Luverne senior Maggie Vanden Hoek fights for control of the puck with New Ulm’s Sam Richter during Friday’s season-opening girls hockey game at the Blue Mound Ice Arena. The Eagles scored 10 unanswered goals to best the Cardinals 10-1.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ hockey team stumbled to an 0-2 start to the 2002-03 season by dropping a pair of games since last Friday.

The Cardinals scored six seconds into their home opener against New Ulm to take an early lead before falling by nine goals in the end.

LHS skated to a draw with Mankato East for two periods Tuesday in Mankato. The hosts, however, prevailed by three in the end.

Luverne attempts to break into the win column tonight when it hosts Marshall. The Cards play a road game in Fairmont Tuesday.

ME 4, Luverne 1
The Cardinals played better in their second game of the season even though the final result was the same.

Luverne battled Mankato East to a draw at one through two periods during Tuesday’s tilt in Mankato before succumbing to a three-goal surge in the third period by the hosts.

"Luverne just wasn’t clicking," said Cardinal coach Dave Siebenahler. "We couldn’t find our game."
The teams exchanged goals in the first period.

East opened the scoring to take an early lead, but the Cards knotted the score at one at the 9:02 mark of the stanza.

Taylor Nelson netted Luverne’s counter. Stephanie Morgan received an assist for the tally.

Neither team could find the net in the second period, but that changed in the final 15 minutes of play.

ME scored one power-play goal and two even-strength counters during a three-goal period that settled the issue.

Cardinal goalie Alyssa Wieneke displayed some dramatic improvement in her second varsity start.
After facing 32 shots and allowing 10 goals in Friday’s opener, Wieneke stopped 42 of 46 shots in Mankato.

NU 10, Luverne 1
A promising start turned into a disastrous finish when the Cardinals opened the 2002-03 season against New Ulm at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Friday.

It looked like LHS might be on its way to a win when the Cardinals scored their first goal of the season six seconds into the contest.

The mood, however, changed quickly as the Eagles scored four times in a 2:12 span as the opening period progressed and ended up scoring 10 unanswered counters while coasting to a nine-goal victory.

Led by Tiffany Hoffman, Jocelyn Janni and Amber Reinhart, New Ulm dominated play offensively while doubling (32-16) Luverne’s output in shots on goal.

Six different Eagles scored goals in the game, led by Hoffman’s hat trick. Jannie and Reinhart added two goals each.

Luverne’s brightest moment came at the start of the game. The Cardinals won the opening face off, and the puck ended up on the stick of sophomore wing Natalie Domagala. Domagala skated into the New Ulm zone and buried the puck into the net for a 1-0 lead at the 14:54 mark of the opening period.

The rest of the period belonged to New Ulm.

Janni ignited a string of four goals in a span of 2:12 when she tied the game at one with 13:29 remaining in the period.

Danielle Fischer and Ashley Dietz scored for New Ulm before Janni struck again to make it a 4-1 game with 11:17 remaining in the first stanza.

When Reinhart scored her first goal with 3:17 left in the first period, the Eagles had a commanding 5-1 advantage.

Hoffman put the game away by scoring twice in the second period (at 8:41 and 5:47) before opening a three-goal third period with a counter at 9:17.

Liz Bode and Reinhart capped the scoring with tallies with 5:40 and 1:44 remaining respectively.

Making her first varsity start as goalie, Luverne’s Alyssa Wieneke stopped 22 of 32 shots. After allowing an early goal to Domagala, New Ulm’s Jenny Neveln ended the game by making 15 consecutive saves.

By Jolene Farley
Beaver Creek, Hills and Steen public officials met with concerned citizens Thursday for a community watch planning meeting.

Council member Carolyn DeBoer explained to more than 20 in attendance that the Beaver Creek City Council began to explore the idea of a community watch program after citizens raised concerns about suspected drug use and manufacturing in their community.

DeBoer introduced Rock County Sheriff-elect Mike Winkels, who started off with a brief explanation of community policing, which will involve more public involvement in law enforcement.

Community policing is more preventative than enforcement orientated and encourages communication between officers and the public.

"Rural Minnesota, for the most part, does community policing," he said.

What is currently missing from law enforcement in Rock County, he said, is informing those who call in suspicious activity to the sheriff’s department what action is taken after their call.

He added a call about suspicious activity at a house isn’t enough to take action, because it’s not illegal to have people coming and going from residences.

Winkels passed around the room confiscated drug paraphernalia and a list of ingredients used to manufacture meth.

