By John Rittenhouse
Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth placed two athletes on the 2000-01 All-Southwest Conference Wrestling Team.

The 26-player team, which was announced last week, consisted of two Cardinal wrestlers who advanced to the state tournament early this month.

Luverne senior Zach Skattum and Ellsworth junior Chris Tiesler represent the Cardinal program at 171 and 125 pounds respectively on the roster.

Conference champion Jackson County Central led all teams by placing seven wrestlers on the All-SWC roster.

Huskies seniors Travis Ahrends (heavyweight), Dusty Wilking (160) and Ben Caven-Johnson (152), juniors Marc Harwood (140) and Kyle Arndt (130), freshman Jordan Burmeister (112) and seventh-grader Justin Kolander (103) made the team for JCC.

Harwood, who eventually won a state championship, was named one of two Outstanding Wrestlers of the SWC.

Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin, Pipestone-Jasper and Redwood Valley landed four All-SWC selections each.

W-ML-B-O sophomores Cody Anderson (160) and Anthony Elg (119), freshman Jeff Stuckenbroker (103) and eighth-grader Nick Kulseth (112) made the All-SWC team.

Senior Brandon Manderscheid (140), juniors Mike Evans (130) and Jason Evans (135) and sophomore Justin Fruechte (119) represent P-J on the roster.

RWV senior Dusty Hennen (152), junior Matthew Johnson (145), and freshmen Tom Anderson (125) and Dusty Myers (135) grace the list.

Marshall drew three All-SWC selections in senior Zach Bruns (171), junior Justin Schuelke (145) and sophomore Colby Bruns (189).

Worthington seniors Bryan Cowdin (189) and Ross Teerink (heavyweight) round out the All-SWC roster.

Cowdin, a state champion, shared the Outstanding Wrestler of the SWC award with JCC's Harwood.

Drawing honorable mention from the SWC coaches are Worthington senior Josh Wasmund, Marshall senior Colin Stelter, JCC senior Jacob Drahota and P-J senior Brian Fruechte.

By Sara Quam
Gravel miners can now apply for permits, just in time for summer construction, because the Rock County Board of Commissioners lifted the gravel moratorium Tuesday.

The board hosted a public hearing Monday night to gauge opinion on the proposed changes to the Land Use Plan.

Essentially, the gravel extractors said the conditions of the new plan were acceptable while most homeowners didnÕt quite get the restrictions they hoped for.

The moratorium was lifted Tuesday after the board adopted the Planning and Zoning Commission's aggregate extraction supplement that was amended based on the public hearing.

Key changes are:
oThe required setback for gravel extraction is 500 feet from any residential or commercial structure.

oGravel processing must be located 1,000 feet from residential and 500 feet from commercial structures. Waivers will be granted when property owners agree to a shorter setback.

oNo gravel extraction is allowed on a site that has 15 residences within a one-mile radius.

The term "gravel processing" will be clearly defined in the supplement. It was questionable whether processing includes sorting, screening or washing. Hot mixing requires a separate permit.

Commissioner Ken Hoime, who also serves on Planning and Zoning, said, "It's frustrating because it's not black and white a lot of times."

It was also suggested that the County Board consider zoning county park areas as A-1, which would mean stricter regulations. Hoime said he feared that too many guidelines could take away the power to look at each permit on a case-by-case basis.

He's also nervous about the costs incurred if mining becomes too difficult. "It could hurt us in the long run because we buy the materials back," Hoime said.

Commissioner Ron Boyenga was the only no vote to the new requirements. He said he would prefer a longer setback for residential properties.

By Lori Ehde
According to an informal polling of township officials, it appears there's support for a road signage system in Rock County.

The subject was on the agenda of Tuesday's annual Road and Bridge hearing, and 10 of 11 townships present supported the concept establishing a road sign system.

When asked if they still supported the concept if they had to pay for it, seven townships supported it, and four did not.

