Christine Anne Taylor, 15, rural Adrian, died Wednesday, July 31, 2002, as a result of an automobile accident.

A memorial mass was Saturday, Aug 3, at St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian. The Rev. Martin Schaefer officiated. Burial of the cremains was at St. Adrian Cemetery in Adrian.

Christine Taylor was born to Tim and Debra (Wiechman) Taylor on Dec. 29, 1986, in Worthington. She attended Adrian School and had completed the eighth grade.

Christine was a member of St. Adrian Catholic Church. She loved animals and small children. She enjoyed writing notes and letters, school trips; and she knew how to give great hugs. She loved her special needs classmates and teachers. She had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed teasing.

Survivors include her parents, Tim and Deb Taylor, rural Adrian; two sisters, Alexandra Taylor and Katherine Taylor, rural Adrian; paternal grandparents, Jerry and Lucille Taylor, Luverne; maternal grandparents, Carl and Beatrice Wiechman, Pine City; 10 uncles; 11 aunts; 35 cousins; and godparents, Dennis and Kate Johnson, Hendricks; and Jon Wiechman, Pine City.

Christine was preceded in death by six uncles, one aunt, and four cousins.

Dingmann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Adrian, was in charge of arrangements.

Clifford A. Smedsrud Sr., 86, Windom, formerly of the Hills area, died Saturday, July 27, 2002, in Windom Area Hospital.

Services were Wednesday, July 31, at American Lutheran Church Chapel in Windom. The Rev. Gregory Hall officiated. Burial was in Lakeview Cemetery, Windom.

Clifford Smedsrud Sr. was born to Edward and Minnie (Hanson) Smedsrud on Sept. 8, 1915, in Hills. He grew up in the Hills area where he received his education. He also lived in the Rock Rapids, Iowa, area.

He married Hazel Richardson and was later divorced. He married Bonnie Simpson on Oct. 16, 1956 in Northwood, Iowa. Mrs. Smedsrud died in 1976.

He worked for many years in construction. He was a cook for a section gang on the railroad for several years while they lived in Iowa. He moved to Windom 30 years ago.

Mr. Smedsrud loved to fish. He also enjoyed playing pool and snooker and various types of card games.

Survivors include two sons, Clifford Jr. (Pat Smedsrud and Dennis (Sheila) Smedsrud, all of Windom; two daughters, Robin (Doug) Johnson, Waterloo, Iowa, and Linette Goodknight, Eldora, Iowa; 13 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two brothers, Gilbert (Pat) Smedsrud, Valley Springs, S.D., and Morris (Elaine) Smedsrud, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and one sister Edna (Jim) Campbell, Los Osos, Calif.
Mr. Smedsrud was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie, three sons, one brother and five sisters.

Paul Miersma, 90, Valley Springs, S.D., died Monday, July 29, 2002, in his home following a brief illness. He was the father of Janice Vink, Luverne.

Services were Friday, Aug. 2, at Valley Springs Reformed Church in Valley Springs.

Paul Miersma was born to Harry and Margie (Kroon) Miersma on July 5, 1912, at Perkins Corner near Hull, Iowa. He moved with his family to Valley Springs when he was in the third grade.

He married Jennie M. Franken on Feb. 10, 1938, on the farm at Valley Springs. After their marriage the couple farmed north of Valley Springs and then at Beaver Creek for two years. They returned to the Valley Springs area in 1948 where they farmed for nearly 40 years. They retired and moved to town in 1987. Mrs. Miersma preceded him in death on Feb. 11, 2001.

Mr. Miersma was a lifelong member of Valley Springs Reformed Church, serving as an elder and Sunday School teacher. He enjoyed reading and listening to gospel music.

Survivors include one son, Dennis (Judy) Miersma, Valley Springs; three daughters, Margie (Wayne) Baker, Chandler, Janice (Jim) Vink, Luverne, and Shirley (Wally) Kienast, Rapid City, S.D.; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

George Boom Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, was in charge of arrangements.

Luverne's Betty and Don Cashin display the volunteer uniforms they will be required to wear when they work at the Professional Golf Association Championship at Hazeltine National Country Club near Chaska next week. The Cashins will sell journals Monday through Wednesday and take in golf's fourth major tournament of the season as spectators Thursday through Sunday.

By John Rittenhouse
The month of August historically is tournament time at the Luverne Country Club, but two of the course's three major upcoming events will be played without a pair of regular participants.

Luverne's Don and Betty Cashin are two of the LCC's most active members. Betty graces the course at least two times a week, and it's not uncommon for Don to be on the links three or four times a week.

