It must be an election year.

If there's ever a time to question our careers in journalism, campaign season is it.

We're either favoring one party over the other, or we're completely dropping the ball by not photographing a grand political fundraising dinner. We charge too much for advertising, and we're too stingy with our editorial freebies.

It's a time when we hunker down, grit our teeth and hope we live to see another election season.

Much like the Christian creed to "be in the world but not of it," journalists are expected to maintain an unbiased, objective approach to campaign coverage while at the same time taking our well-formed personal opinion into the voting booth.

Daily newspapers, it seems, have it easier. Every day, they have new pages to fill with election news in addition to daily news.

At the Star Herald, as it is at most small weeklies, we have one paper each week, and only 16 to 20 pages to work with. Considering many of those pages are already filled with our usual community news coverage - which believe it or not, does continue despite election season, it leaves a limited news hole to cover political candidates.

So, we in the weekly world, take the approach that we will cover our little corner of the world and we cover it thoroughly.

Readers will find very little information about our candidates for governor, Supreme Court, Secretary of State and other state offices in the Star Herald. It's not that those offices aren't important, but we figure our readers can find information about those candidates in their daily newspapers.

What they will find in the Star Herald, however, is information they can't get anywhere else. Two weeks ago, the Star Herald profiled each of the 25 candidates running for school board in three area districts. Last week, the Star Herald covered responses by candidates for State House of Representatives at the Chamber's Candidate Forum. This week, the Star Herald is publishing in-depth interviews of both the sheriff and mayor races. Bet you wonÕt find that in the Globe or the Argus.

WeÕre the first to admit we fall sadly short in our efforts to adequately inform local readers on their voting choices, but we also arenÕt so short-sighted as to assume we're their only source for election information.

We hope that local readers will use all resources available to them to become educated on their voting choices. To learn about Rock County's candidates, see the Star Herald. To learn about who's representing Rock County in Washington, buy a daily.

Senate and House candidates debate this Sunday
To be a better informed voter, don't miss the televised debates to be aired on Pioneer Public Television.

The debate between the candidates that want to represent Rock County in St. Paul will be aired Sunday, Nov. 3.

The Senate debate between the Republican challenger Alex Frick from Luverne and Sen. Jim Vickerman (DFL), Tracy, will be broadcast at 1 p.m.

Their counterparts in the House, Rep. Ted Winter (DFL), Fulda, and challenger Doug Magnus (R), Slayton, will debate at 2 p.m.

For reception with an antenna, Pioneer Public TV is on Channel 20, and Mediacom will broadcast the debate on Channel 8.

Sign up for "Do Not Call" starting Monday
Starting Monday, Nov. 4, the Minnesota Department of Commerce plans to begin registering consumers for the "Do Not Call" list.

In the past months, the department has been working on the computer and phone systems that will be needed to accommodate consumers who want to shield themselves from the notorious telemarketers.

According to Minnesota Commerce Commissioner, Jim Bernstein, his department is expecting a flood of calls and Web site hits when the registration begins on Monday.

Callers will be allowed to register up to three residential phone numbers during a single call.

The phone number and Web site will be announced Monday for those who want to register.

NCS Pearson, a Bloomington company, has been awarded the contract to compile the "do not call" list and manage the system.

Under the new law, telemarketers will be required to buy the list and delete any name on it from their database.

The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2003.

Certain organizations are exempt from the law and do not have to purchase the Do Not Call list before phoning Minnesota residents:

Nonprofit organizations
Political organizations
Businesses with a prior relationship with the customer
Businesses that do not intend to complete the sale over the phone, but rather complete the transaction in a face-to-face setting.

Other aspects of the new law include:

All telemarketers will be prohibited from using devices that disable caller ID on consumer telephones
Telemarketers will be required to immediately identify themselves, the company they represent and the product they are selling.

The Star Herald will report the phone number and Web site when they are announced.

