By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys' basketball team kicked off the 2000-01 campaign by dropping a close game to Graettinger during the first round of the Harris-Lake Park Tournament in Lake Park, Iowa, Friday.

The game was tight from beginning to end, but the Patriots experienced a rough third quarter that proved to the difference in what turned into a 71-66 setback.

Things looked good for the Patriots when Matt Buck pumped in nine of his team-high 15 points to help give the Patriots a 15-10 lead in the first quarter, but Graettinger battled back in the second quarter to gain a 36-34 lead after hitting a shot at the buzzer to end the second quarter.

Graettinger increased its lead to eight points (52-44) by outscoring the Patriots 16-10 in the decisive third quarter.

H-BC did pull to within three points in the fourth quarter but didn't get any closer as Graettinger canned 10 free throws in the final eight minutes of play to hang onto a five-point win.

"Our kids battled hard," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We just didn't have a very good third quarter. We just didn't get it done in the third quarter.

The game was decided at the charity stripe, where Graettinger outscored the Patriots by a 24-14 margin. H-BC also turned the ball over nine more times (19-10) than Graettinger did.

Buck had four assists and recorded a double-double by nabbing 11 rebounds to go along with his 15 points.

Lance Crawford netted 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and David Top chipped in 13 points. Brad Haak snared seven rebounds for the Patriots.

Box score
D.DeBoer 0 1 1-3 4, Van Batavia 0 0 0-0 0, Van Maanen 1 1 0-0 5, Fransman 1 1 2-3 7, Haak 1 0 1-1 3, Van Wyhe 1 0 3-4 5, Top 3 2 1-4 13, Crawford 6 0 2-2 14, Buck 4 1 4-7 15.

Team statistics
H-BC: 23 of 50 field goals (46 percent), 14 of 24 free throws (58 percent), 30 rebounds, 19 turnovers.
Graettinger: 22 of 57 field goals (39 percent), 24 of 36 free throws (67 percent), 30 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys' basketball team broke into the win column in a big a way Friday in Okabena when it coasted to a 77-22 victory over Southwest Star Concept.

A solid defensive performance consisting of a mixture of man-to-man and zone resistance was the story of the game for H-BC.

Patriot defenders limited SSC to nine field goals and 21-percent shooting from the floor in the game. The Quasars never scored more than 10 points in a quarter, and H-BC blanked SSC in the third period.

A good share of H-BC's defensive success came after the first quarter, when both teams struggled before the Patriots opened a 14-9 cushion at period's end.

"We got off to a pretty slow start," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "Once we got going, we played pretty hard."

The Patriots were at their best in the second and third quarters, when they outscored the Quasars 41-3 to take a 55-12 advantage.

A 25-3 scoring cushion in the second quarter increased H-BCÕs lead to 27 points (39-12), and a 16-0 advantage in the third quarter made the difference 43 points.

The Patriots capped the 55-point win by outscoring SSC 22-10 in the final eight minutes of play.

Chris Fransman scored 11 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 22 counters for the winners.

Matt Buck netted eight first-half-points and finished with 18 counters and eight rebounds. Lance Crawford, who had seven rebounds, netted all eight of his points in the first half.

David Top scored 10 points, Lyle DeBoer recorded six steals and Brad Haak charted five assists and five steals for the Patriots.

Wiertzema said unselfish play on the part of H-BC helped the Patriots snap a three-game losing skid.

"One thing I was really happy with was we had 20 assists in the game. We were sharing the ball and setting people up to score," he said.

Box score
Jess 0 0 0-0 0, D.DeBoer 1 0 0-0 2, Van Batavia 1 0 0-0 2, Van Maanen 3 0 1-2 7, Fransman 10 0 2-2 22, Haak 0 0 5-6 5, L.DeBoer 0 0 1-2 1, Van Wyhe 1 0 0-0 2, Top 1 0 8-12 10, Crawford 4 0 0-0 8, Krull 0 0 0-0 0, Buck 7 0 4-8 18.

Team statistics
H-BC: 28 of 54 field goals (52 percent), 21 of 32 free throws (66 percent), 29 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SSC: nine of 43 field goals (21 percent), three of eight free throws (38 percent), 27 rebounds, 35 turnovers.

The Hills-Beaver Creek girls picked up their first basketball victory in 2001 when they upended Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in Round Lake Tuesday.

What was a tight game through three quarters of play turned into a nine-point win for the Patriots as they used a late surge to post a 56-47 advantage.

The game was decided in the fourth quarter, when the Patriots used an 18-5 scoring run to erase a 42-38 deficit entering the stanza.

