Cornelia Schouwenburg, 80, Hills, died Monday, Dec. 8, 2003, at her home in Hills.Services were Thursday, Dec. 11, at Bethel Reformed Church in Lester, Iowa. The Rev. Donald Baker officiated. Burial was in Hillside Cemetery, Lester. Cornelia VandenBrink was born to Ceel and Tillie (Stip) VandenBrink on May 15, 1923, in rural Alvord, Iowa. She was raised in the Inwood, Iowa, and Lester area and attended country schools. At a young age she assisted her mother and siblings with the responsibilities of the family farm after the death of her father. She married Marinus Schouwenburg on April 28, 1949, on the family farm near Alvord. The couple moved to Hills where Mr. Schouwenburg was part owner/operator of Hills Implement. She was a homemaker. Mr. Schouwenburg died on Aug. 2, 1985. She continued living in Hills where she worked part time at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills, in the activity department.Mrs. Schouwenburg was a member of Bethel Reformed Church in Lester, a member of Ladies Guild, and was involved with an extension club in Hills. She enjoyed taking bus tours when her health allowed her, crafts, crocheting and gardening.Survivors include one son, Ron (Bev) Schouwenburg, Hills; two daughters, Diane (Marlin) Rabenberg, Hartley, Iowa, and Waunda Gesink, Sioux Center, Iowa; six grandchildren, Mark (Kelli) Schouwenburg, Watertown, S.D., Steve Schouwenburg, Hills, Jeremy Rabenberg, Hartley, Iowa, Michelle (Gabe) Mayer, St. Ansgar, Iowa, Nick Gesink, and Kelly Gesink, both of Sioux Center, Iowa; one great-grandchild, Olivia Mayer, St. Ansgar; and three brothers, Ceel VandenBrink, Alvord, Hank VandenBrink, Rock Rapids, Iowa, and Gerrit VandenBrink, Inwood. Mrs. Schouwenburg was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Marinus, and one sister, Gertie Martens. Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

Anna Gunnink, 77, Chandler, died Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003, at Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton. Services were Tuesday, Dec 9, at Chandler Reformed Church in Chandler. Anna Kort was born to Jake and Jacoba (Van Surksum) Kort on Nov. 4, 1926, in Lismore, Nobles County. She grew up on a farm near Lismore and for a short time near the communities of Leota and Edgerton. She attended country school and later Edgerton Christian School. She married John W. Gunnink on Aug. 28, 1945, on her parent?s farm. They made their home on a farm near Chandler until 1981 when they moved to Chandler. She moved to Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton on Nov. 30, 1999. Mrs. Gunnink was a past member of Leota Reformed Church in Leota and a current member of Chandler Reformed Church in Chandler. She was active in the church women?s groups and various other church activities. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting, sewing and quilting. She also enjoyed reading and working on word puzzles.Survivors include three sons, Calvin (Alison) Gunnink, Ortonville, Ron (Joyce) Gunnink, Minneapolis, and Terry Gunnink, New Castle, Wyo.; one daughter, Karen (Dan) Ramaker, Steen; nine grandchildren; two sisters, Margaret Gunnink, Kentwood, Mich., and Caroline Veldcamp, Dell Rapids, S.D.; and nieces, nephews and cousins. Mrs. Gunnink was preceded in death by her parents, her husband John, one infant brother, Marion, and one sister, Jeanette Kort.Chandler Funeral Association, Chandler, was in charge arrangements.

