"Everyone gets along very well, but there doesn't seem to be any true leadership."
"The sergeant is always passing calls off on other deputies."
"The chain of command is clear, but everyone knows how to get around it."

The report lists recommendations on role definitions. "When deputies see their repertoire of options limited to... driving around/patrol and deter crime through the use of arrests, they are less inclined to problem solve with the community, build partnerships with law abiding citizens or address important quality of life issues. The sheriff needs to redefine the options available to deputies who are 'on patrol.' "

While deputies are patrolling and responding to calls, the report points out that Sheriff McClure often spends time on the road transporting prisoners to and from Prairie Justice Center, the Nobles County jail where Rock County prisoners are housed.

"We recommend that the sheriff redefine his role in the department to focus more heavily on strategic leadership issues rather than on line functions such as prisoner transport. This change is critical to the success of the transition to a community policing format," the Institute reported.

Follow the leader
Everyone interviewed for the report identified the two sergeants as those who control police operations. Concerns about their managerial abilities were raised by interview subjects:

"They really don't lead - they just do a job."
"I wish they would listen more."

The report says supervisory style and work-product appear to lack consistency and that setting goals and objectives would help.

The Policing Institute said the sheriff should examine roles and responsibilities of each supervisor. The report quotes one interviewee as saying:

"One sergeant responds to calls only when forced to."

If deputies see supervisors not held to a high standard, they can feel disgruntled:

"Why should I have to work when he doesn't?" one deputy said.

For community policing to be effective, the report suggests that sergeants be held accountable for their performance and be positive role models to other department members.

Communications
Typically, deputies patrol until they receive a "call for service." The assessment report found that the Rock County dispatch workers are well respected and essential to the department and public safety.

The Policing Institute said some dispatching changes would enhance community policing through the communication process.

Deputies rely upon and trust dispatchers, according to the report, but the Institute also recommends that a "clear chain of command for decision making must be agreed to, and implemented."

The chain of command will ensure that employees feel the overall call-for-service system is fair.

The Policing Institute also recommends not releasing the full dispatch report to the Rock County Star Herald. Cleaning up jargon within the report will improve the public's perception of what the department handles.

The report also urges the department to adopt a form of crime analysis to identify and address activities in specific areas. A person in the department could be designated to handle crime analysis, which would be shared with county and city elected people and the public.

The public should be aware of the importance of receiving timely and valuable information.

The Policing Institute also suggested the possibility of establishing a Crime Stoppers in order to increase community involvement. It would also keep the public informed that crimes are under investigation, to dispel the myth that "nothing happens" following a report to the department.

Credit where it's due
Because the Rock County Sheriff's Department is small, promotions are infrequent.

The Policing Institute suggests building and sustaining momentum with short-term goals that, when achieved, are celebrated.

When asked, "How are you rewarded?" department members answered:

"Don't know."

"We are not rewarded for good work."

"We should be rewarding our deputies, but we haven't in the past."

The report said no one could recall examples of sergeants reviewing reports, giving advice or directly assisting officers.

The Policing Institute recommends that the department implement policies that reward "those who act in a professional manner and support problem solving activities."

Instead of only counting the number of incidents handled, community policing advocates crediting absence of crime and recognizing neighborhood involvement.

The Policing Institute said that the sheriff's obligation, as the highest-ranking officer, is to lead the department through community policing.

"Within the department, employees need the permission and organizational structure to begin problem solving with the community. Getting out of the car, talking with residents, and engaging with community members in a non-enforcement manner will be key to gathering trust and support from the community. Geographically based problem solving assignments, with accountability factors, will increase the likelihood of success. For effectiveness, supervisors will also need to be held accountable for the responsibility they are given. It is their job to act as coaches, information resources and visionaries."

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Sheriff's Department just got through an in-depth agency-wide assessment - and is transitioning into a new style of law enforcement called community policing.

The Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute completed the report, which hasn't yet been addressed at regular Luverne City Council or Rock County Board meetings.

The finished report calls attention to areas of improvement needed in the leadership of the department, (sheriff and sergeants) and reveals a sense of frustration within deputy ranks.

The report is based on interviews June 10 through 12 with deputies, supervisors, non-sworn staff, county and city employees, elected officials and community members. The report is also based on document reviews and observation of the department.

The assessment is the first step in a $52,900 program to overhaul the department. Training to implement community policing started Aug. 7 and continues through May 2003.

Rock County and the city of Luverne, as partners in joint law, adopted community policing when elected officials and citizens complained about the department earlier this year.