Trick or treats and a haunted house
Along with the trick or treats handed out by Luverne businesses, you can also attend a haunted house.

As I told you last week, Luverne merchants will be handing out Halloween candy from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today (Oct. 31). Signs in the windows will identify which 47 merchants are participating.

The new feature this year is the haunted house. The Peer Helpers will be decorating the Carnegie Cultural Center for the haunted house. The haunted house will be suitable for smaller children.

The price of admission is a canned item for the food shelf.

The hours for the haunted house are also 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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

Don Robert "Squint" Obele, 80, Hardwick, died Thursday Oct. 17, 2002, at Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.

Services were Sunday, Oct. 20, at Zion Lutheran Church in Hardwick. The Rev. Mark Mumme officiated. Burial was in the Maplewood Mausoleum, Luverne.

"Squint" Obele was born to Alf and Clarinda (Tomte) Obele on April 6, 1922, in Lismore. He attended school in Kenneth and Luverne. He entered the U.S. Army in 1941 and served his country in the Coast Artillery. He served in Alaska, England, France and was part of the crossing of the Rhine River in Germany. He returned from the service in 1945.

He married Marion (Babe) Meints on July 16, 1947, in Hardwick. He drove school bus in Hardwick from 1951 to 1960. In 1960, the couple moved to California. They moved back to Hardwick in 1970 and bought the Valley Springs Bar. They operated the bar until 1975 when they moved back to California. The couple returned to Hardwick in 1985. He repaired and sold old houses.

Mr. Obele was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Hardwick. He enjoyed collecting antiques.

Survivors include his wife, Marion (Babe) Obele, Luverne, and many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Obele was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Luella Woodley, 93, Luverne, died Monday, Nov. 4 at Good Samaritan Home, Pipestone. Visitation will be Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 10:30 a.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, Luverne, with REv. Paul Fries officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Don Phillips, 60, formerly of Luverne, died Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Ypsilanti, Michigan. Funeral services were in Ann Arbor last week. On Sunday, Nov. 10, the family will gather for worship at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne, for the 10:45 a.m. service, afterwards a committal service will be held at Maplewood Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. Nie Funeral Home, Ann Arbor, is in charge of arrangements.

Cynthia Van Den Oever, 95, Doon, Iowa, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2002.

Services were Saturday, Oct. 26, at First Reformed Church in Doon. The Rev. Don Baker officiated. Burial was at Hope Cemetery in Hull, Iowa.

Cynthia Van Den Oever was born to Peter and Barbara (Brouwer) Van Den Oever on Nov. 16, 1906, near Perkins, Iowa.

She attended the Burr Oak Country School near Perkins. The Van Den Oever family moved to the Koster farm on Hwy. 75 in 1917. After her father died, she and her mother moved to Doon in 1948. She cared for her mother until 1968 when her mother died. She then moved to her current residence in Doon in 1980. She worked for many in the community, cleaning houses and helping at her church.

Ms. Van Den Oever was the oldest member of the Doon First Reformed Church. She was a member of the women's circle in her church. She enjoyed crocheting and activities at the Senior Citizens Center.

Survivors include two sisters, Katie Top, Hills, and Rena Top, Milaca; three sisters-in-law, Elsie Van Den Oever, Stickney, S.D., Irma Van Den Oever, Pipestone, and Henrietta Oostra, Hull; and 39 nieces and nephews.

Ms. Van Den Oever was preceded in death by her parents, nine brothers, John, Fred, Andrew, Jake, Henry, Peter, James, Henry and an infant; and one sister, Ada Burggraaf.

Porter Funeral Home, Rock Valley, Iowa, was in charge of arrangements.

Evelyn Rognley, 93, Hills, died Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.

Memorial services were Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills. The Rev. Lowell Berg officiated.

