By Jolene Farley

Curriculum advisory committee members Don Bosshart, Amy Christensen and Nicole Fey presented a $19,719 proposal to the school board to purchase a Scholastic language arts program.

"Elementary teachers were asked (by the committee) what they wanted to see in the language art curriculum," said elementary administrator Jil Vaughn.

The committee narrowed the search for new curriculum down to two programs.

Teachers visited area schools to see the language arts programs used in other districts and a reading specialist evaluated both programs.

The curriculum committee was very enthusiastic about the components of the Scholastic program.

"I like the layout of everything they (SCHOLASTIC, OR A PARTICULAR DISTRICT?) have," said Fey.

Bosshart liked the Scholastic magazines published monthly that mesh with existing curriculum.

The Scholastic sales representative worked with teachers to allow the swap of unwanted books and products for products they could use. Scholastic offered more than $12,220 in free books and products to the district.

"That way the teachers rearranged things so they get more of what they want and need," said Vaughn.

"The part we are most excited about is it goes with most of the books already in the library," said Christensen.

The committee assured the board that students would have no problems converting to the new program next fall.

The district has a $14,000 curriculum carryover from the previous school year that will be applied toward the purchase of materials.

The board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of the committee and purchase the program.

In other board business:
Superintendent Dave Deragisch said he hopes to bring staff in the elementary and high school closer together. Deragisch speculates there are some teachers from the two locations that do not know each other's names even though they teach in the same district.

"We are two different worlds apart," Bosshart agreed.

"The district staff development goal is to make those connections," Deragisch said.

The board raised the price of admission to athletic events for adults from $4 to $5. The admission price of $2 for students will remain the same. The district will continue to offer punch passes at $31 for adults and $15 for students. The board will consider adding a family pass at a later date.
The board was assured other districts recently raised their admission prices to athletic events.

"We're gaining an extra dollar from the visiting teams," Deragisch said.

The district recently underwent a Special Education audit by the Department of Children, Families and Learning. State representatives pulled student files and read them cover to cover.

"I am very proud to say our special education department did an outstanding job," said Deragisch.

Robert J. Hendricks, 75, died Tuesday, June 4, 2002, at Sioux Valley Hospice Cottage.

Services were Friday, June 7th at Christ the King Church in Sioux Falls. Burial was at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Bob was born October 5, 1926 to Henry and Johanna (Boss) Hendricks in Ladysmith, WI. He graduated from Ladysmith High School in 1944. He then joined the US Army during WW II, serving two years in the Philippines during the Post-War Occupation.

He married Patricia Anderson in Ladysmith, WI, on October 8, 1949. He worked at the Ladysmith Creamery until 1951. They moved to Ames, IA, where Bob went on to earn a BS in Dairy Science from Iowa State University. The couple moved to Luverne, MN, where Bob worked as manager of the Terrace Park Dairy ice cream operation for 16 years. They moved to Sioux Falls in 1973 and he was operations manager of Terrace Park Dairy until he retired in 1980.

Bob was a member of Christ the King Church in Sioux Falls, the Knights of Columbus, VFW, American Legion and the Sioux Falls Duplicate Bridge Club.

Bob is survived by his wife Patricia, sons Mark (Jeanne) Hendricks, St. Louis Park, Greg (Shannon) Hendricks, St. Paul, daughters Jennifer Breckenridge, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Melinda (Jim) Jensen, Sioux Falls, Mary Hendricks, St. Louis Park, brother Leonard (Olive) Hendricks, Bruce, WI, sisters Katherine (Sherman) Clark, Rogers, AK, Florence Pavlik, Bruce, WI, nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; four sisters Ruby, Marge, Genevieve, and Rose, and two brothers, Christian and Raymond.

The family has requested that memorials be directed to Sioux Valley Hospice.

Barnett-Lewis Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, SD, was in charge of arrangements.

Eight Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth athletes represented their schools at the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships in Blaine Friday and Saturday. Front row, left to right, are: alternates Tyson Metzger and Kale Wiertzema, Lee Jackson and Greg Van Batavia. Back: Tyler Bush, Erin Boeve and Greg Van Batavia.

