By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team gave their home fans a treat Thursday night.After taking 11 straight losses to open the season, the Patriots ended the drought by recording a 70-56 victory over Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Hills.It was H-BC’s desire under the basket and a strong defensive effort that gave the Patriots their initial win.H-BC sported a decisive 38-20 rebounding advantage at game’s end. Defensively, H-BC forced the Chargers to turn the ball over 30 times.The Patriots gained control of the game early by outscoring W-WG 38-21 in the first half.W-WG sported a 35-32 scoring edge in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Patriots from securing a 14-point win.Jason Hup, who made six of nine field goals, scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the winners. Aaron Esselink, who matched Hup’s seven-rebound effort, led the Patriots with 16 points.Cody Rozeboom added seven rebounds and three steals to the winning cause. John Sandbulte scored 11 points, Tom Scholten charted four assists and Adam Finke blocked three shots for H-BC.Box scoreLuze 0 0 0-0 0, Van Wyhe 4 0 1-2 9, Reid 0 0 0-0 0, Rozeboom 4 0 0-0 8, Finke 1 1 0-0 5, Scholten 3 0 0-0 6, DeBoer 0 0 2-2 2, Hup 6 0 0-0 12, Sandbulte 3 0 5-6 11, Esselink 6 0 4-4 16, Leuthold 0 0 1-2 1, Van Batavia 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsH-BC: 28 of 63 field goals (44 percent), 13 of 19 free throws (68 percent), 38 rebounds, 22 turnovers.W-WG: 22 of 53 field goals (42 percent), six of 15 free throws (40 percent), 20 rebounds, 30 turnovers.

Chamber Orchestra to celebrate Mozart’s birthday in LuverneThe South Dakota Symphony’s Chamber Orchestra will perform a special tribute to Mozart on Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Palace Theatre.The tribute will come two days after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 250th birthday.According to the South Dakota Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra is comprised of 25 to 30 professional musicians drawn from the 85-member South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.The featured musicians will include John Tomkins, bassoon, Doosook Kim, violin, and Chris Hill, clarinet.The orchestra is conducted by Delta David Gier.Gier served as an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic for seven seasons and more recently for the Metropolitan Opera.As well as offering a more intimate experience than the full orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra is better suited for smaller venues, such as the Palace Theatre.Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $5 for students, are available at the Luverne Chamber of Commerce, Carnegie Cultural Center the Palace Theatre, the Luverne Style Shop or the Luverne High School band room.Sioux Valley Energy looks for nominationsSioux Valley Energy members living in Rock and Pipestone counties must file a nominating petition within 60 days if they are interested in filing for a position on the eleven-person board.Two of the three people up for reelection this year serve parts of Rock County.Eunice Bartels, District 10, serves southern Pipestone County and northern Rock County and Gary Drost, District 11, serves southern Rock County.Bartels is vice-president and serves on the boards of L&O Power Cooperative and the Mid-West Electric Consumers Association.Drost currently chairs the Sioux Valley Wireless board. He also serves on the boards of L&O Power and Basis Electric Power.Jan Bobendrier, District 9, serving northern Pipestone County, is also up for reelection.If you are interested in filing for one of the Rock County positions, the deadline for District 11 is Jan. 23, and District 10 is Feb. 6.The petition forms are available at Sioux Valley offices in Pipestone, Brandon and Colman.You may also contact them at 800-234-1960 or at P.O. Box 216, Colman, SD 57017.Forms are also available on the Internet at www.siouxvalleyenergy.com.Have your kids been driving around using their cell phones lately?One of the new laws that took effect on Jan. 1st applies to nearly 400,000 Minnesota drivers with learning permits or provisional licenses.A provisional license is a license held by a 16- to 18-year-old until the driver has completed one year of violation-free driving.Drivers who fall into that category are now taking a chance getting a fine or a delay in becoming fully licensed drivers if they are caught using their cell phones while driving, except in the case of emergencies.Both hand-held and hands-free phones are included in the law.Lawmakers enacted the law because of findings which indicate that inexperienced drivers are more vulnerable to distraction than more experienced drivers.Although the fine could be as much as $1000 and 90 days in jail, the more likely penalty will be a delay in getting your full license and a fine which will usually run about $100.Minnesota is the eighth state to enact the new law.According to lawmakers sponsoring the bill, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in Minnesota and the nation.16-year-olds also have a 300 percent higher accident rate than 20- and 21-year-old drivers.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

