Tim Christensen's fourth-grade class is the Luverne Elementary School featured Class of the Week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Brittney Richters, Zachary Forsberg, Nickolas Meyer, Michael Graff, Tara Muck, Stephanie Schultz, Eric Vink, (second row) Brooke Walgrave, Alicia VanDeBerg, Melissa Riddle, Stephanie VanWyhe, Kathryn Dahl, Kyle Petersen, Michael Hup, Leland Jensen, Jimmy Fletcher, Deborah Johnson, (back row) Mr. Christensen, Taylor Mulder, Landon Gacke, Macy Oldre, Wendy Kooiker, Chelsey Javner, Whitney Oehlerts, Ethan Heideman, and Jonathon Ehlers. Not pictured is Elizabeth Scheidt. Mr. Christensen's fourth-graders have been working on a "Shocking Shark" ocean webquest in science. The fourth-graders also just completed the Rainforest T-shirt selling project through the Earth Foundation. The entire school adopted about 65 acres of Rainforest.

Photo by Lori Ehde

The former home of Luverne's Al and Marge Christensen on North Blue Mound Avenue was sold Thursday, Feb. 28, to the highest bidder for $22,000.

Scot and Cherry Schnoor, Rushmore, are the new owners and plan to move the house 27 miles to an acreage near Rushmore. The couple, who have two small children, plan to restore the house to its original historic specifications.

"I'm in the business," said Scot, who owns Rushmore Quality Woodworking. "I'll reproduce its original look." That means tearing out existing woodwork and replacing with new.

The Luverne Economic Development Authority purchased the property in the mid-1990s for the purpose of subdividing lots in the Evergreen Addition, which has grown around the acreage.

LEDA advertised for bids, specifying the buyer needs to have the house moved off the property by July 1. LEDA received seven sealed bids ranging from $1 to $5,000. LEDA director Tony Chladek opened the bids in Council Chambers Thursday, Feb. 28, and then invited participating bidders to increase their offers. That prompted 57 up-bids before Schnoor emerged the new owner at $22,000.

Al and Marge lived in the house since they were married in 1945. Al grew up in the house since his father, Jasper Christensen, purchased it in 1924. At that time Al was 9 years old, and the nearest cluster of residential homes was on Barck Street, which aligns with Roundwind Avenue between Human Services and Tri-State Insurance.

Al died in October 2000, and Marge has since moved to Sioux Falls.

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board approved a class schedule for the 2002-03 school year almost identical to the 2001-02 schedule at a School Board meeting Monday.

"The schedule the teachers liked most started after Labor Day and was done at the end of May," said Superintendent Dave Deragisch. Staff were shown three sample schedules.

The schedule contained 174 student class days and six in-service or conference days.

Deragisch built three days of early dismissal into the schedule, the first a month after classes begin, to allow teachers time to contact or meet with parents if a student is struggling in a class.

This time off "gives the teachers and the parents a chance to communicate."

Conferences were moved from Tuesdays to Thursdays at the teachers' request.

Other board business
oThe board discussed spreading the word to parents that some programs for school funding are based on the reduced lunch count in the district.

"A lot of people feel if they are taking a free or reduced lunch they are taking something away from the school," said Deragisch.

"I don't know how we can get it across to people that it's a good thing," said board member Ann Boeve.

Community Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, March 18. Deragisch hopes to revive the floundering program, and he plans to invite senior citizens to attend and voice their preferences on classes to offer.

"I think Community Education has suffered the last few years," said board chair Alan Harnack.

Early Childhood Screening was held Friday, March 1, with six of a possible 12 students screened. Three students were "no shows" or unable to be reached, one student moved from the district, one student was ill and one student is attending in Luverne.

By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth's boys' basketball Cinderella season came to an end after a 32-minute battle with Southwest Christian during Monday's South Section 3A Tournament championship game in Worthington.

The Panthers played right with the three-time defending state champion Eagles for four quarters in front of the large crowd in Worthington High School.