By John Rittenhouse

The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys' track team made a big impact at the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships at the National Sports Center in Blaine Friday and Saturday.

Six Patriot boys competed in a total of five events during the state classic.

H-BC-E picked up top-nine performances in all of the events to score 26 points, which was good for a tie for seventh place with Concordia Academy in the team competition.

"We had a great meet and a great time," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "We tied for seventh place in the state, which is just awesome. To say you're the seventh-best team with more than 300 teams in your class is pretty awesome. These kids have a lot to be proud of."

Plainview ended up winning the team title with 65 points. St. Croix Lutheran (36), Warroad (33), Maple River (30), Luverne (29) and Staples-Motley (29) round out the top-six.

It takes dedication and sacrifice on the part of the athletes to experience success as a team in any sport, and nobody displayed more selflessness than Patriot senior Brad Haak.
As the defending state champion in the 800-meter run, it would have been easy for Haak to place emphasis on that event in 2002. He did not.

"Brad didn't win the 800 again, but that wasn't his main objective," Goehle explained. "When we talked about what he wanted to do before the sub-section meet, he said that we wanted to get a relay team to state and get a medal. In the end, his main objective was accomplished."

With Haak joining forces with sophomore Lee Jackson and freshmen Tyler Bush and Greg Van Batavia, H-BC-E fielded a 3,200-meter relay that placed fourth Saturday.

The Patriots produced a time of 8:17.3 in the finals, which was 12.12 seconds off the pace (8:05.18) set by the championship team from Warroad.

Haak ran a 1:56.3 split during the relay, and that effort took a lot out of the senior, who earned the right to compete in the finals of the 400-meter dash and the 800 later in the day.

The Section 3A champion in the 400 and 800, Haak ran respective times of 50.97 and 1:58.07 in Friday's preliminaries to reach the finals in both events.

Haak ran a 51.97 in Saturday's 400-meter finals, which was good for ninth place. Milaca's Craig Kotsmith won the race in 48.54.

Haak then made his appearance in the 800 finals in the afternoon, placing third with time of 1:58.51. Plainview's Pat Lehmann won the state title in 1:56.44.

Since the top nine performers in state competition make the All-State Team, Haak's name graced the list in the 400, 800 and the 3,200-meter relay.

Haak will continue his track career at Sioux Falls College next year.

"He should have an outstanding college career," Goehle said. "I think he’s just scratched the surface of how good he will end up being."

Bush and junior Chris Reid turned in all-state performances in Blaine over the weekend, too.

Like Haak, Bush qualified for the state meet in the 800.
He ran a 2:00.25 in Friday’s preliminaries to qualify for Saturday's finals, when he placed eighth with a time of 2:03.12.

Reid earned medals by placing in the top-six in two events.
After qualifying for the 100-meter dash finals with a time of 11.44 on Friday, Reid had to concentrate on two events at the same time Saturday.

The long jump preliminaries, an event Reid earned the right to compete in, were going on at the same time as the 100=meter finals. He came up with a jump good enough to qualify for the finals in the long jump, and raced his way to a fifth-place finish with a time of 11:38 in the 100. Cannon Falls’ Jared Chambers won the 100 in 11.32.

After a short rest, Reid came up with a distance of 20-7 1/2 during one of his three jumps in the long jump finals. That effort ended up being good for sixth place. Warroad's Beau Sabouathone won the long jump crown with a distance of 21-4 3/4.

Sophomore Erin Boeve represented the Patriot girls' program in Blaine Friday.

Boeve produced a distance of 15-7 1/4 during the long jump preliminaries, but she needed to beat 15-10 1/2 to reach Saturday's finals.

Boeve ended up with 12th place with her effort.
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton's Alicia Mindermann won the state championship with her jump of 17-4 1/4.

By Sara Strong
Almost 60 local livestock producers showed up at the Rock County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday to hear a presentation from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The MPCA didn't have the audit report ready in its entirety, but shared some of its initial findings with the board.

So far, the MPCA has looked at 71 permits in LMO files, and has visited 11 sites.

