I am writing in regard to the School District 2184 Luverne school tax levy referendum. It seems again Gov. Tim Pawlenty has short-changed the state’s share of school funding. He has done this while cutting taxes for the wealthy in Minnesota, then saying he will not raise taxes. Perhaps pressure should be put on the state to pay more instead of raising our property taxes. When a private for profit corporation goes in the red it’s always wages, pensions and health insurance that gets cut while output is expected to increase in speed to make up losses.Unions are busted or striking workers are replaced with non-union workers. However, if it is tax paid workers in state unions it’s the taxpayers that are always expected to anti-up yearly increases in wages, pensions and health and disability insurance increases.Many school administrators receive wages of $100,000 per year and up. Most teachers receive $30,000 a year and up. The school year runs about 39 weeks minus a week for Christmas and a week for spring break and other holidays. Then that leaves 37 weeks of school at five days a week. This leaves about 185 days of school at $30,000 per year. That nets teachers right close to $162 a day. Not too bad is it?I am not trying to knock teachers or education, but we don’t get better education by simply raising wages and leaving no money for other things. We’ve all seen our taxes go up even if our incomes did not. When do we say enough is enough? Marvin KroontjeMagnolia

We attended the ceremony for the deployment of our Luverne young men in Fairmont last Thursday night. It was a very impressive ceremony with the Governor and Mrs. Pawlenty and lots of other speakers. The parade was one of the best with two high school bands, Legionnaires, VFW members, fire trucks, and ambulances from all the towns around. Not many towns were not represented. I just want to give the Luverne Minnesota Veteran Home a big thank you for thinking of our men by sending a representative. It was great to see someone from Luverne. These young men are giving two years of their lives for us, to keep us safe. Let’s show our appreciation by helping their families here at home. May God keep them safe until they return to their families. Eddie and Donna DeutschLuverne.

"No other investment does as much for our economy, environment, businesses, communities and our quality of life as a quality education." (Parent United Network, 2005)Strong public schools are essential for our state’s economic health.As we move toward election day for our proposed operating levy referendum, a number of questions have arisen. I would like to address a few of those questions and concerns.1.Concerns of bussing students within the city limits:We do not have a separate bus route for our in-town students Busses which carry our country students will pick up students at designated spots in the city.2.Will we pay the full $700 per pupil increase?No, the state will pay $323.67 of the $700 and our local effort (Tax Levies) will pay the difference of $376.39.3.What has the district done to help with this issue?oSince 2001, the Luverne Board of Education has made $646,000 in budget cuts.oWe have increased activity fees for students participating in activities.oWe have cut the vocational programs at the fairgrounds and developed programs on campus.oWe have lowered temperatures in all buildings to conserve energy and lower costs.oWe have reduced the number of teaching staff. A number of teachers have retired or left the district, and we have not replaced some of them, resulting in fewer sections and larger class sizes. We also have teachers who teach at a combination of levels, high school and middle school, or middle school and elementary.oWe have reduced the administrative team. When the elementary principal left, she was not replaced, and the administrators picked up additional duties to cover the position.oWe have not increased supply/book/equipment dollars for three years.oWe have continued to educate our students at a cost lower than the state average. Luverne schools spent $7,660 per student to educate our students, whereas the state average was $8,379.Throughout the state there are huge challenges in educating our children, including different languages, special education needs, economic disparities and high mobility. But progress is being made. Education is the key to providing equal opportunity to all of our students. "What the best parents want for their children, the public must want for all children." (John Dewey)Gary L. Fisher Superintendent Luverne Public SchoolsLuverne

