Richard Ben "Dick" Klooster, 76, Ellsworth, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002, in Luverne Community Hospital.

Services were Saturday, Oct. 19, at United Methodist Church in Adrian. The Rev. John Strunk officiated. Burial, with military honors by the Luverne VFW Post, was at Grand Prairie Cemetery in Ellsworth.

Dick Klooster was born to John and Ann (Buus) Klooster on April 5, 1926, in Ellsworth. He grew up near Ellsworth and attended country school. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 until 1946.

He married Alcie Arends on Feb. 26, 1947, in Ellsworth. Following their marriage, they farmed near Adrian. He worked as a mechanic for Hodgesman, then operated Ellsworth Auto Salvage. He later worked with his brother's Klooster Service. He began working at Adrian Country Club in 2000 and worked there until he became ill.

Mr. Klooster attended United Methodist Church in Adrian. He belonged to the Luverne VFW. He enjoyed fishing and was a handy man.

Survivors include his wife, Alcie Klooster, Adrian; three children and their spouses, Barb and Chuck Tweet, Luverne, Jerry and Diane Klooster, Eden Prairie, and Cheryl and Jim Dorn, Adrian; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; three brothers and their wives, Lawrence and Lorraine Klooster, Luverne, David and Sylvia Klooster, Webb, Iowa, and Dale Klooster, Mankato; one sister-in-law Florabell Klooster, Worthington, and an aunt, Delia Hansen, Luverne.

Mr. Klooster was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Don Klooster.

Hospice of Luverne Community Hospital will plant a tree in his memory.

Totzke Funeral Home, Slayton, was in charge of arrangements.

BBy John Rittenhouse
It wasn’t pretty, but the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team completed an undefeated regular season by edging Lakeview 7-6 in Cottonwood Wednesday, Oct. 16.

A partially snow-covered, muddy field set the stage for a low-scoring, turnover-filled game.

The teams turned the ball over a combined 10 times in the contest, but H-BC-E was able to overcome both mistakes and poor field position through the second half to record its second straight 8-0 regular season and wrap up its second straight Southwest Ridge Conference title with a 7-0 mark.

The win proved to be an important one as the Patriots locked up the No. 1 seed for the Section 2 Nine-Man Football Playoffs. The top-seeded team in Section 2 receives a bye in the quarterfinal-round of the playoffs. H-BC-E’s first playoff action will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, when it hosts No. 4 Southwest Star Concept, a 28-16 winner over Edgerton Tuesday, for a semifinal-round game in Hills.

When they host their playoff opener, the Patriots will hope for better field conditions than what they played on during the Oct. 16 win over the Lakers. H-BC-E turned the ball over four times in the game, and most of them were the result of a slippery ball.

"The conditions were miserable," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "There was snow on the field, and the middle of the field was completely muddy. The ball was slipping out of everyone’s hands."
Lakeview lost the ball six times in the game, and the first turnover proved to be costly.

The Lakers’ defense forced the Patriots to punt at the end of their first possession of the game, and Lakeview’s return man fumbled the ball. Patriot Zach Wysong recovered the loose ball on the Lakers’ 35-yard line, and it set up a scoring drive that was capped by Chris Reid’s 21-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Wysong added the all-important extra point to make it a 7-0 game.

The score remained the same until late in the first half when Lakeview’s Tyler Laleman scored on a 44-yard touchdown dash with 44 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Lakers tried to run for a two-point conversion, but the Patriot defense stopped the attempt short of the end zone to maintain a 7-6 advantage.

Neither team could produce any second-half points, but Lakeview did come close.

The Lakers were in a first-and-goal situation at the H-BC-E two-yard line, but a fumble in the end zone on third down was recovered by Patriot defender Brian Gacke.

Gacke’s big play came midway through the fourth quarter, and it proved to be the best scoring opportunity either team would have in the second half.

"We had terrible field position in the second half," Ellingson said. "The ball was on our end of the field the whole time. Because of the field conditions, our field position and the fact that they were playing our receivers tight, we didn’t attempt a pass in the entire second half.
We were able to run the ball a little bit, but we didn’t want to take the risk of trying to throw it."

Not taking any chances proved to be a wise choice for H-BC-E in this game. With the help of Lakeview’s six turnovers (five fumbles and one interception), the Patriot defense blanked the hosts in the final two quarters to preserve the win.

Still, Ellingson said H-BC-E will need to address its shortcomings before a long playoff-run will be possible.

"We had six penalties in the game, and two of them took away first downs from us. We also have to concentrate more on holding onto the ball. We have to do a better job of that, because we will run into poor weather conditions again down the line," he said.

