By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth opened the South Section 3A Boys’ Basketball Tournament in impressive fashion by destroying Southwest Star Concept 82-42 in a quarterfinal-round game played in Worthington Saturday.

Ellsworth, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, backed up its pre-tournament ranking by outscoring the eighth-seeded Quasars in every quarter during what ended up being a 40-point victory.

The win gives the Panthers a 24-2 record heading into tonight’s semifinal round in Worthington.

Ellsworth takes on No. 5 Adrian, a 53-42 victor over Fulda Saturday, at 6 p.m.

The Panthers entered Saturday’s game with a business-like approach, and they took care of their business well.

Ellsworth made 20 of 27 field goals (74 percent) while opening a 20-point halftime lead that set the stage for a 40-point thrashing of the Quasars.

"We did what we know how to do," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "We don’t take any team for granted, and we played really well against SSC."

SSC sported a 6-5 edge in the first quarter before the momentum moved into Ellsworth’s corner for good.
Panther senior Dylan Kvaale, who led EHS with 24 points in the game, provided some spark for his team by nailing a pair of three-point shots to give the Panthers a 11-6 advantage.

Ellsworth went on to outscore SSC 15-5 the rest of the period to make it a 26-10 game.

The Panthers controlled play while outscoring the Quasars 20-9 in the second period to open a 46-19 halftime cushion.

Ellsworth increased its lead to 29 points (59-28) with a 13-11 scoring edge in the third quarter before outscoring SSC 23-14 in the fourth quarter to prevail by 40.

Curt Schilling recorded a double-double for EHS by scoring 19 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Tom Janssen added 13 points to the cause, while Travis Jenniges turned in a 10-point, eight-assist, three-steal effort.

Kvaale had seven rebounds and five steals for the winners, while Brant Deutsch added nine rebounds and seven assists.

Box score
Schilling 8 1 0-0 19, Jenniges 4 0 2-2 10, Janssen 2 2 3-4 13, Kvaale 7 3 1-5 24, Deutsch 3 0 1-3 7, Brommer 1 1 2-2 7, Myhrer 0 0 2-2 2.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 63 field goals (49 percent), 11 of 18 free throws (61 percent), 40 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team competed in a pair of events since Saturday.

The Cardinals placed 12th as a team at the Jackson County Central Tournament in Jackson Saturday. L-H-BC-E went 0-2 at the Garretson (S.D.) Triangular Tuesday.

L-H-BC-E, 0-3 overall, wrestles in Pipestone Friday.

Garretson triangular
The Cardinals came up empty in two attempts to pick up their first win of the campaign Tuesday in Garretson.

The Cardinals fell 52-19 in the opener against Harrisburg before taking a 56-24 setback from the host school in the finale.

L-H-BC-E’s Joel Evans and Cody Jagow both went 2-0 at 215 pounds and heavyweight respectively.

Wrestling for the first time this season, Evans was impressive in pinning Harrisburg’s Brice Hamberg and Garretson’s Josh Tomsick in 1:23 and 36 seconds respectively.

Jagow stuck Harrisburg’s Pat Aleck in 3:54 before pinning Garretson’s Ryan Vander Snick in 1:16.

Justin Mann produced a pin and Dusty Seachris drew a forfeit for L-H-BC-E in the match against Garretson. Canaan Petersen won a decision and Ruston Aaker a major decision in the match against Harrisburg.

Match wrap-ups
Harrisburg 52, L-H-BC-E 19
145 (H) Hudson pins Mann.
152 (H) Johnson pins Je.Saravia.
160 (L) Petersen dec. Gackle.
171 (H) Cawthorne by forfeit.
189 (H) Enger dec. Jo.Saravia.
215 (L) Evans pins Hamburg.
275 (A) Jagow pins Aleck.
103 (H) Fink by forfeit.
112 (H) Harris pins Van Wyhe.
119 (H) Cawthorne by forfeit.
125 (H) Fink pins Boyenga.
130 (H) Wright pins Fink.
135 (L) Aaker m.d. Ballard.
140 (H) Eberg pins Seachris.