Don has played in the Seniors' Club Tournament faithfully for the past 21 years, while Betty has been a fixture in the Women's Club Tournament field during the same time span.

The 2002 version of the LCC's Senior and Women's Club Tournaments are slated for Aug. 11 and Aug 17 respectively, but a commitment made a year ago will keep the Cashins off the links for those outings.

Instead of playing golf, the Cashins will be working at and watching the 2002 Professional Golf Association Championship that will be played at Hazeltine National Country Club near Chaska.

"It hurts," said Don Cashin, when asked about missing the Seniors' event. "I've never missed one since in the 21 years I've been in town, and I feel bad about it. Betty always plays in the Women's tournament, and she'll miss it this year, too. At the same time, we both are very excited about going to the PGA Championship."

The Cashins aren't the only Minnesota residents excited about taking in professional golfÕs fourth and final major tournament of the 2002 season.

The event is billed as Minnesota's tournament, and a good share of the 3,500 volunteers who will work at PGA Championship reside inside the state's borders.

The tournament week begins with Professional-Amateur play Monday through Wednesday, Aug. 12-14. The actual four-day major runs Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 15-18.

This will be the second time the Cashins have worked as volunteers at a major tournament at the same site. When the 1991 U.S. Open was Hazeltine National, Don and Betty offered their services to work the event.

"We wrote a letter to the PGA saying we were avid golfers that would like to work at the event as volunteers. They accepted us, and we ended up selling script (books of tickets for the four-day event) right in the club house. That was the year (the late) Payne Stewart won an 18-hole playoff on the Monday after regulation play," Don said.

The Cashins wrote a similar letter to PGA officials stating their interest in volunteering their services for next weekÕs PGA Championship, and they received a letter of acceptance last summer.

Instead of selling script in the club house, the Cashins will working outdoors next week. Don's brother and his wife (Woodbury's John and Wilma Cashin) will join the Luverne couple in a tent near the No. 1 tee box, where they will be selling journals made up especially for the event to spectators.

"The journals basically indicate where the spectators can find the different vendors around the course. They also include some information on the tournament and the players," Don said.

The Cashins will be selling the journals, in the $150 uniforms they were required to purchase, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. In exchange for their labor, PGA officials have given them tickets to take in the four days of the PGA Championship as spectators.

The only thing that would make the PGA week more exciting for the Cashins will not happen.

Both Don and Betty were pulling for Tiger Woods to win the British Open two weeks ago, which would have given Woods the titles of all three major tournaments staged in 2002.

No golfer has won all of the PGAÕs four major tournaments in one season, and Woods would have had the opportunity to accomplish it before falling out of contention during the third round of the British Open.

"We sure were hoping he (Woods) would win," Don said. "Having him going for the whole thing (golf's version of the grand-slam) would have been a historical thing to see. He still might win the PGA Championship, but it won't be the four-in-a-row we were hoping for."

The fact that Woods didn't get it done in Scotland will not spoil the experience for the Cashins at Hazeltine National. A major golf tournament is a major golf tournament, and the Luverne couple are honored serving as volunteers at an event that will attract the multi-national spotlight just the same.

Blood Work: An Anemic Affair Of The Heart

Blood Work
Rated R * Now Playing
Kent's grade: C
Carol's grade: C+

THE PLOT:
While pursuing a serial killer, FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) suffers a debilitating heart attack. Forced to retire, the murderer he hunts fades away.

Two years later, McCaleb is recovering from a heart transplant when Graciella Rivers (Wanda De Jesus) approaches him for help in finding her sister's murderer.

Rebuffing her, he finds that Rivers' sister was the heart donor that saved his life. Pushed by guilt, he undertakes an investigation that will lead him to the brink of death and into the web of the serial
killer who has lain dormant for two years.

KENT'S TAKE:
"Blood Work" is a lot like a Willie Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper. It's sweet on the outside but as you reach the center it turns sour. This murder mystery is a first rate yarn with an intricate plot and a fascinating trail that leads you into a dangerous and creepy world of watchers and the watched. Using intuition and his acute sense for
detail, McCaleb "reads" a crime scene better than anyone.

However, "Blood Work" turns anemic in three areas. One vital weakness comes in its predictability. My wife and I picked up on the killer as soon as the character was introduced. That's not unusual for my intuitive wife, but it is for me.

Secondly, the foreshadowing of clues is entirely too obvious and stood out like a sore thumb.

Lastly, the formulaic ending was done better in several films made a decade ago. With bullets flying, quiet stalking in the dark and victims that show indifference to their captivity, this climax is disappointing and doesn't mesh with the smart story.

