By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
The first annual Relay for Life amazed even the organizers.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the total amount raised for the American Cancer Society was $49,010.20. By comparison, Pipestone earned $29,000 for its first Relay.

"Overall, we were really pleased," Vicki Baartman and Janet Marshall, co-chairs of the event, said in a written statement. "Heartfelt thanks go out to so many people from Luverne and the surrounding communities - businesses, organizations and individuals without whom this event would never have come to pass."

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
The first major storm of the season didn't leave Rock County without making its mark.

Farmers in Rock County were hit hard by the hail storm Tuesday, June 12.

"I would say that one-third of the county was affected," said Fraser Norton, Rock County Extension Educator. "Mostly the damage was south of Luverne."

About 10 percent of the county has been severely damaged. According to Norton, more than half of a field must be destroyed before a crop is deemed "severely damaged."

The damage was mainly to the soybeans, because the corn plants had not reached the height above ground where they could be destroyed by hail.

Norton said corn should not be replanted this late in the year, but the beans can. He cautioned that replanting beans this late in the season will result in only about 60 percent of yield potential, but leaving the damaged field could still yield at least 75 percent of its initial potential in many cases.

This factor, and the fact that many families have crop insurance, softens the blow of the damage.

Norton also said that the hail will have less of an impact this year than it would have had last year. "The crop this year is not as good as it was last year," he said. "Germination was slow this year, so the crops that were injured aren't the best."

The storm impacted more than just crops. Road crews also were busy on Tuesday night as Interstate 90 had to be closed at about 9 p.m. near the exit to Highway 23 because of flooding. It was reopened about an hour later.

Visitors to Rock County also felt the effects of the storm. A group of students from Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Sioux Falls, were traveling home from a day at Valleyfair, when they were forced to take shelter because of the storm. For about an hour, the group huddled in the social hall of Grace Lutheran Church until it was safe to travel home.

Sixty-six campsites at Blue Mounds State Park were occupied on Tuesday night. Rick White, park manager, talked to the campers about safe areas and offered to lead them to those areas in the event of a tornado. The safest place for campers is a ditch.

Hair Salon was there to braid hair and Shear Reflections also cut hair before the walk began.

One of the Berkley Information Services teams, Rubber Souls, raised money by selling glow necklaces to the participants. "I got the idea from the golf course, when they sold them at the glow ball," Reva Sehr, BIS employee, said.

There was a downpour of rain around 6:30 p.m., but the event kept rolling along. A rainbow spanned the sky at the end of the storm. In response to the rain, Baartman said that they didn't have as many people from the community come to check it out.

The rain stopped in time for the Survivor Walk. Each survivor carried a balloon and walked to the song "Circle of Life." The participants lined the track and gave the walkers a standing ovation as they marched by. At the end of the lap, the survivors let go of their balloons and watched them drift into the sky. For many, this was the most emotional event of the evening.

The Relay crowd saw 1,705 luminarias lit up at dusk and stay lit until dawn.

Entertainment was provided by various volunteers from the community. It ranged from a clarinet solo to a family singing group.

Baartman said they are definitely planning to do the relay next year. "This community should be very proud of the good that has been accomplished on behalf of the American Cancer Society - we salute you!"

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
"I saw their faces. [The Japanese] were flying at the tree-top level," said Gene Erlandson, Pearl Harbor survivor.

The popular movie "Pearl Harbor" portrays the attack on film, but Erlandson, Rushmore, was actually there on the "day that will live in infamy."

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a naval base located on Oahu Island in Hawaii. More than 2,300 people lost their lives that day, and it pushed the United States to enter World War II.

By Sara Quam
A presidential decision on California's fuel could affect Rock County's farmers and Luverne's ethanol plant.

The Bush administration Tuesday announced that it will not exempt California from a rule requiring cleaner-burning gasoline additives.

Ethanol is one of those additives, and ethanol-producing Agri-Energy in Luverne is excited about the possibilities.