On a roll-call vote, Battle Plain, Beaver Creek, Denver, Kanaranzi, Luverne, Martin, and Rose Dell townships supported rural signage whether it cost them or not.

Clinton, Mound, and Vienna townships supported the concept but didn't support having to pay for it.

Springwater Township was the only township that opposed both the concept and the cost.

Township officials were asked to gauge residents' support or opposition of rural signage during their annual township meetings last month and bring feedback to Tuesday's meeting.

"I don't know if this sends a clear message or not," said County Administrator Kyle Oldre, who polled township officials.

"I appreciate this. At least we have something to bring to the County Board."

Rural signage will be on the agenda of the next County Board meeting April 17.

Important for 911
About half the counties in Minnesota have already named rural roads, and Rock County is the only one in southwest Minnesota that hasn't done it.

The primary reason for naming rural gravel roads is for emergencies.

With Enhanced 911, computers automatically bring up the resident's name and directions to their home. But if rural residents don't alert dispatchers when they move, 911 calls don't correlate to the correct residences.

If the county goes ahead with the signing project, rural route addresses would become street addresses with house numbers, and the dispatch mapping system would correspond with those.

Emergencies aren't the only reasons for assigning names to roads. Delivery companies, service workers and people trying to find a business or residence in rural areas usually find road signs helpful.

How much will it cost and who will pay for it?
If it's approved, one sign would be placed at each intersection, and there are 540 intersections Rock County.

Each sign will cost roughly $130 for a total of more than $70,000, and the expense will be shared between the townships and the county (see table).

According to an informal cost plan proposed by Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr, the county would fund all signs adjacent to township roads.

The cost of signs on intersections on borders of townships would be split between the two townships. The cost for intersection signs bordering four townships would be split among the four townships.

With this system, some townships would pay more for signage if they didn't share intersections with as many county roads.

Individual residence signs, estimated to cost less than $10 each, would likely be assessed to residents.

Sehr was asked if he'd looked to area counties for a good plan for implementation and funding. Sehr said in Pipestone County, townships funded the signs on their own. In Nobles County, the townships and county shared the expense.

When naming the rural streets, Sehr said Rock County would likely continue with the same street names as Pipestone's north-south streets that meet Rock County's border, and the same names as Nobles County's east-west streets that meet on the east side.

Pete Bakken of Beaver Creek Township wondered what would happen to border residents who live in Minnesota but have South Dakota addresses. "It's something somebody should consider," Bakken said.

Oldre said when the time comes, area post offices would be involved in the signage process, as would local fire and rescue departments.

If approved, other issues would also have to be resolved, such as who would pay for maintenance on the intersection signs.

Nothing rocks a small community to the core more than violence against one of its members, particularly violence against one of its children.

Adrian has had its share of tragedies recently. The lives of Adrian youngsters have been taken by accident, but the thought of a tragedy caused by a resident of Adrian toward another member of our community is difficult to bear.

The victim of this tragedy is a 9-year-old girl who was allegedly grabbed by William Joseph Kafka, Adrian. (See news story on page 1A)

Kafka has lived in Adrian only a couple of years, and many residents probably didn't know his legal name until this incident appeared in the paper. Rather, he was known as the odd fellow (nicknamed "Radar") who wore his Tingley work boots on walks, come rain or shine.

These work boots would sometimes be coupled with jogging shorts or skin-tight sweat pants. In the victim's interview, she states her attacker wore sweat pants and boots lined with white, furry fabric.

The fact that a young girl was sexually assaulted is a tragedy. The fact that the person who allegedly committed the crime was allowed out on $10,000 bail, is a travesty.

According to an area bail bondsman, a $10,000 bail means the offender typically would only have to raise $1,000. The bail bond guarantees the rest of the bail money, minus a fee.

Was $1,000 really enough for allegedly committing crimes that if convicted could put a man away for 30 years? Fines for these offenses total $40,000. Obviously, someone takes these crimes seriously.