Garretson 56, L-H-B-E 24
145 (L) Mann pins Vander Snick.
152 (G) Franka pins Je.Saravia.
160 (G) Dickey dec. Petersen.
171 (G) Sorenson by forfeit.
189 (G) Sorenson pins Cronberg.
215 (L) Evan pins Tomsick.
275 (L) Jagow pins Vander Snick.
103 (G) Bonte by forfeit.
112 (G) Martens pins Van Wyhe.
119 (G) Brugseman by forfeit.
125 (G) Bonte pins Boyenga.
130 (G) Johnson t.f. Fink.
135 (G) Kringen pins Aaker.
140 (L) Seachris by forfeit.

JCC tourney
A short-handed L-H-BC-E squad helped form a 12-team field during Saturday’s tournament in Jackson.

L-H-BC-E was represented by six athletes in varsity competition at the event, which was a major reason why the Cardinals capped the 12-team field with 37 points.

The Cardinals did receive some solid individual performances from seniors Canaan Petersen and Cody Jagow, who placed second and fifth in their respective weight classes.

Wrestling at 152, Petersen won two straight bouts to earn a berth in the championship match, where he lost an 8-6 decision in overtime to Worthington’s Jeff Campbell.

Petersen saddled Adrian’s Tom Slater with an 8-0 major decision setback in the quarterfinals before topping Fulda-Murray County Central’s Nick Henning 7-3 in the semifinals.

Jagow went 2-2 at heavyweight.

Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove’s Tim Johnson, the eventual tournament champion, pinned Jagow in 1:45 during the first round.

Jagow received a forfeit in the consolation bracket before falling 3-1 in overtime to Wabasha-Kellogg’s Nate Stumpf. Jagow then pinned JCC’s Jared Knips in 3:59 during the match for fifth and sixth place.

Cardinal Justin Mann placed sixth at 145 pounds with an 0-3 record. Ruston Aaker and Dusty Seachris both went 1-2 without placing at 135 and 140. Kerry Fink was 0-2 at 130.

Team standings: Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin 202 points, Stewartville 181.5, W-K 163.5, Adrian 159, Madelia-Truman 140, RRC-W-WG 126, River Valley 88, F-MCC 66, Pipestone 52, JCC 48, Worthington 41.5, L-H-BC-E 37.

Luverne players Natalie Domagala (left), Jenny Braa (second, left), Sadie Dietrich (second, right) and Suzanne Gluf (right) made the 2002-03 All-Southwest Conference Girls’ Hockey team. Taylor Nelson (not pictured) drew honorable mention.

By John Rittenhouse
Five members of the Luverne High School girls’ hockey team made a list of 18 athletes that formed the 2002-03 All-Southwest Conference Girls’ Hockey roster.

The list, released Friday, revealed that four Cardinals made the All-SWC team and another drew honorable mention.

Making the 12-player all-league roster for LHS are senior forward Suzanne Gluf, junior defenseman Jenny Braa and sophomore forwards Sadie Dietrich and Natalie Domagala.

Luverne drew more all-conference selections than league champion Worthington, which was represented by senior Amanda Duitsman and junior Danielle Koopman.

Marshall also drew four all-league selections in junior Kayla Kaas and sophomores Chelsea Hoselton, Danielle Andres and Ashley Verdeck.

Windom junior Kari Schwecke and sophomore Katie MacRae round out the all-conference selections.

Luverne junior defenseman Taylor Nelson is one of six players to draw honorable mention from the SWC coaches.

Windom senior Christina Flatebo and junior Amanda Ringquist, Worthington junior Samantha Pospisil and eighth-grader Megan Ahlberg and Marshall freshman Chelsea Crowell also drew honorable mention.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys have played well as a basketball team all season, and another strong team effort paid off for the Panthers in a big way Thursday at Southwest State University in Marshall.