He said that drug labs are not always in houses anymore. Dealers are manufacturing meth, about a six-hour process, in fields around Rock County.

Winkels advised residents to get to know their neighbors, particularly the elderly who are more likely to be home during the day.

"Walk the streets, be aware, get to know people in the community, get to know what everyone is doing," he said.

Winkels, D.A.R.E. officer for the Hills-Beaver Creek School district, also warned that alcohol and marijuana are gateway drugs for teenagers.

"I found that alcohol increased, especially among the gals, between the junior and senior years," he said.
Alcohol use tends to increase for boys in their freshman year, according to Winkels.

"Be a responsible parent, and ask where they (your children) are going to be …" he said.

"Don’t be afraid to search your kids’ cars, their rooms," he said.

Winkels discouraged parents from allowing teenagers to carry cell phones, because they’re used to pass the word about parties and other activities.

Meth dealers, he said, are a very close-knit group and very paranoid. Outsiders cannot walk up to them and buy.

"You have to know them, and they have to know you," he said.

Winkels explained the concept of a McGruff House, a community house designated as a safe house for children.

"If a child needs help, it’s a house they can go to when they feel in danger," he said. Adults can also utilize the house if they need help.

The Sheriff’s Department will fingerprint children or perform safety checks on houses if requested, according to Winkels.

A citizen at the meeting asked what the sheriff’s department does when someone calls in about suspicious activity.

"When we hear of activities, we are driving in the area," he said. Calls are listed in internal law enforcement files on individuals, but the identity of the caller is always kept confidential, according to Winkels.

Winkels reiterated that calls from citizens about activity are not enough to obtain a search warrant, according to Winkels.

A survey was distributed to those in attendance asking about interest in the McGruff Program, a senior watch, a community watch program or if the person filling out the survey thought the area had drug problems.

Winkels said he will encourage officers to stop at local elevators and coffee shops to talk with citizens.
"I don’t mind the guys stopping and talking," he said. "You meet people."

Another meeting will be planned for after Christmas.

The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team will open the season with six returning letter winners from the 2001-02 season. They are (left to right) Melinda Feucht, Erin Boeve, Cassi Tilstra, Amanda Olson and Brittney Rozeboom. Missing is Sarah Rozeboom.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek will not put the oldest girls’ basketball team on the floor during the 2002-03 season, but that doesn’t mean the Patriots will lack experience.

With an 11-player preseason roster that consists of five players in the ninth or 10th grade, it appears Patriot coach Tom Goehle will lead an untested squad into battle.

In this case, appearances are deceiving.

H-BC has two starters and four other varsity letter winners from the 2001-02 campaign back in the mix.
Throw in some new players hungry for playing time, and the Patriot coach has reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season.

"I’m really excited about this group," Goehle said. "As a coach, it’s hard not to be excited about your players at this time of year. We have a tremendous amount of potential. We have the type of players who love the game, which is evident by the time they put in to get better."

The Patriots are coming off a solid 2001-02 campaign during which they placed third in the Red Rock Conference Western Division with a 9-7 record, and completed the regular season with a 12-11 mark.

H-BC beat long-time rival Southwest Christian 44-43 in the quarterfinal round of the South Section 3A Tournament before its 13-12 year ended with a 47-39 loss to Fulda in the semifinals. Fulda went on to win the section championship and place fourth at state.

Three senior starters helped make last season a good one for H-BC.

Becky Broesder, a guard, tops the list. Broesder was named to the All-RRC Team at season’s end.

Guard Brittney Olson and forward Jody DeNoble also started for the Patriots during their senior seasons.

While last year’s seniors will be missed, Goehle is confident the 2002-03 Patriots will overcome their absence in time.

"I expect us to get much better as the season goes along. I’m not so sure what type of start we’ll get off to, but I expect us to be a tough team to beat after Christmas," he said.

The return of starters Erin Boeve and Cassi Tilstra gives the Patriots instant credibility.

Boeve, a 6-1 junior forward, made the All-RRC team after leading the Patriots in scoring and rebounding last season. Boeve has played at the varsity level since she was in the eighth grade, and her leadership skills and physical presence demand respect from all opposing teams.

Tilstra, a 5-9 sophomore guard, drew honorable mention status from the RRC coaches last winter. Tilstra is the type of player who likes to attack the basket and provides an outside scoring threat.

