By Jolene FarleyHills resident Harriet Faber was forced out of her home Friday night when smoke began billowing out of her furnace."I was sitting in the other room and I noticed the kitchen was all foggy," Faber said.She opened the basement door of her home, located at 400 Central Ave., and smoke poured through the doorway.Officials are attributing the smoke to excessive soot buildup in the furnace, according to Faber.The Hills Fire Department responded to Faber’s 911 call at 7:52 p.m. Faber, unharmed, declined medical attention from emergency personnel. Although the structure wasn’t damaged, Faber stayed the night at her daughter’s house.Friday’s incident isn’t the first time Faber’s furnace, installed in 1996, malfunctioned. A similar incident caused smoke damage to the home a few years ago, forcing Faber to hire professional cleaners to repair the damage. Faber hired a repairman to service the furnace after Friday’s incident. He recommended cleaning the furnace every season before using it.Faber thanked Hills emergency personnel for their work. "They did a good job," she said.

Call me naive, but I still have faith that the city of Luverne and Rock County will work out their joint agreements and live happily ever after.OK, after saying that, I’ll be called a lot more than naïve, but I do think there’s hope. So far, personalities have clashed, and each side’s numbers haven’t matched when they’re debating budgets.But in the end, I think the interests of all residents will be served.I come to this faithful conclusion after sitting through numerous county and city discussions about their shared contracts. Most of the elected people and staff have said that they don’t want to sever the relationships forged through many years of cooperation.On the Luverne side, they want to save money. And on the county side, they don’t want to cut employees or have an unbalanced budget for the sake of saving the city of Luverne money. After all the fuss, it could just even out in the end.The city has put a few new fees on our utility bill, so they may not have to collect as much taxes for other services. But then again, they’ve re-assessed employee job descriptions and duties and adjusted salaries. In most cases that meant a raise, which will cost the city about $15,000 more a year. In other words, they’re saving extra and spending extra.The county has bigger numbers to worry about recouping, when dealing with the huge law enforcement burden.Maybe the county won’t pay the city as much as it used to for road maintenance agreements, so it can recoup a little money there. Or, it can charge more for sharing information held at the courthouse.It isn’t quite that simple, but after all the feuding and steam blowing, I think we’ll still have decent services at a decent price ... because we should have been wise enough to elect decent people. They have to look out for their constituents, which in some cases, are overlapping county and city residents. I’d love to see all our tax bills decrease, but I don’t want to lose services or quality of service for the sake of a few bucks per person. If the county and city are just trying to look at finances and fairness, that’s great. Some have suggested it’s more about egos and power, and I’d love to see those people proven wrong.At the end of all of this, if I was writing the city and county into a fairy tale — let’s say the beauty and the beast. They’d find a reason to kiss, and the kingdom would be in harmony once again.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls improved their Red Rock Conference basketball record to 6-4 with a victory over Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Hills Friday.The Patriots turned a good shooting night (49 percent from the field, 71 percent from the line) into a 52-35 win by outscoring the Chargers in all four quarters of the game."We did a nice job of controlling the tempo of the game and keeping them off balance the entire night," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle.The Patriots sported a 10-6 lead after eight minutes of play before increasing the difference to 12 points (26-14) by halftime after outscoring W-WG 16-8 in the second quarter.H-BC led by 14 points (34-20) after the third quarter and capped the night by outscoring the Chargers 18-15 in the fourth period to prevail by 17.Erin Boeve pumped in 27 points, collected 10 rebounds and blocked three shots for the winners.Cassi Tilstra netted 12 points and passed for seven assists. Melinda Sandstede and Brittney Rozeboom charted five assists each.Box scoreRozeboom 2 0 1-2 5, Bush 0 1 0-0 3, Sandstede 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 3 0 6-6 12, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 11 0 4-7 26, Olson 0 0 3-4 3, Mulder 1 0 1-2 3, Fransman 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsH-BC: 18 of 37 field goals (49 percent), 15 of 21 free throws (71 percent), 35 rebounds, seven turnovers.W-WG: 13 of 37 field goals (35 percent), nine of 20 free throws (45 percent), 34 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