This weekend David and I have been invited back to my old high school in Madison, S.D., for a very special volleyball game.Back in the early 1990s, when I was attending Lake Central High School in Madison, my volleyball team managed to take home the biggest trophy at the state volleyball tournament. I guess it has been 10 years since those "magical" moments, and our team is going to be recognized at a varsity home game.When I first received notice of this gathering, I did not intend to go. I moved to Texas the summer after I graduated and was pretty sure I didn’t need to be honored for an accomplishment I don’t really remember.However, in September when the H-BC football boys ventured back onto the field to be honored for their great victory, I saw the other side of such a ceremony.The recognition isn’t so much for the former players as it is for the current team and coaches. The H-BC championship of 1991 gave the Patriots of today hope that they could be great, too. Plus, I saw the look in David Deragisch’s eyes when he spoke about seeing his players.He loved the weekend. It brought back sweet memories of his career before he became an administrator at H-BC. It was obvious that he enjoyed seeing his old players and their families.The next week, I called my old coach and said that she could put my name on the list of players who would be in attendance.Now that the weekend has arrived and I have seen a schedule of the evening, I am nervous all over again. I am nervous for two primary reasons and about 2,000 secondary reasons.First, of the nine girls committed to showing up on Friday, I have only "run" into two of them during the past 10 years. Making matters worse, all nine of us are married. So there will be a bunch of men, potentially men I went to school with, running around the gym.It is going to be hard enough to recognize these women after 10 years, but I will also need to recall random boys from high school. Argh! I am not sure I will be able to pull it off without a few mistakes.Secondly, and perhaps the most tragic, is that I don’t remember much about my team’s bid for the championship.I recall that we won, and that win led to a big celebration when we returned to town. In addition, I know that I have a hooded rain jacket somewhere making the claim of our victory and a box of cereal with our team photo on the front. So I know we won, I just don’t remember the events leading to the win.Over the past week, I have quizzed many of my family members to see if they could shed any light on the week they must have spent watching me run around a volleyball court.My younger brother, who was about 13 at the time, remembers, "running around with Ebsen the whole time." He didn’t jog too many memories, although he was able to recall more teammates than I was — a pathetic fact, since I spent hours with these women. Most were also on my basketball, track and softball teams, yet I am having so much trouble recalling their personalities and attitudes.My mother remembered the name of the band that was playing while we warmed up for the championship game and that I had played well. From the tone and surprise in her voice when she told me the story, it would seem I hadn’t played well most of the season.My father just seemed stuck on the idea that it had been 10 years; it seems his details had become fogged with time, too.I finally remembered that our team hadn’t been very good during the regular season. In fact, I think the team had planned a semi-organized strike on the bus following a poor out-of-town performance.Somehow, we managed to get into the state tournament. I know we were at the bottom of the list of teams. We were not expected to win — not even one game.I guess it was a Cinderella story. The news coverage turned to us before the championship game. Beyond that I have no idea who we played in any of the games, I don’t know if they were close scores, I can’t think of how we celebrated after the win – nothing. My mind brings back a big blank when I ask it for a memory.Normally and for most events (especially big events), my memory is expansive. I can recall conversations from both graduation days, I vividly remember the birth of my younger brothers and nephew, I even know how and whom I played in the state basketball tournament the same year the volleyball team won.I am embarrassed by this block in my memory and my absence from the life of my teammates. They are all married, and I don’t have any idea when they got hitched or to whom.I am sure I will survive the "reunion" without being forced to bring up memories of my own.Story ideas or comments can be emailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

NOTICE OF GENERAL ELECTIONINDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 671HILLS-BEAVER CREEKSTATE OF MINNESOTANOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a general election has been called and will be held in and for Independent School District No. 671, Hills-Beaver Creek, State of Minnesota, on Tuesday, the 8th day of November 2005, for the purpose of electing (four) school board members for a four year term. The four year ballot shall provide as follows:Put an (X) in the square opposite the name of each candidate for a four year term you wish to vote for.SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERVOTE FOR UP TO FOUR––– TIM BAKER––– HARLEY FRANSMAN––– CHRIS HARNACK––– LOIS LEUTHOLD––– STUART LEUTHOLD––– –––––––––––––––––The combined polling places for this election and the precincts served by those polling places will be as follows: Steen Community Hall in Steen, MN. Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School in Beaver Creek, MN. Hills-Beaver Creek High School in Hills, MN.Any eligible voter residing in the school district may vote at said election at the polling place designated above for the precinct in which he or she resides. The polls for said election will open at 5:00 p.m. and will close at 8:00 p.m. on the date of said election. A voter must be registered to vote to be eligible to vote in this election. An unregistered individual may register to vote at the polling place on election day. Dated: August 8, 2005 BY ORDER OF THE SCHOOL BOARD/s/ Ann BoeveSchool District Clerk(HC10-20)

10 years ago (1995)"The H-BC Patriots relied on a solid running attack to defeat St. Claire 48-14 last Friday. The Patriots concluded regular season on the road at Cleveland last night and will host a playoff game Tuesday night."25 years ago (1980)"A good time was had by all including ‘Witchey-Poo’ at the annual Halloween Carnival held this week in the Legion building in Hills. Proceeds from the event are given to charity. A large crowd of all ages was on hand to try their luck at various games of chance, all for a good cause."50 years ago (1955)"The reorganization of the school bus routes is now complete with some routes having as much as six miles taken off. The move was made to equalize the length of each route. Each route now averages from 19 to 20 miles. If the new route inconveniences some individuals, in as much as is possible, adjustments will be made."75 years ago (1930)"Jim Christianson reports that he is about to open an indoor miniature golf course in Beaver Creek in the near future."100 years ago (1905)"A great many of our fine shade trees were badly ruined by last Thursday’s snow and slush. On account of our frostless fall, a great deal of the foliage was still left on the trees which caught such a great amount of moist snow that the branches gave way beneath the weight. Many of the maples were split in two."

