By Sara Strong
In response to questions and suggestions from Parents: The Anti Drug and Violence Task Force, the Rock County Board of Commissioners gave an overview of county services relating to family issues and prevention of drug use.

Commissioners also addressed the county curfew issue, which was not passed last time it was on the table.

The Rock County Attorney's Office reviewed a possible curfew ordinance for the board to consider.

Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt said in a memo that there are positives and negatives to a potential curfew imposed by the county board.

Benefits are:
•A county wide curfew ordinance would provide law enforcement with reason to require juveniles to go home and stay there during appropriate hours.

•A county-wide curfew would provide “probable cause” to stop vehicles when it is apparent that occupants are in violation of the curfew. Those brief stops can be a tool to stop other illegal activities.

•A county-wide curfew might help identify at risk youth before other crimes are committed.

Possible drawbacks are:

•Vajgrt said he is concerned “that enforcement of a curfew ordinance will take deputies away from matters that should have higher priority. To date this year, law enforcement has made 31 DWI arrests in Rock County. I see this trend toward higher numbers continuing. A majority of DWI arrests occur during the time periods in which the county-wide curfew would be enforced. A deputy cannot be on patrol observing a drunk driver cross a center line if they are babysitting a juvenile while his/her parents are notified that their child has been brought to the Law Enforcement Center.”

•“A county wide curfew might, in my opinion, strengthen the misguided belief that the supervision of young people is a function of law enforcement, corrections and the courts rather than parents.”

Commissioner Jane Wildung said that the structure of the Law Enforcement Center itself is a part of the issue. With no holding cell, officers have to sit with people in custody. In the case of juveniles, they would have to wait until a parent or guardian can pick up the curfew violator.

In the case of juveniles likely to be out past curfew, Wildung said, parents might not be home or available to pick up their children.

Other concerns for a county-wide curfew are the inconsistencies between cities and the county in general. The cities of Kenneth, Steen and Magnolia don’t have curfews, and other cities have varying hours.

Officers would have to memorize the different ordinances and hope people younger than 18 didn't congregate in the towns without curfews.

The proposed ordinance set curfew hours for children younger than age 16 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. For juveniles 16 to 18, the curfew would be from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. There would be exceptions for work and school activities at the least.

The ordinance wasn't voted on, but the County Board turned it back to the Rock County Collaborative for further review and input.

County service overview
Chair Wildung said, “The County Board takes concerns seriously and is trying to develop some type of protocol to address the issues of the community.”

Key services available to families of Rock County were presented to the board and attending public.

•Policing — Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure said the two months of community policing classes have made a big impact on the department. “We have really good guys and they really believe in the concept.”

Deputy Jeff Wieneke said most department members like community policing so far. Related to the drug issue, Wieneke said he thinks the department will be more open and get more information from the public. Beyond that, he thinks reorganization within the department will help in gathering evidence and completing warrants.

McClure said to look for more programs the department will be putting on for the community.

The Task Force had previously expressed interest in grants for a school resource officer, a police officer in the schools. The grants are past for this cycle and some applicants are already in for the next, but the county theorizes that scheduling and prioritizing time may make it possible to get a school officer even without the grant.

The grant Rock County researched is $125,000 over three years. A school officer would probably cost $70,000 a year in total needs, so the difference would have to be made up somewhere. So even if the county gets a grant at some point, local funds would be needed.

Task Force member Elaine Fick said, “I realize the cost is an issue, but my hope is that by the end of the three years, we find that we really need this and the cost is worth it, that we can't get along without it.”

She said the county might actually save money on the front end of law enforcement, rather than spending more money in detention and court fees.

•Public Health - Paula Anderson, public health educator for Nobles Rock Public Health is also a member of the Collaborative. She said the Collaborative looked at curfews in the past and decided it was better to encourage parents to better monitor their children.

As a reference tool for parents, the Collaborative will be distributing magnets that list appropriate curfews for children of different ages. The guideline may help parents set rules for the family.

Through her work with the Collaborative and Public Health, Anderson is trying to reach parents in different ways - through print material, classes and possibly the Internet - to get them information on parenting issues.

She has contacts to help parents and community groups looking for speakers or general information.

•Mental Health — Scott Johnson, director of the Southwest Mental Health Center, said addiction aftercare typically goes through Stephanie Pierce at Luverne Community Hospital.

“When I worked with people on an inpatient basis,” Johnson said, “some of the worst things, the scariest people were on meth. … I knew one patient who had gone through treatment 36 times. It's an ongoing problem.”

•Corrections -
Community Corrections deals with criminals on probation. Random drug tests are done in favor of scheduled tests, but the Task Force voiced concerns that those weren't done often enough.

