By Sara QuamThe Howling Dog Saloon wanted to be open Christmas Eve, which falls on a Saturday this year.Manager Jodi Christy requested that she and other bars in the city of Luverne be able to serve alcohol after 8 p.m. The city ordinance specifies that establishments can’t serve past that time on Christmas Eve, although they may remain open.Christy said, "Being that Saturday is our busiest day of the weekend it hurts business. … And a lot of people don’t have family to celebrate with, or they celebrate on a night other than Christmas Eve."State law doesn’t restrict hours on nights that would be considered holidays, but the city ordinance does.Councilman Esther Frakes said, "I appreciate your position and that you came forward tonight, but personally, it’s one more step in a direction that I don’t think we should be going."Administrator John Call said, "I believe it would set a bad precedent to allow a bar to get a waiver on our current city ordinance."In other business the Luverne City Council:oApproved the purchase of a new garbage truck that will arrive in July. The truck has a larger cab, which is better for the operator, and has a 27-yard box rather than the current 24-yard box. The cost is $178,920 and was a budgeted purchase.oAgreed to pay $19,000 to the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce for promotion of various events and features of the community.The Chamber will promote the events/programs of Buffalo Days, Hot Dog Night, Border to Border Triathlon, Winterfest, Tri-State Band Festival, Luverne Home Show and Hometown Greeter. The Chamber will also promote public facilities and features of Blue Mounds State Park, Blue Mounds Biker/Hiking Trail and the Main Street Entrance Area.The Council said the city benefits from the Chamber’s efforts for economic health and growth.oRenewed on- and/or off-sale liquor licenses for Magnolia Lounge Bar and Steakhouse, Pamida, Pizza Hut, Shell Food Shop, Phillips 66 Pump ‘N Pack, Sharkee’s, Smokey Bears Pizza, American Legion, Casey’s, Eagles Club, Glen’s Food Center, Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center, Glen’s Food and Gas, Howling Dog Saloon, Korner Gas Stop and Luverne Lanes.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls couldn’t record their third straight victory when they entertained Edgerton for a Red Rock Conference basketball game Thursday.The Patriots played well to whittle what was a 16-point deficit down to five points in the second half, but the Flying Dutchmen withstood the challenge to notch a 62-55 victory.According to H-BC coach Jason Blosmo, the Patriots played with desire during the game. Their desire, however, wasn’t enough to overcome some scoring lulls that eventually settled the issue."The one thing we did do was play hard. We just couldn’t make up the difference when we had a couple of streaks of not scoring when we were being impatient on offense," Blosmo said.Edgerton started the game well and led by 16 points during the first half before H-BC trimmed the difference to 10 points (38-28) by halftime.The Patriots crept within five points of Edgerton in the second half, but that proved to be as close as H-BC would come to catching EHS.Blosmo said the Patriots did a good job of limiting their turnovers (14) during the game. He is looking for improvement in the rebounding and defensive areas of the game.Kerri Fransman led H-BC with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game.Stacy Bush chipped in 15 points and Chelsi Fink added 11. Brittany Helgeson and Amanda Tilstra collected six rebounds each. Helgeson charted four assists.Box scoreFransman 2 3 3-5 16, Bush 4 2 1-2 15, Tilstra 0 0 3-5 3, Fink 4 1 0-2 11, Roozenboom 3 0 2-3 8, Hoyme 1 0 0-0 2.Team statisticsH-BC: 20 of 57 field goals (35 percent), nine of 17 free throws (52 percent), 30 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Edgerton: 25 of 45 field goals (56 percent), 10 of 26 free throws (38 percent), 45 rebounds, 23 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek boys opened the home portion of their 2005-06 basketball schedule by entertaining Edgerton Friday.Edgerton, a team expected to contend for the Red Rock Conference title, made a statement against the RRC’s two-time defending champions by besting H-BC 56-36.Cold shooting from the floor proved to be too big of an obstacle for H-BC to overcome.The Patriots were limited to 10 field goals in the game and 20-percent efficiency for the night.With H-BC unable to connect, Edgerton raced to a 28-12 halftime lead before outscoring the hosts 28-24 in the second half to win by 20.Aaron Esselink converted five of nine field goals and led the Patriots with 13 points.Cody Rozeboom, who led H-BC with four steals and three assists, registered a double-double by scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.The 0-2 Patriots host Southwest Christian tonight before playing road games against Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin and Murray County Central Saturday and Tuesday respectively.Box scoreVan Wyhe 1 0 0-0 2, Rozeboom 2 0 7-9 11, Finke 1 0 2-4 4, Scholten 0 0 0-2 0, DeBoer 0 0 3-4 3, Hup 1 0 1-4 3, Sandbulte 0 0 0-0 0, Esselink 5 0 3-4 13.Team statisticsH-BC: 10 of 51 field goals (20 percent), 16 of 27 free throws (59 percent), 24 rebounds, 19 turnovers.Edgerton: 22 of 52 field goals (42 percent), 10 of 13 free throws (77 percent), 39 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

