Emmet Heikes, 79, Luverne, died Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2002, at Luverne Community Hospital.
Services were Saturday, Dec. 21, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Rev. Maurice E. Hagen officiated. Burial was in Grand Prairie Cemetery, Ellsworth.

Emmet Heikes was born to Peter and Grace (Brommer) Heikes on Jan. 12, 1923, in rural Ellsworth. He attended country school in rural Ellsworth.

He married Helen Bohnart on June 30, 1942, in Viola Township, Osceola County, Iowa. He was drafted into the service in 1944. He served in the Merchant Marines in the Philippines. After the war, he worked as a mechanic at Heikes Motors in Ellsworth. He later began farming in different locations in Rock and Nobles County. He retired from farming in 1985 and moved to Luverne for three years. They moved to Sibley, Iowa, in 1988 and later moved to Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne in 2000.

Mr. Heikes was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. He enjoyed fishing and small carpentry projects.

Survivors include his wife, Helen Heikes, Luverne; four children and their spouses, Liela (Bill) Jackson, Mitchell, S.D.; Sharon (Neil) Dohlmann, Magnolia, Gary (Sue) Heikes, Montevideo, and Ronald (Gloria) Heikes, Parkston, S.D.; 11 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Melvin (Leona) Heikes and Lawrence (Mildred) Heikes, all of Luverne; and three sisters, Arlene (George) Groen, Rock Rapids, Iowa, Mildred (Ralph) Lais, Magnolia, and Ruth Weirtzsma, Bird Island Mission, Ky.

Mr. Heikes was preceded in death by his parents, five brothers, Marvin, Raymond, Clarence, Elmer and Glen, and one sister, Margaret.

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

Ray Binford, 90, Luverne, died Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Tuff Memorial Home, Hills. Visitation will be Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home. Services will be Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne. Burial will be at Maplewood Cemetery.

Margaret Winter, 77, Luverne, died Sunday, Nov. 10 at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Home, Luverne. Visitation will be Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Thursday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Luverne. Burial well be at Maplewood Cemetery.

Lorraine Overgaard, 83, Luverne, died Saturday, Dec. 28 at Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls. Visitation will be Monday, Dec. 30 from 7 to 9 a.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home. Services will be Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Dell Sanderson officiating.

Hills-Beaver Creek junior Erin Boeve latches on to one of 13 rebounds during Monday’s home girls’ basketball game against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton. Boeve scored a game-high 24 points in a 58-36 victory.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid with an impressive performance in Hills Monday.

Hosting Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in a non-conference tilt, H-BC used a 32-3 scoring run in the first and second quarters to set the stage for a 58-36 victory.

The game started out close when the teams battled to a draw at six in the first four minutes of the first quarter, but that all changed by halftime.

H-BC limited the Knights to one field goal and one free throw the rest of the first half, which ended with the Patriots sporting a commanding 38-9 advantage.

After R-T-R tied the game at six in the first quarter, H-BC ended the opening period with a 12-0 run that was capped by a pair of free throws from Cassi Tilstra with 36 seconds remaining to give the hosts an 18-6 cushion.

Tilstra, who had 10 points in the game, and Erin Boeve, who led all players with 24 points, netted six counters each in the first quarter.

Things didn’t get any better in the second quarter for R-T-R, which was outscored 20-3 in the period and trailed 38-9 when Brittney Rozeboom buried a pair of free throws with one second left.

Boeve had nine points in the second period, which all but locked the game up for H-BC.

The Knights did show some spark when they started the third quarter with a 13-3 run that made the tally 41-22, but the Patriots countered with a 9-0 surge capped by a field goal from Becky Mulder with eight seconds remaining to take a 50-22 advantage into the fourth period.

R-T-R scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to trail 50-31, but a free throw by Mulder capped a 7-0 H-BC run to give the Patriots a 26-point cushion (57-31) before settling for a 22-point win.

Rozeboom, who had nine rebounds and three steals in the game, joined Boeve and Tilstra in double-figure scoring for H-BC by netting 11 points.

Boeve had 13 rebounds, while Tilstra charted seven assists and three steals.

The 5-3 Patriots cap the 2002 portion of their schedule by playing in Fulda tonight.