Now, eight adults are on probation in Rock County for felony drug charges, most of which are fifth degree or for small amounts.

•Rock County Collaborative - The Collaborative's purpose is to empower parents and prevent risky behavior in young people.

The Collaborative is broken down into groups that work within certain ages and tailor programs to those ages. It has ongoing programs such as Healthy Families Home Visiting Project, gifts of “Rock-A-Bye Baby Reader,” Child Guide Program at the elementary school, Big Buddies, Book of the Week Club at Hills-Beaver Creek elementary, parenting seminars, summer recreation expansion, seatbelt checks, Top Teens, middle school after school program, and many others.

Name and place of residence: Layton Gruis, rural Adrian

Family information: Wife, Missy, and two sons, Brandon, 12, and Trevor, 11, both students in Ellsworth School District.

Occupation: Grain and livestock farmer

Education: Ellsworth High School diploma and two-year degree from Canby vo-tech.

Community activities and involvement: Member of Salem Reformed Church, Little Rock, Iowa, where he serves on the consistory. He's also been a board member of East Lyon County Co-op for several years and volunteers for the Little Rock ambulance.

Qualifications for service: Lifelong member of the Ellsworth School District.

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"It is important to me to maintain a school district with a small class atmosphere while offering a quality education. In order to achieve this, we must efficiently use our tax dollars available to us. I will also strive to maintain a safe, well-disciplined atmosphere at Ellsworth Public Schools."

Name and place of residence: Joan Pater, Adrian

Family information: Husband, Darrin, and two boys, Jordan, 11, and Jase, 8.

Occupation: Kitchen staff at Adrian Elementary School

Education: Adrian High School diploma and Southeast Vo-tech accounting degree.

Community activities and involvement: Adrian Park Board and member of the Adrian Blue and Gold Parent Teacher Organization.

Qualifications for service: "I feel I'm qualified because I have two children who attend Adrian Elementary. I attend School Board meetings regularly, and I am very interested in my childrenÕs education."

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"Budget cuts are the main issue right now, and, with the cuts, still being able to provide our students with the quality of education they deserve."

Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Shari Binford runs paper through the counting machine at the Rock County Courthouse Tuesday night. Pictured in back is Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Carol Weber. The counting wasn't complete until 5 a.m. Wednesday. Election story inside.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Southwest Conference Choral Festival 2002
Guest Choir Conductor Dr. P. Bradley Logan directs members of the Honor Choir Monday during the Southwest Conference High School Festival in the Luverne High School gymnasium. The Honor Choir is made up of eight singers from each of the seven conference schools. Luverne, Worthington, Jackson County Central, Redwood Valley, Windom, Marshall and Pipestone Area combined to form a mass choir of 575 voices. The festival culminated with an evening concert featuring each school performing two selections, followed by presentations from the Honor Choir and mass choir. Bruce Phelps, former Luverne choir director, was also a guest conductor for the event.

Photo by Sue Bruynes

Name and place of residence: Tim Honermann, Adrian

Family information: Wife, Judy, and children, Trista, 17, and Tanna, 14

Occupation: Contractor-cabinet maker

Education: Adrian Public School, Pipestone Vocational
Community activities and involvement: Jaycees member, Chamber member and board member of HRA and Cemetery Association.

Qualifications for service: "I've been in business for 17 years and also have two children in school."

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"What I would like to accomplish if elected school board member would include good quality teaching, make sure kids are getting proper education to prepare them for college or careers when they graduate É also try to run the school with the funds that are available."

Name and place of residence: Colleen Nath, Luverne

Family information: Husband, Dan, and children, Matthew, 13, Rachel, 11, and Benjamin, 9

Occupation: Office manager at Luverne Family Chiropractic

Education: Graduate of Cottonwood County High School and Granite Falls Vocational Technical Institute.

Community activities and involvement: Music Boosters assistant treasurer, member of St. Catherine Church, St. Catherine women's auxiliary and church choir.

Qualifications for service: Concerned parent, communication skills, concern for the school system and the community and business understanding.

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"My family has been in Luverne for only a few years, but we very much enjoy the school system and used it as a deciding factor when moving here. I think, as a new person coming into the school board, there would be a learning period to achieve a level of understanding on the issues that are being faced. The current board members have done a fine job, and I, myself, would like to become involved in the future educational needs of my children. I think I can bring a new set of opinions to the board as well as a caring attitude. I know I have a lot to learn, and I am up for the challenge."