Kafka raised his $1,000 and is currently home in Adrian. He is also back at work at Swift in Worthington. I have not talked to one member of the Adrian community who is happy about these facts.

No one thinks this is fair to the 9-year-old victim (who was threatened with death) or her family, who live in close proximity to the alleged offender.

Everyone has constitutional rights, but what about the rights of that little girl whose whole life was dramatically changed because of the incident? Should she have to see her attacker daily, should the girl and her family have to go out of their way to avoid the person who injured them?

What about everyone else in the community? The alleged offender lives only a block from the Adrian elementary school. I would venture to say more than 100 kids walk past his house (or used to) each week either on their way to or from school or to visit the downtown businesses in Adrian.

I, too, live in Adrian. Why should I have had to explain to my 10-year-old daughter the reason I want her to take an alternate route when she walks downtown for a pop?

What about the other children right in his neighborhood? There are several families with young children in Kafka's area. Would you let your child play outside near his home?

It makes me angry that he is walking around free, even temporarily, while a child is saddled with the effects of the alleged crime for life.

Yes, everyone has their rights, but shouldn't we protect our children? If we don't, no one will. A strong stand is needed to protect those least able to protect themselves.

Conditions were set on Kafka's release stating he is to have no contact with minors. Who can really guarantee that he won't become a repeat offender and forever alter the life of another child? We wouldn't know until it was too late.

Cory Tilstra keeps his eyes tightly closed while Razor the Python is wrapped around his face by the "Zoo Man" from the Prairie Winds Zoo, Adrian. On Monday Prairie Winds Zoo showed Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary students a tortoise, a parlor tumbler (bird) and a python. Students were allowed to touch the animals and learned more about their natural habitat.

Photo by Jolene Farley

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek Board of Education finalized a proposed budget reduction plan to recoup a shortfall of more than $100,000 in revenue for next year at a Monday evening meeting.

About $60,000 of the reductions were going to happen regardless of the shortfall, according to Superintendent Tom Knoll. "There are no reductions in any education programs," he said.

The district plans to continue the gifted and talented programs and add reading time with certified teachers. Reduced enrollment in some areas meant the district could reduce costs in other areas.

Reductions total $124,645 of which $15,000 was added back in for childcare leave costs, bringing the total down to $109,645.

At the secondary level, a teacher retirement, which will not be filled, freed up $36,269. The athletic program took a $1,000 cut.

At the elementary level, the projections for next years kindergarten class of 19 students is down from this year.

One kindergarten teaching position will be cut, saving the district $33,563. Smaller classes reduce time in music, physical education and computer classes, saving $1,635.

A reduction of a full-time teacher to a half-time teacher for the third grade saves $17,738.

Restructuring teaching assistant time frees up another $16,000.

Juggling custodial time and a reduction in total lunchtime saves another $2,367.

District office cuts include turning down the thermostat, a full-time payroll employee dropping to half-time payroll, saving $14,300, and reduction of staff and custodians for 10 days in July adding $1,773.

The payroll employee had previously planned to drop to half time, according to Knoll.

The total cuts for the secondary school are $37,269, for the elementary $71,303 and for the district office $16,073. The grand total is $124,645.

"We are maintaining what we have," said Knoll.

The board stressed that additions could be made if required.

In other board business:
oThe building committee met with Group II Architects to walk through the proposed building site and express likes and dislikes. It was "just basically a starting point," according to board member Ann Boeve.

oNegotiations continue with teachers concerning severance packages. Teachers are asking that a formula, based on years of service and salary, be used to determine the amount of post-retirement insurance benefits for which they would be eligible.

The majority of the board members didn’t seem to favor adding the formula to the contracts. "We are trying to watch our pennies here, and it just doesn’t seem right," said Lois Leuthold, board member.

Editor's note: This information was compiled from the Hills Our Town history book.

In 1896 A.C. Finke and Olaf Nash hatched the notion of starting a creamery in Hills. This notion would become the Hills Cooperative Creamery, a major industry. Finke and Nash visited area farmers to build support for the project.