Taking on Wabasso in the Section 3A championship game, the Panthers used all their weapons to hand the Rabbits a 75-64 setback and earn its first berth in a state basketball tournament in school history.

The 27-2 Panthers opened the state tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Tuesday when they took on New Life Academy in Class 1A quarterfinals. Look for that game story on the front page of the sports section.

If the Panthers continue to display the offensive balance they showed against Wabasso Thursday, there’s reason to believe they’ll do just as well in the state competition.

Four EHS players scored between 13 and 22 points in the 11-point victory over the Rabbits, a team that ultimately was overmatched by all of Ellsworth’s offensive weapons.

"It was nice to see that type of balance," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "That is something we’ve taken pride in all season long. We don’t care who gets the credit, just as long as we get the job done."

Junior Curt Schilling and seniors Dylan Kvaale, Blake Brommer and Brant Deutsch got the job done in the section title tilt.

Schilling led the parade by scoring 22 points and ripping down 19 rebounds. He also contributed six assists and four steals to the winning cause.

Kvaale wasn’t far behind Schilling with 20 points and a team-high seven assists.

Brommer, who finished the game with 14 points and three steals, and Deutsch, who recorded 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, also made key contributions at different times during Ellsworth’s successful Rabbit hunt.

Senior guard Travis Jenniges (four assists) and junior Tom Janssen (five assists) were limited to a combined six points for EHS, but they hurt the Rabbits with their hustle and all-around team play.

Wabasso got off to a good start by taking 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the early stages of the game, but the Panthers moved in front 7-3 with a three-point shot from Deutsch and a field goal by Jenniges at the 5:09 mark of the opening period.

The Rabbits battled back to knot the score at seven before Brommer scored five consecutive points to give the Panthers a 12-7 advantage.

Ellsworth led by seven points (16-9) when Kvaale scored from close range with 1:11 left in the period, but a three-point shot by Wabasso as time expired made it a 16-12 difference heading into the second quarter.

The Panthers could have been disheartened by Wabasso’s late three, instead, they rose to the challenge like champions. Ellsworth went on a 10-0 run consisting of eight points from Schilling and two from Kvaale in the first 3:10 of the second period to open a 26-12 lead.

"That was a big run," coach Kvaale said. "Our thinking heading into the game was to keep Wabasso from getting runs. If we could get a couple of runs of our own, the more power to us."

Wabasso did counter with a 9-2 surge to trim the difference to seven points (28-21) with 1:21 left to play in the first half. Brommer, however, drained a three at the 1:03 mark of the second period to cap the scoring in the first half, and gave EHS a 31-21 halftime lead.

Ellsworth made 20 of 28 field goals in the second half, and opened the third quarter with a 10-5 surge capped by a field goal from Schilling with 5:27 remaining in the third period to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the game at 41-26.

Wabasso scored nine of the next 11 points to trim the difference to eight (43-35) with 3:57 left, but Kvaale came up with two field goals and Jenniges added another during a 6-0 run that made it a 52-37 game as the third period progressed.

The Rabbits then scored five straight points before Schilling connected for a field goal with 11 seconds left in the stanza to make it a 54-42 game heading into the fourth quarter.

Wabasso outscored Ellsworth 10-5 in the first 2:04 of the fourth quarter to climb within seven points (59-52) of the Panthers. Brommer, who scored 10 points in Ellsworth’s first three post-season games combined, then broke the Rabbits’ will when he nailed three consecutive field goals during an 8-2 EHS run that gave it a 67-54 lead with 3:36 left to play.

"It was good to see Blake (Brommer) come out and play well," said coach Kvaale. "It was the first time he reached double figures in the post season. The thing is we have a lot of guys capable of scoring a lot of points."

The Rabbits closed the gap to 10 points twice in the game’s final three minutes before falling by 11 points in the end.