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton sophomore Tyler Bush approaches the finish of Saturday's Class A cross country race in Northfield. Bush placed 15th overall to lead the Patriot boys to a sixth-place effort as a team.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton's first appearance as a team at the Minnesota State Class A Cross Country Championships in Northfield has to be considered a big success.

With one Patriot boy running his way onto the All-State roster and a sixth-place finish as a team, H-BC-E-E can be proud of its performance during the fall classic staged on the campus of St. Olaf College.

“We finished sixth as a team out of 16 teams, and we were 19 points out of third place,” said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. “I’m extremely proud of our guys for placing sixth. You always want to finisher higher, but we could have easily have done worse and dropped out of the Top Ten.”

Goehle had a good idea that Staples-Motley and St. Cloud Cathedral, teams that finished first and second in the Class A standings with 77 and 127 points respectively would finish one and two. After offering that, he added that places three through 10 would be up for grabs.

Goehle’s foresight proved to be fairly accurate as 52 points separated the teams that placed third through 10th.
H-BC-E-E’s 191-point total was 19 counters behind La Crescent, which finished third with 172 counters. Perham (180) and Eveleth-Gilbert (185) bested the Patriots by 11 and six points respectively.

H-BC-E-E edged Blue Earth Area 191-192 for sixth place. Warroad (202), Canby-Minneota-Lincoln HI (213) and Plainview (224) round out the Top Ten.

Along with leading his team to a sixth-place finish, sophomore Tyler Bush became the second H-BC-E-E runner to earn all-state status during the course of the race in as many years.

Bush, the Patriots' top performer all season, placed 15th individually out of 159 runners. The Top 25 finishers in the race make the All-State Class A Team.

Brad Haak placed 14th at the state meet last year to become the first Patriots to make the all-state team.

Since H-BC-E-E was competing as a team, Bush’s adjusted place (which is the place an individual finished compared with all other members of 16 teams involved in the varsity race) was ninth.
Senior Zach Hadler, sophomore Kale Wiertzema, junior Todd Alberty and sophomore Greg Van Batavia made contributions to H-BC-E-E's team tally.

Hadler’s adjusted place was 33rd in 18:08. Wiertzema (43rd in 18:20), Alberty (51st in 18:27) and Van Batavia (55th in 18:29) impacted the scoring with their adjusted finishes.

Overall, Hadler, Wiertzema, Alberty and Van Batavia finished 60th, 76th, 87th and 92nd respectively.
Junior Lee Jackson and sophomore Derek Haak ran without influencing the scoring.

Jackson, who ran an 18:40, finished 66th in the adjusted standings and 108th overall. Haak, who ran a 19:47, finished 104th in the adjusted standings and 150th overall.

Considering all of his runners, with the exception of Halder, will be back next year, one would think Goehle would be looking forward to the 2003 season.

The coach, however, has a different take on the situation.

“Right now we're spending most of our time being thankful for making it to state this year instead of looking ahead to next season,” he said.

“There is a lot of time between now and next season, and we can put next year on the backburner for now. Besides, just because you were good one year doesn't necessarily mean you will have one the next year. The potential his there, but it will take a lot of hard work to get back to state.”

Here is a look at the final Class A boys' team standings.

Standings: S-M 77, SCC 127, La Crescent 172, Perham 180, E-G 185, H-BC-E-E 191, BEA 192, Warroad 202, C-M-LH 213, Plainview 224, Annandale 235, Minnehaha Academy 260, East Grand Forks 266, United South Central 283, Mayer Lutheran 350, Duluth Marshall 350.

Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth junior quarterback Curt Schilling pitches the ball to a runner during Saturday's Section 2 Nine-Man championship game against Nicollet in Hills. Nicollet scored 24 unanswered points and fought off a late rally by the Patriots to post a 31-20 win.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's attempt to repeat as the Section 2 Nine-Man football champion came up short during the section championship game played in Hills Saturday.

Entertaining Nicollet, the state's third-ranked team, No. 4-ranked H-BC-E expected to be in a tight battle for the right to represent the section in the state tournament.

The game was tight for three quarters, but a 24-0 scoring run by the undefeated Raiders during the second and fourth quarters led to a 31-20 victory in the end.

Nicollet, 11-0 overall, moves into the state quarterfinals on Saturday. The Raiders host Chokio-Alberta-Herman-Norcross. H-BC-E’s 9-1 season is complete.

Like many big games, Saturday’s was decided by field position and turnovers.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, they came up on the short end of the stick in both areas. H-BC-E turned the ball over four times in the game (three fumbles and one interception). The Raiders didn't score any points off the turnovers, but they did benefit from the field position that resulted from the miscues.