Evelyn Rognley was born to Hans and Marit (Paulson) Rognley on April 3, 1909, rural Hills. She grew up on the family farm and attended country school east of Hills and later Hills High School. While in high school she was active in school events and was captain of the girls’ basketball team. She graduated from Hills High School in 1927 and then attended the University of Minnesota obtaining a bachelors of arts degree in teaching with an emphasis in math and business. After graduation she returned to Hills and worked at the Exchange State Bank in Hills where she was in charge of the insurance department.

She married Joseph Nelson on Dec. 15, 1940, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church parsonage in Hills. They lived in Hills until moving to the Rognley homestead in 1951. She later did income tax work for members of the community, along with working at a tax accountant in Sioux Falls, S.D. She also did substitute teaching in the Ellsworth and Hills high schools and wrote a column for the Star Herald titled "What's the Good Word?". Mr. Nelson died on Dec. 16, 1976. She continued living on the farm until moving to Hills in 1980. She moved to Tuff Memorial Home on May 15, 2002.

Rognley was a long-time member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills and was church secretary for many years. She enjoyed crocheting and gardening.

Survivors include one son, Stanford Rognley Nelson, Hills; one daughter, Paula Nelson Sundt, Cokato; three grandchildren, Molly Marit Sundt, Joseph David Sundt and Kathleen Nora Grace Nelson.

Rognley was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, one granddaughter, Carrie Christine Nelson, son-in-law, David Donald Sundt, three brothers, Oswald, Peter and Melvin, and three sisters, Amanda, Helen and Nora.

Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth senior fullback Jesse Leuthold runs past some Southwest Star Concept defenders during Saturday's Section 2 football playoff game in Hills. Leuthold ran for 99 yards and one touchdown during a 47-20 semifinal-round win over the Quasars.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth earned the right to host the Section 2 Nine-Man Football playoff championship game after beating up on Southwest Star Concept Saturday in Hills.

Patriot coach Dan Ellingson expected a tight battle when his top-seeded team hosted No. 4 SSC for a semifinal-round tilt in Hills Saturday, but he got a rout instead as H-BC-E ran its record to 9-0 with a 47-20 victory.

"It was kind of surprising," Ellingson said. "We thought this was going to be a close game, but we ended up playing our best offensive game of the season, and our defense did a good job of containing Leopold (Tyler, SSC's senior quarterback)."

If the Patriots can put together another solid effort on both sides the ball when they host No. 2 Nicollet at 3 p.m.
Saturday, they could get the chance to play in the state tournament for the second straight year.

Beating Nicollet, however, may be easier said than done.
The 10-0 Raiders are the state's third-ranked team, and one of their victories came against a former top-ranked LeRoy-Ostrander squad late in the season.

H-BC-E, which is ranked as the state's fourth team in nine-man football, has faced Nicollet in the playoffs the past three seasons. The Raiders have a 2-1 edge in those games.

"They are a very good team," Ellingson said of the Raiders. "They are very quick. They have the same quarterback and running back from last year, so we have a good understanding of what they like to do. The keys for us will be to not turn the ball over, and take advantage of the mistakes they might make. With their quickness, we'll have to concentrate on not giving up big plays when we are on defense."

H-BC-E is a good team, too, and they displayed that while pounding the Quasars Saturday.

After falling behind 6-0 early in the game, H-BC-E scored 40 consecutive points to all but end the contest midway through the third quarter. The 40-point fun featured H-BC-E's offensive scoring with six consecutive possessions, while the Patriot defense was shutting down Leopold.

"Our main concern heading into the game was stopping Leopold. He's their main ball carrier and he can throw the ball. We had to stop him, and we did what we needed to do. He did rush for 93 yards, but he only passed for 52 yards against our No. 1 defense," Ellingson said.

Although the Patriots had him in their sights, Leopold did open the scoring when he capped SSC's second possession of the game with a 22-yard touchdown run at the 3:13 mark of the first quarter. SSC's extra-point attempt was blocked.

The rest of the first half belonged to H-BC-E as it scored 26 unanswered points with four offensive possessions.