In the end, SWC absorbed all of Ellsworth's best shots and pulled out an 80-74 victory.

The win sends SWC to tonight's Section 3A championship game at Southwest State University in Marshall, where it plays North Section 3A champion Canby for the right to appear in the state tournament.

The loss ended Ellsworth's 20-6 season, a campaign in which the Panthers surprised many by earning the school's second berth in a post-season title game (the first one came in 1987) while coming off a 5-14 2000-01 season.

"My head was up, even at the end of the game," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale, who was named the South Section 3A Coach of the Year when the title tilt was complete. "I think we scared them."

The way things looked on the court, nobody told the Panthers that they were supposed to be intimidated by southwest Minnesota's best team the past four years.

Ellsworth, a team that uses six players during the course of most games, stood toe-to-toe with SWC and its 11-athlete rotation. The Panthers beat the odds by sporting a four-point halftime lead in a game that was tied with 4:24 left to play, but the Eagles put together an impressive run the rest of the way to pull out a six-point win.

The Eagles found out they were in a fight for their post-season lives after scoring the game's first two points early in the first quarter.

Panther sophomore Curt Schilling erased the lead by draining a three-point shot before Dylan Kvaale netted back-to-back field goals to give EHS a 7-2 advantage.

SWC answered the challenge, going on a 10-2 run capped by Ethan Mesman's three-point shot at the 3:51 mark of the period to give the Eagles a 12-9 lead.

Kvaale, who scored a game-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists, helped the Panthers regain the lead at 18-14 with a field goal with 1:43 remaining in the stanza. SWC, however, closed the quarter with an 8-2 surge that gave it a 22-20 edge heading into the second period.

Ellsworth gained the upper hand in the early stages of the second period and led 27-24 when Brant Deutsch scored off an offensive rebound with 5:56 remaining in the first half.

SWC used a 6-0 surge to pull in front 30-27, but the Panthers gained their first of three one-point cushions at 33-32 when Travis Jenniges drained a pair of free throws at the 3:05 mark of the stanza.

Ellsworth was in front 38-37 when Kvaale hit a three and Deutsch added a pair of free throws to a 5-2 run in the final minute of the half to give the Panthers a 43-39 lead at the intermission.

SWC dictated play to start the second half as it used an 8-4 run in the first 1:44 to tie the game at 47 before opening a 53-49 advantage as the period progressed.

Ellsworth trimmed the difference to two points (53-51) when Blake Brommer hit a pair of free throws to cap the scoring in the third quarter.

The Panthers knotted the score at 53 and 56 with a field goal by Kvaale and a three-point shot by Tom Janssen in the first 1:44 of the fourth quarter. EHS countered a 4-0 SWC surge with a field goal by Kvaale and two free throws from Schilling with 4:24 left to play to tie the game at 61.

At that point SWC put together a 9-0 run that gave it a 70-61 cushion with less than two minutes left to play.

Ellsworth did battle back to pull within four points (78-74) when Kvaale scored while being fouled with :20.5 remaining, but that was as close as the Panthers would come to catching SWC the rest of the night.

Schilling turned in a 20-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort for the Panthers. Deutsch had eight rebounds and five assists, and Jenniges led EHS with four steals.

Jeff Schaap (18 points), Ross Reitsma (17), Mesman (15) and Dan DeWitt (12) led the Eagles to victory.

Box score
Schilling 4 1 9-10 20, Jenniges 0 0 3-4 3, Janssen 2 1 0-0 7, Kvaale 12 1 0-2 27, Deutsch 1 1 4-6 9, Brommer 2 0 4-4 8.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 25 of 50 field goals (50 percent), 10 of 14 free throws (71 percent), 25 rebounds, six turnovers.

By Lori Ehde
After 30 years with the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service, Rock County's Jim Lewis will be remembered as the man who went to bat for local farmers.