A couple major unsolved crimes, strings of break-ins, follow-up with crime victims and a perceived drug problem were on the list of issues raised with the Rock County Sheriff's Department.

Community policing is a proactive, communicative approach to law enforcement. Different from the old-fashioned reactive methods, community policing calls for increased cooperation and preventative measures to protect the public.

Community policing also encourages officers to be geographic specific, following up on crimes within an area. The idea is to increase accountability and ownership in law enforcement.

The good news
The department is led by Sheriff Ron McClure. There are two sergeants, Mike Winkels and Kurt Kester.

The report highlights positive notes about the department in general.

It says the sheriff values service to the community and that most deputies have great feelings toward the public.

During the interview process for the report, assessors found that community people know and like Sheriff McClure. The interview subjects said:

"The sheriff is someone I would want around if I had a crisis."
"He truly cares about the community."
"He can communicate with individuals very well."

Some deputies responded favorably to working more closely with the public through a new community policing style:

"I want to be proactive and work with the community. We can solve crimes with the community's help."
"The community is our customers - we need to work together to get things done."

The dispatch center was well-reviewed by the Policing Institute as well. "Communications/ dispatch are respected for their ability to manage calls for service, their regard for the public and overall service ethic."

Another good sign is that no concerns or complaints about unnecessary use of force were brought against the department. The report says this is unusual and should be commended.

Deputy support
Some members of the department see the assessment as a punishment or would rather see money spent elsewhere.

They said during the assessment process:

"I like to distance myself from the community and don't care what they (community members) think. I will support community policing if it doesn't add any more to my work load."
"The county doesn't value us - they would rather put money into an old building rather than give us better equipment."
"I don't like associating with the community."

Other deputies support the idea of getting more feedback from citizens and improving community relations.

"I want to work in a proactive department - if I don't do my job the best way possible then I am not doing my job."
"Receiving input from the community is important- it also helps for 'informant development.' "

On a mission
The Policing Institute report points out that the department may lack a clear vision in leadership.

"When asked, members of the department articulated the value/duty to patrol when they are not responding to a call for service, but they could not clearly and specifically define their objectives when patrolling," the Institute said in its report.

It suggests the sheriff create a mission statement and ensure that all department members are fully aware of it.

In the organizational structure, the Policing Institute found areas of concern.

It reported job descriptions aren't clear enough, although sergeants are generally in charge of operations. "The lack of coherent structure was evident in both departmental and community comments," which follow:

By John Rittenhouse
Luverne's Grace Miller may be bruised, but she remains unbowed.

Never mind the fact that a foul ball hit the 81-year-old Miller in the face at a Minnesota Twins-Toronto Blue Jays' baseball game in Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis Sunday.

In the mind of Miller, it was a freak accident that just happened. And she insists the incident didn't taint the memorable time she had taking in her first Twins game at the Metrodome.

"It was very exciting for me," Miller said. "IÕm a really big sports fan. I've been a Twins' fan for a long time, and I enjoy watching the Vikings, too. My son (Terry Severson, of Rochester) was bringing me to my first Twins game in the Metrodome Sunday, and I was very excited."

Miller and her son were two of 30,554 fans to entered the Dome on Sunday to see if the Twins could sweep a three-game series with the Blue Jays.

They took their seats, four rows behind the home team's dugout located on the third-base line of the field. They were treated early to a 1-0 Twins' lead when Corey Koskie delivered an RBI double in the home half of the first inning.

The Twins were batting in the bottom of the fourth when fate pulled an ugly trick on Miller.

With Minnesota's All-Star catcher at the plate, left-handed hitting A.J. Pierzynski lined a foul ball that caught Miller flush on her left cheek.

"Pierzynski hit a foul ball, and it happened to come our way. Neither I or my son saw the ball coming, and it glanced into my left cheek," Miller recalled.

Metrodome medical personnel quickly reached the scene, and they carried Miller by stretcher to an emergency area in the Dome's concourse.

"They put an ice pack and a bandage on my face. They wanted me to go to an area hospital for x-rays, but I didn't see the need. I could tell there were no broken bones, and I told them I wanted to go back down and watch the game. I only missed one inning," she said.

Miller ended up being showered with gifts and applause when she bravely returned to her seat.

The security escort who walked with Miller down the steps to her seat stopped a vendor and told him to give Miller a Twins' visor. The vendor did.

As she worked her way down the steps toward her seat, she received a standing ovation offered by a large number of fans who recognized her return to the area.