By Lori EhdeA local artist has shared his talent with a cause he describes as "a project with lasting value."Luverne native Steve Hoffman illustrated the pages of "’Twas the Night Before Christ," a story that last year sold 3,000 copies and raised $51,000 for Children’s Home Society.Hoffman will be in Luverne for a book signing from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, prior to the Winterfest parade, in the United Methodist Church narthex.The poetic tale of the very first Christmas was written by South Dakota actor and author Tom Roberts, whose wife, Tammy, enlisted Hoffman’s help with the project"I had worked with Steve for years, and I knew Steve’s talents," said Tammy, who works in marketing and fund-raising for Children’s Home Society, Sioux Falls."I also knew where his heart was and I knew he would be happy to do this for Children’s Home Society. He was just the perfect choice … He just did a fabulous job."Hoffman, a Luverne High School graduate, has been a graphic designer for more than 20 years.His professional accomplishments include numerous Addy Awards and the American Advertising Federation’s 2002 Silver Medal Award from his peers in the advertising field.Despite an impressive portfolio of brochures, ad slicks and corporate logos, Hoffman said he counts his role in "’Twas the Night Before Christ" among his most rewarding work."It’s something that will be around for a long time," Hoffman said. "Something like this can be read for years and years to children, and they’ll get the true meaning of Christmas."Also rewarding for Hoffman is the fact that it’s helping Children’s Home Society — not surprising, coming from a man who regularly volunteers his talent for worthy causes. "If I die tomorrow, I know I’ve done a good thing … other than make a dollar," he said.Penned in a blizzardThe content for the book was written by Tom Roberts 10 years ago when he was stranded in his van during a December blizzard in South Dakota."It occurred to me that Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay on that Christmas eve so long ago," Roberts said. With the secular story "’Twas the Night Before Christmas," fresh in his mind, he combined those thoughts with images of the Biblical couple whose travel ended in a stable."By the time the road opened by 6 the next morning, I had penned this little story," Tom recalled.For several years, he narrated the tale for church groups, civic organizations and school classrooms.Last year, Tammy encouraged her husband to publish his work, and they decided to produce it as a fund-raiser for CHS.They ordered 3,000 copies, not knowing how many, or if they would sell, but in three weeks, they sold out and people were asking for more."We were overwhelmed last year. …We’re just so gratified," Tom said. "We were sure we would have thousands of books leftover that we’d have to pile up in the garage."This year, they printed 15,000 copies, with plans to again donate all proceeds to Children’s Home Society.Tom said the classic story might be part of the reason for the book’s popularity."It’s a story that never gets old. … It has a spirit that’s well-worth perpetuating this time of year," he said."I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have said ‘Thanks for putting Christ back in Christmas.’"Host of volunteersHoffman created all of the illustrations by hand in pastel on poster-sized paper, and a Sioux Falls advertising firm volunteered to transfer the images to digital format for publication."That’s what’s been so amazing about this project," Tammy said. "Every time we’ve had a need, someone in the community has stepped up and said, ‘I can do that.’" Tom and Tammy are proud the book is successful, but they accept praise on behalf of "a host of volunteers."Tom said. "It’s a winner for everyone involved."Since the story was first written as a narration, the book is best experienced when read aloud, lending to its appeal as a holiday tradition and the perfect Christmas gift.The hard-cover 24-page book includes a reader’s log for families to record who read the book each Christmas to whom.If gift appeal isn’t selling the book, versatility is. It comes complete with a CD-CD ROM inserted in the back cover. The story can be told, with music in the background, on the latest in audio and visual technology."It’s amazing to hear the different stories people tell about how they’re sharing the story with others," Tom said.The book retails for $18.50 plus tax and is widely available throughout South Dakota. For Rock County shoppers, the nearest locations are Christmas in the Attic in Garretson and The 1948 Trading Company in Brandon."‘Twas the Night Before Christ" will be available for sale in Luverne during the book signing this weekend for $20 per book, with $2 per book benefiting United Methodist Church youth.Hoffman will be available for signing and book sales at United Methodist Church prior to the Winterfest Parade. Roberts will be at a different signing — one about 40 such events scheduled for the book so far — in South Dakota that night.Children’s Home Society is a residential treatment facility and school for children ages 4 to 13 with severe emotional and behavioral problems due to prior severe abuse and neglect.For more information on the 110-year-old organization and about "’Twas the Night Before Christ," see www.chssd.org. The book can also be ordered online.