Box score
Schilling 10 0 2-6 22, Jenniges 2 0 0-0 4, Janssen 0 0 2-2 2, Kvaale 8 1 1-4 20, Deutsch 4 1 2-2 13, Brommer 3 2 2-2 14.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 51 field goals (61 percent), nine of 17 free throws (53 percent), 32 rebounds, 13 turnovers.
Wabasso: 23 of 53 field goals (43 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent), 17 rebounds, seven turnovers.

Ellsworth junior post Curt Schilling dominated the paint area during Tuesday’s 76-66 double overtime win over New Life Academy during a quarterfinal-round game of the Minnesota State High School Class A Boys’ Basketball Tournament in St. Peter. Schilling scored 34 points and collected 14 rebounds to help the Panthers advance to Friday’s semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Ellsworth plays Red Lake at 3 p.m. for a berth in Saturday’s championship game.

By John Rittenhouse
Give credit to Ellsworth junior Curt Schilling and the rest of players on the Panther boys’ basketball team. They’re not afraid to set lofty goals.

Minutes after a 34-point, 14-rebound effort in a 76-66 double-overtime victory over New Life Academy (Woodbury), Schilling shared some information from a team meeting last March.

The Panther’s successful 20-6 season last year ended with a loss to Southwest Christian in last year’s South Section 3A championship game.

Knowing that all the players were coming back for the 2002-03 campaign, the year-end meeting was upbeat and goal-oriented.

"Everyone got together at the end of last season," Schilling recalled Tuesday. "We said we got 20 wins last year, so let’s go for 30 this year. We’ve got two more games to win before we reach that goal."

Thanks to Tuesday’s victory over NLA in the quarterfinal round of the Minnesota State Class A Boys’ Basketball Tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Ellsworth is in a position to win 30 games. If the 28-2 Panthers can extend their current 11-game winning streak to 13 games this weekend in Minneapolis, Ellsworth will reach its goal and capture a state championship at the same time.

The next step in the process begins at 3 p.m. Friday when Ellsworth takes on 23-8 Red Lake (a 64-46 winner over Cook County in a quarterfinal-round tilt played in Hibbing Tuesday) in the tournament’s semifinals at the Target Center.

It took every ounce of energy the Panthers had to slip past the NLA Eagles (23-8) during Tuesday’s contest in St. Peter, which was the first state tournament game played by either school.

The teams exchanged leads throughout the game by hitting clutch shots and putting together mini-runs, but it was Ellsworth that survived the 40-minute test of will, earning the right to play two more games.

Schilling, a post with the ability to drain a three-point shot, missed his only opportunity from beyond the three-point arc in the game. He concentrated his efforts in the paint area, where he made 11 field goals and earned enough trips to the charity stripe to make 12 of 15 free throws.

"It was a very physical game," Schilling offered. "I thought I was getting fouled a lot, and I asked one of the refs, ‘What is it going to take to get a foul called?’ He told me that I was forcing a lot, and I didn’t think I was. It was something I just had to play through. The whole team had to play through it, and I thought we did a good job of that. This was a great team effort."

Schilling’s patience with the referees paid off in the fourth quarter and in overtime when he converted three three-point plays for EHS, providing an emotional lift with each one.

Trailing 42-39 entering the fourth quarter, Schilling produced two of his three-point plays during a 10-2 surge that gave the Panthers a 49-44 advantage with 5:05 left in regulation play.

Senior Blake Brommer gave the Panthers an eight-point cushion (54-46) when he drained a pair of free throws at the 2:02 mark of the fourth quarter. The Eagles, however, countered with an 11-3 run capped by a three-point shot by Mark Petrich with 14 seconds left to knot the score at 57.

Schilling put up a potential game-winning shot as time expired, but the 12-footer drew iron and rimmed off the mark.

Both teams sported one-point leads in the first four-minute overtime session.