Lewis, 77, died Friday, March 8, in his sleep.

Luverne's Mary Jo Nath worked with Lewis for 25 years in the ASCS office, now known as the Farm Service Agency.

Much of their work involved connecting local producers with federal farm programs. She said Lewis went out of his way to reach all of Rock County's farmers.

"He went the extra mile so they wouldn't have to come in and stand in line (for sign-ups)," she said. "He'd have sign-ups in banks and old schoolhouses out in the country. I think farmers appreciated that."

She said working with Lewis was a pleasure.

"He was a down-to-earth guy. We all enjoyed working with him," she said. "He was fair to all the farmers, and he was always fair to us, as far as a boss is concerned."

Lewis farmed near Jasper until 1957 when he took the job of office manager at the Rock County ASCS office.

He went on to become the district ASCS manager in 1977 serving farmers in southwest Minnesota.

At that time, Roger Carlson, current FSA director in Rock County, filled the local office manager position vacated by Lewis.

"He certainly cared about agriculture and farmers," said Carlson, who worked under Lewis for 10 years.

"I think he did everything he could to influence politicians to help farmers in Rock County and southwest Minnesota."

Carlson said that firm ground in politics is what helped Lewis help farmers.

"He was truly a farmer's advocate, and he used his influence in politics to shape farm policy," Carlson said.

"Of course he comes from a very political family. If you ask any of his kids they'll tell you discussion around the dinner table was almost always about politics."

Lewis was a local civic leader throughout his adult life, serving on numerous boards, committees and commissions.

He was elected a Rock County Commissioner from 1990 to 1994, for example, and was instrumental in lobbying to locate a Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.

By Sara Strong
The second in a series of midlife seminars comes to Luverne Community Hospital at 7 p.m. Monday.

Psychologist Dr. Susan Maresh will speak on depression and mood swings through a videoconference session by Sioux Valley Hospital USD Medical Center.

Maresh said, "Women are two times more likely to have depression."

She also said 40 million more people have symptoms that would get them diagnosed with some form of mental illness.

Maresh said it's important to understand that the brain is like any other body organ and needs treatment if it's ill. "You have to treat it like you would if you had poor kidney function," Maresh said.

She will speak Monday specifically on women in midlife who experience depression from hormonal imbalances.

For example, Maresh said, "Postpartum depression can be medicated and is very treatable but can last for years if untreated."

Postpartum depression isn't as severe as postpartum psychosis that's been heard of recently when Texas mother Andrea Yates killed her five children.

For some women, even admitting to depression is a difficult thing to face, Maresh said. "Especially in the Midwest we're taught to control our moods when you really can't. You can't just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get better."

Maresh tells her patients that mood swings are messages that the brain sends the body saying that it's in pain.

"That can show up as problems in eating or sleeping," Maresh said.

Her talk on midlife emotional issues is directed toward women. Maresh said that's often necessary "because they are often caregivers and aren't used to caring for themselves. It can be seen as selfish to ask for help or not feminine in a way."

One of the major reasons people are diagnosed with depression and other mental illness today, Maresh said, is because people just live longer.

"In 1900 people lived to be 48. Today a woman who's 51 can expect to live to be 87, and depression as you age is more likely," Maresh said.

Attendance at the videoconference is free, but call 283-2321 to register.

Police officer Chuck Matson spoke and showed slides Tuesday to Hills-Beaver Creek High School students on the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Juniors and seniors held a DUI demonstration Tuesday afternoon, followed by an evening meeting in Luverne open to H-BC and Luverne parents on the signs and dangers of drug use. These meetings were sponsored by the Rock County Collaborative.

Harley Eugene Habbena, 69, Ellsworth, died unexpectedly Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at Luverne Community Hospital following a sudden illness at home.

Services were Friday, March 8, at Zion Presbyterian Church in Ellsworth. The Rev. Robert Raedeke officiated. Burial, with full military honors, followed at Grand Prairie Cemetery in Ellsworth.