According to Patriot coach Tom Goehle, his team didn't do anything different in the final eight minutes of play. The key was that H-BC's offensive strategy finally took a toll on the Raiders.

"We continued to attack the basket in the fourth quarter, and it paid off for us as we made all of our free throws when they fouled us. We were 10 for 10 as a team at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter," he said.

The Patriots led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter before SV-RL-B came storming back to knot the score at 25 with a 16-13 scoring edge in the second quarter.

The Raiders moved in front 42-38 during the fourth quarter, but H-BC's sharp shooting from the charity stripe spurred its fourth-quarter rally.

This game was decided at the line, where H-BC outscored the Raiders 22-7.

Erin Boeve produced a double-double for the Patriots by scoring 15 points and snaring 11 rebounds. She also led H-BC with four blocked shots.

Shanna Tilstra netted 14 points and came up with four steals for the victors.

H-BC, 5-3 overall, plays in Ellsworth tonight before hosting Fulda and Adrian Monday and Tuesday respectively.

Box score
C.Tilstra 1 0 0-0 2, Olson 1 0 0-2 2, Sandbulte 1 0 0-0 2, Brandt 0 0 0-0 0, Rentschler 2 0 3-4 7, S.Tilstra 4 0 6-7 14, DeNoble 1 0 4-4 6, Boeve 5 0 5-5 15, DeHaan 1 0 0-0 2, Arp 1 0 4-9 6.

Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 42 field goals (40 percent), 22 of 31 free throws (71 percent), 29 rebounds, 26 turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 20 of 54 field goals (37 percent), seven of 18 free throws (39 percent), 34 rebounds, 23 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
A hot-shooting Adrian boys' basketball team bested Hills-Beaver Creek 61-54 when the teams met in Hills Tuesday.

The visiting Dragons canned 61 percent of their field goals overall and fought off a late charge by the Patriots to win by seven.

Adrian opened a 20-13 lead in the game's first eight minutes of play before outscoring the Patriots 17-8 in the second quarter to make it a 37-21 at the intermission.

H-BC trimmed the difference to nine points (46-37) with a 16-9 scoring advantage in the third quarter and trailed by as little as three points during the fourth quarter. Adrian received three free throws by Mark Kroon and two each from Bryce Block and Pete Hohn down the stretch to put the game away.

"Our kids hit some free throws down the stretch, so they did what they had to do to win," said Dragon coach Chris Rozell. "H-BC fought back hard in the second half. They have a bunch of kids who never give up."

Brad Lonneman, who led the Dragons with six rebounds, scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Block scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half for AHS.

Travis Rupp added 10 points and Kroon passed for seven assists.
Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema tipped his hat to the Dragons when the game was complete.

"It's tough to beat a team when they shoot the ball like they did. I give them all the credit because they played well," he said.

Chris Fransman, David Top and Lyle DeBoer led a balanced attack by H-BC with 10 points each.

Lyle DeBoer had six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Darin DeBoer had five assists and four steals.

The 3-6 Patriots host Russell-Tyler-Ruthton tonight before playing at Edgerton Public tomorrow.

Adrian, 4-3 overall, hosts Luverne tomorrow and Westbrook-Walnut Grove Tuesday. The Dragons play in Lake Benton Monday.

Box score
Adrian
Hohn 1 0 2-4 4, Kroon 0 0 3-5 3, Baartman 0 2 0-0 6, Block 4 2 2-2 16, Lonneman 8 2 0-0 22, Rupp 4 0 2-3 10.
H-BC
D.DeBoer 1 0 6-10 8, Van Maanen 1 0 0-0 2, Fransman 2 2 0-2 10, Haak 0 0 0-3 0, L.DeBoer 4 0 2-4 10, Top 1 2 2-4 10, Crawford 3 0 0-0 6, Buck 3 0 2-4 8.

Team statistics
H-BC: 18 of 41 field goals (44 percent), 12 of 17 free throws (44 percent), 22 rebounds, 13 turnovers.
Adrian: 23 of 38 field goals (61 percent), nine of 14 free throws (64 percent), 24 rebounds, 20 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
Pipestone-Jasper sophomores Stacey and Stef Plahn proved to be too much for Hills-Beaver Creek to contend with when the Patriots met the Arrows in a girls' basketball game in Hills Thursday.

The Plahns scored a combined 46 points to lead their team to a convincing 64-35 victory over H-BC in the first game after the Christmas break for both teams.

Stacey Plahn, a sharp-shooting guard, burned the nets for a game-high 28 points. Stef Plahn, a forward, added 18 points for the Arrows.

P-J got off to a great start by scoring the gameÕs first eight points.