During the kickoff following Leopold's touchdown, Patriot senior Chris Reid returned the ball 38 yards to SSC 47-yard line. After a five-yard penalty on the Quasars, H-BC-E quarterback tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Metzger with 2:39 remaining in the opening stanza. Zach Wysong added the extra point to give the Patriots a 7-6 edge.

H-BC-E's defense forced the Quasars to punt four plays into their next possession, setting up a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The drive was capped with a six-yard touchdown pass from Schilling to Metzger during a fourth-and-goal situation. Wysong's extra point made it a 14-6 game at the 9:08 mark of the second quarter.

SCC had to punt four plays into its next possession, and H-BC-E advanced the ball 64 yards in seven plays before Jesse Leuthold found the end zone after a three-yard run to make it a 20-6 difference with 4:45 left in the first half.

H-BC-E's roll continued as Reid picked off a pass five plays into SSC's ensuing possession, setting up a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Schilling scoring on a one-yard run to increase the lead to 20-6 with 15 seconds left in the second period.

Any thoughts of a second-half rally by the Quasars were quickly erased.

The Patriots opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 54-yard drive that ended with Schilling tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Wysong at the 8:47 mark. Wysong added the extra point to make it 33-6.

Patriot Clint Roozenboom blocked an SSC punt four plays later and teammate Brant Deutsch recovered the ball on the SSC 14. Reid scored on a three-yard run five plays later, and Wysong added the extra point for a 40-6 cushion with 4:55 left in the third stanza.

Reserves played the rest of the game for H-BC-E, and SSC outscored the Patriots 14-7 in the fourth quarter.

Leopold threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Scheevel with 7:43 remaining, and Mitchell Leopold scored on a one-yard run (a successful conversion pass from Tyler Leopold to Scheevel followed) with less than four minutes remaining.

H-BC-E countered with a 19-yard touchdown run and an extra point by Wysong with five seconds left to play.

After watching his offense rack up 462 total yards, Ellingson praised the play of his linemen.

"Our offense line did a good job," he said. "Schilling was able to complete 10 of 11 passses without even coming close to being sacked, and Reid and Leuthold were getting past the line of scrimmage without being touched because of the good surge our line was giving us up front."

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 317 rushing yards, 145 passing yards, 462 total yards, 17 first downs, four penalties for 25 yards, zero turnovers.
SSC: 115 rushing yards, 174 passing yards, 289 total yards, eight first downs, seven penalties for 40 yards, one turnover.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 20-152, Leuthold 16-99, Schilling 5-8, Wysong 7-43, Dusty Seachris 4-15.
Passing: Schilling 10-11 for 145 yards, Travis Broesder 0-2 for zero yards.
Receiving: Metzger 8-110, Wysong 1-10, Reid 1-25.
Defense: Leuthold 13 tackles, Schilling seven tackles, Cody Scholten six tackles, Reid one interception, Pat Nelson one sack, Craig Gaul one sack, Roozenboom one blocked punt, Deutsch one blocked punt recovery.

By Lori Ehde
Select members of Luverne School Board and the Rock County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday night in the district office as members of the county-school liaison committee.

The first item on the agenda was the possibility of a law enforcement officer spending time in school hallways.

The newly-formed Parents: The Anti-Drug and Violence Task Force, raised the school officer question at recent public meetings.

Sheriff Ron McClure attended the meeting to answer questions, and County Administrator Kyle Oldre presented information on federal grant money that could be applied for.

There is a $125,000 Community Oriented Policing grant available through the Department of Justice that would cover a school resource officer for a three-year time span.

Commissioners and board members at Tuesday's meeting did the math on that grant and figured the grant would provide roughly $40,000 per year toward an officer's position. But expenses surrounding the position would likely come to $25,000 per year more than that, and it would end after three years when the grant expires.