I've been an Eastwood fan since "High Plains Drifter" but the actor is not convincing as a hard-nosed FBI agent with a soft heart. It's the sympathetic aspect of his character that I have a problem with.

His heart condition is a nice touch and imbues his character with both the fuel to propel his quest and the time limit to increase the stakes. Yet his condition, an important factor throughout the movie, falls to the wayside as the finale approaches and is totally ignored in the end. The rest of the cast are bit-players to Eastwood's McCaleb. Their poor development calls too much attention to clues and twists.

"Blood Work" will do wonderfully as a rental and I recommend it as such. Yet, having a very good investigation ruined by less-than-stellar acting, and a poor ending, is a crime in itself.

CAROL'S TAKE:
Through the years, Clint Eastwood has helped define the quintessential American movie hero as a man unencumbered by emotional ties, a reluctant but able performer, the loner with deep convictions who can't play by anyone's rules but his own. Terry McCaleb is one such man.

He is also a star profiler, and media darling. His celebrity makes him the natural counterpart of a serial criminal known as the "code killer." Only McCaleb's weak heart can stop him from bringing the murderer to justice. And, it does just that.

"Blood Work" is a well-made movie, but it's sorely uneven. Background is not set up sufficiently to stabilize present-time action.

Exposition is wasted on material that doesn' move the action forward. The story bogs down as McCaleb tries to keep himself healthy as he untangles clues.

Movie audiences always struggle to figure out "who-done-it," but really, they don't want to know. Instead, they yearn for a dazzling twist, the "ah-ha" at the end that collects viewers together into a
grateful, fawning mob.

Unfortunately, "Blood Work" is not clever enough to conceal the truth - after a certain point, the events can only lead to one conclusion.

Red herrings manage to confuse the characters in the story, but not the tired viewer.

As always, Eastwood is a pleasure to watch when he's on the screen.

In addition, his interactions with Jeff Daniels (as his neighbor) and Tina Lifford (as a detective) are strong; both actors are believable in their parts. Other characters, and the actors who play them, are less effective - and bleed credibility out of the project.

Like thrillers from another era, "Blood Work" sets out to build slowly and purposefully toward a satisfying conclusion. Sadly, it's a little too slow, and its purpose is a little too muddled to succeed.

© 2002 Webster-Kirkwood Times, Inc.
Movie reviews by Carol Hemphill and Kent Tentschert
reelworld@timesnewspapers.com

By Sara Strong
Rose Dell Township has imposed a temporary hold on open lagoon and concrete manure storage facilities for livestock producers.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners discussed how that action might impact county operations at its Tuesday meeting.

Board members learned from County Attorney Don Klosterbuer that townships can choose to regulate zoning requirements within already established countywide ordinances. Both counties and townships have to follow state and federal regulations.

Townships that pass their own zoning ordinances follow them, but still abide by county ordinances that aren't specifically spelled out by the townships. Rose Dell Township is essentially tailoring county ordinances to fit its residents' needs.

If a township chooses to enact specific zoning rules, it must also make provisions to enforce them, including covering the related legal or other personnel costs.

Randy Muller, Rose Dell Township board member, said residents' concerns about setbacks from homes to confinement barns spurred this ordinance to be passed.

"PeopleÕs homes are their main investment, whether they live in town or out in the country," he said.

Muller said the township hopes to form a committee to review the setback requirements. That committee may further restrict confinement structures and address other quality of life concerns for township residents.

Rose Dell Township can't do the actual permitting for feedlots because it doesn't have that authority designated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. It can just place restrictions that must be met by new confinement facilities in order to get a permit from the county.

Land for development
A soccer field owned by Rock County will be sacrificed to help keep 130 W.R. Berkley Corp. employees in Luverne.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved of furthering negotiations for a lease with the city of Luverne to use the field as a parking lot.

The county land discussed is a 70 by 400 foot strip of land.

The lot will allow enough spaces to accommodate the upcoming expansion of Berkley Technology Services, which will house Tri-State employees when they vacate their building in January.

Berkley Corp. is the parent company of Continental Western Group (formerly Tri-State) and Berkley Technology Services (formerly Berkley Information Services).

The county comes into the picture because its land is needed for additional parking space. The County Board was first asked to donate the land to the city, but board members passed a resolution in favor of a $1,000 per year lease agreement instead.

The County Board preferred a lease in case the business left after 10 years and the county wanted the land for other purposes.

Commissioner Jane Wildung said, "That would be my only concern, is that we can expand on that campus in the future."

Keeping an extended property line may help for zoning permits if the Human Services building is ever expanded, for instance.

The board wanted the lease to be clearly stated as renewable for an indefinite amount of years so the city would feel secure in the countyÕs intention to help with the business deal.