Box score
B.Rozeboom 3 0 5-8 11, Bush 1 0 0-0 2, Tilstra 3 0 4-4 10, S.Rozeboom 2 0 2-4 6, Hoyme 1 0 0-0 2, Boeve 8 0 8-11 24, Wassenaar 0 0 0-0 0, Olson 0 0 0-1 0, Mulder 1 0 1-4 3.

Team statistics
H-BC: 19 of 47 field goals (40 percent), 20 of 32 free throws (63 percent), 40 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
R-T-R: 15 of 52 field goals (29 percent), three of seven free throws (43 percent), 36 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The fields are set and the brackets are in place for the annual Luverne High School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Holiday Classic Tournaments that are set for Friday and Saturday.

The varsity girls’ tournament begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Luverne Elementary School gym.
Luverne plays Sleepy Eye in the opener, and Westbrook-Walnut Grove faces Canby at 8:15 p.m.

The loser’s of the first-round games will meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the Luverne High School gym.

The championship game will be played in the Elementary School gym at the same time.

The first-round games in the boys’ varsity tournament will be played in the Luverne High School gym Friday.

W-WG takes on Canby at 6:30 p.m., and Luverne meets Lakeview at 8:15.

The losers of the first-round games will play at 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the Luverne High School gym. The championship game will be played at the same time in the Luverne Elementary School gym.

B squad boys’ and girls’ tournaments will be played in the afternoons on both days.

The B squad girls’ tournament begins at 2 p.m. Friday with Luverne meeting Sleepy Eye in the Elementary School game, and W-WG taking on Canby at 3:30 p.m.

The losers of the first-round games will play at 2 p.m. Saturday in the High School gym. The championship game will be played at the same time in the Elementary School gym.

The B squad boy’s tournament opens in the High School gym Friday. W-WG plays Canby at 2 p.m., and Luverne takes on Lakeview at 3:30 p.m.

The losers of the first-round games play in the High School game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The winners of the first-round games play at the same time in the Luverne Elementary School gym.

By Lori Ehde
Of all the Christmas stories of goodness and joy, this one warms the soul.

It’s about a little girl’s wish to become an accomplished pianist and a community effort to make that wish come true.

It all started with an off-hand remark by fourth-grader Cassandra Sunderland to Luverne Elementary music teacher Beth Capistran.

She had mentioned that she’d like to take piano lessons someday, so Capistran referred the student to Child Guide Lisa Dinger.

Through her duties connecting children to positive community assets, Dinger called around town to find a piano teacher.

The aspiring young musician wasn’t lacking talent or ambition, but she did lack a piano at home and the resources for lessons.

That’s where Cassandra’s friends in the school and community pulled together to help out.

Word eventually reached retired piano teacher June Polzin, who started volunteering lessons for Cassandra at school once a week.

When Child Guide Advisory Board member Julie Wynia updated the Rock County Board on the program, she mentioned the piano lesson story as an example of connecting students with positive community assets.

After the meeting, County Commissioner Jane Wildung and County Administrator Kyle Oldre launched a community-wide search for a piano for Cassandra so she could practice at home.

Oldre’s wife, Sara, works at Hills-Beaver Creek School with Diane Vanden Hoek, who had an upright piano to donate.

Oldre solicited help from friends to move it to Cassandra’s home.

After school on Friday, Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff and several teachers made arrangements to drive Cassandra home where the surprise piano waited in the living room.

Also waiting for her were Santa Claus (Terrie Gulden), Wildung, Oldre and her aunt, Paula Lingen.

Directing her to the piano, they simply said, "Merry Christmas."

Since so many were involved, they simply said the piano was a gift from Santa Claus.

With her eyes dancing at the sight of the ivory keys, Cassandra sat down and played by ear "Silent Night."

With tears welling in their eyes, everyone reflected on the positive outcome of the group effort.

For Dinger, it’s the perfect example what can be done for kids in a community of caring individuals.

"This is how things happen for all the kids I have in the Child Guide program," she said.

Children are referred to the program for various reasons, and she connects them to community people and resources.

"There are lots of little things that go on all the time," Dinger said, "but this one just happens to be a big thing."

She said the message needs to get out that everyone who works for children needs to understand their input, whether big or small, can make a big difference if it’s used in collaboration with others.

"People pulling together helping a child will make a huge difference in a child’s life, especially if they are at a crossroads in their life deciding a future path," Dinger said.

"What excites me is how this community pulls together, especially for the youth."

By Sara Strong
The City of Luverne has been named in two lawsuits involving electric accidents in 2001.

