By John Rittenhouse
There's more than one way to beat an opponent, and the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots proved that during a 20-8 football win over Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in Brewster Friday.

Senior tailback Chris Reid ran wild through opposing defenses while H-BC-E recorded five straight wins to start the season, but the Patriots ran into a Raider squad that did an admirable job of keeping Reid in check by watching his every move defensively.

The attention SV-RL-B gave Reid paid off as it limited the standout runner to 54 yards in 17 carries, but the strategy ultimately backfired as H-BC-E found some other ways to get the ball in the end zone during a 12-point victory.

A dose of fullback Jesse Leuthold and a potent passing attack led by Curt Schilling and Tyson Metzger allowed H-BC-E to overcome SV-RL-BÕs defensive mindset.

Leuthold ran the ball for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and Schilling fired eight completions to Metzger for 54 yards and one touchdown to give the Patriots their sixth consecutive win.

"They really worked hard on stopping Chris, and they did a pretty good job," admitted Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We didn't get anything when we tried to run him to the outside. We were able to come back with some quick fullback blasts up the middle, and we had a good night passing. Jesse did a really good job. He was getting positive yardage all night. Curt was 11 of 16 passing, and that helped us stretch out their defense quite a bit."

Leuthold made an instant impact offensively.

After the Patriot defense forced SV-RL-B to punt early in the game, Leuthold broke loose on a 58-yard touchdown run during H-BC-E's first offensive play from scrimmage. A run for a two-point conversion failed, but H-BC-E had a 6-0 lead it would never relinquish.

Leuthold, who matched Reid with 17 carries in the contest, helped the Patriots expand their lead to 14-0 before the first half was complete. He found the end zone for the second time at the end of a one-yard plunge midway through the second quarter. A successful two-point conversion pass from Schilling to Brant Deutsch followed the touchdown.

H-BC-E seemed to be in control of the game to start the second half, but that changed during the third.

SV-RL-B's second possession of the period turned into a long drive that ended with Cory Place scoring on a one-yard run. When Anthony Johnson carried in the two-point conversion, the Raiders were six points away (14-8) from tying the game.

The Patriots, however, never let the Raiders find pay dirt again before sealing the game's outcome with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

H-BC-E's second possession of the final period was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass from Schilling to Metzger. The Patriots' ensuing extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving H-BC-E with a 20-8 advantage.

The Patriots did drive the ball deep into SV-RL-B territory after Deutsch recovered a fumble, but they ran the remaining time off the clock instead of trying to score a late touchdown when they had the ball inside the SV-RL-B 10-yard line in the game's final minute.

Ellingson said the Patriots also played well defensively.

"Our defense did a good job. They had runs of 17 and 28 yards. After those two runs, they didn't have any other big ones," he said.

The Patriots are bracing for what is expected to be their biggest test of the regular season when they play Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Ellsworth tomorrow.

W-WG has won five straight Southwest Ridge Conference games after starting the season with a non-conference loss to LeRoy-Ostrander, the stateÕs No. 1-ranked nine-man team.

"They are a very good team," Ellingson said of the Chargers. "They are very quick on the line, they have a quarterback who runs the bootleg a lot, and they have a good receiver whom they look to get the ball to a lot.

"The keys for us will be to contain their quarterback and take away their No. 1 receiver. To contend with their quickness, our linemen will need to maintain their blocks."

The game will serve as Ellsworth's homecoming tilt.

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 181 rushing yards, 94 passing yards, 275 total yards, 10 first downs, six penalties for 40 yards, two turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 114 passing yards, 114 rushing yards, 228 total yards, seven first downs, eight penalties for 63 yards, one turnover.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Leuthold 17-135, Reid 17-54, Zach Wysong 1-1, Schilling 1-minus 9.
Passing: Schilling 11-16 for 94 yards.
Receiving: Metzger 8-54, Deutsch 1-3, Reid 2-37.
Defense: Schilling 21 tackles, Leuthold 11 tackles, Brian Gacke eight tackles, Deutsch two sacks and one fumble recovery.

