By Jolene Farley
The Hills City Council signed a revised contract with Rock County Rural Water for the proposed $219,000 water improvement project at a Tuesday meeting. Dan Cook represented Rock County Rural Water at the meeting.

The council discussed financing options through Rock County Rural Water, the Exchange State Bank and Minnesota Rural Development.

Bonding fees through the bank would be roughly $3,000 and $5,000 through Rural Development.

"I don’t think as a city we should be financing this project period," said City Council member Keith Elbers.

Elbers pointed out that the city has certificates of deposit coming due that are enough to cover the project.

"If we do get an emergency, why can’t we borrow for that particular emergency?" he said. "If it’s going to get assessed anyway, why not pay ourselves for it?"

Paying for the project in lieu of financing the improvements would save the city an estimated $137,000 in interest over 20 years, according to the council.

"What he’s saying has a lot of merit, to my way of thinking," said Mayor Jim Jellema.

The larger water line would increase water pressure and capacity from 1,680,000 gallons per year to 2,940,000 gallons per year.

oThe council negotiated with Martin Township representatives on fire protection contracts.

The Hills Fire Department provides protection for 19 sections of Clinton Township and the city of Steen.

Rates were raised from $320 per section to $340 per section. Rates for the city of Steen were increased from $2,000 to $2,500.

The possibility of the Hills Fire Department taking over coverage of all of Clinton Township was discussed. The Luverne Fire Department currently covers a portion of the township.

Mayor Jim Jellema advised the representatives to contact County Administrator Kyle Oldre to evaluate what needs to be done to make the change for next year. He also suggested contacting Hills Fire Chief Doug Chapman to see if the Hills Fire Department would be willing to take on the extra area.

"If they feel they can give sufficient service …" Jellema said.

oThe council discussed the possible sale of the old Patriot Academy and barbershop building. The council is interested in selling the building. The matter will be discussed further at the next council meeting.

By Jolene Farley
FBT Sawmill and Lumber, Steen, is still buzzing along. Owner Erwin Bonestroo recently branched out into furniture making.

Bonestroo said they make almost anything. "If they bring in a picture and some measurements, we can make it."

The furniture is built solid, with an old, primitive look.

"We keep the saw marks in," he said. "We don’t do a perfect job, because that’s what they want. We’re trying to make a good quality product that looks old."

Bonestroo has taken his products to the Flea Market in Sioux Falls and will display his wares at a Children’s Hospital fund-raiser later this spring.

He is trying to grow his business slowly, because buying more equipment is expensive and he has a limited amount of wood.

Making furniture helps save on wood because it doesn’t take nearly the amount of wood as other products, such as pallet making, according to Bonestroo.

The sawmill business still gets many of its customers from Sioux County in Iowa because residents were used to having a sawmill in the area until recently, and they know what can be done with their wood.

Lumberyards sell wood but most simply don’t have the same products as sawmills.

For instance, excess branches trimmed off the trees in the Steen Park were milled at FBT Sawmill and made into a cross (to be used for Easter) for a church in Luverne.

The wood for the cross was "something you couldn’t buy," according to Erwin.

Salvaging and finding new uses for wood is a creative process. The brothers get ideas from the magazine "Country Sampler," and from other publications for their furniture.

"We see it, we make it. A lot of times we don’t even have the dimensions," Erwin said.

"I just went to the wood pile and whatever was there, I made something out of it," Erwin’s brother, Doug said. Doug works with Erwin on some of the projects.

The brothers make planters, curio cabinets, flower boxes, pie safes, tables and benches, to name a few items.

The company made a bar and some tables for a new restaurant opening in Sioux Falls that was decorating with the primitive look.

They found the massive ash logs for the top of the bar at an old farmsite in Iowa. The house and trees were being torn down so the brothers salvaged the wood from the trees.

They said basically nothing goes to waste in their business.

Even odd scraps of wood from the sawmill are saved because taxidermists mount fish or other animals on the pieces.

Bonestroo continues to search for more uses for the products created at FBT Sawmill.

Stephen J. Gits, 40, Luverne, died Saturday, July 21, 2001, at his home in Luverne.

Services were Thursday, July 26, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. Burial was in St. Catherine Catholic Cemetery, Luverne.

Stephen Gits was born to Gordon and Barbara Gits on March 19, 1961, in Luverne. He attended school in Luverne.