By Lexi MooreHills-Beaver Creek School Board members approved a preliminary audit for the 2004-05 school year at their Monday meeting.The preliminary audit shows a $26,628 deficit for the year.Superintendent Dave Deragisch warned that the numbers can be misleading because, although on paper there is a deficit, the school managed to invest $200,000 in certificates of deposite during that time."The cuts that were made had little impact on the students but a huge impact on our budget," he said."Continued fiscal responsibility by the board and administration will be a must in future years."Following their annual Truth in Taxation meeting, Board members approved the maximum payable levy at $404,412.16 for 2006.Patriot Pride:
Elementary Principal Todd Holthaus presented the board with two certificates signed by the Governor and the Commissioner of Education in recognition of the elementary school receiving a five-star rating in both math and reading.The rating is based on math and reading test scores in third and fifth grades.For academic achievement in reading and math, schools receive three stars for meeting the requirement of adequate yearly progress as stated in the No Child Left Behind bill. Schools may receive additional stars, up to five, for performance above NCLB requirements.H-BC students taking the test during the 2004-2005 school year received high enough scores in math and reading to qualify for the five star rating.Holthaus said that of the 1893 schools in Minnesota, only 193 received five stars in math and 222 in reading.
A huge show of community support helped make this year’s elementary book fair a success.The book fair, which ran for two weeks, sold $3,400 in books, nearly $1,200 more than last year’s total.The book fair, sponsored by Scholastic Books, is an annual event coordinated by H-BC Elementary librarian Sara Oldre. A portion, roughly 40 percent, of the money earned is used to buy new books from Scholastic for the H-BC libraries.
Holthaus recognized the musical talents of sixth-grader Jacob Bos.Bos is a member of the Singing Boys of Sioux Falls. Holthaus attended the group’s Christmas concert last week and said he was "very proud" of Bos’ performance. No gift exchange at the elementary schoolHolthaus announced to the board that his students would not be exchanging gifts with one another this year. Instead, he is encouraging families to bring donations to the Rock County Emergency Food Shelf.In past years, classrooms have had gift exchanges during their classroom parties. This year the party and exchange will be replaced with a movie. The student body will watch a remake of the classic "Miracle on 34th Street."Holtaus also encourages families to give donations in honor of teachers instead of giving the teachers gifts.

By Lexi MooreSchool Board Chairman Alan Harnack and member Roland Crawford attended their final Hills-Beaver Creek Board meeting Monday night.Chairman Harnack’s 21-year run as a member of the board came to a close as his son Chris, recently elected to the board, looked on.Crawford, who spent nearly 28 years serving the district in the past, joined the board this past summer following the resignation of Matt Larson.Neither of the men opted to run for another term during the November election.Superintendent David Deragisch opened the meeting by thanking both men for their service.In speaking of Crawford he said, "It is nice when you can have a person with 28 years experience step up and hit things running.""Alan, you were the man! For 21 years you have done good things for kids.""The kids have always been the center of what Rollie and Al have done."Before Harnack could call the meeting to a close, his fellow board members thanked him and Crawford for their service to the community and the school."Thank you again for being great mentors," said Lois Leuthold.Ann Boeve said, "The thing I learned the most from both of you is that it is about the kids."Gary Esselink said, "It was a lot of fun to have Rollie come back, I learned a lot with almost 50 years experience between the two of you."He continued, "Alan has always had passion for the welfare of the district, the kids, any board member and the staff — if I can grab that passion I would be better for it."In response, Crawford thanked Deragisch for his respect and assistance during his short return to the board."I am happy I got to serve with Mr. Deragisch and Mr. Holthaus, I am so impressed with what they are doing for our district."During Crawford’s earlier terms with the board, he participated in the hiring of Deragisch as principal and superintendent of the district as well as the building of the elementary school in Beaver Creek.Harnack, who served alongside Crawford for many years said, "Thank you for all you have done and for what you have taught me. I watched Rollie sit in this chair for 17 years and his heart was always in it. I was so lucky to have Rollie. … You couldn’t find three communities that are better to serve than these."Harnack was given a plaque for his service and a framed thank you from Deragisch.The thank you highlighted the major decisions Harnack had faced while serving as chairman and the fact that he had always used his heart when making them."Decisions were easy because they came from your heart and left footprints on our hearts."Following the meeting, board members had cake and ice cream and shared memories.The two men leaving the board share nearly half a century of experience and knowledge about the H-BC school district. They will remain spokesmen for the district and always be remembered for their dedication and the time they gave to the community.