Hills-Beaver Creek sophomore Kerry Fink tangles with Adrian’s Tyler Wagner during Tuesday’s wrestling match in Luverne. Wagner rallied from a 4-3 deficit to pin Fink in the third period of the 140-pound match.By John RittenhouseHills-Beaver Creek sophomore Kerry Fink let a potential win slip away during a wrestling match in Luverne Tuesday.Fink, a member of the Luverne High School wrestling team, sported a 4-3 lead in the third period of his 140-pound match against Adrian’s Tyler Wagner.Wagner, however, caught Fink off guard as the final period progressed and pinned the Cardinal wrestler with 46 seconds remaining in the match.Luverne lost the match to Adrian by a 76-6 margin.The 0-13 Cardinals host a triangular with Pipestone and Worthington tonight in Luverne.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek boys upped their Red Rock Conference basketball record to 5-3 with a 57-39 win over Edgerton in Hills Tuesday.Edgerton managed to stay close to the Patriots by attacking the glass in the game’s first half.H-BC did a good job of keeping the Flying Dutchmen off the boards in the second half, and the Patriots ended up winning the game handily."We gave up eight offensive rebounds in the first half, and we gave up two in the second half," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "That was the difference, because they scored most of their points off offensive rebounds in the first half."The Patriots led 11-8 after eight minutes of play and used a 16-12 scoring edge in the second period to make it a 27-20 game at halftime.H-BC extended its lead to 12 points (44-32) by the end of the third quarter before outscoring the Flying Dutchmen 17-13 in the fourth period to prevail by 18.Kale Wiertzema burned the nets for 22 points and led the Patriots with eight rebounds and three steals.Tyler Bush, who charted six assists along with Wiertzema, added 13 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots to the winning effort.Zach Wysong scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds for H-BC. Trey Van Wyhe pulled down six rebounds.The 10-6 Patriots play in Westbrook tonight before taking on Southwest Christian in Edgerton Tuesday.Box scoreBush 2 2 3-5 13, Wysong 4 0 2-2 10, Broesder 0 0 0-0 0, Wiertzema 5 4 0-1 22, Van Wyhe 3 0 0-0 6, Spykerboer 1 0 0-0 2, LeBoutillier 2 0 0-0 4.Team statisticsH-BC: 23 of 47 field goals (49 percent), five of eight free throws (63 percent), 28 rebounds, seven turnovers.Edgerton: 17 of 34 field goals (50 percent), four of eight free throws (50 percent), 21 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

DISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONFIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTNOTICE AND ORDER OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKESTATE OFVonna L. Schneekloth, a/k/a Vonna Schneekloth DECEDENTIt is Ordered and Notice is given that on February 23, 2004 at 9:00 (a.m.) a hearing will be held in this Court at the Rock County Courthouse, 204 East Brown, Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of Decedent, dated September 14, 1983 and codicil (N/A) to the will dated, and separate writing (N/A) under Minn. Stat. 524.2-513 ("Will"), and for the appointment of Margo Timmerman whose address is: 10741 Xerxes Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55431 as personal representative of the Estate of the Decedent in a SUPERVISED administration. Any objections to the petition must be filed with the Court prior to or raised at the hearing. If proper and if no objections are filed or raised, the personal representative will be appointed with full power to administer the Estate, including the power to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses, to sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the Estate. Notice is also given that (subject to Minn. Stat. 524.3-801) all creditors having claims against the Estate are required to present the claims to the personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred. /s/ Timothy K. Connell 1/26/04Timothy K. Connell Judge Date/s/ Sandra L. Vrtacnik 1/26/04Sandra L. Vrtacnik Court Administrator DateAttorney For Personal RepresentativeDonald R. KlosterbuerSkewes, Klosterbuer & Vajgrt, L.L.P.120 N. McKenzieBox 538Luverne, MN 56156-0538Telephone 507 283-9111Attorney License #56674(1-29, 2-5)