"You become accustomed to a service, and then what do you do when the grant runs out?" said Superintendent Vince Schaefer. "I'm not sure of the best avenue to fund it, but maybe it would take just a change in philosophy. Sometimes we're better off not getting too many bureaucrats involved through grants and take care of it ourselves."

As part of implementing the community policing approach to Rock County's law enforcement, Community Policing Institute representatives are reorganizing and prioritizing how deputies spend their time.

"We're replacing random patrol with specific duties," Oldre said, "...setting priorities as a community and letting the community be involved in the process."

While McClure was careful not to promise spare deputy hours in school hallways, he said with rescheduling, a school officer might be a priority. "I've got two or three guys who would jump on the chance to do it," McClure said.

Oldre added that with recent law enforcement retirements and more on the horizon, the county is building a pool of potential officers, some with school officer experience.

County and city attorney Don Klosterbuer said, "If we're both interested, how do we go about implementing it?"

He recommended the school and county wait until after the Policing Institute completes its work on rescheduling, and then see if some time could be arranged for a school resource officer.

Meanwhile, McClure said he'd check with districts that currently have school officers to see how their programs are structured and funded.

Community day care
Developer Don Dunham had agreed to provide community day care space in the lower level of the former Luverne Elementary School when he made the building into City Centre Apartments. In return, the city, county and school agreed to abate taxes on the property for a specified time period.

When Dunham provided unfinished space, the taxing entities terminated the abatement, and Dunham sued for breach of contract.

"It's pretty obvious we're not looking at day care at the previous sight," Oldre said of the City Centre Apartments, "but the community's been talking about a day-care center since the early 1980s, and I'm thinking we need to put it back on the table and talk about it."

Rock County Family Services Director Randy Ehlers said there are roughly 40 licensed providers in Rock County, and about 70 percent of those frequently operate on waivers to occasionally allow for more children.

"Right now it's not a problem, but a lot are at retirement age where they're thinking about getting out of the business," Ehlers said. "I see a growing need. It's an issue that's not going to go away."

Klosterbuer said he frequently hears speculation about the possibility of day care services on the school campus. "The school has indicated pretty clearly they're not interested in that," he said. "What were those reasons?"

Schaefer said there are two obstacles that couldn't be easily overcome: space and access. He said even if the district has space on campus to build a center or to accommodate one, curbside access is a major issue for daycare center, and traffic patterns on the school district wouldn’t allow for that.

Options for hospital
The day care question led to discussion about the hospital.
While nothing has been officially announced, Sioux Valley and Luverne Community Hospital are considering building a new hospital either on the north or south edge of town, and the City of Luverne and Rock County are potential owners of the existing structure.

At Tuesday's joint meeting, the two entities discussed possible uses for the facility, and day care surfaced as one of many possibilities.

The county could use the facility in several ways, but commissioners said it could be considered as a possible option for the Luverne Alternative School, which needs more space.

Oldre said if the County and City were to own the hospital structure, it wouldn't be ready for occupancy until late 2005 at the earliest, after necessary renovations.

In other business,
county and school representatives discussed:
Student mental health: "We're seeing more and more mental health issues get in the way of good family functioning and good school functioning," Ehlers said.

He said autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiance are on the rise nationwide, and Luverne's students are now catching up with the rest of the country.

Closed campus: Commissioner Ken Hoime asked if the School Board was going to act on requests to close Luverne's campus.
Board members replied that they heard one side of the story two meetings ago, and the other side at their last meeting Oct. 24, so they haven't yet had a chance to discuss it as a board.

Criminal violations by students: Schaefer asked McClure what the process was for law enforcement to communicate underage tobacco and drinking violations to the district.

McClure said the process is supposed to be that the dispatcher alerts the school soon after the initial complaint report is filed.

"I'm here to formally request that you check to see if that's happening," Schaefer said. "We just got one from another county that was six months old - which is pretty convenient for Minnesota State High School League standing."