“We just turned the ball over too many times,” said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. “We lost two fumbles and one interception in the first half alone. If we hadn't turned the ball over, we might have been on top at halftime.”
Instead, the Patriots trailed 16-7 at the intermission.

Neither team could generate much offense early in the game as the first three offensive series turned into three-and-out possessions.

Nicollet received the third punt of the game, taking over on the 50-yard line at the 7:43 mark of the first quarter.

The Raiders advanced the ball 28 yards in seven plays before running back Tony Hulke scored at the end of a 22-yard run on the eighth play. Mattias Hellblom added the extra point for Nicollet, making it a 7-0 game with 4:08 left in the opening period.

The teams exchanged punts as the first quarter progressed, and H-BC-E took over on the 50 following the boot by Nicollet.

On the third play of the ensuing series, Patriot senior tailback Chris Reid broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run. Zach Wysong added the extra point to knot the score at seven with four seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Nicollet scored nine unanswered points to gain a 16-7 advantage by halftime, but the situation could have been worse for H-BC-E if not for some big stops produced by the Patriot defense.

After forcing Nicollet to punt four plays after Reid’s touchdown, H-BC-E fumbled on the third play of its next possession and Raider Mike Rosin recovered the loose ball on the Patriot 17. Hellblom missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt four plays later.

H-BC-E fumbled on the first play of its ensuing possession and Raider Paul Nourie recovered on the Patriot 23. The outstanding field position was squandered once again as Reid picked off a pass in the end zone two plays later.

The Patriots ended up paying a price for giving the Raiders excellent field position too many times. After forcing the Patriots to punt four plays after Reid's interception, Nicollet’s J.J. Hornung blocked the kick, and the ball rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The play gave Nicollet a 9-7 edge at the 5:37 mark of the second quarter.

Nicollet forced the Patriots to punt late in the first half, giving the Raiders the ball on H-BC-E's 44 with 52 seconds remaining. Five plays later, Nourie tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Wagner. Hellblom's extra point made it 16-7 with 14 seconds left in the half.

Neither team could get anything going offensively to start the third quarter, but the Raiders did get some good field position when they gained possession of the ball on the H-BC-E 41 after a punt by the Patriots with 1:20 remaining. Nicollet covered 41 yards in seven plays with Wagner scoring on a six-yard run with 11:00 left in the fourth quarter. A Nourie-to-Rosin conversion pass made the tally 24-7.

H-BC-E lost the ball on downs at its own 46-yard line five plays into its next possession, setting up a five-play drive by the Raiders. Wagner, who hauled in a 42-yard pass on the third play of the possession, capped the march with a two-yard touchdown run with 7:06 left to play. Hellblom added the extra point to make it a 31-7 difference.

To H-BC-E's credit, the Patriots didn't give up.

The Patriots mounted a 65-yard scoring drive that was capped by a two-yard run by Dusty Seachris with 4:39 remaining. A conversion pass fell incomplete, leaving the Raiders sporting a 31-13 cushion.

Seachris recovered a fumble on the Raider 32 during the first play of Nicollet's next possession, and Patriot quarterback Curt Schilling hooked up with Tyson Metzger for a 32-yard touchdown pass on first down. An extra point by Wysong made it a 31-20 game with 4:24 left to play.

H-BC-E got the ball back on its own 26 with 2:29 left, but the possession ended on downs when a fourth-and-seven pass fell incomplete one minute later.

Nicollet was able to run the remaining 1:29 off the clock to ice an 11-point win.

Although the Patriots came up short, Ellingson was proud of the way his team rallied late in the game, and with its play throughout the season.

“We got two quick scores at the end, but we still were two scores down. Being four scores down is too much to overcome,” he said. “We would have liked things to turn out differently Saturday, but our kids had an undefeated regular season, which is something they really can be proud of. They weren't expected to go undefeated during the regular season, but they did it.”

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 143 rushing yards, 118 passing yards, 261 total yards, eight first downs, four penalties for 20 yards, four turnovers.
Nicollet: 154 rushing yards, 81 passing yards, 235 total yards, 10 first downs, four penalties for 25 yards, two turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 16-78, Jesse Leuthold 6-26, Wysong 2-34, Schilling 2-7, Seachris 1-2.
Passing: Schilling 9-24 for 118 yards.
Receiving: Metzger 4-52, Wysong 2-58, Brant Deutsch 1-13, Leuthold 1-minus 5.
Defense: Schilling 14 tackles and one fumble recovery, Reid three tackles and one interception, Leuthold eight tackles, Cody Scholten eight tackles, Pat Nelson three tackles and one sack, Seachris one fumble recovery.