Sarah Rozeboom, Amanda Olson, Brittney Rozeboom and Melinda Feucht return with letters from last year and are expected to play bigger roles for the 2002-03 team.

Sarah Rozeboom, the team’s lone senior, is a 5-5 guard. Rozeboom brings experience and aggressiveness to the table. Goehle hopes her intensity rubs off on the rest of the team.

Olson, a junior post, has developed into a solid player in the paint area. Olson should be able to take some of the rebounding and scoring pressure off Boeve this season.

Brittney Rozeboom and Feucht are 5-5 and 5-7 sophomore guards. Feucht also can play as a forward. Rozeboom, a pesky defender, is a good ball-handler who will be H-BC’s floor general. Feucht is extremely quick, and she uses that trait to her advantage on defense.

The remaining five players on the roster will be competing at the varsity level for the first time. Kelly Mulder, a 6-0 sophomore post, leads the group.

"Kelly Mulder could be the most improved player in our program," Goehle said. "She put herself in a position to help us this year with hard work. As for the other girls, at any given time and in different situations, there will be a place for them to contribute if they keep working hard and improving."

Juniors Alissa Hoyme, Jessi Wassenaar and Melinda Standstede could make an impact at the varsity level. Hoyme is a 5-10 forward, Wassenaar a 5-9 forward-center and Sandstede a 5-6 guard-forward.

Stacy Bush, a 5-4 freshman guard, rounds out the roster.

With a blend of quickness and size, H-BC can have the best of both worlds on offense and defense.

"We have more overall quickness than we ever had before, so we should be able to get out and run. We also have as good of a post presence as we’ve had in a long time, so we can slow things down and work the ball inside, too. We’ll score quickly if we can. If not, we’ll try to be patient and make our opponents work hard defensively," Goehle said.

"I expect us to play hard on defense, and I also think we’ll be a smart defensive team. A big key for us defensively will be knowing where to be and how to get there."

The Patriot coach lists Fulda and Westbrook-Walnut Grove as the teams to beat in the RRC and the South Section 3A this season.

The Patriots open the campaign by hosting Ellsworth tomorrow.

By John Rittenhouse
A pair of Hills-Beaver Creek High School volleyball players were honored by the Red Rock Conference coaches last week.

One H-BC athlete was selected to the 2002 All-Red Rock Conference Volleyball Team. Another Patriot player drew honorable mention from the league’s coaches.

The All-RRC roster consists of 24 team members. A total of 15 athletes drew honorable mention.

Erin Boeve, a junior hitter, is H-BC’s entry on the All-RRC roster.

Sarah Rozeboom, a senior hitter, drew honorable mention.

Conference champion Westbrook-Walnut Grove drew four all-conference selections.

Seniors Shanell Amundson, Katie Hansen, Becky Schultz and Katie Swanson represent the Chargers.

Murray County Central, Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin and Fulda drew three selections each.

MCC seniors Mandy Dierks and Shelly Halbur and junior Cara Counter, ML-B-O senior Carissa Haglund, junior Mikkala Junker and sophomore Tracey Hildebrandt, and Fulda seniors Rachel Gunderman, Katrina Kramer and Erin Oakland grace the roster.

Southwest Christian, Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster and Red Rock Central picked up two all-league selections each.

SWC seniors Rebecca Raak and Danielle Vander Woude, SV-RL-B seniors Ashley Janssen and Rosa Malenke and RRC seniors Katie Furth and Lindsay Olson are members of the team.

Rounding out the All-RRC roster are Adrian senior Jenna Honermann, Edgerton senior Amber Poppen, Comfrey senior Holli Pederson and Southwest Star Concept senior Brianna Liepold.

Joining Rozeboom as honorable mention selections are Adrian junior Kylie Heronimus, MCC seniors Kayla Johnson and Kim Spartz, Fulda senior Jamie Goedtke and junior Susan Grandgeorge, SWC seniors Bethany Anderson and Juliet Spronk, SV-RL-B senior Erin Haberman and freshman Molly Eichenberger, W-WG junior Jenny Heinich, RRC junior Andrea Kirchner, Edgerton sophomore Kendra Van’t Hof, Comfrey senior Jessica Schumann and SSC sophomore Brittany Cranston.

Christmas at the Palace
The Luverne Chamber of Commerce is again sponsoring Christmas at the Palace.

The concert will at the Palace Theatre, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13

Each year the Chamber sponsors the event, which features local talent.

Last year the event was used to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. This year the proceeds will go to benefit the Palace Theatre.