Survivors include his parents; one brother, Paul Gits, Minneapolis; three sisters, Theresa Gits-Borgstrom, Brooklyn Park, Mary Reiggins, Hopkins, and Elizabeth Hackett, Kirkland, Wash.; one niece, Ashley Borgstrom; and one nephew, Lucas Reiggins.

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

In honor of Music in our Schools Month, Hills Christian School students perform a concert for residents of the Tuff Memorial Home Wednesday, March 26. Students played bells and a tube instrument that makes lighter or deeper sounds, according to the size of the tubes.

Submitted photo

Periodically, this office gets inquiries about former editor and publisher Alan C. McIntosh’s famous editorial titled A "Tired American" Gets Angry.

This week, I talked to a Chicago man who asked if he could print McIntosh’s piece, and wondered if I knew the original publication date.

We always like attention for our former publisher’s glory, and we had a nice little chat.

Fred Gilman is the editor and publisher of Our Village, a twice monthly newspaper in Chicago. (It doesn’t have a Web site yet, but it’s under construction.)

He said his circulation is 16,000 and growing as he and his wife have operated the paper for about two years.

Fred says he likes his paper to be a little unique — there’s no crime reporting or the standard hard news coverage. He’d rather stick to generally interesting pieces of information.

He decided to call our newspaper this week after he and his staff met to discuss how they should cover the current war and its affects on the city of Chicago. They found their own angle, and in some of his researching, Fred came across McIntosh’s editorial and thought it would make a nice addition.

Fred said he was printing most of the editorial, leaving out the obviously dated lines. He wanted the last line of the page to say that the Tired American piece was printed May 13, 1965. He thought it was a wonderful way to illustrate how times don’t change much in some regards.

Here’s a bit of McIntosh’s editorial in case you haven’t read it:

"I am a tired American — weary of having American embassies and information centers stoned, burned and sacked by mobs operating under orders from dictators who preach "peace" and breed conflict.

I am a tired American … real tired of those who are trying to sell me the belief that America is not the greatest nation in all the world … a generous hearted nation … a nation dedicated to the policy of trying to help the ‘have nots’ achieve some of the good things that our system of free enterprise brought about.

I am an American who gets a lump in his throat when he hears the "Star Spangled Banner" and who holds back the tears when Old Glory reaches the top of the flag pole.

I am a tired American … who wants to start snapping at those phony ‘high priests’ who want us to bow down and worship their false idols and who seek to destroy the belief that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I am a tired American who thanks a merciful Lord that he was so lucky to be born an American citizen … a nation … under God … with truly mercy and justice … for all."

Some of the statements are a little past their time, like when McIntosh says he is "fed up with the mobs of scabby faced, long-haired youths and short-haired girls who claim they represent the ‘new wave’ of American …"

Fred says that, overall, the message of McIntosh stands strong for America today.

Fred, by the way, is sending this newspaper a copy of his own publication, which gives the Star Herald a little mention and credit for McIntosh’s famous editorial.

Published March 27, 2003

Send us what you know
about our Rock County
service men and women

Star Herald also seeks help in sharing local spirit of giving

Three times last week readers shared information with me about people they knew who were serving interesting military purposes overseas.

That was in the grocery store and on the street. I lost count of how many tips we’ve received in the Star Herald office.

It’s becoming clear we’re at war, and it’s affecting all of us — particularly those of us with loved ones directly involved in the action.

We’ll continue to publish occasional feature stories on local military personnel, but as more and more of our local servicemen and women get involved, we’ll never keep up writing one or two stories at a time.

We can’t do the big features every week, but we can do lots of little ones. We’ve decided to publish a weekly column of military briefs, so that at least our readers can know who’s involved and what they’re doing.

Sometimes we get press releases from the various branches of the military, but we like to think our best sources for that information are right here in Rock County. Who can better explain the whereabouts and what-ups of our service people than families?

So, readers, we need your help. On the opposing page, page 5A, is a form you can fill out that will help us share information about your service person.

We’ll publish the information in the paper and on our Web site, www.star-herald.com.

If nothing else, it may be another way to support our troops and stay connected to each other.

Giving credit
where credit is due
While we’re presenting forms, we have another one for our readers to fill out and send in.

There are literally hundreds of service organizations in Rock County, in addition to countless generous businesses and individuals who deserve recognition for good deeds done.

It’s been our policy to not publish check-passing pictures, because, as a business that draws its revenue from advertising, we’ve generally felt that those seeking to improve a professional image through charity should pay for such advertising.