Mae Top, Hills, saw her twin sister, Fae Aukes, off last Saturday on a flight back home to Mesa, Ariz. Fae had spent several months here in Hills with Mae and visited friends and relatives in the area. Fae also spent time in Wheaton visiting long-time friends. She was blessed with a good non-stop flight home to Mesa. While here in Hills, Mae and Fae were able to celebrate birthdays with friends Marie Soehl (whose birthday is one day after Mae and Fae’s which is on Sept. 27) and Kenny and wife, Rosie Sandstede. Kenny’s birthday was Sept. 24, and the group was able to celebrate at Luverne Pizza Ranch. Last week Mae and Fae were able to visit some of their relatives in Sioux Falls, S.D., including a cousin, Kenneth Lutz, and his wife, Frances, along with their sister-in-law, Margaret Zieghan, all of Sioux Falls.Mae and Fae had a special dinner at the Hills Café with Lorraine Edmundson-Bjork of Larchwood, Iowa, and Joyce Olson-Anderson of Valley Springs, S.D., to celebrate the birthdays of Mae, Fae and Lorraine. I am sorry to write that Lorraine Edmundson-Bjork passed away two weeks after their birthday get-together. You all are in our thoughts and prayers. Mae and Fae would like to express their heartfelt thanks to everyone for making their 80th birthday a great day and thank everyone who attended the party at the Hills Legion on Sept. 24, and for the cards and gifts. Luella Schlueter of Hills had family home the weekend of Oct. 8-9. Gerry Schlueter of Lake Park, and Bonnie and Brian Olson of St. Paul came to Hills and helped their mother, Luella, get settled in her new apartment located at 406 S. Elizabeth Ave. in Hills. Congratulations, Luella, on your move!Chuck and Rheta DeBoer of Hills recently attended the funeral of Chuck’s aunt, Geneva Weerheim of Rock Rapids, Iowa. Frank DeBoer of Hills is a brother of Geneva’s. You have our deepest sympathies. I am glad to announce that John Van Malsen is home after having surgery Oct. 3 on his knee. You will be in our prayers and thoughts for your speedy recovery!Saturday, Oct. 15, Cheyenne Albers and Cheryl Pavel spent the afternoon attending the Midwest Dance Center Exhibition at the Volunteers of America in Sioux Falls. There were inflatables, games and raffles for the children with various types of dance being performed by all ages. We saw tap, ballet, hip hop, street dancing, break dancing and cheerleading all performed by students of Midwest Dance. It was a very enjoyable afternoon where the kids could join in, too.Vicki Nelson of Mankato arrived Friday by bus to spend the weekend with her parents, Lois and Ray Nelson of Hills. The trio also attended the Washington Pavilion movie, "The Amazing Journey," and then visited Devil’s Gulch in Garretson, S.D. On Monday, Oct. 17, they drove back to Mankato and enjoyed a picnic lunch before Ray and Lois returned to Hills. Jean Hanson, a former Hills resident, was a Sunday noon guest at the home of Lois and Ray. I wish to express my congratulations to Lori (Van Wyhe) and Todd Van Conant of Sioux Falls for the little blessing they received and welcome baby Gennielle Marie to her new mommy and daddy. Can’t leave out the grandparents, you know. Lucy and Henry Van Wyhe, Hills, and Peggy and Dale Van Conant, Sioux Falls. I am very happy for you!