By Lexi MooreThe city of Hills will remodel a portion of the Hills American Legion building.For years, City Council members have been discussing options for making the Legion’s meeting room brighter. During October’s meeting they decided to look into installing a drop ceiling and fluorescent lights.Councilman Ross Metzger told the council, "We’ve got to do something."Councilman Elbers agreed. "We haven’t spent money on that building in years and we should try this solution and see if it works."Council members asked Connie Wiertzema, city clerk, to request bids from area electricians and contractors.The deadline for submitting bids was the start of the council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.Although the city had contacted a number of businesses, they had only received three bids at the start of the meeting. Bids from DeHaan Construction, Verhey Construction and RB Electric were presented to the council.Keith Elbers made a motion to accept the bid from RB Electric, since it was the only one, and DeHaan Construction because it was the lowest submitted. The motion was seconded by Pete Hoff and approved by the council.When budgeting for 2006, the city added money to the capital outlay fund to cover the costs of the remodel.In other city business:
Christmas tree pickup in the city of Hills will begin on Jan. 8 and run through Jan. 10. Christmas trees placed on the curb will be picked up by the city.
The city of Hills contracted their garbage and recycling with Town and Country for another two years.Town and Country Sanitation will charge the city an additional three percent each year during this period. The increase is largely due to the rise in gasoline prices.The city made the decision to increase the amount residents pay for garbage and recycling service to help cover the additional cost.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ hockey team was unable to break into the win column after playing two home games over the weekend.The Cardinals lost a one-goal decision to Morris-Benson Friday before falling to Waseca by seven goals Saturday.Luverne, 0-8 overall, hosts Redwood Valley (5:30 p.m.) Friday and travels to Windom Monday.Waseca 8, Luverne 1A five-goal first period from the Blue Jays was too much to overcome in Saturday’s game at the Blue Mound Ice Arena.Waseca, which outshot LHS 31-20 in the game, received goals from seven different players during the contest.Amy Selvik scored twice and Paige Snow and Jenna Sopkowiak added one goal each as the visitors gained a 4-0 lead 14:44 into the game.Luverne’s Paige Olson scored after being set up by Katie Dahl with 2:02 remaining in the first period, but Waseca’s Emily Arnfelt found the net with 58 seconds left in the stanza to make it a 5-1 game.Waseca’s Beth Buenzow scored in the second period before Kristen Muotka and Megan Foels capped the scoring with third-period goals.Alison Brands made 23 saves in net for LHS.M-B 3, Luverne 2Luverne turned in its best performance of the season during Friday’s one-goal home loss to the Storm.Olson gave the hosts a 1-0 lead after being set up by Mikki Fitzer 3:06 into the game, but the Cards couldn’t recover from a three-goal run by M-B in the first and second periods.Brittany Sharstrom tied the game at one with 11:40 remaining in the first period. Sharstrom and Sarah Kolden gave the Storm a 3-1 lead with second-period tallies.Luverne’s Fitzer picked up her second assist of the game when she set up a goal by Dahl, which capped the scoring with 11:05 remaining in the game.M-B outshot the Cards 27-14 in the game. Brands charted 245 saves.