So far, participants include the choirs from the American Reformed Church, Grace Lutheran Church, New Life Church, First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church and St. Catherine Church.

Other local talent will include Joe Dorhout, Carol Zwaan, Luverne High School Brass, Wendy and Heidi Sandbulte and Amy Donth, Jack Leslie, Sue Sandbulte.

Admission to the event will be $5.00 or $3.00 with a food shelf donation.

Work progresses on new Dollar Store
Construction work on the new Dollar General Store is on schedule and should be completed between May 15 and June 1, according to Lee’s Construction, Alexandria.

The 7,500 square foot store is being built on the site of the former Lampert Lumber building at 303 S. Kniss.

A spokesperson for Dollar General, described the merchandise the company sells as "moderately priced basic merchandise for family and home needs."

Most items are priced below $10.

Family Dollar headquarters are located in Charlotte, N. C.

The company was started in 1955, and currently has 5,500 stores and seven distribution centers, primarily in the middle and southeast United States.

New North Star Web site for all things Minnesota
Monday was the debut date for the new North Star Web site.

The site replaces the former North Star site, which served as the state’s main Web portal for the past five years.

Over the past two years the number of visits to North Star has increased 50 percent to an average 1.2 million monthly.

That number is expected to increase to 2.2 million visits a month by 2003.

When you get to the new site, the state services and information are divided into easily recognizable themes: living and working, learning and education, health and safety, government, business, travel and leisure, and environment.

The address for the remodeled site is the same: www.state.mn.us.

Why is Minnesota Growing?
We keep hearing that Minnesota is one of the few states in the upper Midwest that is continuing to grow. Why?

As is turns out, it’s because people are staying here and are also migrating here.

The increase in Minnesota’s population during the 1990s was due to the arrival of new residents from other states and from foreign countries. According to a new report by Minnesota Planning, migration is a major factor in Minnesota’s population growth.

The trend, according to the report, is a departure from previous decades, when more people left the state than moved in.

According to Dean Barkley, former Planning Commissioner and now U.S. Senator from Minnesota, the greatest amount of new migration was among adults, ages 25 to 44 and children, ages 5 to 19.

The increase in migration helped all the counties in the state. Even the counties that lost population, lost less than in previous decades.

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

By Sara Strong
Issues of land management were up for discussion at Tuesday’s Rock County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Land Management Director Eric Hartman told the board Rock County could be designated "livestock friendly."

Hartman said the county could sell itself as livestock friendly to help draw population and livestock business to Rock County.

Rock County’s current setbacks are generally twice as strict as the livestock friendly designation would allow. Commissioners will have to decide if it’s something they want to pursue, given the amount of time and energy already spent making setback ordinances.

The board referred the issue back to the Planning and Zoning Board for research and review.

In-house engineer
The Rock County Board passed a resolution of support for the Southwest Joint Powers Organization to seek a grant for an engineering intern to work out of the Rock County office.

The local cost would be mostly "in kind" costs of about $34,000 that would come from providing a work area, telephone and vehicle for the engineer.

The two-year grant would allow most of the engineer’s time to be dedicated to working with feedlot owners in Rock County. This would be especially helpful to those who have to make changes based on the Level III inventories, which were ordered by the District Attorney.

County costs of the inventories themselves will be partially covered by the settlement from a plea agreement with David Logan of Global Ventures, a hog operation that was involved in bribery crimes. The Level III inventories are being done to ensure no environmental harm was done during the tenure of former Land Management director John Burgers, who was also implicated in the Global Ventures scandal.
BWSR received $130,000 to spend on inspections and Rock County received $30,000.

Rock County has a better chance at getting the engineer grant if it goes through the Joint Powers Organization.

If the grant is approved, the county could designate how it wants the engineer to spend time, whether on clean-ups needed because of recent inspections or for expansion projects.

A big part of local producers’ fears of inspections has been based on the cost of engineers that would be required to sign off on most feedlot designs.

The Joint Powers Organization has an engineer that could back up what the intern engineer does, as required until the intern obtains a full license.

Task force
The Rock County Feedlot Task Force will meet Dec. 5. Part of the session will be about the feedlot evaluation process.

The 16-member Task Force was formed to work through the feedlot inspection process in the county. The group meets periodically to discuss rule interpretations in gray areas of environmental code and will try to disseminate public information.