By Sara StrongThe city of Luverne and Rock County signed a Joint Law Enforcement Contract in 1997, and since then, officers, dispatchers and city and county leaders have largely endorsed it.Considering the $534,000 each pays for sheriff and dispatch services, it’s one of the biggest budget items for both the city and county, and is a high priority with residents as well.Now, some in the city of Luverne are questioning the merits of joint law, both in its cost to the city and in its effectiveness.Joint law eliminated Luverne’s police department and enlarged the Rock County Sheriff’s Department to the office it is today.City Administrator Greg LaFond said he’s doing research that he thinks will show the city would be better off on its own."Is it cost beneficial to the city? That’s what the council has to examine," LaFond said.For starters, LaFond said Luverne is losing $18,000 in city ordinance fines that now go into the Joint Law Fund. If the city had its own department, that would be one source of revenue. "That’s fine if the money goes into the fund," LaFond said, "except when there’s no effort on the part of law enforcement." LaFond was referring, in part, to the non-sufficient fund prosecutions, which officers don’t investigate or spend time tracking, yet the department keeps the fine revenue. Other fines from municipal ordinances include city-only laws, such as loitering or parking violations.LaFond said Luverne shouldn’t be singled out as the only city in the county that has to forward ordinance fines to the county law enforcement fund.County and City Attorney Don Klosterbuer said the smaller Rock County cities would earn less than $1,000 a year in municipal ticket fines.Since 2000, just 12 complaints were filed on behalf of smaller cities in Rock County.Department fusion Luverne Councilman David Hauge said he’s spent some time reviewing old meeting minutes and talking to former officers. He suspects that objections to joint law weren’t fully considered, despite the experienced law enforcement personnel who were vocally against it.County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "We tried to hit it from all the angles and make sure everyone was heard."Klosterbuer recalled "heated and vigorous discussions" during the long process of merging the two departments.He said all sides of the issue were heard, but the people against it were unhappy in the end because they weren’t convinced it would work.Deputy Gerry Vorderbruggen was one of those. However, he spoke at Monday’s meeting in favor of joint law."At the time, I was a city of Luverne employee for 20 years," he said. Even though he was against it through the entire decision-making process, Vorderbruggen now says joint law benefits citizens and that the city of Luverne gets the same quality and quantity of service it got before.Sheriff Mike Winkels was first opposed, but has since changed his mind."I was opposed to it. There’s a lot of benefit to it, but at the time I didn’t want it," Winkels said.He said that joint law allowed the creation of an investigator, and all department workers can cross check names and crimes, instead of each deputy or officer handling separate cases."They’re the same law enforcement," Winkels said. "The only difference is who we serve. … I serve everyone in Rock County."Hauge said some serious crimes, including an ATM theft and arson right on Highway 75, might have been prevented had the city been able to appoint a chief and direct hours of patrol or the type of presence in the community.Taking another look at the numbersCounty Commissioner Ken Hoime said, "The more we worked on it, it added up and persuaded me to give it a try."Hoime said he was first against joint law when all of the committee meetings started.County Board Chairman Ron Boyenga voted against joint law in 1997. He has since changed his mind and favors Rock County having one Sheriff’s Department.Oldre said that the city isn’t the only party with concerns about law enforcement costs.The city of Luverne actually has a contract for service arrangement with the county, even though it is called joint law. That means that if the money Luverne puts into the department runs out, Rock County picks up the difference. That has meant that Rock County has had to pay an additional $236,478 from 1998 to 2002. If there is excess money in the fund, the city of Luverne pays less the following year because the money stays there.Boyenga said, "We don’t want to subsidize the city of Luverne."The budget is mostly personnel — $970,000 — and the rest isn’t under anyone’s control, Oldre said. Housing prisoners, cases that require heavy investigations and trials are all unknown at the start of every budget.Mayor Gust said that if costs and charges can’t be reduced, maybe additional revenues should be looked at, like more citations through the city instead of law enforcement. That will be a part of the city’s ongoing research in law enforcement issues.Luverne pays half of the law enforcement costs, but also 20 percent of the overall county tax dollars, which pay for the other half of law enforcement.Oldre said he didn’t believe the city would be saving money by reinstating its own department, but the city hasn’t finished the research yet. For example, the city doesn’t have a law enforcement building and would probably still have to contract for the dispatching services, for example."They had more officers when they joined joint law than the county had. It’s going to be costly to keep those numbers up and provide 24-hour coverage," Oldre said.