H-BC trimmed the difference to five points (9-4) when LaDonna Sandstede banked in a layup at the 1:20 mark of the first quarter but the Arrows scored the final four points of the period to make it a 13-9 game.

Patriot Erin Boeve scored the first two points of the second quarter to bring H-BC within seven points (13-6) of the Arrows before P-J countered with a 17-6 run that gave it a 30-13 advantage. The Arrows settled for a 32-16 cushion at the intermission.

P-J increased its lead to 23 points at one stage of the third quarter, but H-BC responded with a late rally capped by Jamie Arp's field goal with 54 seconds remaining in the stanza to make the difference 41-29.

Arp, who scored all of her team-high 12 points in the second half, converted a three-point play 25 seconds into the fourth quarter to bring the Patriots within 11 points (43-32) of the Arrows.

P-J, however, reeled off a 14-0 run after Arp's tally to open a 57-32 lead and outscored the Patriots 7-3 the rest of the way to win by 29.

Brittney Olson and Sandstede registered four and three assists respectively for H-BC. Boeve and Jody DeNoble snared four rebounds each.

Box score
C.Tilstra 0 0 0-0 0, Olson 1 0 3-5 5, Sandstede 1 1 0-0 5, Brandt 0 0 0-0 0, Rentschler 3 0 1-2 7, S.Tilstra 0 0 0-0 0, Rozeboom 0 0 0-0 0, DeNoble 1 0 0-0 2, Boeve 2 0 0-0 4, DeHaan 0 0 0-0 0, Arp 5 0 2-5 12.

Team statistics
H-BC: 14 of 37 field goals (38 percent), six of 12 free throws (50 percent), 25 rebounds, 29 turnovers.
P-J: 22 of 49 field goals (45 percent), 19 of 30 free throws (63 percent), 26 rebounds, 13 turnovers.

By Jolene Farley
The Hills Economic Development Corporation expressed an interest buying land adjacent to the city's apartments during the Tuesday evening meeting.

Wilmer Elbers, Hills, was to attend the City Council meeting, which was scheduled before the EDA meeting, to discuss a 200-foot parcel of land near the Hills Stainless Steel building he wanted to acquire.

The council meeting was adjourned and the EDA meeting in full swing when Elbers arrived.

After some discussion about parliamentary procedure, the EDA meeting was recessed and the council meeting reopened to discuss the transfer of the land Elbers was interested in acquiring.

Elbers said he was offered the land for nothing years ago by a previous council but never pressed the issue. He has maintained the area for several years.

Mayor George Langford wants to assess the boundaries on the parcel before the council makes its final decision.

EDA President Arlen Leenderts reopened the EDA meeting.

Board members promptly turned the tables on Elbers and asked if he would be interested in selling property he owns with partners Gerald Haak and Tony Bosch near the city apartments.

The EDA intends to divide the property up into lots to be used for modular home construction.

Elbers agreed to ask his partners if they're interested in selling and what their asking price would be. Tuff Memorial Home had been offered the parcel for $28,000 recently, according to Councilman Dana Dahlquist.

The EDA then began discussing other property owned by Elbers and his partners. The city agreed last summer to cost-share advertising for recruiting people to build on Elbers' lots in Hills.

Since little advertising had been done, the council members asked if they could place the advertising and send Elbers and his partners the bill for their portion.

"We need to get people from the Sioux Falls area," said Elbers. "Housing is more expensive there. People will commute."

Everyone agreed to schedule a meeting with DeYager Real Estate. Arlen Leenderts and Wendell Bengtson will represent the EDA Board in the meetings.

In other City Council business Tuesday:
- Hills will bill Martin Township for half of the approximately 20,000 gallons of water used at the Mike Jess house fire.

- Doug Chapman asked the council to recommit the $2,500 originally offered to offset the cost of the sewer for Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

The original construction plans were changed, but the council still agreed to pay the amount. "We committed ourselves to the $2,500," said Langford. "I cannot see any problem with expending that amount."

By Lori Ehde
After more than six months of negotiating, the Luverne School Board has signed its final contracts.

Agreements were signed in a special School Board meeting Tuesday with paraprofessionals and with supervisory staff.

An emergency meeting was called for noon Wednesday to wrap up the administrative contracts.

All terms of the contract are retroactive dating back to the start of the school year on July 1.

According to Luverne Superintendent Vince Schaefer, no single issue prevented agreements; rather he said there were several issues of equal importance playing a role in the delayed contracts.

"All of it's tied to dollars one way or another, and it can be challenging for human relations," he said. "We negotiated long and hard for over six months."