At a public meeting in 1896 a creamery equipment salesman painted a rosy picture of the dairy business. All a farmer had to do was join the creamery association, get a dairy cow, and open a bank account to enter the business.

Despite what the salesman said, the pioneer men who attended the first meeting realized nothing would be handed to them on a silver platter.

The Hills Crescent lists those present at the first meeting in 1896 as Niels Jacobson, Fred Nuffer, John Paulson, Goodman Anderson, Asle Skattum, Olaf Kolsrud, John and Charles Nelson, Haaken Tuff, Nels, G.G. and Andrew Sundem, Charles Skovgaard, A.T. Sexe, Lars and Martin Peterson, Hans Haroldson, Gilbert Rovang, Hans Rognley, John Helgeson, Ole Medgorden, F.C. Finke, Halvor Savold, C.E. Halls, Lars Engebretson and many others.

It was decided by those present to form a cooperative creamery business.

The first board of directors hired Mr. Barthong as manager. He came recommended by the distributor of the new creamery equipment.

The creamery started with a steam-powered Russian Cream Separator. When the steam went down, some of the cream ran into the skimmed milk vat, which was not good. Those days whole milk was hauled to the creamery and each farmer took his skimmed milk home with him.

The first patron of the creamery was O.G. Qualley. Second in line was Osmund Rortvedt.

As business grew, a second separator was purchased. The manager strongly recommended the creamery purchase the same model again. It was later discovered Barthong received a $75 kickback on the deal.
It was also discovered Barthong had spent 30 days in jail for jumping a board bill. Within a short time, the creamery had to purchase new separators and find a new manager.

Fritz Lehmberg was hired as the new manager. Under his leadership, the creamery grew and prospered. A new building was built, new equipment purchased, and Blue Ribbon Butter was made a familiar sight around the country, particularly in New York and California.

Eli Johnson delivered starter milk to the creamery every morning. When production increased and more starter milk was needed Griffith Helgeson and Fred Metzger joined Mr. Johnson in delivery.

By 1934, the Hills Cooperative Creamery had produced 1,269,580 pounds of butter. Thousands of dollars had been paid out to patrons in three states. The biggest year was 1942.

Many people served on the board of directors including Albert Halls, Halvor Halverson, John Bosch, Ivan Wyum, Earl Nelson, Richard Johnson, G.H. Helgeson, O. Rortvedt, Lewis Skattum, J.A. Thorin, Ernest Metzger, Art Rogness, Bill Kitchenmaster, Elmer Drost, Clark Helgeson and Gilbert Smith, to name a few.

Lehmberg passed away in 1945 and was succeeded by Olaf Nash as secretary and Merle Clemetson as operator. Nash, who retired in 1948, was replaced by Vernon Eberlein. Later Bernard Sevatson served as secretary, then Arnold Qualley until the creamery closed in 1961.

By 1961, more and more farmers had quit milking to feed cattle or raise grain. It soon became apparent the creamery would no longer be able to operate. The creamery was sold to Sioux Valley Milk Producers in 1961.

Hills City Hall has new cabinets handcrafted by Patriot Millworks. Derek Ehde (left) and Lance Crawford are two of the student craftsmen who worked on the project.

By Jolene Farley
Patriot Millworks has purchased a trailer to deliver their finished wood products. The purchase was made possible by a $4,095 Youth Entrepreneurship Grant from the Southwest Minnesota Foundation.

Industrial arts instructor Gregg Ebert and his students began working on the grant in November. In order to qualify for the grant a business plan and details about Patriot Millworks had to be submitted to the Foundation.

Grants must be used for venture capital to establish a new business, business expansion or product development. The business must be planned and operated by students linked to an instructional program in a school setting, according to Ebert.

"We had to be growing and building our business to even qualify for the grant," said Ebert. "It was a record-setting year for our furniture business with $9,000 in sales." Patriot Millworks plans to surpass that total next year with a goal of $20,000 in sales, according to Ebert.