By Lori EhdeChristmas will come early this year for a few local families with loved ones in the National Guard.The Family Readiness Group of the Minnesota National Guard, Battery A, 1-125th Field Artillery is planning a special holiday event this weekend.Most families of deployed guardsmen from Luverne and Pipestone in the 125th won’t be able to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.But the families will have at least one party together.About 150 family members of deployed guardsmen are expected at 1 p.m. Saturday in the St. Catherine Church gymnasium.The afternoon will include a catered turkey dinner, treats from Santa and craft projects of ornaments and decorations to send to soldiers overseas.According to Family Readiness Co-Chair Gina Jarchow Newman, the party is expected to continue through the afternoon and culminate with the Winterfest Parade of Lights, at which they’ll have special seating."We hope we have enough stuff going on with the kids to keep everyone busy and to keep things lighthearted," Newman said.The main event that afternoon will be a live video conference from the soldiers in Europe to communicate with the families in Luverne."We’re told the troops are getting everything they need, but the biggest issue right now is the separation and homesickness," Newman said."So this is a really good thing for them to be able to do. They’ve been getting photos and e-mails, but there’s something about being able to see them talking and moving around live."For technical capabilities, that part of the party will have to move to the Armory.Newman said soldiers have made a movie of still photographs of them in Lakenheath, and that will be shown at the party. Also, the party itself will be videotaped to send overseas to the troops.Newman’s husband, Robert Newman, is a member of the 125th, but stayed behind to coordinate training and administration for troops, both deployed and non-deployed.Gina said she’s been doing everything she can to help families who are without their loved ones."I almost feel kind of bad and guilty that my husband is still here," she said. "So I’m trying to figure out what I can do to help. But in talking to families, all they really want is to have their husbands home."She said local organizations, including the VFW, VFW Auxiliary, American Legion, Lions Club and Eagles Club, have helped out with paying for the costs of the party."We are really happy and very thankful for the help we’ve received to put this on," Newman said."It really shows the support of the community for the work our guys are doing and for their families at home."In August, local Guard members were deployed to England to serve six months as security officers.There are 93 affected members in the local unit that includes Luverne and Pipestone. Of those, 55 serve duty at the National Guard Training and Community Center in Luverne.Twenty-three of those live in Rock County and 21 live in Nobles County.

By Sara StrongThe city of Luverne last week received eight proposals to become its new city attorney. The Luverne City Council first discussed getting a new attorney in October, when timeliness of work and potential conflict of interest with other government clients was brought up. Soon after, the council requested proposals from other law firms.Skewes, Klosterbuer and Vajgrt, LLP, Luverne This firm has provided legal representation to the city of Luverne for 23 years. Their proposal said in part, "As attorneys, and as long standing members of the community, we have worked to accommodate different viewpoints and personalities within City and County government, using the law as a tool to effectuate positive change. Local units of government, as well as the people of our community, have benefited from cooperative networks developed over time. The results can be seen in successful joint endeavors including law enforcement, the pool and fitness center and the community library."The members of this law firm possess the qualifications, experience, and knowledge base to provide the most effective legal representation to the city of Luverne ..."Hourly rates proposed are $105 for 2004 and wouldn’t include civil duties.Vander Kooi Law Offices, P.A., LuverneBenjamin Vander Kooi submitted a proposal to do legal work for the city, except prosecutions.He said, "As you may know, I have occasionally represented the city of Luverne whenever the current city attorney had a conflict of interest. The most recent representation occurred during the contentious dispute over changes in the Luverne City Code relating to land use regulation (zoning) for Dingmann Funeral Home."He would charge his standard hourly rate of $120.Ratwik, Roszak, and Maloney, P.A., Minneapolis This firm proposed the rates of $115 to $140 per hour for various types of attorney responsibilities.The firm limits its practice to government law — cities, counties, school districts and the state of Minnesota.It has 22 full-time attorneys and has expertise in municipal law including: general municipal law; public sector labor and employment law; public contracting; land use planning and zoning; real estate acquisition and eminent domain; policy drafting and analysis; and municipal litigation. Steffan Law Office, PLLC, PipestoneMark Thiel Steffan is the attorney proposing to work for Luverne. Steffan has worked as the Jackson County Attorney, Assistant Pipestone City Attorney and Special Assistant Murray County Attorney.This firm’s proposed rates are $90 an hour for civil matters and $75 an hour for criminal matters.Frank Madden & Associates, Plymouth This firm handles a variety of matters for public sector clients, including municipalities, counties, school districts, municipal hospitals and municipal utilities.Its proposal says the firm is well-versed in many labor and employment law matters. It said, "Our firm is dedicated to being responsive to the needs of our clients, and work is allocated within our firm to ensure that our clients receive quality services in a timely and cost effective manner."Its hourly fee proposed was $100 per hour for advice and consultation; $110 per hour for grievance arbitration cases and other administrative hearings, and $125 for litigation and appellate court cases.Hoff, Barry & Kuderer, P.A., Eden PrairieThis firm’s proposal said it concentrates its practice in the area of municipal law, and attorneys in the firm have experience in municipal representation and litigation.Some of the listed experience included planning and zoning issues, contract matters, special assessment proceedings, eminent domain, personnel matters, joint powers agreements, TIF proposals, development agreements, trial and appellate work, civil litigation, historic preservation claims, labor relations, and real estate.The hourly rate proposed was from $125 to $165 per hour for attorneys.Kennedy & Graven, Chartered, MinneapolisThis proposal said that the primary practice areas are in local government law, development law and employment law with experience in other city attorney’s offices. The firm has 28 lawyers, primarily representing municipalities in the following areas of expertise: local government law, public finance (municipal bonds), litigation, eminent domain, land use, economic development and redevelopment, employment law, bankruptcy law, real estate law, environmental law, government relation and administrative law, telecommunication and public utility law, business law and housing law. The proposed hourly rate for attorneys is $135. Flaherty & Hood, P.A., St. PaulThis firm said, "Flaherty & Hood is a distinctive law firm tailored to serve the particular needs of communities in Greater Minnesota."It proposed to provide labor and employment services to the city as well as general municipal legal services, in addition to special projects such as annexation and land use. This firm assisted with Border Cities Legislation for the cities of Luverne and Moorhead.The proposed rates for the city would be from $100 to $110 per hour for the attorneys. Attendance at meetings would be $90, with a minimum of three hours. Other legal services such as litigation, appellate matters, grievance or interest arbitration would be billed at $110 to $125 an hour.