The Eagles tied the game at 61 when Matt Nylin made one of two free throws with 42.9 seconds remaining, and NLA received a big break when Ellsworth was whistled for an over-and-back violation with 2.5 seconds left.

The Eagles in-bounded the ball at the half-court line, but they didn’t get off a shot before time expired.

The second overtime session belonged to Ellsworth as Schilling (eight points) and senior Brant Deutsch (six points) scored a combined 14 points to help the Panthers outscore the Eagles 15-5 in the four-minute span.

The game was up for grabs when NLA’s Tony Lerud turned a steal into a layup with 1:32 left to trim what was a 67-64 EHS lead into a 67-66 edge.

Ellsworth then scored nine unanswered points (four from Schilling, four from Deutsch and one from senior Travis Jenniges) in the game’s final 1:13 to prevail by 10.

The game’s first three quarters were very competitive.

Trailing 5-2 early, Ellsworth moved in front 8-5 at the 5:00 mark of the first quarter with back-to-back threes by Jenniges and Brommer. NLA used an 8-2 run to regain the lead at 13-10 and took a 17-14 edge into the second quarter.

Ellsworth senior Dylan Kvaale, who turned in 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five blocked shots and three steals for the game, hit a pair of threes to spark an 8-0 run that gave EHS a 22-17 lead with 4:31 left in the first half.

NLA, which scored its first two points at the 2:50 mark of the second stanza, ended the half with a 20-2 run to sport a 27-24 lead at the intermission.

A pair of field goals by Schilling in the first 56 seconds of the third quarter gave EHS a 28-27 lead that disappeared when the Eagles put together an 11-5 run to gain a 38-33 advantage.

Ellsworth pulled within one point (40-39) when Kvaale converted a field goal with 20 seconds left, but the Eagles scored with three seconds left to take a 42-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

Deutsch contributed 12 points and six rebounds to the winning cause. Jenniges came up with five rebounds and three assists. Brommer added four rebounds.

Box score
Schilling 11 0 12-15 34, Jenniges 2 1 1-4 8, Kvaale 4 2 2-5 12, Deutsch 4 0 4-6 12, Brommer 0 1 2-2 5, Janssen 1 1 0-0 5.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 25 of 64 (39 percent, 21 of 32 free throws (66 percent), 41 rebounds, nine turnovers.
NLA: 25 of 57 field goals (44 percent), 10 of 13 free throws (77 percent), 38 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
A Luverne High School junior received honorable mention when the 2002-03 All-Southwest Conference Gymnastics team was announced Friday.

Callen Bosshart, an all-around performer for Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek, is one of five athletes to draw honorable mention from the league coaches.

Ten girls made the 2002-03 all-league team.

Conference champion Jackson County Central led all teams with four selections to the squad. Huskies on the roster are junior Bethany Peterson, freshmen Danielle Honnette and Kylla Bargfrede and eighth-grader Brenna Munoz.

Windom picked up three all-conference selections in junior Mary Hartberg and freshmen Bridgette Muller and Carissa Carrison.

Marshall senior Greta Bloome and sophomore Jessica Dolan, and Worthington senior Kaitlin Haack round out the all-conference selection.

Joining Bosshart as honorable mention selections are Worthington juniors Nicole Frodermann and Kendra Grudniewski and freshman Christina Sorenson, and JCC freshman Bethany Shearer.

Luverne High School seniors Cody Jagow (left) and Joel Evans made the 2002-03 All-Southwest Conference Wrestling Team.

By John Rittenhouse
A pair of Luverne High School seniors graced the 28-athlete All-Southwest Conference Wrestling Team roster that was released Friday.

Joel Evans made the team at 215 pounds, and Cody Jagow made the squad at heavyweight.

Windom, the SWC champion with a 6-0 record, locked up a league-high eight all-conference selections.

Seniors Cody Anderson, Derek Hall and John Kremmin, juniors Jeff Stuckenbroker and Cody Bergendahl, sophomore Nick Kulseth and freshmen Colt Bergendahl and Travis Elg made the team for Windom.

