdown run and an extra point by Wysong with five seconds left to play.

After watching his offense rack up 462 total yards, Ellingson praised the play of his linemen.

"Our offense line did a good job," he said. "Schilling was able to complete 10 of 11 passses without even coming close to being sacked, and Reid and Leuthold were getting past the line of scrimmage without being touched because of the good surge our line was giving us up front."

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 317 rushing yards, 145 passing yards, 462 total yards, 17 first downs, four penalties for 25 yards, zero turnovers.
SSC: 115 rushing yards, 174 passing yards, 289 total yards, eight first downs, seven penalties for 40 yards, one turnover.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 20-152, Leuthold 16-99, Schilling 5-8, Wysong 7-43, Dusty Seachris 4-15.
Passing: Schilling 10-11 for 145 yards, Travis Broesder 0-2 for zero yards.
Receiving: Metzger 8-110, Wysong 1-10, Reid 1-25.
Defense: Leuthold 13 tackles, Schilling seven tackles, Cody Scholten six tackles, Reid one interception, Pat Nelson one sack, Craig Gaul one sack, Roozenboom one blocked punt, Deutsch one blocked punt recovery.

Luverne High School graduate Mike Boen hauls in a pass as a sophomore member of the University of Sioux Falls football team. The Cougars are ranked No. 1 in the nation.

By John Rittenhouse
Two Rock County athletes are helping the University of Sioux Falls football team remain undefeated this season.

Rex Metzger, a senior from Hills, and Mike Boen, a sophomore from Luverne, are members of the 11-0 Cougar squad.

SFC currently in the NAIA Playoffs, and are scheduled to play a second-round game against the University of Mary College in Bismarck, N.D., Saturday.

Metzger has played a key role in SFC’s success as a receiver.

He has appeared in 10 of the team’s 11 games, hauling in 21 passes for 264 yards.

Boen has made an impact as a receiver and a player on special teams.

Boen has appeared in six games, catching two passes for 15 yards and one touchdown as a receiver.

He also has four solo tackles and one assisted tackle on special teams.

SFC is ranked No. 1 in the nation.

By Sara Strong
There could be some competition over the purchase of the Luverne Economic Development Authority apartments.

Attorney Benjamin Vander Kooi, on behalf of his client, Steve Perkins, is delivering a letter to the city of Luverne today asking that Perkins be allowed in the apartment bidding process.

The Mounds View and Evergreen Apartments, were constructed during Perkins’ time as Luverne City Administrator. They were a source of pride to him as they were built at a time when housing was in demand and private businesses had difficulty financing large projects.

The LEDA had the intention of selling the apartments whenever there was a time when private ownership would be feasible.

In February, the city advertised for bids to purchase the apartments and the city didn’t get any offers.

Just recently Doug Eisma, Dan Vis, Paul Vis and Bill Vis asked the LEDA to reconsider selling the apartments, even though the bidding process was closed.

Perkins, Luverne, said he didn’t submit a bid for purchase six months ago because it didn’t make as much financial sense then.

Interest rates are lower now, and with Continental Western Group (Tri-State Insurance) and the hospital committed to staying in town, the real estate business seems to be on an upswing.

The city said it wouldn’t sell the apartments for less than the debt service still owed, which is between $1.2 and $1.3 million.

Vander Kooi’s memo to the city asks the LEDA to place an estimated fair market value on the properties so they can be sold at a price that doesn’t just break even with what the city owes on the mortgage. Vander Kooi said this step is mandated by state statute.

"It is clear to me," Vander Kooi wrote, "that the Legislature is concerned that the public interest be protected in situations such as these when public property is sold to a private developer."

Vander Kooi said that beyond federal and state statutory concerns, constitutional issues are raised when a public body sells public property.

"Those protections are built into the due process clause and equal protection clause of the United States and Minnesota Constitutions. Our system of government simply cannot continue to exist unless ordinary citizens are convinced that the process of government is open and fair."

Perkins, in his communication through Vander Kooi, is asking that the bidding process for the sale of the apartments be advertised through legal notices to comply with state statutes.

"If the LEDA continues on its present course," Vander Kooi wrote, "we believe that the Authority’s actions will not withstand judicial scrutiny."