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton's Erica Fransen (middle) and Mya Mann (right) placed 20th and 26th respectively during the varsity race at the Cardinal Autumn Invitational in Adrian Thursday.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton cross country runners honed their skills for some important upcoming meets at the Adrian Invitational Tuesday.

With the Red Rock Conference meet set for Tuesday in Slayton, and the Section 3A meet coming up Oct. 24, H-BC-E-E approached the meet in Adrian with modest goals.

Instead of trying to win team titles, Patriot coach Tom Goehle simply wanted his runners to get in a good workout.

"This was a good tune-up meet for us. We were trying some different things, and running some of our kids in different races. I looked at it like we were trying to mend a few fences while getting ready for the conference and section meets," he said.

With that in mind, H-BC-E-E didn't enter girls in the varsity race in Adrian.

The Patriots also fielded an incomplete boys' varsity team, but Tyler Bush and Zach Hadler did make strong appearances by placing first and seventh with respective 17:04 and 17:34 times.

Todd Alberty also ran in the varsity race, finishing 20th in 18:36.

H-BC-E-E did run a complete boys' junior varsity team, and the Patriots placed second (30-31) to Sioux Falls Washington in final standings.

Kale Wiertzema (first in 14:28), Greg Van Batavia (third in 14:43), Lee Jackson (fifth in 15:06), Derek Haak (ninth in 15:21), Devin DeBoer (20th in 16:13), Kerry Fink (24th in 16:24), Michael Bos (34th in 16:59), John Sandbulte (36th in 17:11) and Justin Hinks (50th in 21:34) competed in the junior varsity run for the Patriots.

Erika Fransen and Mya Mann finished fifth and seventh with times of 18:02 and 18:29 in the girls' junior varsity race.

Cody Rozeboom, Adam Finke and Grant Hoogendoorn placed third, fifth and 14th with respective 6:16, 6:20 and 6:32 times in the boysÕ junior high race.

Rayne Sandoval finished 31st in 7:10 in the girls' junior high run.

By Jolene Farley
At a Tuesday meeting, Hills City Council members discussed the possibility of starting a neighborhood watch in Hills.

Mayor Jim Jellema received a phone call from Beaver Creek Council member Carolyn DeBoer earlier in the week asking if the Hills City Council was interested in joining Beaver Creek and the Rock County SheriffÕs Office in starting the program.

"She wanted to know if we wanted to be included," Jellema said.

Jellema suggested that the Steen City Council should also be contacted about the program, for which Sheriff Ron McClure will present the training sessions.

The Hills City Council decided it would publish an ad informing Hills residents of the meeting date to see how much interest is generated.

"I think it's a good thing, but the other side is, what do we pay the Rock County Sheriff for É" said Jellema.

He added that most residents already try to keep an eye on their neighbors.

In other business:
Denny Law, a representative of the Hills Telephone Company and Sioux Valley Telephone Company, asked the council to transfer the cable television franchise from Sioux Valley Telephone Company to Hills Telephone Company.The same corporation owns both companies.

"We're undergoing some corporate restructuring, so it makes more sense for Hills Telephone Company to own the franchise," said Law.

The council voted unanimously to transfer the franchise.

The Hills Thunder is considering running open gym at Hills-Beaver Creek High School on Sundays from December through March.

By Jolene Farley
Four members of the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board and representatives from Group II Architects, Sioux Falls, S.D., met briefly Thursday to discuss the high school locker room project.

Group II brought building plans from other school district's remodeling or new construction projects to show the board.

The firm is asking for a $3,500 fee to start the process for the H-BC district, according to Superintendent Dave Deragisch.

The entire board will vote on whether to retain the firm at the Monday, Oct. 14, School Board meeting.

"My guess is that it will be approved," Deragisch said.