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 142 rushing yards, 24 passing yards, 166 total yards, three first downs, six penalties for 33 yards, four turnovers.
Lakeview: 150 rushing yards, 107 passing yards, 257 total yards, five first downs, four penalties for 40 yards, six turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 19-113, Jesse Leuthold 8-24, Curt Schilling 3-3, Wysong 1-2.
Passing: Schilling 2-4 for 24 yards.
Receiving: Tyson Metzger 2-24.
Defense: Schilling 11 tackles and one fumble recovery, Wysong one fumble recovery, Leuthold four tackles and one fumble recovery, Cody Scholten eight tackles and one interception, Brant Deutsch one fumble recovery, Gacke one fumble recovery, Clint Roozenboom two tackles and one sack.

By Lori Ehde
Luverne High School Students plan to defend their open campus freedoms at tonight's School Board meeting.

During the last meeting on Oct. 10, members of Parents: The Anti Drug and Violence Task Force asked the board to consider closing the campus to eliminate the temptation to use drugs during free periods when they're allowed off campus.

Luverne Community Hospital Chemical Dependency Coordinator Stephanie Pierce said she'd done some checking with area districts within the 507 area code.

Of 36 districts she checked, 21 have closed campuses. In the immediate area, Worthington and Pipestone have open campuses, but Pipestone's will be closed when the new school is built. H-BC is open, but students can't be in or drive their cars. Fairmont and Windom are closed campuses.

Of the open districts, five don't allow driving or access to vehicles during school hours. Two allow driving only with written permission.

"With a closed noon hour, maybe they wouldn't be exposed to so much opportunity to use drugs or smoke cigarettes," Pierce said at the Oct. 10 meeting.

The idea of closing the campus prompted objections from Luverne High School students, who weren't given an opportunity to speak at that meeting.

Dan Amborn, high school student body president, and Canaan Petersen, vice president, are on the agenda for tonight's School Board meeting.

Amborn said he understands the motives of Task Force members, but he said closing the campus wouldnÕt go that far in combating drugs and it wouldn't be fair.

"We can understand their concerns, but we don't want to punish so many kids for the errors of a few," he told the Star Herald Tuesday.

Luverne's campus is open to eligible students during the 29-minute noon period, as well during 50-minute study halls. Amborn said he personally eats and stays on campus for lunch, but he enjoys coming in late after his first-hour study hall.

Amborn said as far he knows local drug problems donÕt start at school.

"I don't doubt that there are some who use drugs, but there haven't been any major problems here in years," he said, adding that closing the campus might do more harm than good.

"If you close the campus, the kids who are doing it - and that's very few - will bring drugs into the building and expose it to those who would probably otherwise never be exposed," he said.

High School Principal Gary Fisher said he wouldn't support closing the campus. He said an open campus is a nice way to reward responsible behavior.

"I look at it this way: Kids are given the opportunity to show they're responsible, and until they show they're not responsible, don't penalize them," Fisher told the Star Herald Monday.

"It's all about expecting kids to do the right thing. If we are going to teach kids to be responsible, we need to give them an opportunity to experience freedom."

Fisher said heÕs taken away open campus privileges for certain groups of students for a certain length of time, but he said his high school student body is remarkably well-behaved, compared with many closed campus districts.

When asked to speculate on how many students are using drugs, Fisher said thereÕs no way to know for sure.

"Anybody can use drugs. If they're using, they're going to use whether we close the campus or not," he said. "If you ask the kids, they'll tell you anybody can get drugs, and sometimes it's surprising who they'll see using at a party. It's not just a certain group of kids who dress or look a certain way."

He added that Luverne students don't like having the reputation that they use drugs.

"They've said, 'Bring in the dogs once a month.' They donÕt want it [drugs] here any more than anybody else does."

A surprise visit by two drug dogs on the middle-school high school campus Wednesday, Oct. 16, turned up no evidence of drugs, but Fisher said snowy weather that day may have prevented the dogs from detecting drugs in the parking lot.

Tonight's School Board meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the Middle School/High School library.

By Sara Strong
The Luverne City Council is accepting bids for bonds to help decrease future interest cost and to help pay for firefighter retirements.

A financial adviser attended Monday's council meeting to recommend the city advertise for several bonds.

In the case of fire relief, or the firefighter pension, the city is obligated to pay $1,900 a year for each year the firefighter has been a member of the department. That lump sum payment adds up significantly when a few 20-year veterans retire at once, so additional money is needed.

As it stands, the city will probably issue a $560,000 bond to go to the relief fund. Using a bond helps the city fund it without adding to the general levy, which has a state imposed limit. But the city still pays for it either way.

Essentially, the fire relief fund has $1 million costs and has half that in assets, so the bond will make up the difference.

The fire relief fund has been shrinking because of a poor economy that didn't help investments and because of increasing pension payments.

Retiring firefighters get $1,900 per year of service. That amount has increased through the years from $600 per year of service in 1989.

On the three other bonds that the city is considering "refinancing," about $183,000 in interest can be saved over the life of repaying the bonds.