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ hockey team opened the home portion of its 2005-06 schedule by dropping a pair of home games at the Blue Mound Ice Arena.Morris-Benson skated to an 11-goal win over the Cardinals Friday. Waseca bested the Cards by six goals Saturday.Luverne, 1-3 overall, hosts Redwood Valley Friday (7:30 p.m.) before skating in Windom Monday.Waseca 9, Luverne 3The visiting Blue Jays received two goals each from Andy Meyer, Kelvin Nelson and Brandon Johnson to down the Cards by six goals Saturday in Luverne.Luverne received goals from three different players, but it wasn’t enough to stay with Waseca.The Cards tied the game at one when Casey Krueger netted a short-handed goal after being set up by Chris Fitzer at the 13:14 mark of the first period, but the Blue Jays scored twice in the final 8:27 of the period to gain a 3-1 lead.Jordan Siebenahler netted a power-play goal with an assist going to Dylan Anderson 2:26 into the second period as Luverne trimmed the difference to one (3-2).Waseca, however, went on a 5-0 run in the second and third periods to open an 8-2 lead before Siebenahler set up a goal by Aaron Altman with 7:38 remaining in the game to snap Waseca’s run.The Blue Jays, who outshot the Cards 39-22 in the game, capped the scoring with 6:37 left to play.Tanner Skattum made 30 saves as Luverne’s goalie.M-B 11, Luverne 0The visiting Storm dominated play during Luverne’s home opener Friday.M-B outshot the Cards 44-4 on the way to an 11-0 win.The Storm scored 10 goals in the first two periods of the game.Tony Schultz found the net four times for M-B. Jake Erickson and Josh Griffith added two goals each.Adam Ossefoort stopped 33 shots in net for LHS.

By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth girls’ basketball team put together a pair of wins against quality opponents.The Panthers edged Tracy-Milroy-Balaton with a last-second shot in Tracy Friday. Ellsworth returned home to best Southwest Star Concept by six points Monday.Ellsworth, 3-2 overall, plays in Tyler tonight and hosts Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster Monday.Ellsworth 64, SSC 58A big game from Amy Tiesler carried the Panthers to a six-point home win over the Quasars Tuesday.Tiesler, who led EHS with 12 rebounds and three steals, pumped in a career-high 30 points in the contest. She scored 21 of her points in the second half, including the conversion of her final seven free throws to help the Panthers ice the win."It came down to free throws at the end," said EHS coach J. Fisk. "We led by three to five points most of the way. They closed to within two points in the second half, but we made enough free throws to win."EHS led 37-33 at the intermission before using a 27-25 edge in the second half to win by six.Rosie Lewis recorded a double-double by scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds for the Panthers. Rachel Kvaale pitched in three assists.Box scoreTiesler 11 0 8-9 30, Connors 1 1 2-6 7, Kramer 2 0 2-3 6, Mann 1 1 0-0 5, Kvaale 0 1 0-1 3, Kix 0 0 1-2 1, Timmer 0 0 0-0 0, Lewis 4 0 4-6 12.Team statisticsEllsworth: 22 of 48 field goals (46 percent), 17 of 27 free throws (63 percent), 35 rebounds, 29 turnovers.SSC: 23 of 61 field goals (38 percent), nine of 15 free throws (60 percent), 30 rebounds, 26 turnovers.Ellsworth 57, T-M-B 55Late-game heroics from Brooke Kramer clinched a two-point win for the Panthers Friday in Tracy.With the game tied at 55 with less than 10 seconds left to play, EHS set up an inbounds play involving Tiesler and Kvaale. When the pick-and-roll play didn’t create an open shot, Tiesler delivered a pass to Kramer, who drained an 18-foot jumper with less than two seconds remaining to seal the win.Ellsworth, which led 33-32 at the intermission, needed to rally from a seven-point deficit in the final six minutes of the contest to set up Kramer’s game-turning shot."Our defense was the key," said EHS coach Fisk. "We got some steals by playing aggressive defense late in the game."Tiesler turned in an 18-point, eight-rebound, seven-steal, four-assist effort for EHS. Lewis and Kvaale chipped in 12 and 11 points respectively. Amanda Connors nabbed six rebounds.Box scoreTiesler 8 0 2-3 18, Connors 1 1 1-1 6, Kramer 1 1 0-0 5, Mann 1 1 0-0 5, Kvaale 4 1 0-0 11, Timmer 0 0 0-0 0, Lewis 6 0 0-0 12.Team statisticsEllsworth: 25 of 52 field goals (48 percent), three of four free throws (75 percent), 22 rebounds, 28 turnovers.T-M-B: 21 of 57 field goals (37 percent), nine of 16 free throws (56 percent), 42 rebounds, 24 turnovers.