The Luverne Economic Development Authority recommended the following to keep the companies in Luverne:

LEDA will add 8,500 square feet to the existing 20,000-square-foot BTS structure.

CWG employees will move into the BTS building. There are about 100 CWG employees, including 20 who will move back to the Luverne location from Sioux Falls.

Berkley Corp. will donate the vacated Tri-State building to the city of Luverne.

The agreement was signed contingent on the City Council's approval of $700,000 in financing at its Aug. 13 meeting.

Rural road signs
Rural residents will have their new addresses by next spring, County Engineer Mark Sehr reported to the County Board Tuesday.

The majority of road signs in the county are completed. The next steps are mapping individual home addresses, getting Post Office approval and bidding for those sign installations.

People have been concerned about what their new address will be, but no one at the county can answer those questions until it receives Post Office approval. Residents will be notified of their new addresses by mail.

Citizens have been concerned about what address to put on new check blank orders or Christmas card prints, but even after the addresses are set, the Post Office will honor both old and new addresses for a year.

Sehr and County Board members have gotten phone calls on the new signs, and most have been more positive than negative.

Sehr said the signs were set at a height 5 feet taller than the road surface for easy reading. The signs have been higher in other counties, but Sehr said the shorter posts save money in purchasing and are more stable.

The new road signs are out of the way of farmers and drivers, because they are installed in the ditch and are set at about the same distance from the road as regular traffic signs.

In other business Tuesday, the board:
Declared the county a disaster area because of the expected crop losses from lack of rainfall. This declaration is a necessary step in applications for state and federal disaster funding, if needed.

Supported the Pool Commission's recommendation that the city of Luverne and Rock County reopen advertising for bids to sell, lease or manage the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center.

As joint owners of the facility, the city and county have to both approve of advertising the request for proposals in order for it to continue.

Presented Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt with a plaque from the Southwest Minnesota Opportunity Council for 12 years of serving on that board.

Ahrendt Brothers apply for feedlot expansion permit
PUBLIC NOTICE
In Accordance with amended
Minnesota State Statutes 116.07, Subdivision 7a

Minnesota Statutes require that "a person who applies to the pollution control agency or the county board for a permit to construct or expand a feedlot with the capacity of 500 animal units or more shall, not more than ten business days after the application is submitted, provide notice to each resident and owner of real property within 5000 feet of the perimeter of the proposed feedlot. The notice may be delivered by first class mail, in person or by the publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the affected area and must include information on the type of livestock and the proposed capacity of the feedlot. Notification under this subdivision is satisfied under an equal or greater notification requirement of a county conditional use permit"

Date: 07/26/02

I Ahrendt Brothers do hereby give notice that I have applied for an animal feedlot permit for constructing an expansion to my existing feedlot. The construction will consist of a 100' X 280' total confinement barn, to house 600 head of beef cattle equivalent to 600 animal units. If a pit is included in this permit application it will be designed by a professional engineer and will be inspected during construction. This will be an expansion to an existing feedlot containing 320 head of slaughter beef cattle equivalent to 900 total animal units.

The feedlot is located in the NW 1/4 of section 14 in Mound Township of Rock County.

Nearest State, County or Township road: State Highway 75

Construction Location: From the intersection of State Highway 75 and County Road 20, 1 mile North and 1/4 mile East.
(8-8)

By Lori Ehde
More than 700 people attended the funeral of Nicholas Jay Mann, who died in a welding accident at Cor-Tech Manufacturing last week.

Nick, 26, was killed instantly Wednesday, July 31, when a tire he was working on at Cor-Tech Manufacturing, Luverne, exploded at about 2 p.m.

The force of the explosion sent the rim careening through the roof of the shop, delivering a fatal blow to Nick's head on the way.

According to co-worker Jamie Stratton, Cor-Tech Manufacturing has been closed all week and will re-open for business Monday.

He said even the Cor-Tech employees don't know exactly what went wrong in the accident that also injured customer John Teune, Steen.

Teune, who was treated and released at Luverne Community Hospital, had brought a cracked rim to Cor-Tech with the tire already taken off. After it was welded, a local co-op put the tire back on.

Teune later brought the tire back to Cor-Tech after finding it was still leaking air, so Nick worked on the wheel with the tire inflated on the rim.

Stratton said it was not an older split rim that has become known for causing "widow maker" accidents.

It has been confirmed there were no additives in the tire that may have caused the explosion. The tire was larger than a car tire, but it wasn't a tractor tire.

'It wasn't
anybody's fault'
Nick's father, Rich Mann, has spoken frequently with shop owner Corey Stratton since the accident and they've been unable to determine what went wrong.