By Lori EhdeAmong other things, Joe Okarski will be remembered for starting mental health care in Luverne.Okarski died Wednesday, Jan. 11, in the Inn at Westport, a senior living complex in Sioux Falls. He was 92 years old.Okarski, a doctor of psychology, was the first chief psychologist at the Southwestern Mental Health Center in Luverne. That was December of 1965.He replaced Al Winter when he was hired in Luverne, according to Ben Vander Kooi, Jr. who presided over Monday’s funeral service."Basically, the two of them started the mental health center here with a very active mental health board," Vander Kooi said.In the late 1970s, Okarski conceived of a psychological approach to assessing patients’ therapy outcomes. Copyrighted as "The Trouble Spot Survey," it was used for a number of years at the Southwestern Mental Health Center and at Keystone Treatment Center in Canton, S.D.His theory challenged prevailing ideas about psychological evaluations by focusing on the patient as an individual, rather than in comparison to other people.This survey and his theory became the focus of 30 years of his own research and development, and he had prepared an article about them that he intended to submit to a major psychological journal."He worked tirelessly on this project until a month and half before his death," his obituary reads.In addition to his work in psychology, Vander Kooi said Okarski will be remembered for his academia."He was a very quiet, uncommon man who was very thoughtful," Vander Kooi said. "He led a very active life of the mind. He was always reading and writing and did a lot of studying."But, Vander Kooi said, he saw another side to him. According to his obituary, Okarski learned to ski, and he took up golf in Luverne when he was 60."Between holes, he’d turn his No. 3 wood upside down and use it as a walking cane," Vander Kooi recalled. "That was a common image everyone had of him, and everyone laughed."Okarski was born in Peabody, Mass., the first son of Polish immigrants. He ran the family truck farm until his father died and then worked as a "staker," glassing hides in Peabody’s Benz Kid tannery.As a young man, he was active in the YMCA where he became an accomplished gymnast. He acted leading roles with the local light opera company and sang with his Methodist church choir, as well as with the Russian Orthodox Church choir.In the late 1930s he hitch-hiked to California where he attended Pomona Junior College until joining the Army at the start of World War II. Already fluent in Polish and Russian, Okarski volunteered for language school, where he learned Dutch, French and German.Okarski wrote poetry, and met his future wife, Ruth Havard, in a Boston poetry class.Vander Kooi said many Luverne residents will remember Joe Okarski more through Ruth’s accomplishments than his own.Ruth, who died three years ago, was instrumental in building the local fine arts community and founded the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County.In lieu of flowers at Monday’s funeral, the family asked that donations be made to CAHRC.

By Sara QuamThe general concept of protecting the water supply may seem simple, but it takes a whole plan to know how to do it right.Doug Bos, assistant director of Rock County’s Land Management Office, has been working on that plan. "The plan tells us what we need to do in the next 10 years to improve the water," Bos said.Of particular concern for water quality is the fact that just three wellhead areas supply 75 percent of Rock County’s population with water.The Water Plan will be written locally, forwarded to the state for review, and then Rock County will make final revisions before the end of 2006.The state requires counties to complete the Water Plan, which then qualifies the county for funding that goes toward programs such as abandoned well sealing and water testing.Overall, Bos said the Water Plan will help guide the county in all decisions that could impact water.Always on tapBos said the biggest mistake people make with regard to water quality and quantity is always assuming it will be there — for business or residential use."Our water comes from aquifers that are only about 30- to 40-feet deep," Bos said, "so there’s not a lot of soil for the water to filter possible contaminants."Water quality concerns include obvious things such as manure management for livestock producers. The Land Management Office is even hosting a class in February dealing with how nutrients in the soil can be effectively balanced.Other less obvious water quality concerns are old septic tanks for rural homes, and soil erosion in waterways. Sometimes the educational portion of the work can be the most important. For example, abandoned wells are a direct connection to the water supply, and one task force member relayed the story of a farmer outside Rock County who had stored old pesticide containers in a well, causing a direct hazard to aquifers.Bos said, "The programs we have in place have done a good job and we’re continuing to improve."He said the plan the county is currently developing outlines priority concerns and that is a big task in itself that will make everyone more accountable to water protection.