By Sara StrongRock County and the city of Luverne share many contracts, and exchange about $800,000 annually through those arrangements. Considering their effect on one another’s budgets, both boards met in a joint meeting Monday to review their many agreements.Mayor Glen Gust said, "This is an informative meeting. There’s a lot of us who need to be brought up to speed."Some of the shared county and city of Luverne responsibilities were formed 20 years ago, but current elected people weren’t a part of those initial decisions.The meeting reviewed how the decisions were made and addressed contract updates that occurred later.The joint contracts reviewed were: Rock County Community Pool and Fitness Center, County State Aid Highway Maintenance Agreement, Law Enforcement and Dispatching Services, Rock County Community Library, Rock County Ambulance Service and Assessor’s Services.AmbulanceThe Rock County Ambulance agreement between the city of Luverne and Rock County will be terminated. Rock County contributed to the Luverne ambulance before it was sold to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System. Since the sale, the contract is null. Rock County still contributes $15,000 to the local ambulance service out of Luverne, $1,400 to Jasper, and $500 to Edgerton.DispatchDispatching services were a joint operation even before Luverne and Rock County merged its law enforcement units in 1997.The dispatch contract will be updated to reflect that the departments are one. The city of Luverne and Rock County each pay $139,586 for dispatching. In other dispatching discussion, the boards are waiting for a state Department of Administration study that will determine whether the concept of regional dispatching centers is feasible. The state is interested because it pays for some of the dispatching center costs. The E-911 Committee made up of county representatives, city council representatives and emergency personnel recently looked into the regional concept as well. That committee met with vendors who advised that it isn’t the time to combine several county dispatch sites into one. Also, from a customer service stand-point, the dispatching center would only be used for emergency calls. The local information line wouldn’t be accessible unless the county hired a separate person to answer questions. The non-emergency line also handles things such as calls alerting the department when people are starting a permitted garbage burn.The state report on regional dispatching feasibility will be ready sometime in 2004.The county recently approved upgrades to the 911-phone system that will allow cellular phone calls to be more effectively tracked and transferred to the appropriate nearest responders. Funding for those upgrades comes from the monthly charges on all phone bills for 911 services.AssessingThe city and county are also bargaining over the assessing fees. The city will pay the county $35,700 for 2004, but has said it wants to review the per-parcel rate and make it equal to what other cities are paying the county. When the original agreement was signed, the discussion centered around Luverne’s higher percentage of commercial and industrial properties, which take more time and work to assess the tax value. The current fee structure has Luverne paying 77 percent of the assessing office’s budget, because it requires 77 percent of the work, according to the county. The costs don’t include things such as office space or county employee labor additives or mileage.The city had earlier this year proposed a reduction in the 2004 assessing contract by about $9,500. County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "I hope we can just get along and not concentrate on the smaller dollar amounts, considering our extensive partnerships."The city and county will continue working on the 2004 and following years’ assessing contract fee schedule.Other contracts reviewed at the meeting needed minor language adjustments or updates.