At the same time, we like to share good news like this, and we try to highlight these kind acts as often as possible … for free.

I am always tickled to hear about people doing good for the sake of doing good — not for public relations or personal recognition.

But in the interest of publicizing a broader range of benevolence that may otherwise go unrecognized, we’re starting a database of such activity in the community.

On the opposing page, you’ll find a form that asks for basic information, such as who donated what for what cause and what the donation will be used for.

We’ll publish the information periodically as the briefs accumulate.

In addition to our regular feature stories, we hope the tidbits will shed light on the spirit of the people in this area. We truly are blessed to live in Rock County.

Published April 3, 2003.

Sonntag and Hanson open financial services office
Jim Sonntag and Earl Hanson have joined forces to open a new financial services office in Luverne called Blue Mound Insurance and Financial Services.

Sonntag has been in the insurance business for 34 years, moving to Luverne to work for Tri-State Insurance in 1983.

In 1993, he left Tri-State and most recently, was affiliated with Lutheran Brotherhood, which is now known as Thrivent.

Hanson moved to Luverne in 1978 to manage the Hanson Silo business in Luverne. In 1995, he left there to become the Luverne representative for Edward Jones.

Blue Mound Insurance and Financial Services will offer a variety of life, disability and long-term care insurance products as well as annuities, variable annuities, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, CDs and retirement plans.

Sonntag and Hanson are registered representatives dealing with products supplied through First Heartland Capital.

The new company office will be located at 119 E. Main St. in Luverne.

Your ‘keepers’ could get smaller
The fish you get to keep, could get smaller if the DNR has its way.

A bill would limit anglers to one walleye longer than 20 inches and one northern longer than 24 inches.

In previous years, anglers were allowed to keep one walleye longer than 24 inches and one northern longer than 30 inches, as part of their three fish daily limit.

The proposal had its first committee hearing last Wednesday and was set aside for a vote this week.

According Ron Payer, director of the department’s fisheries program, the proposed size change would limit and spread the harvest of bigger fish on some lakes and probably increase the voluntary release of big fish.

Poaching gets a little more expensive
I know you’re an honest sportsman, but the other guy that likes to take a few over the limit might find himself facing tougher poaching penalties this year.

The new laws, which went into effect March 1, are based on established restitution values of the illegally taken game and fish. A walleye, for example, is valued at $30.

Under the new law, the higher the restitution value, the longer the suspension of hunting or fishing privileges is.

For instance, a poacher would lose his fishing license for three years if he had 18 walleye over the limit.

The bill also allows for a gross misdemeanor penalty when the value of illegally taken game and fish exceeds $1,000.

Violators will also find themselves in trouble elsewhere if they run afoul of the new restrictions.

The state has come up with reciprocity agreements with Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

One recent example of a fragrant violation occurred in August 2002 when conservation officers raided an illegal fish fry.

Upon investigation, the officers discovered 61 bags of fish with 10 to 12 fish per bag, totaling 1,700 perch, sunfish and crappies.

Further searching, officers found several freezers containing fish. Each package was labeled with the date, lake, amount and species of fish in the bag.

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

Samuel Preston VerMeer, 28 days, Brandon, S.D., died Wednesday, March 26, 2003, at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Services were Monday, March 31, at St. Therese Catholic Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Rev. Charles Cimpl officiated. Burial was in Brandon Cemetery, Brandon.

Samuel VerMeer was born Feb. 26, 2003, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. to Michael and Robin VerMeer. He was baptized the following day by Father Chuck Cimpl at the hospital. He was then airlifted to the Michigan Congenital Heart Center at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor to undergo stage one of a three phase surgical procedure to reconstruct his heart. He died from post surgical complications.

Survivors include his parents, Michael and Robin VerMeer, Brandon; one brother, Caden VerMeer, Brandon; grandparents, Carol VerMeer, Hills, Preston VerMeer, Luverne, Les and Della Dutenhoffer, Ipswich, S.D., Michael Shann, Orlando, Fla.; aunts and uncles, Renae and Dean Knobloch, Rachele and Chad Carver, all of Hills, Ralinda VerMeer, Taos, N.M., Danielle and Chad Simes, Aberdeen S.D., Tanya and Ryan Snover, Mitchell, S.D., Alyssa and Jeff Hall, Lakeville, Taylor Shann, Orlando; and a host of other relatives and friends.

George Boom Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, handled the arrangements.