By Lori EhdeRock County’s Rural Water system is served by a series of wells fed by shallow, underground aquifers.Rural Water Director Dan Cook said an important role of Rural Water is to protect local drinking water from contamination."We want residents to know we’re trying to watch out for the sensitive areas around the wells and protect their water for the future," Cook said.The Rock County Land Management Office and Rural Water have for many years been monitoring the Wellhead Protection Area, and particularly the Drinking Water Supply Management a Area.Along with identifying this 7-square-mile area, officials are closely monitoring streams and waterways that feed the area.State laws and local ordinances take into account these areas and encourage voluntary restrictions on ag production there."It’s created an area around the wells where nothing happens," Cook said. "We have the ability to say, ‘This is an area of too much sensitivity where we want to monitor livestock and land use activity."Runoff from nearby corn and soybean fields can poison the drinking water supplies, so Cook and Land Management officials are working to educate farmers and landowners in these areas.They were invited to a meeting Monday night where they learned what they can do to protect the water and to get involved in programs with state and federal incentives.About 30 residents and landowners were invited to the meeting for an update on wellhead protection and specifically the Southwest Minnesota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.CREP is an enhancement of the long-standing CRP program that encourages farmers to take out of production environmentally sensitive land.Farmers receive monetary incentives for participating. Essentially, they get paid not to farm it.CREP works much the same way, but it applies only to land in a drinking supply management area, and the sign-up incentives are more generous. For example, qualified applicants receive:oannual CRP rental payments, which include a 30-percent incentive bonus, plus a $5 per acre maintenance allowance for the first 15 years.oa one-time signing incentive payment of $10 per acre per year, or $150 per acre.oa one-time, up front Reinvest in Minnesota payment of 17 percent of the county assessor’s estimated value of the enrolled land.The CREP contracts are for 45 years, and landowners retain all hunting and property rights.Strips of grass and trees bordering water ways in place of row crops are common ways to handle CREP land taken out of row crop production.In most cases, approved conservation practices CREP land are installed at no cost to the landowner.The idea is that the vegetation filters contaminants from water before it drains into the drinking water supply."The key thing is we want people to know we’re doing what we can to protect the water they’re drinking," Cook said.Keynote speaker for Monday’s event was Tabor Hoek with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.In addition, the program included updates from Assistant Land Management Director Doug Bos, newly hired CREP agent Justin Decker, U.S. Natural Resources and Conservation Agent Kurt Halfmann and representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health and from the state office of Minnesota Rural Water.For information on CREP call the Land Management Office, 283-8862, ext. 3.

By Lori EhdeThe new Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage begins Jan. 1, and local insurance agents are trying to get essential information to their clients."I started looking at my client list and said, ‘There’s no way I’m going to reach all these people individually,’" said Shirley Top, an agent with Kozlowski Insurance.So Top hosted an open house in Luverne last week to inform seniors about the drug plan. "The key thing is that coverage will be available to everyone with Medicare," Top said. More than 100 attended the open house, but Top said so many more need to know the details."They need to enroll," she said. "People think it’s automatically going to come to them like their Medicare Part A and Part B coverage — wrong. They need to enroll."Initial enrollment is from Nov. 15, 2005, to May 15, 2006, at the lowest cost to beneficiaries. Enrollment in Medicare Part D plan is voluntary, but those who wait until after the enrollment period will pay a lifetime premium penalty equal to 1 percent of the base premium for each month they delay enrollment. "This can significantly increase the premiums, which will start at $37.23 per month," Top said. The penalty would be an additional 6 percent in January of 2007 and 18 percent in January 2008.Medicare will provide premium and cost-sharing subsidies to assist low-income beneficiaries. Medicare beneficiaries with Medicaid drug coverage, and QMB’s and SLMB’s are automatically deemed eligible for these subsidies. Other low-income beneficiaries will have to meet both an income and asset test to receive additional assistance. "Social Security Administration is sending application forms to people they think may qualify," Top said. "If you think you might qualify and you have not received an application you can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213."Applications are also available online at www.socialsecurity.gov.Qualifications for the low-income assistance are an annual income of less than $14,335 (or $19,245 if married) and assets valued under $11,500 ($23,000 if married). Assets do not include your home or car. A married couple living together makes a joint application when applying for low-income Part D benefits. If husband or wife receives an application the couple should complete the application jointly. "If a second application is received later, it can be discarded," Top said.She said people may not apply for assistance with their premiums because they don’t think they’re eligible, but she encourages everyone to look into it."Help is here for the people that need it the most," said Top.She warned people not to confuse the premium assistance with the enrollment application. "The low-income application for assistance does not enroll a Medicare beneficiary in the Part D Prescription program," Top said.Health insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, will contact the federal government to provide Medicare Part D coverage. "Enrollment for Medicare Part D will be through insurance companies," Top said. "Because the government helps pay for these plans, they may offer a greater value than the current drug program you already have."Top is offering another open house at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, in the Adrian Elementary School Commons in Adrian. Pre-registration is necessary for materials, but there is no charge for the meeting. Call 283-3704 or 1-877-631-3704 to reserve a spot. Top is one of many insurance agents that are stressing the need for their clients and others to look into the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan. "You can help a relative, a neighbor or a friend by telling them about it," she added. "You have nothing to lose by applying."