The first was filed by Fulda Electric regarding an electric accident that injured Phillip Kramer Dec. 3, 2001.

The company is suing the city, because it says it’s had to pay increased workers’ compensation coverage and will continue to do so in the future.

Fulda Electric is suing for "an amount in excess of $50,000 together with interest, costs and disbursements as allowed by law."

The city is also facing a lawsuit by the heirs of Brad Herr, the man who died after an electric shock and fall while working in Luverne.

This suit was filed in U.S. District Court, because the accident occurred in Minnesota, Herr was a resident of South Dakota and the family resides in Iowa. In addition, the amount the heirs are suing for exceeds $75,000.

Herr’s accident occurred Oct. 20, 2001, when he was working for RCH Cable Sales Company of the Midwest. He was installing equipment for digital cable Mediacom, which the lawsuit said Luverne hired to do the work.

Herr was working on a pole near the National Guard Armory on Freeman Avenue and "came into contact with a ground wire that was not connected to a suitable grounding electrode."

The lawsuit calls to attention a prior incident on the same power pole that occurred Sept. 28, 2001, and charges that the city did not take proper measures to remedy the line, and further, that the city work done by employees of the city was "substandard, negligent and dangerous."

The heirs and the next of kin of Herr say through the suit that they have "sustained damages, including funeral expenses, loss of society, companionship, affection, support and other pecuniary loss."

The plaintiff is asking for a judgment against the city of Luverne for "a reasonable excess of $70,000, together with interest, costs and disbursements as allowed by law. Plaintiff also demands a trial by jury."

The Dec. 3 incident, in which Kramer lost his left hand and part of his forearm, prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to fine the city $56,000.

The city is trying to appeal those fines, which were given with the designation of "willful" violations.

By Lori Ehde
Luverne School Board members formally approved the creation of a Luverne School Foundation during their Monday night meeting.

Appropriately following woeful discussion on the future of education funding, the board approved a resolution that puts the wheels in motion to establish a vehicle for accepting private donations.

With the Southwest Minnesota Foundation serving as the umbrella organization, the Luverne School Foundation will be able to accept tax-deductible donations exclusively for the benefit of the district.

It will not serve the same purpose as Dollars for Scholars, rather the board views it as a potential "sister" foundation to Dollars for Scholars.

A committee of School Board members Becky Walgrave, Bill Stegemann and Don Bryan will meet with Superintendent Vince Schaefer Thursday, Jan. 9, to work out the details.

It will be set up to accept undesignated funds to be channeled toward technology or other identified areas of need. In addition, it may accept designated funds earmarked for needs specifically identified by donors.

The foundation will provide the opportunity to set up endowments, which would use only money generated from interest, or it may accept funds as grants to be used outright.

All gifts to the foundation will be tax deductible.

"At least now we have a vehicle in place to receive donations," Schaefer said.

Administrative salaries
The board approved administrative salaries during regular business at Monday’s meeting.

Schaefer’s salary as superintendent will increase from $91,960 in 2002-03 to $96,098 in 2003-04.

High School Principal Gary Fisher’s salary will increase from $84,751 in 2002-03 to $88,141 in 2003-04.

Curriculum Coordinator and Alternative School Director Jan Olson’s salary will increase from $58,565 in 2002-03 to $60,907 in 2003-04.

Activity Director Harvey Crable’s salary for a one-year contract is set at $37,046 for 2002-03.

These salaries are effective retro to the start of the current school year, July1, 2002.

Playground concerns
Playground Committee member Dan Kopp updated the board on a few concerns that may need attention.

A major storm drain is located in the middle of play area on the southwest side of the elementary school. Water sometimes ponds around this drain causing safety issues.

The chain-link fence may have been placed too near the west side of the building, compromising play space.

Wood fiber chips under playground equipment needs to be replaced about a semi load per year because high winds blow them away. Wood is less expensive, but not when it needs to be replaced that often.

The committee is looking at alternatives to wood chips, in addition to solutions to the other playground issues.

In other business, Monday, the board …
Approved an agreement with Nobles-Rock Public Health to designate the school as a mass dispensing site or clinic in the event of an emergency.

Depending on the emergency, the district will make available its kitchens, commons area and/or gymnasiums.

Formally swore in re-elected board members Walgrave, Stegemann, Kopp and Cary Radisewitz.

Noted the next regular School Board meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23.