Deficiencies ranged from small infractions - such as filing documents along with the inspector's notes - to more significant violations like miscalculating the number of animals permitted on a feedlot.

Tuesday's meeting was a first step in what will be the long-term inspection of each of the more than 600 Rock County feedlots. The entire process could last through 2004.

Local livestock producers are concerned about state officers and fines or changes that could result from errors in past permits.

County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said, "We have people here, who as far as they are concerned, have done everything right. É The objective is compliance, not punishment."

The MPCA can force producers to comply with state rules and laws. Jerry Holein, an MPCA feedlot specialist, said the MPCA allows producers time to fix problems.

He said sometimes engineers or consultants are needed to help producers get specific plans that allow their feedlots to meet expectations.

The added cost of that is what concerns local producers.

Richard Bakken, rural Garretson, S.D., said he had disagreeable dealings with the MPCA in the past.

He requested a review 10 years ago to make sure his Rock County production was in line with guidelines. He sought the help because the Rock County Land Management Office didn't exist then.

Bakken said the MPCA treated him with suspicion rather than showing him guidance. He suggested the MPCA treat producers differently during the upcoming inspection of all Rock County operations.

"I would hope you don't try to ride hard on these people," Bakken said to MPCA representatives.

He said the county deserves credit for developing programs and said producers should be applauded for approaching the LMO for help.

Bakken said, "If we hadn't made great strides [in the Land Management Office] the MPCA would have a harder time doing their inspections."

He said, "These people voluntarily registered so the MPCA knows where to find them all and what to look for."

Because the MPCA site audit review isn't ready, the County Board tabled passing a work plan Tuesday.

The work plan illustrates how the Board of Water and Soil Resources and Rock County will conduct a Level III inventory of all Rock County feedlots under the oversight of MPCA.

The work plan is supposed to be based on findings of the MPCA's audit, so board members reasoned that the MPCA should follow through with its report before they pass a plan that should be based on it.

One catch to passing the work plan is getting environmental grant funds of more than $100,000 that have been withheld until the county passes the work plan.

Findings of preliminary feedlot reviews
The MPCA found that the county had areas to improve upon in its feedlot administration. MPCA regional manager Myrna Halbach said the MPCA will also try to improve its part of the feedlot program as well.

Some of the deficiencies found in the small program review so far are:

unpermitted earthen basins not properly evaluated
tax exemptions not properly given
open lot runoff to surface water not addressed
unsigned and/or undated permit applications accepted in completing administrative actions
reissuance of a Certificate of Compliance (COC) without a new permit application
inconsistencies between the permit application and the COC
COC issued without engineer plans or with plans that do not meet the minimum requirements
abondonment of an earthen basin not documented
no inspection notes in file
use of registration form as a permit application
discrepancies between registration and permit information
using incorrect animal unit values
no Manure Management Plan submitted as required in rules
wrong permit or COC issued by the county
notification requirement for sites more than 500 animal units were done incorrectly.

These general findings will be made specific as the MPCA finalizes its reviews.

Audit is result of
bribery convictions
The Level III inventory is the most complete review of a feedlot and will be conducted as part of a plea agreement with David Logan of Global Ventures. LoganÕs fines cover costs of the inspections.

The Level III inventories are being done in Rock County to address any concerns that former Land Management Director John Burgers intentionally mishandled feedlot permits in Rock County.

Burgers was terminated in December after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court.

Burgers admitted to abusing public trust through a scheme whereby he obtained loans and funds in connection with the hog production facility, Global Ventures Inc., in exchange for preferential treatment to the facility.

Burgers said that in March 1996 he learned that a hog production facility owned by Global Ventures was in violation of environmental regulations.

Instead of notifying the MPCA, Burgers contacted a senior officer of Global Ventures and advised him to take care of the problem before he contacted state officials.

A few months later Burgers approached the same officer and informed him that he (Burgers) was in financial trouble and needed money.

Per the plea agreement, the court dropped the more serious bribery charge.

Work plan
The work plan draft that was tabled by the County Board includes a timeline of total Level III feedlot inspection by Dec. 31, 2004.