Redwood Valley picked up six all-conference selections in senior Ben Dahmes, juniors Paul Panitzke, Bo Hagert, Dusty Myers and Tom Anderson and sophomore Russell Gewerth.

Pipestone and Worthington drew four all-conference selections each.

Making the team for the Arrows are seniors Blake Klinsing, Justin Fruechte and Travis Manderscheid, and sophomore Kyle Evans.

Worthington seniors Jeff Campbell, Brad Sowels and Jared Langseth, and eighth-grader Nathan Wajer cracked the roster.

Jackson County Central juniors Tom Nesseth and Jordan Burmeister, and freshman Justin Kolander, and Marshall senior Colby Bruns round out the all-conference team.

By Sara Strong
The city of Luverne is without an administrator effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The City Council appointed Assistant County Attorney Jeff Haubrich as interim city administrator. He will lead the search for a new administrator.

After a closed meeting Tuesday night, the Luverne City Council Wednesday met again to finalize the voluntary separation agreement between it and City Administrator Matt Hylen.

The special closed meeting Tuesday night was called by council members Pat Baustian and Tom Martius "to evaluate the City Administrator’s job performance."

Public bodies may close meetings to evaluate the performance of an individual under its authority, then the findings are made public. In this case, there was no evaluation because both parties agreed to negotiate a settlement to have Hylen leave instead.

Hylen said, "I would like to thank the citizens of Luverne for being able to serve them for over seven years. There have been many good times and some challenging times, but overall, this has been an excellent place to work."

A voluntary separation agreement is one of a few ways to end employment of the city administrator. Other options are termination or resignation.

The terms of the separation agreement follow the benefits that would have occurred under a severance package included in his employment agreement with the city.

Hylen will receive six months of salary totalling $38,271.35, and health and life insurance contributions will continue for up to 12 months or until Hylen finds other employment.

In addition, Hylen will receive the standard resignation benefits all city employees receive, including pay for his accrued vacation ($5,524.32) and placing the value of his accrued sick leave into a Health Care Savings plan, which is similar to other cafeteria plans.

The separation agreement comes with a statement that there was no wrongdoing by either party.

Mayor Glen Gust said, "Both the City Council and Mr. Hylen agreed it would be best to end their employment relationship on terms both parties could mutually agree to."

Hylen’s job apparently has been a topic of discussion for some time.

He was earning $75,545 a year in 2002, and in January of this year, outgoing councilmen Keith Erickson and Jim Kirchhofer said they thought Hylen’s salary should be increased.

They said his performance goals were met and that his job evaluations were positive, but Kirchhofer and Erickson failed to get Hylen a raise.

The mayor has the sole authority to increase the administrator’s salary.

More recently, Hylen’s actions in terminating electric department employee Mike Gangestad was determined "wrongful" by an arbitrator.

The arbitrator said Gangestad required only discipline, not discharge, and that Hylen acted too harshly.
Hylen said he stood by his actions.

Since 1996
Hylen came to Luverne with his wife, Angie, early in 1996 after serving as city administrator for Hector, starting in March 1993. Hector had just changed from a city clerk to a city administrator form of government in 1992 and had only a short-term administrator before he took over. The post was developed mostly under Hylen.

Hylen helped establish an Economic Development Authority for Hector during his time there. Hylen also worked as a city manager intern for the city of Moorhead between January 1991 and March 1993.

Former Luverne councilman Everett Brandenburg was a part of Hylen’s job interview team. He said, "He was an excellent person to work with … well advised and bright and just did an excellent job."

Brandenburg said the city’s growth and success in many ways was helped by Hylen’s management of the city.

Brandenburg said he was surprised that the new council members felt comfortable with the "voluntary separation agreement," considering they worked with him so short a time.

"I feel we’re losing a valuable asset in the community. He worked very hard and has a nice family," Brandenburg said.