"It was important to him, too, to know what happened," Rich said Tuesday.

"My biggest concern is that nobody puts any blame on anybody else. It wasn't anybody's fault. It was an accident. It was fate - or God's plan - however you want to look at it."

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident.

Cor-Tech opened nearly 10 years ago on Gabrielson Drive for the purpose of repairing farm equipment and custom manufacturing parts for people and businesses.

The business employed nine people, counting Nick, and has a reputation for manufacturing unique equipment for specialized industries.

For example, Cor-Tech designs and manufactures the City of Luverne's trailers that are used to collect residential recyclables.

Love for old vehicles
The funeral Sunday afternoon reflected Nick's talent for welding, engine repair and his love for old vehicles.

For example, Nick had planned to restore a 1946 Hudson pickup given to him by his uncle, Rod Twito. So the casket was transported to Maplewood Cemetery in the bed of that pickup, with Rich and Nick's wife, Angie, riding along.

Pallbearers rode to the funeral in a Chevy pickup, "Ol' Bessie," which Nick and his good friend, Rob Wenzel, enjoyed many good times with.

In a tribute to her grandson at the funeral, Betty Mann said, "He took apart anything he could find and put it back together again just to see if he could." (Her tribute is reprinted in this edition of the Star Herald.)

Nick had played a role in the racing career of his brother, Anthony Mann, serving occasionally as a pit crew member.

That was another theme at the funeral, with friends and family members donning Anthony Mann racing shirts to the services.

Anthony placed fourth in Friday night's race at Rapid Speedway, Rock Rapids, passing a car on the last lap. Rich said, "It was a move that Nick would have said, ÔNice job, Helmsley.'"

On the race car door, over the No. 20, were the words, "In memory of my No. 1 fan, Nick."

The "i" in Nick's name on the rear was dotted with a halo, and the letters were flanked by angel wings.

Rich said supporters at the event raised a large amount of money in memorials for Nick.

Angie said local support has been overwhelming.

"You can't say thank you enough for all the support weÕve been shown the past few days," she said Monday.

She said she plans to continue wearing her ribbon - one of 400 that a group of friends assembled and distributed in Nick's memory.

The ribbons were green, purple, orange and black to signify Nick's enthusiasm for Arctic Cat snowmobiles.

Nick, son of Rich and JoLeah Mann, grew up in Luverne and graduated from Luverne High School in 1994.

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Board Tuesday passed a resolution supporting the theory of a waste-to-energy trash burning facility in Lamberton, which is in Redwood County.

The project is essentially an economic development opportunity for Redwood County and its immediate neighbors, but Redwood County Commissioner Brian Kletscher said it will impact on the entire region.

The facility would burn municipal solid waste rather than burying it in the landfill. It eliminates ground contamination and the energy from burning can be captured to create energy.

The project is just in the beginning stages and organizers are starting to look for funding and are commissioning a feasibility study. If all goes as planned, it could take five years before a facility is operating.

Kletscher said he felt regional support could make a difference in grants or state funding to get the $22 million to $26 million facility underway.

The impact on Rock County could come in the form of slightly increased tipping fees. Project planners estimate that fees could exceed the $45 per ton that the county pays to deposit landfill material at the Lyon County landfill.

Lyon County supports this waste to power project because the state's furthering restrictions on landfills make them difficult to permit.

Rock County Board Chair Jane Wildung said public support for the project will come down to immediate economic impact on the county budget.

She said constituents will like the concept of environmentalism, but if the countyÕs fees see marked increases, people will object.

Presenters to the county board sited economic advantages to reducing landfill usage. Liability for environmental problems is a costly venture, where the burning facilities are shown to be an environmental advantage.

Southwest and south central Minnesota generate 750 tons of municipal solid waste, or garbage, a day. That doesnÕt count individual dumps owned by farmers or demolition material buried in landfills.

The immediate southwest region produces 250 tons a day. The proposed burning facility would burn up to 200 tons a day so the need for landfills would still exist, but on a limited basis.

Farmers may see state burning restrictions and contribute more to the garbage total in the future and with increased individual garbage production, Kletscher said the need for the facility is conservative.

Environmental impacts are the primary purpose for building these burning facilities, of which the state of Minnesota has 13. The energy created is considered renewable and reduces the need for other fossil fuels.

The state is now studying using ash leftover from the garbage burns as a roadway material.

It reduces methane gas release from decomposing waste. Methane gas has been associated with global warming. These environmental concerns, combined with the almost elimination of ground contamination prompted the Rock County Board to support the concept.

The board's support of the facility was not a financial commitment. Board members indicated that financial requests would be difficult for them to support.