Since she was unable to recover the ball that struck her on the cheek, Miller was given a ball autographed by Twins' designated hitter David Ortiz, and another one from a little girl in Miller's seating area who thought she deserved it.

Miller was touched by the gifts she received, and was tickled by the fact that the Twins went on to win the game by a 4-0 margin.

"I was very lucky and thankful things turned out the way they did," she said. "The ball could have hit me on the temple, or it could have broken my glasses and shattered into my eye. I was very fortunate, and they treated me very well.

"I won't let this incident stop me from going back to another game in the Dome. I really would like to go up there and see the Vikings, too."

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board approved changes to the school handbooks Monday at a regular meeting.

"This is an on-going process," said Superintendent Dave Deragisch. "Every year about this time, the handbooks need to be approved."

Deragisch suggested a change in the policy for deficiency list. Deragisch said the way he was interpreting the policy and the way it was enforced weren't the same.

He also asked the board to approve a two-week period at the end of each semester for students to turn in missing homework assignments.

"Ninety-five percent of the students who fail, it's because of homework," said Deragisch.

Points would be deducted for tardiness on work turned in during the two-week grace period.

"We want to make sure we still reward the person who has it done when it's supposed to be done," said board member Gary Esselink.

Board Chair Alan Harnack proposed adding a ban on look-alikes to the tobacco, alcohol and drug policies.

"I think if you don't have look-alikes, what's to stop a student from showing up with something under their lip," he said.

In other business
The board approved Curt Doorneweerd for head volleyball coach. Doorneweerd has a coaching license and also works as a plumber for DRG, Lester, Iowa. Greg Leenderts will be assistant coach and Nicole Fey will be junior high volleyball coach. Cheerleading adviser will be Alicia Roozenboom.

Deragisch submitted a request for health and safety funds to cover the cost of handicap accessible doors for the elementary school and for the south doors by the gym at the high school.

The board accepted bids from Hills-Beaver Creek Co-op Farm Service for LP at 58.5 cents per gallon and from Rock County Coop Oil for fuel oil to be billed at 10 cents per gallon under the daily price at the time of purchase.

Hills-Beaver Creek teacher Roger Jackson prepares the computer network at Hills-Beaver Creek High School Monday for the beginning of classes on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Jackson had the 50 new leased computers and four laptops up and running until lightning struck last weekend at the high school. Jackson is working to repair the damage that was done. With the new leases, all teachers will have computers in their rooms with internet and printer access. The district hopes in the future to offer student report cards online, according to Jackson.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Watch where you park in Magnolia and Warren Street, Luverne
Rock County is seal coating Warren Street in Luverne and all the streets in the town of Magnolia starting late afternoon today or early Friday morning.

The Rock County Highway Department requests no parking of vehicles on the streets to allow crews to do the seal coating.

Call the Highway Department at 283-5010 if there are any questions.

Blues festival gets its own Web site
If you would like to know more about the upcoming Blues on the Rocks blues festival in Luverne, you can now check out its new Web site.

From the home page, you can go to pages that will tell you about the artists, event and ticket information and learn about sponsors and volunteers.

The festival is scheduled from 2 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Sept. 7.

The Verne Drive-In will host the event.

The Web site address is www.bluesontherocks.net

Big Buddies reminder
Here's a reminder that the golf scrambler/fund-raiser for the Big Buddies program is Monday.

Registration begins at 4:30 p.m., with a shotgun start at 5:30 p.m.

If you would like to participate, but golf is not your game, you are welcome to come out for the social hour at 7 p.m. followed by a dinner at 8 p.m.

Dinner is $10, golf is $25 and you get both for $30.

All proceeds go the Big Buddies of Rock County Mentorship Program.

Stats from Minnesota
Who's getting locked up?
Minnesota incarcerated 346 people per 100,000 population in 2000. That's less than half the rate nationwide, which is 702 people per 100,000.

For males, ages 18 to 64 in Minnesota, 8.5 percent of blacks, 7.2 percent of American Indians and 0.6 percent of white, non Hispanics were in correctional institutions.

According to Dean Barkley, Director of Minnesota Planning, even though Minnesota has added a large number of prisoners over the last decade, we still imprison a smaller percentage of population than all but six other states.

Life expectancy
Life expectancy rose 1.3 years in Minnesota between 1990 and 2000.

Life expectancy is now 81.5 years for females and 76.5 years for males.

Although we still gained 1.3 years, it's a smaller gain than in previous decades.