This year furniture deliveries were made with a Hills-Beaver Creek school bus, but the new enclosed trailer will allow a more efficient delivery system.

After Patriot Millworks was notified Feb. 27 of their award, Ebert approached the Board of Education to ask for a temporary loan to purchase the trailer before the grant money was received. The board agreed to the loan.

"I was really happy to find out we got it (the grant)," said Ebert. "We wouldn't be able to expand without the trailer. There was no way to move furniture."

The Southwest Minnesota Foundation was established in 1986 as the Southwest Initiative Fund. The foundation is an independent, non-profit, regional foundation that operates in 18 counties of southwest Minnesota.

The mission of the Foundation is to promote philanthropy, leadership, innovation and collaboration for the 18 counties of southwest Minnesota.

By Lori Ehde
As township gravel roads emerge from their icy layers, township officials are adding up the cost of this winterÕs snow removal to their budget.

Considering higher-than-normal fuel costs, plus longer labor hours, Beaver Creek Township spent nearly 40 percent more on snow removal this year than during a normal winter, according to past township board chair Peter Bakken.

Like many townships, Beaver Creek came into this bad year on a good budget. With two years of mild winters under the belt, the budget held some reserves.

Keeping up with snow removal is costly, but Bakken said it's cheaper than rebuilding roads in the spring.

"Our goal is in the springtime to keep our roads from falling apart, so we spend more time winging the snow," Bakken said.

"The roads that still have snow on them are still pretty fragile," he said.

Bakken is proud to say Beaver Creek Township didn't close any roads this winter, and residents didn't have to wait more than a day after a storm for their roads to be cleared.

"Beaver Creek Township taxes are one of the highest in the county, but we seem to think we're giving people what they're paying for," Bakken said.

Still, he said itÕs frustrating to try to keep everyone happy.

"Now we've got so many people who live in the country but expect the same services as those living in town," Bakken said.

Beaver Creek Township hired an extra person part-time this year to help full-time maintainer Bert Kracht keep up.

"If there's anyone who puts his heart and soul into his work, it's Bert, and he gets frustrated when he can't keep up," Bakken said.

"He put in 14-, 16-, and 20-hour days, and on some of those days he'd turn around to find that the wind had blown the road shut behind him."

Darrell Hoeck, chair of Springwater Township, said the snow had a similar effect on the budget there.

"We easily spent twice as much this year as last year," Hoeck said. "In fact, we spent more this year than on the past two years combined. We havenÕt had a snow bill like this since 1996-97."

The good news is, like Beaver Creek Township, Springwater handled the blow with reserves built up from warmer winters.

"We have money laid aside, so if this happens, it can be absorbed as best as possible," Hoeck said.

The numbers are even more striking for Vienna Township. Last year, it spent about $450 on snow removal. This year, the bills are coming in at about $11,500.

"That's a plus for living on the tundra, I guess," said Vienna Township Clerk Bud Rust.

Rust said Vienna Township contracts with Rich Hubbling, Hardwick, for snow removal, but he said some farmers cleared their own roads and billed the township.

Vienna Township had also built up a reserve, but when it contributed $16,839.38 toward a new fire truck last year, it wiped out the surplus.

"We're going to make it, but it's not as easy as it has been," said Vienna Township Clerk Bud Rust.

Since Luverne Fire Department serves so many rural areas, when it purchased a new pumper last year for nearly $150,000, the townships served by Luverne were asked to pay $130,000 of that bill.

Vienna Township is served by Hardwick, Kenneth and Luverne fire departments, but many of its sections are served by Luverne.

For the second year in a row, Vienna Township officials voted to increase the levy by $5,000 (which amounts to 16.66 percent on $30,000).

According to the Rock County Auditor's Office, Vienna Township was the only one to raise its levy during the March annual meetings.

Unlike county and city levies, townships can increase preliminary levies before final certification in September.

"But the way it looks now we're going to need it," Rust said.