Paraprofessionals
The paraprofessionals union, which includes teaching assistants, cooks and some secretaries, is a relatively new union. Under the leadership of Rosemary Moerke, this is the second two-year contract the group has negotiated.

The terms of the agreement affect 52 employees.

The contract calls for a 10.9-percent increase in the package of salaries and benefits over a two-year period. Employees will see a 5.9-percent increase the first year, and a 5-percent increase the second year.

There were several issues affecting negotiations, but according to Moerke, the most important wording dealt with seniority.

She said the district often ends up cutting Title 1 positions when funds are low. These people are often hired back or offered positions in other areas, but they are forced to start over as new employees each time, and they lose their seniority.

The new contract protects that seniority from one position to another.

"IÕm happy where we're at. I can live with it," Moerke said. "We can take our baby steps. We gave up a lot because in the end we knew which things we were going to stand up and fight for."

She said the School Board wasnÕt willing to negotiate on any of their requests until after the process moved into mediation. "It was a terrible battle," she said.

Supervisory staff
One-year contracts were also signed with Food Service Director Lorraine Becker, Buildings and Grounds Director Larry Roos and District Financial Officer Marlene Mann.

Becker's salary increased from $23,040 to $24,256 representing a 5.7-percent increase for the more than nine months school is in session.

Roos, who works year-round, saw a 5-percent increase in his salary and benefits, bringing it from $39,000 to $40,144. This includes one additional week of vacation.

Mann's salary rose from $34,236 to $40,580, an 18.5-percent increase. She also received full single insurance coverage.

Her position is also year-round.

According to Schaefer, Mann's salary increase was due largely to a comparable worth study that showed she was paid significantly less than other similar positions in area districts held by people with similar qualifications.

"We needed to bring it up to equality," Schaefer said.

Administrators
An agreement was nearly reached with district administrators Tuesday afternoon, but a last-minute legal question forced negotiations to continue during an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The two-year administrative contracts affect Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff, Middle School Principal Dave Deragisch and High School Principal Gary Fisher.

They also affect Community Education Director Karen Willers, Activities Director Harvey Crable and Curriculum Coordinator and Alternative School Director Jan Olson.

Administrators will see a 10-percent increase over the next two years - 5 percent this year (retroactive to July 1) and 5 percent next year.

Tenhoff's salary increased from $59,311 last year to $62,277 this year. An amount is not agreed on for next year.

Deragisch increased from $70,700 to $74,235. That will increase to $77,947 next year.

Fisher's salary was $73,915 last year and $77,611 this year. It will be $81,492 next year.

Willers's salary increased from $33,000 to $34,650, and will be $36,383 next year.

Last year, Crable earned $54,000 plus $3,400 for serving as equipment manager. His compensation for equipment manager will not change, but his salary this year increased to $56,700, and next year it will be $59,535.

Olson's salary did not increase by the straight 10 percent because her contract included two extra work days, and she also received eight paid holidays.

Last year she made $46,560. This year sheÕs earning $52,628, and next year she will make $56,312.

To the editor:
Hats off to the Star Herald staff for choosing to print the article about Joanne Olson's tragic death. Had you chosen not to print it, the truth about her life of fear and terrorizing death would not have become known.

Domestic violence-related deaths such as Joanne's occurred at least 31 times throughout Minnesota last year, but we also have victims of domestic violence in our community who are suffering silently each day such as JoAnne did until her death.

Maybe only Daryl knows why he chose to murder Joanne, but certainly his reasoning had nothing to do with her or the fact that she had asked for his help around the home. Daryl and other batterers do the terrible actions that they do because they believe that they have the right to.

Please let Joanne's life of terror and tragic death serve as a reminder that any of us could at any time unwittingly become a victim of domestic violence since domestic violence crosses all lines of gender, age, religion and culture. Also her death reminds us that domestic violence almost always escalates until the batterer takes responsibility for his/her actions, the victim takes action or death results.

Domestic violence-related injuries (mental, sexual or physical) and/or deaths will continue to happen until society (US!) dictates that it is not OK and will not be tolerated here or anywhere anymore. The good news is that domestic violence can be unlearned, like any other negative behavior, before tragedies like Joanne's happen.

Raevette Loonan
Southwest Crisis Center
Luverne

By Lori Ehde
Walkers and joggers can again be found on the Blue Mound Avenue bike path, and area residents have ventured outdoors to remove Christmas decorations and resume other seasonal outdoor activities.

This week's above-normal temperatures are appreciated even more than usual because of the sharp contrast to the winter conditions so far.

According to the National Weather in Sioux Falls, November was the sixth-coldest November on record, and December was the second-coldest December on record.

The average high last month was 16.4 degrees, and the average low was 1.2 degrees below zero.