If the board decides to move ahead, the locker room construction could be completed by the start of the school year next fall, according to Deragisch.

I hope people aren't sick of reading about drugs and law enforcement, because they haven't seen the last of the subjects in our paper. That's because the issue is so raw with the community and it's our job to reflect what people are talking about.

I'd venture to say that drugs and law enforcement have made it to Rock County dining room discussions this year as frequently as "What's for supper?"

The Star Herald typically covers law enforcement from the standpoint of arrests or crimes committed. We also started covering law enforcement differently with the more recent concept of community policing.

We hit a nerve within the Sheriff's Department when we followed up on the continuing coverage of that issue with a story about the departmentÕs review by community policing trainers.

The purpose of the report was to point out what needed improvement, and the article (which I wrote) reflected the contents of that report. Both the report and my story noted positive things about the department as well.

A few members of the department expressed some bitterness about the Star Herald sharing that information with the public, but we don't have regrets.

My restating this old news is just to remind everyone of the importance of openness between law enforcement and citizens. If we hadn't shared findings in that first report (published Aug. 15) the air wouldn't have been cleared to the extent it is now.

Community policing is a philosophy that holds openness and approachability as core values. And how could people feel open with a department that isnÕt willing to admit to its flaws?

It's admirable for anyone to try to do better at their jobs. It's professional to face weaknesses.... Just look at the last two issues of the Star Herald that included corrections for errors we apologized for.

The timing for implementing community policing couldn't have been more perfect because various residents, the school, the city of Luverne and parents are ready to embrace a change in how business is done in Rock County. The department members are clearly ready to accept changes, with them offering to meet with neighborhoods and parents.

I hope that from now on when people think of our Sheriff's Department and its role in local drug control, they don't only consider the things that need fixing. I hope they think of ways to help and support the people who are here to protect us.

By Jolene Farley
Dan Heidt, surrounded by many autographed photos of celebrities he protected in his 30 years as a bodyguard, spoke to students at Hills-Beaver Creek High School on Tuesday.

Heidt has traveled around the country delivering workshops with strong messages on right choices, drug abuse and defusing potentially violent situations.

In Hills, Heidt told students the reason he achieved such success as a bodyguard wasn't because of his strength, it was because of his ability to calm people down.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time I can get people to work with me, I can calm them down."

He stressed to students that even though he has black belts in 10 styles of Karate and is one of the top bodyguards in the United States he has been hurt.

"I want you to know that life is not like Walker Texas Ranger," he said, enforcing the fact that violence doesn't always mirror what we see on television or in the movies.

As a professional bodyguard, he always uses just enough force to protect his clients.

Heidt has first-hand knowledge of the devastation that occurs as a result of violence. He worked with staff and students at some of the recent school shootings in our country.

All the tragedies share a common grain: a lack of respect.

The shooters were bullied or teased in some way, according to Heidt.

"It's seldom ever the bully that commits the shootings," he said.

When kids get to the point that everybody is beating them badly, they give up hope.

"You can choose to be violent, or you can choose to tease someone when it isnÕt funny anymore," he said. "You have choices."

He added that drugs contributed to many of the tragedies. Someone who is battling depression can become more depressed if they take drugs, according to Heidt.

Heidt discussed some of his celebrity clients who provide good role models for youth including basketball players David Robinson and Michael Jordan and actor Harrison Ford.

Heidt used comedian Chris Farley, who died of a drug overdose, as an example of someone who made bad choices. Heidt, Farley's bodyguard on more than one occasion, liked him.

"He is a perfect example of somebody who made the wrong choices," he said. "He was making millions, but had a horrible drug problem and couldn't quit."

He said many celebrities have made wrong choices about drugs. "All the time I was protecting them, they were slowly killing themselves," he said.

Heidt, who grew up in Iowa, attributes his desire to share his message to his mother and sister, both teachers.

He also thinks of his own daughter. "The last thing I ever wanted was for her to get caught up in a violent situation," he said.