By Sara QuamDingmann Funeral Home is trying once again to update its facility, this time by building at Fledgling Field, the open space on Highway 75 between Luverne and Brown Streets.Dingmann has a public hearing scheduled at 5:05 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, to request a conditional use permit to build on Fledgling Field.Putting a business in the residential zone had been a point of conflict in the neighborhood and with city leaders during the years the funeral home first attempted the construction. Now, though, Fledgling Field is zoned differently, called a "downtown" zone, which would allow the construction of a funeral home.Owner Dan Dingmann runs his business in a historic Main Street building that isn’t handicapped accessible and has parking constraints.Dingmann and the city of Luverne have been in negotiations for Dingmann to purchase the Medical Center for his funeral home. The city maintains those negotiations are still ongoing and that Dingmann is just exploring options.

By Lori EhdeThe Luverne School District and Luverne Education Association reached an agreement Monday on teachers’ contracts for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.After several meetings in mediation, the negotiating teams agreed on an 8.56 percent increase in salaries and benefits over the next two years.As part of the agreement, teachers will receive a 2.3-percent salary increase each year, in addition to their usual step increases."It’s a little bit higher than we anticipated," said Superintendent Gary Fisher about the agreement, "but it’s within the budget that we were anticipating."The LEA voted 49-45 to ratify the contract, and teachers said there were two reasons for dissatisfaction.The 2.3 percent salary schedule increase will not provide a cost of living increase to one-third of the staff. The other reason was a lesser contribution to insurance and the risk of a costly increase the second year of the contract.Monday’s agreement came just in time to beat the state-imposed Jan. 17 deadline for districts to settle teacher contracts. Missing the deadline would mean Luverne would have been fined $25 per student, or a total of $32,000.Fisher said he’s just pleased the process is over."There’s always that fine line between being fair to your employees and being fiscally responsible to the public," Fisher said. "I think we did a good job with that."What’s "fair," he said, can be difficult to determine, but the district compared itself to other districts its size in the state."Dollar-wise, we’re at less than average for schools our size," Fisher said. "But percentage-wise, we’re higher than average for schools our size. We have quality people here, so we should be able to stay within that range."When asked if last fall’s $700-per pupil operating referendum affected contract negotiations, Fisher said it didn’t."It was in the backs of our minds, but the referendum, in our eyes, didn’t have an impact on this settlement," he said. "Those referendum dollars are to maintain programs we’ve had in place for years. I hope the community realizes it’s a fair settlement which will allow us to do some long-range planning in a positive light."

By Lori EhdeNine young men from Rock County are facing deer poaching charges stemming from a Turn In Poachers (TIP) call to the DNR just before Thanksgiving.According to the Rock County Attorney’s Office, gross misdemeanor criminal complaints were filed last week against nine local men, ranging in age from 18 to 20.Assistant County Attorney Jeff Haubrich recognized the TIP caller who prompted the case."The caller wished to remain anonymous, so we can’t thank that caller personally," Haubrich said."But hopefully the caller will see that these individuals were caught and prosecuted and know that they helped," Haubrich said.He encouraged the public to use TIP (800-652- 9093) as a resource in addition to calls to the local sheriff’s office and to 911."The public is often our best source for information in these cases," Haubrich said. "The DNR can’t be everywhere at once, so we really encourage those witnessing game violations to report them and assist us with their prosecution."DNR conservation officer Jim Robinson, Slayton, has been investigating the case over the past couple of months. He said the TIP caller initially reported illegally taken deer hanging in the barn at the home of Kyle Wayne Bentz.When Robinson investigated the TIP, he found that four deer had been shot between midnight and five a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005.The deer — three bucks and one doe — were taken with shotgun slugs in the area ranging from Blue Mounds State Park to Kenneth with the assistance of spotlights and headlights.It’s illegal not only to hunt deer at night (referred to as "shining"), but deer hunting season had not yet opened, and at least one of the deer had been shot on Blue Mounds State Park property, which is illegal at any time of the year.The DNR seized the deer carcasses (the head of the largest buck had been removed and has not been recovered), the weapons used to shoot them and the vehicles used to haul them.The vehicles, many