It calls for BWSR and Rock County to conduct the inventories with MPCA overseeing the process.

Producers with the most animal units will have a higher priority and be inspected first. Next on the list of priorities is producers with open feedlots.

Reporting on findings of the Level III inventory also goes by the State's Attorney's Office for review.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots bowed out of the Section 3A Baseball Tournament with a loss in Ortonville Monday.

Playing seventh-seeded Ortonville in an elimination game in the loser's bracket, the Patriots came up on the short end of a 4-1 score in what was a well-played contest.

The loss ended H-BC-E's 4-12 campaign.

The teams battled to a scoreless draw through two and one-half innings before the hosts scored three runs in the bottom of the third and one counter in the fourth to open a 4-0 cushion.

The score remained the same until the top of the seventh when H-BC-E's David Top tripled and scored when Justin Van Maanen bounced out as the inning progressed.

Van Maanen was tagged with the pitching loss for H-BC-E after yielding three runs in two and one-third innings of work on the mound.

Top relieved Van Maanen in the third inning and pitched three and two-thirds frames of one-run ball.

Top also set the pace at the plate by slapping a pair of hits.

Country cruiser
Shelley Deutsch, Kanaranzi, shines her 1966 white Ford Mustang for the Country Cruisers Car Show during Hills Friendship Days Saturday.

Kindergarten fans judge circus by snow cones and swords

We hope it's not obvious, but the Star Herald has been getting by without the services of our trusty proof reader, Carol Hoogeveen, who underwent quadruple bypass surgery last month.

We’re happy to report she's on the mend, but we're sad to say she tendered her resignation shortly after surgery.

Physicians were clear she needs to slow down and take care of herself. That means dropping one or two of her four part-time jobs and declining some of her countless volunteer commitments and social engagements.

We hoped after the dust settled that we'd land on her "keep" list, but the stress of finding our outrageous errors before they're published can be hard on anyone's ticker, let alone a fragile one.

Alas, Carol stopped at the office last week and cleaned out her desk, taking with her nearly 20 years worth of experience in the copy editing position.

It was my job to write the help wanted ad for hiring her replacement.

The version we published went something like, "The Rock County Star Herald is seeking someone with a sharp eye and a passion for the printed English language. Duties would be proof reading copy for the Star Herald - everything from obituaries and legal notices to news stories and columns -"
We had to keep the ad brief, but I wanted to include the following stipulations in order to find another Carol Hoogeveen:

"Person must have thick skin." Writers are often proud of their masterpieces and don't take kindly to having problems pointed out in their work.

"Person must know everyone in the county, who their parents are and where they're from originally." In addition to catching misspelled names, we could always count on Carol to catch the wrong names under a wedding photo or an obituary photo in someone’s birthday announcement.

"Person must be a handy in the kitchen or have good taste with store-bought snacks." We get hungry here during our Tuesday late-night deadlines, and Carol often arrived with 9-by-13 pans of home-made goodies or crinkly bags of munchies to share.

"Person must find satisfaction in a job that exists to make others look good." Carol's byline never appeared on any of the columns and stories she worked so hard to polish. Copy editing is a demanding and thankless job, but she loved the challenge of finding flaws and fixing them.

"Person must have a sense of humor." Sometimes, even with three sets of eyes perusing an article, mistakes do find their way into print. Some are funnier than others.
Carol loves to tell the story about the time we published a recipe instructing readers to "mix ingredients, crap in plastic and refrigerate." (Wrap in plastic.)

We miss you, "Mrs. Hoogenveegen," and we wish you a speedy recovery.

Family Dollar Store to be built on S. Kniss
A new retailer is planning to add Luverne to its long list of locations.

Family Dollar Store is planning on building a 7,000 to 8,000 square-foot store at 303 S. Kniss, site of the former Lampert Lumber Company.

According to their Web site, Family Dollar Stores Inc. is one of the fastest growing discount store chains in the United States.

The first Family Dollar store was opened in Charlotte, N.C. in 1959.

As of the end of its last fiscal year, the chain had 4,141 stores, with 525 of them added within the last year.