Realizing he came into the administrator job with little managerial experience, Hylen said Wednesday, "I would extend a special thank you to the original City Council back in 1996 for ‘taking the chance’ on me."

Roberto and Rebecca Cazares put together a construction paper and tissue jellyfish with their daughter Bethany Tuesday during a morning class of Early Childhood Family Education.

By Lori Ehde
Dads are more involved than ever in caring for their children, and it’s becoming apparent in Luverne’s Early Childhood Family Education classes.

The classes are offered through Community Education for parents to learn and share ideas about parenting and for children up to 5 years old to meet and mingle with other children.

Community Education Director Karen Willers said 231 different parents participated in various ECFE classes last year.

That number not only represents a growing interest in ECFE among local families, it also includes 94 different dads participating.

In 1999, only 16 percent of participating parents were dads, compared with 35 percent today.

With increasing research pointing to the importance of fathers’ relationships with their children, Willers said she’s pleased to see so many local dads involved in the classes.

"It’s really significant because the role of fathers is different," she said.

"Our issues used to deal with moms going to work and getting dads to help out more at home. … Now, they’re actively involved in raising the children, and the dads are really enjoying being involved."

She said it warms her heart to see dads reading to children on their laps during ECFE interaction time.
"That’s got to be a positive thing for self-esteem," she said.

Bonding with Daddy
"I just love spending time with the kids," said Luverne’s Evan Verbrugge, who has been attending ECFE with his children since his son, Riley was born seven years ago.

Verbrugge, a Rock County sheriff’s deputy, now goes to ECFE with their daughter Emma.

"We thought it was a good way for us to meet other parents, and I thought it was a good way for other people to meet me outside of my uniform, not in a squad car."

He and his wife, Missy, share parenting duties with their alternative schedules, so they wanted their children to have social exposure that they weren’t getting in a daycare setting.

"It is tough being a parent and having to do it by yourself is no picnic," he said. "Missy and I sometimes say that we are single parents because I take care of the kids during the day and she takes care of them at night."

At the same time, he said the arrangement has given him the opportunity to be close to this children.

"The thing that I remember the most from my father was that no matter what the reason, he was always there. I want to be remembered liked that, that I was always there for my children," he said.

"Time with them is too short and they just make me laugh. They can be a handful sometimes, but they know that they are loved."

Jason Aanenson, also a deputy, attends ECFE regularly with his wife, Sheila, and their girls Samantha, 5, and Emily, 2 1/2.

"It’s been good for the kids," he said. "Any way we can get a little head start with them will benefit them down the road."

He said he enjoys the one-on-one time with the girls that the program encourages, and also the parenting tips other parents share.

"It’s for anybody who wants to take a proactive role in parenting their kids can benefit from this," Aanenson said. "It’s not a big time commitment. It’s helped me bond with girls. It lets them know I’m interested in them and that I’m there for them."

He said the program has helped him become a better dad. "I would encourage any dad to come, even if you’re the only one there," he said. "It’s a good time."

Parents share tips on potty training, temper tantrums, bedtime, etc.

The classes are structured to allow parent-child interaction, followed by class time when the children have their learning time away from parents, and parents have time for their own learning.

"The parent discussion time is designed so parents can learn from each other, with some serving as positive role models for the group," Willers aid.

"That’s the No. 1 thing that works well for ECFE. That’s why attaching funding to free and reduced meals could affect this essential element."

Funding for ECFE could be in jeopardy if Gov. Pawlenty’s budget proposal is approved.

"You’d take away the opportunity to learn positive things from each other," Willers said.

"The whole idea is support and encouragement from each other and spending time with your kids. … We’re not just for families in crisis, like some programs are set up."

Willers said whether the dads are at ECFE with their kids or not, she hopes all men in the community are understanding their importance in families.

"Little boys are going to feel they’re important to a family other than for bringing home a paycheck," Willers said.