The bids will be opened Nov. 12, and can be rejected if the city isnÕt pleased with the rates offered.

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's Ryan Fodness (24) and another Patriot defender pressure Westbrook-Walnut Grove quarterback Tom LeBoutiller during Friday's Southwest Ridge Conference football game in Ellsworth. H-BC-E moved within one win of an SRC title with a 26-12 victory.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth moved within one win of clinching its second consecutive Southwest Ridge Conference championship Friday in Ellsworth.

Playing Westbrook-Walnut Grove in what was a tilt between the conference's lone unbeaten teams, H-BC-E won the showdown by a 26-12 margin over the Chargers.

The win upped H-BC's league record to 6-0 heading into a game against Lakeview played in Cottonwood last night.

A win in Cottonwood would lock up the league title for the Patriots, and it probably will give the Patriots a first-round bye in the Section 2 Nine-Man Playoffs.

Fans who arrived late to what was EllsworthÕs 2002 homecoming game missed a lot of the action.
The teams scored a combined 38 points in the first 14:53 of the game before battling to a scoreless draw in the final 33:07.

Fortunately for H-BC-E, they did most of the scoring.

Senior Chris Reid returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns in the first quarter to steal the momentum from W-WG, which had found the end zone prior to both tallies by Reid.

Patriot quarterback Curt Schilling, an Ellsworth High School student, electrified the crowd by throwing touchdown passes in the first and second quarters as H-BC-E opened a 26-12 cushion.

The game turned into a tight defensive battle the rest of the night, which worked in H-BC-E's favor as it blanked W-WG over the final three quarters to preserve the victory.

The Patriots produced shining moments both offensively and defensively, but it was Reid's long kick returns that lifted H-BC-E to victory while crushing W-WG's will.

"We've always told our kids that special teams play very important roles in every game," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson.

"That proved to be especially true in this game. In the last couple of weeks Chris has had a hard time picking up rushing yardage because the other teams are keying on him. W-WG did a good job of slowing our running game down, but Chris returned two kickoffs back for touchdowns to get us going."

W-WG proved it could be a tough team to beat when the Chargers put together a 10-play, 67-yard scoring drive with their first offensive possession.

Quarterback Tom LeBoutiller capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown scamper at the 6:55 mark of the first quarter. A run for a two-point conversion failed.

LeBoutiller's touchdown gave the Patriots their first deficit of the 2002 season, but it didn't last long. Reid returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, and Zach Wysong booted the extra point to give H-BC-E a 7-6 lead it would never relinquish.

After the H-BC-E defense forced the Chargers to punt four plays into their second possession of the game, Schilling and another EHS player produced a big play.

The Patriot signal-caller hooked up with end Brant Deutsch for a 58-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive. A pass for a two-point conversion after the touchdown failed, leaving the Patriots with a 13-7 advantage with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter.

W-WG fought its way back into the game with a four-play, 65-yard drive during its third offensive possession. LeBoutiller ended the drive with a 27-yard touchdown run at the 2:02 mark of the first quarter, but a failed conversion pass left the Chargers on the short end of a 13-12 score.

Any momentum W-WG gained with its second touchdown quickly vanished as Reid fielded the ensuing kickoff and dashed 71 yards for a touchdown. WysongÕs second extra point followed the return, giving the Patriots a 20-12 cushion with 1:46 left in the first period.

The teams exchanged punts after Reid's second touchdown, but the Patriot defense came up with a huge play when lineman Robert Metzger recovered a W-WG fumble on the Chargers' 18-yard line with 9:13 remaining in the first half.

Schilling hit Tyson Metzger with an 18-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the fumble, but a botched snap kept the Patriots from adding an extra point.

H-BC-E led 26-12 at that point (9:07 remaining in the second quarter), and the score remained that way.
The Patriots did have a 12-play drive later in the second quarter, but a pass fell incomplete during a fourth-and-seven situation on the W-WG 17 with 1:26 remaining.

Reid picked off a pass three plays later on the W-WH 42 with 26 seconds left in the first half. H-BC-E, however, had to punt the ball after running three unsuccessful plays after Reid's pick.

Neither team could generate any offense in the third quarter. H-BC-E had the ball three times in the period and produced one first down.

W-WG didn't pick up a first down during its first three possessions, but the Chargers did move the ball into H-BC-E territory with their fourth possession of the second half. The six-play series ended on downs on the Patriot 35 with 11:05 left in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers had an outstanding scoring opportunity when they advanced the ball inside the H-BC-E one-yard line, but a botched exchange between the quarterback and center on fourth down led to a two-yard loss with 5:50 left to play.

"That goal-line stand in the fourth quarter was huge," Ellingson said. "If they score, they're only one touchdown down with plenty of time left. Who knows what would have happened if they would have scored in that situation?"