The State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources will receive sealed bids for furnishing all materials, labor, tools, equipment, transportation and all else necessary for replacing the existing toilet partitions, vanities, sinks, faucets, and upgrade interior lighting. Work also includes installing new electric hand dryers and other bathroom accessories at Split Rock Creek State Park campground sanitation building I.D. #40108, 336 50th Avenue, Jasper, MN 56144-3016 as specified in the contract specifications and drawing sheet. In accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Certified Targeted Group (T.G.) bidders will receive a 6% preference on the award of this bid. Certified Economically Disadvantaged (E.D.) bidders will receive 4% preference on the award of this bid. All T.G. or E.D. bidders must be certified by the time the bid is submitted. Bidders interested in becoming certified may call (651) 296-2600.Bid Opening is 2:00 P.M., March 2, 2004. Copies of proposal forms, contract documents and specifications FS4-04-42/2004-22-04 may be obtained from the Southern Region Business Office, 261 Hwy 15, South, New Ulm, MN 56073, Kris Forst, 507/359-6009 project completion date is May 26, 2004. (1-29, 2-5)

The Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council, Inc. (SW MN PIC) is soliciting proposals for audit of Federal and State grants awarded to the SW MN Private Industry Council, Inc. Parties wishing to submit a proposal should request further information from the SW MN Private Industry Council, Lyon County Courthouse 3rd Floor, 607 West Main Street, Marshall, MN 56258, (507) 537-6987. Proposals must be received not later than 4:00 p.m., March 1, 2004. (1-29)

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDSOwner: City of LuverneOwner’s Address: 203 E. Main P.O. Box 659 Luverne, MN 56156-0659Project: Elevated Water Storage TankSealed BIDS for the construction of an Elevated Water Storage Tank will be received by the City of Luverne at City Hall until 10:00 A.M. local time February 20, 2004. All bids received shall then at said location be publicly opened and read aloud. Bids will be acted upon by the Owner at a later time. The Project shall consist of the following work and approximate quantities and kinds of materials with one contract to be awarded. SCHEDULE 2 – ELEVATED WATER STORAGE TANK: Construction of a new 300,000 gallon single pedestal style elevated tank, site work and miscellaneous appurtenances. The CONTRACT DOCUMENTS may be examined at the following locations: City of Luverne 203 E. Main P.O. Box 659 Luverne, MN 56156-0659 DeWild Grant Reckert and Associates Company 1302 South Union Street Rock Rapids, IA. 51246Copies of the CONTRACT DOCUMENTS may be obtained at the office of DeWild Grant Reckert & Associates Company located at 1302 South Union Street, Rock Rapids, Iowa 51246 upon payment of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for each set, none of which is refundable. Each bid must be accompanied by bid security payable to the Owner for five (5%) percent of the total amount of the Bid as a certified or bank check issued by a State or National bank or ten percent (10%) as a bidder’s bond. As soon as the bid prices have been compared, the Owner will return the check or bond of all except the three lowest, responsive, responsible bidders for each Schedule. When the contract is awarded, the checks or bonds of the two remaining unsuccessful bidders will be returned. The check or bond of the successful bidder will be retained until the contract and surety bond have been executed and approved, after which it will be returned. With submittal of a Bid, the Contractor represents that he has visited the site, familiarized himself with the local conditions under which the work is to be performed, and correlated his observations with the requirements of the Contract Documents. The Owner reserves the right to reject any and all bids or to accept any bid. Contractor’s Proposals shall hold firm for thirty (30) days from the date of opening to allow the Owner to complete financing arrangements. Mutually agreed upon extensions of time may be made, if necessary. CITY OF LUVERNEJanuary 30, 2004 By /s/ Glen Gust Mayor(1-29)