The Hills-Beaver Creek High School Peer Helpers sponsored a contest among students and staff to see which class could donate the most items for the Rock County Emergency Food Shelf. Eighth- and ninth-graders tied for the honors. Nearly 800 items were collected during a two-week period during the first part of November. Peer Helpers (from left) Tyler Bush, Derek Haak, Tyson Metzger, Kale Wiertzema, Travis Broesdar, Ashley Sundem, Advisor Rachelle McGill and Kari Roozenboom delivered the donated items to the Food Shelf in Luverne Friday, Nov. 15.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Bernice Sandbulte, Hills, celebrates Grandparents Day with her grandchildren Tuesday at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School. Sandbulte and her husband, Duane, have grandchildren in every grade at the school. Pictured eating lunch with Grandma are (front, from left) Justin Sandbulte, Bernice Sandbulte, Marissa Harsma, (second row) Jessica Sandbulte, Katlyn Sandbulte, Kyle Harsma, Jeffrey Sandbulte, Joshua Dudley, Mitchell Sandbulte and Myranda Sandbulte. Justin and Marissa are holding turkeys that say, "We are thankful for our grandpas and grandmas."

Photo by Jolene Farley

Who ya gonna
call when ‘there
oughtta be a law’?

Now that the dust has settled after the elections, it’s time to sit back and see if our politicians keep their campaign promises, right?

Actually, no.

Now’s the time to pay attention and make sure those promises are kept.

We’ve heard the grand plans and warm, fuzzy election speeches, but when it comes down to it, our elected officials are only as good as the standards we hold them to.

We can hope, at the very least, that they’ll keep their promises, but a campaign platform typically covers only a small part of overall public responsibilities.

State legislators may promise lower taxes, but when tax statements come in with smaller amounts as promised, who’s keeping track of the resulting cuts in services and how those decisions are made?

Beyond the narrow scope of keeping a promise or two, direction for the rest of public business needs to come from responsible constituents — presumably the ones our officials work for.

They have taken sworn oaths to represent our interests, and in most cases, are paid, albeit modestly, to do it.
Rock County Commissioners receive a base pay of $12,000 per year for roughly two regular meetings per month, plus more for special meetings.

The Luverne mayor receives $5,100 per year, and Luverne City Council members are compensated $4,200 per year for regular twice monthly council meetings. They receive $20 for meetings shorter than a half day, and $40 for longer ones.

Luverne School Board members receive $50 for regular meetings (roughly two a month) and $30 for special meetings.

Following is a list of elected officials to keep in mind when concerns of public interest arise.

Clip it, attach it to the refrigerator, and call one of them the next time you hear yourself saying, "There oughtta be a law!" Also, don’t forget to call them with an "atta boy" when those occasions arise.

Keep in mind our elected officials are just ordinary citizens concerned enough about public process to get involved in leadership capacities. Their jobs are demanding, most of them deserve our respect — as well as our constructive criticisms.

Congratulations, winners of the 2002 elections! Let’s see what you can do for us, working with us.

* * *

The list of Luverne School Board members will remain unchanged in January, with all four incumbents re-elected to four-year terms. Luverne School Board members are:

Don Bryan, 669-2181
Colleen Deutsch, 283-9265
Dan Kop, 283-4733
Cary Radisewitz, 283-4372
Bill Stegemann, 283-8144
Steve Tofteland, 283-4503
Becky Walgrave, 283-4042.

For lists of school board members in other Rock County districts, call 483-2232 for Adrian, 967-2242 for Ellsworth and 962-3240, for Hills-Beaver Creek.

Luverne City Council will see two new faces after the first of the year. Pat Baustian, 283-4180, and Bob Kaczrowski, 283-9261, will replace Keith Erickson, 283-2497, and Jim Kirchhofer, 283-2415, respectively.
Tom Martius, 283-4679, and David Hauge, 283-2065, are the other two council members.

Mayor Glen Gust, who was re-elected to another two-year term, can be reached at 283-8761.

Members of the Rock County Board of Commissioners include:

Kenneth Hoime, 442-4913
Wendell Erickson, 962-3785
Ron Boyenga, 967-2104
Bob Jarchow, 283-2469
Jane Wildung, 283-4691.

97-6378, will replace Erickson, who did not seek re-election. Bakken ran uncontested for the seat.

As Rock County’s new representatives at the state and Congressional level take office in January, the Star Herald will publish their contact information as well.

That information, as well as the school, city and county contacts, can be found on the Star Herald Web site, www.star-herald.com. Click on the button, "Your elected officials," on the home page.