We gained 1.6 years in the '80s and 3.2 years in the '70s.

And although women are still outliving men, the gap is getting smaller. Over the past three decades the gain has gone from 7.4 years to 5 years.

The full report, Minnesota Life Expectancy in 2000, can be found at www.mnplan.state.mn.us

New Minnesota laws go into effect August 1st
Beer Kegs: Off-sale liquor retailers will now be required to attach a registration tag to beer kegs. They are also required to record a buyer's driver's license number and keg registration number at the time of sale. The legislation was passed to help prevent underage drinking.

Funeral lights: A driver of a funeral home motorcycle or vehicle will now be allowed to use a flashing red light to warn drivers that a funeral procession is following.

Jail charges: County boards will now be able to charge inmates for room, board, clothing and other correctional services to help defray jail expenses.

Organ donation: A new law will require driver's education programs to provide information about the state's organ donation program.

Emergency vehicles: It will now become a petty misdemeanor for drivers who don't yield to emergency vehicles and a misdemeanor for those who intentionally impede an emergency vehicle.

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

Gerrit Vlastuin, 78, Luverne, died Thursday, Aug. 8, 2002, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Services were Monday, Aug. 12, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. The Rev. Andrew Beerman officiated. Burial was in St. Catherine Catholic Cemetery, Luverne.

Gerrit Vlastuin was born to John and Elizabeth (Grootheest) Vlastuin June 20, 1924, in Doon, Iowa. He attended Doon School and farmed until entering the U.S. Army in 1945. He served in the Pacific War Zone in the Philippines and Japan and received an honorable discharge in 1947.

He married Ramona Simons on April 10, 1950, in Larchwood, Iowa. They farmed in the Doon - Alvord, Iowa, area until 1965 when they moved to a farm by Beaver Creek. They retired in 1988 and moved to Luverne.

Mr. Vlastuin was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. He served on the Beaver Creek Elevator Board for several years and was a lifetime member of the VFW and American Legion. He enjoyed woodworking, crafts and playing cards.

Survivors include his wife Ramona Vlastuin, Luverne; one son, Leland (Lynette) Vlastuin, Harrisburg, S.D.; two daughters, Linda (Chuck) Wattier, Eagle River, Alaska, and Lorae (Gene) Lodes, Crooks, S.D.; six grandchildren, Ashley and Chris Lodes, Jordan, Jared, Melissa and Madysen Vlastuin; two brothers, Fred (Ann) Vlastuin, Rock Valley Iowa, and Elmer (Cornelia) Vlastuin Jenison, Mich.; three sisters, Henrietta DeBruin and Till (John) Blom, all of Rock Valley, Iowa, and Jeanette (John) Van Surksum, Doon; and one sister-in-law, Emma Vlastuin, Worthington.

Mr. Vlastuin was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Henry.

Dingmann Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Verna Rupp, 88, Hardwick, died Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2002, at Immanuel - St. Joseph's Hospital of Mankato.
Services were Saturday, Aug. 10, at Zion Lutheran Church in Hardwick. The Rev. Mark Mumme officiated. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Verna Rath was born to Rudolph and Anna (Scherff) Rath on April 14, 1914, on the family farm near Hardwick. She was raised and attended grade school in Hardwick. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1931. After high school she worked as chief operator at Jasper Telephone Co. in Hardwick.

She married Roy Rupp on Dec. 18, 1937, at the Lutheran parsonage in Luverne. They made their home on the Rupp family farm in Denver Township, north of Hardwick. After her family was grown, she went to work as a bookkeeper for J.C. Penney Co. in Luverne.

Mrs. Rupp was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church in Hardwick. She belonged to the LWML and through the years served in many of its leadership roles. She was church secretary, helped craft most of the banners in church and was a large part of the Lutheran Hour Ministries. She was involved in making quilts for World Relief, Share, and many other organizations. She loved to work in her flower and vegetable gardens and had one of the best-kept farmyards in the area. She also enjoyed crossword puzzles.

Survivors include her husband, Roy Rupp, Mankato; one son, Chuck (Gail) Rupp, Wilsonville, Ore.; one daughter, Pat (Gene) Glade, Mankato; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Gladys Kindt, Luverne; one brother-in-law, Herb Schmidt, Pipestone; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Rupp was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Verdeen and Dale, and one sister, Excelda.

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

Orville Aanenson, 82, Luverne, died Wednesday, Aug. 14 at the Luverne Community Hospital. Services will be Monday, Aug. 19 at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday, Aug.18 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home.