of which belonged to parents of the alleged poachers, have all since been returned, but most of the guns were forfeited to the DNR, per state law.The DNR’s investigation included interviews with all nine suspects and processed detailed evidence, including photographs of the animals and vehicles.Haubrich commended the DNR’s work on the investigation."Conservation Officer Robinson conducted a very thorough investigation and provided very detailed reports to our office," he said. He said these reports were essential to processing this case. "Obviously with nine co-defendants all facing multiple charges, the reports needed to be very detailed and the charges that each faces needed to be clearly sorted out," Haubrich said."Taking the time to conduct a thorough investigation helped me get the charges filed and will help with this prosecution immensely."The complaints, signed Thursday, Jan. 12, list various charges against the following individuals:Kyle Wayne Bents — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, gross misdemeanor transporting illegally taken big game, misdemeanor taking deer in a state park, misdemeanor no valid deer license and misdemeanor possessing untagged deer.Nathan Dale Brands — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, misdemeanor possessing untagged deer, misdemeanor no valid deer license, misdemeanor shooting deer from the roadway and misdemeanor transporting loaded and uncased firearm at night.Brandon James Ganun — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, misdemeanor taking deer in a state park and misdemeanor no valid deer license.Michael Norman Nelson — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, misdemeanor no valid deer license and misdemeanor transporting loaded and uncased firearm at night.Zachary Alan McGuire— gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, gross misdemeanor transporting illegally taken big game, misdemeanor taking deer in a state park, misdemeanor possessing untagged deer/failing to tag deer, misdemeanor shooting deer from the roadway and misdemeanor transporting loaded and uncased firearm at night.Michael Glen Groen — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, gross misdemeanor transporting illegally taken big game, misdemeanor taking deer in a state park, misdemeanor possessing untagged deer/failing to tag deer, misdemeanor shooting deer from the roadway, misdemeanor shooting deer from vehicle.Matthew James Goembel — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season, misdemeanor taking deer in a state park and misdemeanor no valid deer license.Seth Andrew Goembel — gross misdemeanor shining, gross misdemeanor taking deer with firearm in closed season and misdemeanor no valid deer license.Jeremy Wayne Brinkhouse — gross misdemeanor shining.Gross misdemeanor charges carry maximum penalties of one year in jail, a $3,000 fine or both. Misdemeanor charges carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.Court hearings for the defendants have not yet been scheduled.

By Sara QuamLuverne citizens might have the chance to vote on whether the Palace Theatre is worth restoring — with the help of a special city sales tax.The Blue Mound Area Theatre Board last week unanimously approved a $5.25 million plan that will upgrade and restore the historic theater to its former glory. BMAT needs the city’s permission and help to make that happen, however. The city of Luverne owns the building, but BMAT is the non-profit group that manages it. BMAT hopes to make the Palace not only functional — with electrical, heating, cooling and plumbing upgrades — but a regional draw for movies, live theater and musical events and a banquet and meeting facility.BMAT president Ben Vander Kooi said, "We hope to have it busy 80 to 90 percent of the time."One step at a timeBMAT is asking the Luverne City Council to hire a lobbyist to help get legislative approval for a public vote. The council itself can’t put the issue on a ballot.The council may vote on hiring a lobbyist as early as next week.The local option sales tax, if approved, would be a .5 percent sales tax on goods that are taxable. Like other sales taxes in Minnesota, it wouldn’t apply to food, clothing or prescription drugs.Twenty cities in Minnesota have a similar city tax.Luverne would raise an estimated $138,000 per year in the additional tax that would go toward paying off a bond for the Palace.Vander Kooi estimated BMAT could raise about $1 million in fund-raising efforts of its own.Between fund-raising and the tax, Vander Kooi said some expansion and major work, such as the ballroom restoration, would probably still have to wait.Council member Esther Frakes said she anticipates the public questioning the wisdom of putting so much money into an old building, rather than building new.She said, "I realize we’re preserving an historic theater, but if we think it might come close to paying for itself, I think we’re dreaming."Vander Kooi said, "There aren’t equivalent facilities in southwest Minnesota," he said.Vander Kooi said the price tag of $5.25 million may be shocking, but he told the City Council that $2 million is for the heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical upgrades. "It was built in 1915, so you can imagine there have been a lot of changes in electrical and heating and cooling standards since then," Vander Kooi said.Some things haven’t changed, however. Vander Kooi said unique features of the Palace make it an architectural and historical treasure that should be preserved. For example, plans are to restore the upstairs ballroom for meetings or receptions. There will be a kitchen in the basement and an elevator leading to a top-floor serving kitchen, too. The three round windows in the ballroom are now covered with a false ceiling. Plans call for uncovering those and the original stenciling that has been preserved since 1915.Vander Kooi said historical experts call the windows and stenciling incredibly rare features."It’s a significant historic structure and frankly, I can’t picture Main Street without it," Vander Kooi said.Council member Pat Baustian said the Palace could be a draw to downtown. Revitalizing downtown and keeping it a busy place has been a goal outlined by the city.He said, "People see it from Highway 75 — downtown is up and going when the Palace lights are on."Vander Kooi said, "We’ve got to come back to the people and if they don’t support it, it’s done. We might be able to squeeze a few more years out of the Palace, but not much has been done to it in 90 years."The Palace plans have been about three years in the makingWell-known Luverne construction manager Virgil Christensen worked for about six months analyzing the project and helped come up with the cost figures. The $5.25 million includes all contingency, architectural, engineering and legal fees, and inflation costs through 2006.Here is a rundown of changes that could be made if voters approve a sales tax to help fund the project, which includes expansion and renovation into the neighboring building occupied by Computer Tutors:
Add an elevator for handicapped accessibility and reconstruct an exit stair in the theater.
Provide improved lobby, toilet, ticketing and other common functions, along with possible commercial spaces, such as a restaurant or cafe, on the first floor of the buildings.
Prove adequate and accessible restrooms for all building functions.
Provide a building addition behind the commercial building and east of the stage to accommodate theater functions. The addition would be at all levels and would include a loading dock, backstage areas, green room, restrooms, etc.
Provide new rigging and lighting for the stage.
Make the projection booth and a portion of the balcony accessible.
Provide a secondary means of egress and stage access from the lower level dressing room area through the addition of a stair at the southwest corner for the building.
Convert the second floor of the theater back to a ballroom.
Provide a multi-purpose room on the second floor of the commercial building and immediately adjacent to the ballroom.
Restore the exterior of the buildings.

The Beaver Creek Sportsmen’s Club annual membership banquet was Jan. 7 at the Eagles Club in Luverne. The banquet members are invited to renew their memberships, and new members are encouraged to join the club. In addition, the group takes some time to review the club’s activities from the prior year.This year’s banquet awarded Hills-Beaver Creek graduate Michael Bos, pictured at left with BCSC president Arlyn Gehrke, with a $200 scholarship. Last year was the first year the club awarded a scholarship, but the group plans to do so annually for H-BC students who will be pursuing a degree in natural resources or a related field. The money is awarded following the successful completion of the student’s first semesterEd Gehrke was awarded the BCSC Walleye Tournament Series traveling trophy for 2005. He is pictured above with Arlyn Gehrke. The tournament is a series of walleye tournaments held throughout the year. For each tournament, two-person teams are drawn at random. The winner of the series is determined by adding up the weight in pounds caught at each tournament. This year there was a tie between Ed and Roger Gehrke. Roger was unable to attend the banquet.The BCSC meets monthly to discuss and plan ways members can educate the public on fishing and hunting topics, including the preservation of habitat. Members also try to promote fishing and hunting to young people. During the past year, the group built and installed a new handicap-accessible dock at the Rez. Members also researched and began treating the algae problem at the Rez.On Feb. 18 the group will host its wild game feed at the Beaver Bar in Beaver Creek. At the feed, members serve up different types of wild game, from fish and pheasant to deer and duck. The group is still working on planning games and a raffle for the evening.Gehrke encourages more residents to get involved with the organization. Memberships at the banquet continue to grow every year. The group started with only eight members in 1990 and now boasts 43. Membership applications are available on the club’s Web site, www.bcsportsman.net or by calling Aryln at home at 673-2460. A $10 fee is required for an annual membership.