According to the company Web site, the merchandise is sold at everyday low prices in a no-frills, low overhead, self-service environment. Most merchandise is priced under $10.

According to Florence Stanley, investor/public relations for the company, the target for opening the store is near the end of 2002.

Align-Tech buys former True Value building, adds U-Haul to services
Rich Dreckman, owner of Align-Tech and Tire, has purchased the former True Value building from Mark and Beth Novotny.

According to Dreckman, the building, which was severely damaged in a Dec. 7 fire, will be demolished and the lot will be for used vehicle and consignment sales.

In addition to the auto sales, Dreckman has also acquired the U-Haul dealership for Luverne.

G & S Auto Service had the U-Haul dealership, but recently lost the lot used to store the equipment.

U-Haul rents small trailers to large trucks and tow dollies.

Winter and Vickerman get DFL endorsement
Not that there was ever any question, but last Thursday, Rep. Ted Winter and Sen. Jim Vickerman were unanimously endorsed for re-election to the Minnesota House and Senate at the District 22 DFL Convention.

Winter, a farmer, from rural Fulda, has served his southwest Minnesota district since 1986.

Vickerman, a farmer and former county commissioner, lives in Tracy. He has also served in the Minnesota Senate since 1986.

The recent redistricting has put Rock County in Winter's and Vickerman's district for the first time.

Richard Mulder had been Rock County's Representative since 1994.

Arlene Lesewski had served as Rock County's Senator since 1992.

Rock County was removed from their districts and both Lesewski and Mulder decided not to run for re-election.

Winter said in a press release that he would work for good schools, good roads and tax policies that will create strong Main Streets.

Winter said his prime achievement of the past session was passage of a biodiesel promotion bill. "The law, which will require statewide use of soybean-based biodiesel fuel blends, promises to create a new rural energy industry similar to the ethanol industry," according to Winter.

A second major achievement was the passage of a Winter-authored overhaul of the taxes on wind power facilities.

The new system will be based on the amount of electricity generated and that will put additional dollars into the coffers of towns and counties where wind farms are located.

Vickerman put finding ways to stabilize and improve funding for rural schools as a priority, as well as addressing ways to keep young people in rural communities after graduating from high school and college.

Winter will now go on to the general election in November, where he will face Doug Magnus, rural Slayton, who was nominated by Republicans on May 24th at their nominating convention.

A republican challenger for Vickerman has not yet been announced for the position, according to Bill Weber, a Rock County Republican Party member.

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at
tolly@star-herald.com

Maynard Bos, 57, died Monday, June 3, 2002 at Hegg Memorial Hospital due to cancer. Maynard was a former deputy sheriff of Sioux County from Rock Valley.
Funeral Services will be 1:00 p.m. Thursday at First Reformed Church at Rock Valley. Burial will be at Valley View Cemetery.

Maynard was born July 11, 1944 at Hills, MN. He married Joann Ackerman on March 16, 1962. They lived at Alvord, IA where Maynard owned the Bos Grinding Service. Maynard became a certified law enforcement officer and was a deputy sheriff in Lyon County, IA 1974-8. Maynard married Shirley Stallman on May 29, 1979. Together they lived in Rock Valley where Maynard was a deputy sheriff later becoming sergeant for Sioux County 1981-2001. Maynard earned many awards in law enforcement including Sioux County’s first "Life Saving Award".

Survivors include his wife, Shirley, 5 children, Duane (Joleen) Bos, Rick (Angela) Bos, Larchwood, IA, Randy (Cheryl) Bos, Amy (Chuck) Meiburg Rock Rapids, David (Corrine) Bos, Norfolk, NE, 3 step children Robin (Garry) DeBruin, Julie (Don) Kats, Randy Stallman, Rock Valley, IA: 8 grandchildren; 5 step-grandchildren: 2 brothers, Lyle (Dorothy) Bos, Verlyn (Henrietta) Bos , Hills, MN
Maynard was preceded in death by his parents and an infant son, Larry Bos.

Porter Funeral Home, Rock Valley, IA, was in charge of arrangements