Harley Habbena was born to Jack and Henrietta "Hap" (Kruse) Habbena on June 15, 1932, in Ellsworth. His family moved to Little Rock, Iowa, where he grew up and attended school. He finished the 10th grade in Little Rock and received his GED from Luverne Public Schools on Feb. 22, 1971. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict, receiving his honorable discharge from the active reserve on Oct. 25, 1958.

He married Joyce Hinrichs on Nov. 5, 1951, in Ellsworth where they lived. In 1962 they moved to Adrian and to Luverne in 1963. For 35 years he worked in packinghouses as a cooler supervisor. His work took him to many different packing plants including Tama, Iowa, for 14 years, Omaha, Neb., for 11 years, and Fargo, N.D., for eight years. In 1996 they retired to Ellsworth. He began working at the Adrian Rest Area. He also did many carpentry odd jobs around Ellsworth. He also did a lot of woodworking projects.

Mr. Habbena was an active member of Zion Presbyterian Church in Ellsworth, where he served as a deacon for four years and currently was an elder. He and his wife were church custodians for the past year and a half. He served on the Ellsworth City Council for four years, the Cemetery Board for six years and was also a member of the American Legion. He enjoyed fishing, going camping and reading.

Survivors include his wife, Joyce Habbena, Ellsworth; four daughters, Colleen Faye (Roger) Kelderman, Constance Raye Habbena and her fiancŽ Jack Aschinger, all of Omaha, Neb., Colette Kaye (Steven) Johnson, Huron, S.D., and Karen Lynn (Gary) Fitzwater, Kansas City, Mo.; eight grandchildren, Melissa Colleen Kelderman and her fiancŽ, Dennis Lahm, Chad Allen Kelderman, Jacqueline Mae Kelderman and her fiancŽ, Corey Schroeder, Scott Eugene Johnson and his fiancŽ Lindsey Hins, Marie Faye Kelderman, Brandon Ray Phelps, Preston Ray Phelps, and Zachery James Fitzwater; one stepgrandson Jack Daniel Aschinger Jr.; one great-grandchild, Chasidy Marie Kelderman; one sister, Sylvia (James) Munns, Early, Iowa; one niece, Carrie Woodridge, Plano, Texas; and very special family members, Jeri Lenz, and Gene, Sandy and Julie Sanders, all of Ellsworth.

Mr. Habbena was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Jackie, and two sisters, Sally and Betty.

Roste Funeral Home, Rock Rapids, Iowa, was in charge of arrangements.

By Sara Strong
The Luverne Planning Commission Tuesday voted in favor of continuing with the process to rezone a portion of Luverne.

The recommendation from the commission will go on to the City Council for final approval.

The 30 lots affected are currently R-1 or low density residential, and the commission would like to see the council pass its recommendation to make it an R-I or residential/institutional.

The area in question includes the hospital, courthouse and Catholic church.

Chairman Jim Kirchhofer said, "It would be, to me, the natural growth direction for this area of the community."

Some citizens came to the meeting concerned about future development of the hospital or similar new facility.

City Administrator Matt Hylen said, "There has not been a request from anyone or business for rezoning. It originated from within this board to reflect what direction the city is going in."

Board member Mike Reker said, "It seems to me that with possible future expansion of the hospital, clinic or county buildings, that they should know what direction they can plan for."

Reker and commission member Bob Dorn abstained from voting because they live within the area and could be considered to have a conflict of interest.

Residents who attended the public hearing before the commission voted said their concerns with the area have to deal with noise, not necessarily a zoning issue.

They said the generator installed outside the hospital almost a year ago creates a nuisance in the neighborhood. The generator helps the hospital during peak electric usage times.

Neighbors said they don't enjoy the outdoors and have to turn up televisions or radios to drown out the noise indoors. The board said it would check with the hospital administration to see if it was aware of the problem and if anything can be done about it.