W-WG did get the ball back twice as the fourth quarter progressed, but interceptions by Schilling and Deutsch ended the possessions.

"This was a good win for us," Ellingson said. "Our defense made some big plays, our passing game was working and our special team's play was great. Teams have been stopping our running game, but we're proving that we are more than a one-dimensional team. Games like this will let other teams know that they have to prepare for more than stopping our running game when they play us."

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 135 rushing yards, 162 passing yards, 297 total yards, eight first downs, two turnovers, six penalties for 45 yards.
W-WG: 161 rushing yards, 69 passing yards, 230 total yards, seven first downs, four turnovers, three penalties for 20 yards.

Individual statistics.
Rushing: Reid 18-58, Jesse Leuthold 18-45, Schilling 8-32.
Passing: Schillng 9-16 for 162 yards.
Receiving: T.Metzger 3-55, Deutsch 2-71, Wysong 2-15, Reid 1-14, Kyle Sammons 1-7.
Defense: Schilling 17 tackles and one interception, Reid eight tackles and one interception, Cody Scholten six tackles, Deutsch one interception, R.Metzger one fumble recovery.

Area residents awoke to a little more than the usual October frost on the pumpkins Wednesday as a layer of snow blanketed everything from scarecrows to rooftops and lawns. Snow began falling in the early morning hours and flakes could be seen throughout the day into the afternoon.

Photo by Lori Ehde

This week, Oct. 13 through Oct. 19, is National School Lunch Week. Kitchen staff members who prepare hot lunches in Luverne Public Schools are (front row, from left) Shirley DeBates, Clara Larson, Lorna Harms, Gretchen Davis, Ada Roberts, Gladys Hemme, Barb Wills, Cathy Mulder, Ann Rigney, Brenda Fodness, (back row) Mary Wacker, Gert Kooiker, Ethel Ossefoort, Nancy Davis, Marian Eatherton, Gladys Siebenahler, Enore Boelman, Mary VanHofwegen, Ardie Schmidt and Mary Smook.

In her Friday Folder elementary newsletter, Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff praised Luverne's school lunch staff. "Many of us would go running away screaming if we had the job of serving over 550 lunches and almost 200 breakfasts! Yet, that is what our great kitchen staff does five days a week," Tenhoff wrote. "I have always been impressed with the great tasting lunches. When I talk with people from other districts and comment that our students get homemade bread every week, homemade chili and other goodies, I get very envious comments. We thank all the kitchen help who prepare and serve our school lunches every week!"

Photo by Lori Ehde

Mildred Clark, 81, Kenneth, died Friday, Oct. 18 at Mercury Hospital, Coon Rapids. Visitation will be Monday, Oct. 21 from 4 to 8 p.m. with rosary at 4:30 p.m. and prayer service 7 p.m. at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Lismore. Services will be Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anthony's Catholic Church with Father Robert Maher officiating. Burial will be at West St. Anthony Cemetery. Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne is in charge of arrangements.

Madeline "Mose" B. Nelson, 89, Luverne, died Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2002, in Luverne Community Hospital.

Services were Saturday, Oct. 12, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Revs. Maurice E. Hagen and Dell B. Sanderson officiated. Burial was in the Jasper Cemetery, Jasper.

Madeline Frakes was born to Walter and Pearl (Rolph) Frakes on March 1, 1913, in Magnolia. At the age of seven she went to live with and care for her ailing aunt, Edna Turner, in Magnolia. She graduated from Magnolia High School in 1930. She graduated from Normal School in Luverne and taught country school in the Rock County and Jasper areas.

She married Wallace Nelson on Feb. 22, 1941, in Adrian. After marriage the couple farmed in the Jasper and Ihlen areas. Mr. Nelson died in 1960. She moved her family to Luverne where she worked at Luverne Community Hospital for more than 18 years before retiring in 1978.

Mrs. Nelson was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne, the GLCW, and Esther Circle. She was also a member of the Royal Neighbors, Hardwick Birthday Club, Pink Ladies and was a Rock County Election Judge. She was a staunch Republican and enjoyed discussing politics.

Survivors include two sons and daughtrs-in-law, Lyle and Gloria Nelson, Luverne, and Robert and Marlene Nelson, Dell Rapids, S.D.; five grandchildren, Jennifer (Craig) Wintheiser, Eagan, Angela (Kevin) Whetstone, Boston, Mass., Jeremy (Polly) Nelson, Evergreen, Colo., Anthony (Johnanna) Nelson, Santa Fe, N.M., and Katie Nelson, Sioux Falls, S.D.; one great-granddaughter, Vivian Whetstone; one brother, Vernon (Janyce) Frakes, Sioux Falls; and one sister, Beulah Nelson, Pipestone.

Mrs. Nelson was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Wallace and two brothers, Jesse and Neil Frakes.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.