Heidt grew up in a home with domestic violence and wants kids to know that they choose their path in life.

"I really believe that young people want good information," he said.

"If I can win over a few of you I will be happy."

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans paid for the workshop at Hills.

The Rock County Courthouse is hosting a display in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The display features names of the 51 deaths in Minnesota due to domestic violence in 2001. Pictured are Southwest Crisis Center Director Raevette Loonan (left) and volunteer Mary Lou Mulligan staking signs for the display. The display will be in place until Friday, when it will go on to other counties in the southwest region.

Photo by Sara Strong

Luverne fire fighter Don Deutsch shows Luverne preschool students his equipment Tuesday afternoon in the Luverne Fire Hall during a week of Fire Prevention Week education activities.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Chamber to sponsor candidate forum
The Luverne Chamber of Commerce will again sponsor a candidate's forum.

The forum will include candidates for state, county and Luverne city offices.

The forum will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, in the City Council Chamber.

If you are unable to attend, the forum will be broadcast on both McLeod and Mediacom cable services.

The state Senate and House candidates will start the process with candidates for county and city to follow.

Invited candidates include Jim Vickerman (DFL) and Alex Frick (I-R) for the state Senate race, Ted Winter (DFL) and Doug Magnus (IR) for the state House, Ron McClure and Mike Winkels for county sheriff, Gloria Rolfs and Lisa DeBoer for county auditor/treasurer and Glen Gust and Keith Erickson for the mayor's position.

Bob Kaczrowski and Pat Baustian have also been invited to participate, although they are running for separate City Council seats and are both unopposed.

The final portion of the program will be the eight candidates for the four School Board positions that are up this year.

School Board candidates include: Bill Stegemann, Becky Walgrave, Dan Kopp, Cary Radisewitz, Bruce Baartman, Greg Aubert, Colleen Nath and Tim Burns.

Volunteers needed for Bookin' Buddies program
Big Buddies Coordinator Julie Wynia is again trying to put together a Bookin' Buddies program at Luverne Elementary School.

The program will need 11 full-time readers to make sure each child scheduled for the program during the first semester will have a reading buddy.

The program started yesterday, Oct. 9, and runs each Wednesday from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

The program meets in the Elementary School library each week.

If you do not feel you can commit to a weekly rotation, bi-weekly rotations as well as substitute readers are also needed.

You also have the option of reading for one semester or for the whole year, and people of all ages are encouraged to participate.

For more information contact Julie Wynia at 283-8685. ext. 4.

Debate dates set for state candidates
Pioneer Public TV has set times and dates for statewide candidate debates.

For District 22, the day will be Sunday, Nov. 3.

The first debate will be between the incumbent DFL Senatorial candidate Jim Vickerman and his Republican challenger, Alex Frick.

The debate will last for one hour, beginning at 1 p.m.

That debate will be followed at 2 p.m. with a one-hour debate between Minnesota House of Representatives DFL incumbent Ted Winter and his Republican challenger, Doug Magnus.

The League of Women Voters will assist Pioneer Public Television with the legislative debates.

You can participate in the debates by calling in or e-mailing your questions. The call-in phone number is 800-726-3178 or e-mail at debates@pioneer.org.

Two gubernatorial debates will also be aired on Pioneer Public TV. The first will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

The second will be a joint appearance on Almanac, at its usual time, 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.

Minnegasco changes name again
Our local natural gas distributor has changed its name again.

Minnegasco became Reliant Energy Minnegasco a few years ago when the company was purchased by Texas-based Reliant Energy.

The company is now undergoing a transformation.

Reliant Energy has now been split into two separate businesses.

The Reliant name will be used by the power generation and trading businesses based in Houston.

According to the company, Minnegasco is one of three gas distribution companies that will be part of CenterPoint Energy and will be called CenterPoint Minnegasco

CenterPoint's business focus will be energy delivery.

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