What happened to the Kodiak films?In January 1941, Battery E, 2nd Battalion, 215th Coast Artillery Unit, left Luverne for Kodiak, Alaska.While stationed at the Kodiak base, the military troops and their friends and families back in Luverne would send 8 mm films back and forth.Those left behind would send the soldiers movies about how things were in Luverne, while the soldiers would send their films back to Luverne to depict life on their Alaska base.Now, Ken Burns wants to make those films a part of his new documentary film series about World War II.The films that were sent to the men of Battery E depicting life in Luverne have been found, but those made in Alaska for Luverne people to view at the Pix Theatre cannot be found.Meghan Horvath, who works for Ken Burns’ production company, Florentine Films, is asking anyone who may have played a role in the showing of those films or if you have any idea where those films may be located to contact her.What Guardsmen had the cameras up in Kodiak? Could the relatives of those guardsmen have the films sitting in their basement somewhere?Meghan has sent letters to all of the members of Battery E, but the films could be sitting in the basement of friends or descendents who ended up with them and may have forgotten they have them.Who has the films!If you have any ideas where they could be located, or have questions concerning the search for them, contact Warren Herreid at 283-9467 or Betty Mann at 283-2913.Brandenburg Book signing and Chamber open house Dec. 5Don’t forget the Brandenburg book signing this Friday, Dec. 5.Jim Brandenburg will be in Luverne to sign copies of his new book "Looking For The Summer."The book signing will be at the Brandenburg Gallery from 6 to 9 p.m.The signing will be part of an open house at the Gallery for the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce, who is now sharing space in the Creeger Office Building.The open house will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.The open house will also include the rest of the businesses that occupy the building.Occupants of the office complex include: Brandenburg Gallery Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce Roundwind Travel New Life Celebration Church New Dawn In–Home Care American Family Insurance Randy Creeger, Main Street Financial Ramsgate Managing InsuranceParade of Homes this SundayAs part of Winterfest, the Luverne Optimist Hockey Club will again be sponsoring the annual Christmas Parade of Homes.This year the featured homes include: Terry and Chantel Connell, RR3, 1 mile east of Luverne on North River Road. Terry and Heather Poe, 915 N. McKenzie. Dave and Stacy Riphagen, 404 W. Main. Arnold and Shirley Vanderheiden, 511 Britz Drive.Tickets for the Parade of Homes are on sale from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the Carnegie Cultural Center, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Salvation Army starts Luverne kettle campaignLuverne will have its very own Salvation Army kettle ringer this year.The Salvation Army kicked off its kettle campaign last Saturday, at Glen’s Food Center in Luverne.All the donations to the kettle will be used for Rock County projects.If you would like to help the cause, some bell ringers are still needed.For more information about the Salvation Army and their projects, contact Patti at 283-2366 or Greta at 283-5064Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

By Sara StrongThe Rock County Board Tuesday added Collaborative duties to the list of things the local Extension Office will administer.Commissioner Ken Hoime said he didn’t believe the amount of time allotted for Collaborative was fair to the office workers.He said, "I’m not in favor of giving 25 percent time for the Collaborative. They’ve got a skeleton crew for Extension services already."The Rock County Extension Committee will review the office and how the extra duties are working throughout the first year of the new arrangement.Rock County Collaborative is an organization that brings together offices such as Extension, the Private Industry Council, corrections, schools, Family Services and Public Health to work together on issues dealing with children and families of Rock County.It sponsors programs such as the Healthy Families Initiative and the Child Guide at Luverne Elementary School.The Rock County Board of Commissioners last month voted to concentrate local money on the 4-H program, and will only fund that position, and accompanying office staff.The 4-H coordinator is funded at 60 percent time, with a total cost of $35,550 and what amount of time and cost for the office staff???Family Services activityRock County Family Services Director Randy Ehlers reported to the board that for the fourth year, Minnesota has been awarded Food Support enhanced funds. This means that Rock County will get a portion of a form of "reward" money for efficiently and accurately giving correct aid to food assistance applicants. Rock County will put its $5,841 toward making an 80-percent financial worker a full-time position.Ehlers also updated the Board of Commissioners on department activity throughout the past 10 years. The number of applicants in most programs has increased on the average.Total active cases in Family Services has been about 570 a month throughout 2003 so far (ranging from 566 to 589 for the low and high).In 1992, the monthly caseload was 346; in 1993 was 359; in 1994 was 403; in 1995 was 413; in 1996 was 403; in 1997 was 379; in 1998 was 364; in 1999 was 362; in 2000 was 379; in 2001 was 407 and in 2002 was 469.The programs included in these figures are cash assistance, food stamps, health care and Minnesota Care, emergency assistance and day care.