Plant manager Rick Serie said, "We market mostly to Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, and thatÕs going to change now."

The state of California is estimated to need 580 million gallons of ethanol a year to make up for other banned additives, such as MTBE.

Rock County is definitely a part of the Corn Belt, producing 20 million bushels of corn last year, compared with 5.6 million of soybeans.

"I think it's huge for farmers and clean air," Serie said.

University of Minnesota Extension Educator Fraser Norton said of the ruling, "It's a wise decision and makes good sense. Ethanol is beneficial to us all. We overproduce corn in this country, and we don't produce enough oil."

Norton said it's not likely that farmers will switch all of their planting to corn because of the benefits of crop rotation. However, the possibility of corn prices increasing by 25 cents per bushel because of demand certainly won't cause farmers to reduce their corn production.

Agri-Energy is producing close to capacity, almost 22 million gallons of ethanol a year. With the estimated large increase in ethanol's demand, Serie said prices will likely improve for this plant while other plants are trying to get up and running.

Why the ruling
The Bush administration's decision comes after months of lobbying on both sides from petroleum companies and ethanol producers.

California asked to be exempt from the federal requirements because the state says refiners already have ways to make gasoline blends cheaper and cleaner.

MTBE, which California banned because it tainted water, was a key to the president's decision. The additive helps fuel burn more cleanly but pollutes water and canÕt be easily cleaned up.

The Clinton administration called for phasing out MTBE over the next three years, and 11 states have banned the additive.

The new federal requirement for oxygenate additives means that gasoline will be formulated with chemical oxygen to reduce carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions.

Some say ethanol isn't the magic wand to solving air pollution because it can lead to higher emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to Congressional Research Service reports. Nitrogen oxides are precursors to ozone formation.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said that even though California's air pollution requirements are the toughest in the country, it still needs the oxygenate additives.

This tree on Linden Street in the Edwards addition, Luverne, was just part of the damage caused by Tuesday night's thunderstorm. County Road 4 is closed near Valley Springs, and County Road 3 south of Kanaranzi is closed because of flooding. Rock County received 3 inches of rain from the storm system. There were a few minor power outages in the area during the storm.

Photo by Roger Tollefson

At some point in our lives, we all are customers and at some point in our lives we all are on the receiving end of poor customer service.

The definition of poor customer service is when customers are trying to spend some of their hard-earned money and are met with rudeness or a marked lack of appreciation.

Personally, when I am faced with bad service I am not angry, I am impatient. I know what lack of good customer service can do to a business. Why canÕt business owners, managers and employees recognize this?

Poor customer service is not unique to any type of business. I had a professional tell me he currently has plenty of business so he doesnÕt feel the need to go the extra mile to provide good customer service to someone who has anything out of the ordinary happening.

My reply to that is, do you really know how many times a customer may need your services in the future but won't hire you because of a marked lack of concern the one time when you should have gone the extra mile?

All businesses have cycles, faster and slower. When your business is in the midst of a slow cycle will you have enough customers?

Here are my tips on good customer service directed toward anyone who will listen.

Do not assume someone can or cannot afford something because of the car they drive, what they wear or how they look. Some well-off people cannot be identified by the way they look, so don't ignore a customer because they do not fit into your typical customer mold.

Do not assume you know who is making the buying decision. I actually had a salesman tell me he wouldn't come to my home for a sales pitch unless my husband was present.

When I told him my husband trusted my judgment, he argued that it was their policy not to sell any products before approval from the husband. Needless to say, our big-ticket item was purchased elsewhere, without my husband present.

Always acknowledge customers when they come in the door, even if you are busy. A simple "I will be with you in a minute" goes a long way toward making customers feel valued and appreciated.

Sometimes managers or supervisors are unaware of the type of service given by underlings. But other times the type of service provided trickles down from the top.

Bosses who reprimand or belittle their employees in the presence of customers set a bad example of how people should be treated. A more private moment could be found for things like that.

How can you expect employees to treat your customers with respect if the employees themselves are not treated in that manner?

It is the charitable thing to do to qualify the rude behavior of others by telling yourself that people who are rude generally have something going on in their life that causes them to be so unpleasant.

Sometimes that is the case; sometime it isn't. Sometimes it seems as though there are people in the world who are just crabby, period.

To all you crabby people I say, go ahead and be unhappy - just don't subject me to your crabbiness. I do not want to work that hard to spend my money.

P.S. Smile, it makes life go faster!

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board members began the process of hiring a new superintendent at their Monday night board meeting.

Superintendent Tom Knoll notified each board member by letter prior to the meeting of his intention to resign. Knoll accepted a position in the Hayfield school district, located about 25 miles southwest of Rochester.

Knoll advised the board to not hurry in their search for his replacement. "You don't want to pressure yourself in that selection," he said.

Knoll suggested a deadline of Jan. 1, 2002, would give the board a reasonable amount of time to select a candidate.

The timeline could, however, limit applicants because some would not leave their current districts in the middle of a school year.

Knoll also encouraged board members to attend an in-service on superintendent hiring because only two of the current members have been involved in the hiring process before.

The board discussed the possibility of combining the superintendent, elementary and high school principal positions but questioned if such a combination would be too much responsibility for one person.

"You don't want to make a slate so long everyone will run from it," said board member Ann Boeve.
Dean of Students Steve Wiertzema could handle the "day to day stuff" in the high school, according to Knoll.

Board member Gary Esselink made a motion to search for a superintendent with elementary licensing and a district administrator (similar to Wiertzema's position in the high school) for the elementary school to replace Elementary Principal Kim Grengs, who recently resigned. These positions will be filled by different individuals.

The board currently has 12 applicants to replace Grengs and will begin advertising for the superintendent position.

Knoll stated several applicants were not licensed for elementary principal but could complete the steps necessary to obtain a license in the future. Only one applicant was from within the district.

In other board business:
oThe district has received only one application for the vocal and instrumental instructor position vacated by Dawn Griepp. "So that is just a wait and see thing," said board chair Roland Crawford.

oThe 2001/2002 budget was adopted unanimously by the board. The budget banks on more than $2.7 million in revenue, dependent on the state aid currently being debated by the Minnesota State Legislature. Certified staff salaries account for $18,000 less in the 2001/2002 budget because of a retirement. The district currently has $1.4 million in the bank, according to Knoll.

oThe board moved the next board meeting from Monday, July 9, to Monday, July 16.

By Jolene Farley
Assault charges will not be filed against Hills-Beaver Creek Superintendent Tom Knoll, according to County Prosecuting Attorney Terry Vajgrt.

Vajgrt's office received law enforcement reports concerning an April 26 alleged assault on 19-year-old Derek Ehde at Hills-Beaver Creek High School.

Normally, Hills City Attorney Doug Eisma would be responsible for prosecuting a misdemeanor within the city limits. But Eisma stated a conflict of interest prevented him from reviewing the case so it was passed on to Vajgrt. Eisma was not available for comment.

After reviewing statements from six students and two teachers Vajgrt determined there was not sufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing to prosecute.

The Minnesota assault statute states that it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt the perpetrator intended to cause harm or fear of harm.

"The decision I make is very narrow," said Vajgrt. "I don't look at whether Mr. Knoll behaved appropriately. I look at whether or not I think there is evidence he intended to cause injury to the student."

Derek's parents, Rick and Lori Scholten, were notified of this development by letter, according to Lori. She said she believes the School Board did not address the issue because they were afraid of Knoll and knew he would be leaving the district.

"They are supposed to represent us, the parents of children in the school district, and they didn't do this," said Lori.

The Scholtens have retained an attorney and intend to pursue the matter further.

"They were hoping we would drop everything, but that is not going to be the case," Lori said.