By Lori EhdeLuverne School Board members approved a new two-year contract with Superintendent Vince Schaefer during their Thursday, Sept. 23, meeting.The contract calls for a 3.5 percent salary increase for 2004-05 and another 3-percent increase for 2005-06.The board’s action Thursday brings Schaefer’s current salary of $96,098 to $102,465 by the end of the two-year contract.The raise takes into account responsibilites Schaefer assumed as Alternative School director after that position was cut this spring.The board approved the contract with recommendation from members of the Personnel Committee."In my opinion, he’s doing a real fine job," said board member Bill Stegemann, who served on the Personnel Committee. "His relationship with the rest of the staff is very good. I know he’s inundated with a lot of work, but I know he tries real hard to stay on top of things."Stegemann said Schaefer’s demeanor with the public also makes him a valuable resource for the district."I really appreciate how he deals with people," Stegemann said. "I know there are going to be a couple of people who read this and disagree with me, but it’s like I always say, ‘You can please some people some of the time, but you can’t please everyone all of the time.’ "The superintendent’s contract is one of several administrative contracts the board approved this fall.The middle school and high school principals absorbed extra duties since the board decided not to replace Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff, who resigned this spring.High School Principal Gary Fisher is now the middle school and high school principal. A half-time middle school dean of students was added to assist with attendance and discipline.Middle School Principal Stacy Gillette is now the elementary principal.Fisher’s salary will increase from the current $88,141 to $93,970 in 2004-05.Gillette’s salary of $71,500 will increase to $76,220 in 2004-05.The contract for Community Education Director Karen Willers is still pending. Her current salary is $40,878 for a 208-day contract.Contracts for district supervisory positions were also approved for the 2004-05 school year.oHead Cook Gretchen Davis received a 4.6-percent increase, bringing her salary from $25,920 to $27,120.oFinance Officer Marlene Mann received a 4- percent increase, bringing her salary from $47,632 to $49,608.oTransportation Director Lon Remme received a 4-percent increase, bringing his salary from $42,492 to $44,173.oBuildings and Grounds Supervisor Larry Roos received a 4.1-percent increase, bringing his salary from $45,448 to $47,320.oAdministrative Assistant Brenda Teal received a 4.1-percent increase, bringing her salary from $30,680 to $31,928.In other personnel business Thursday, the board adjusted the contract with Tiffany Burmeister, increasing her time from half time to full time.Burmeister is a teacher for developmentally and cognitively delayed students, and the adjustment reflects an increased work load in the special education department.According to the contract, if the workload decreases in the future, the contract will be adjusted to reflect less time needed.

By Sara StrongReclaimed prairie and its battle against noxious weeds is still a hot issue for Springwater and Mound townships.In July, Rock County sent notice to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that noxious weeds on Touch the Sky Prairie must be controlled.Touch the Sky is a project that’s returning almost 800 acres to natural prairie.Township official Darrell Hoeck said it’s difficult to enforce weed ordinances with local property owners when the federal government isn’t following the rules.After a meeting last week, the Fish and Wildlife Service said it would present the county a long-term plan for weed control that will cover the next five years.Rock County Weed Inspector Doug Bos said Fish and Wildlife is trying to control the weeds but didn’t get permission to aerial spray, which would make covering the large area much more efficient."Our hope and their plan is that the weeds will be managed," Bos said. "They will be doing some fall spraying, which is what we really pushed for."Instead of just spot spraying, the Fish and Wildlife Service will also blanket spray the worst areas with larger equipment.Bos said spraying after the first hard frost will be effective because native plants are dormant and won’t take in the herbicide, as thistles will.

By Lori EhdeRock County deputies assisted the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension last week with several arrests that resulted in the seizure of 2 pounds of meth worth more than $18,000.According to Sheriff Mike Winkels, Rock County law enforcement was notified early last week about plans for a BCA agent to arrange for an uncover buy in Luverne.The agent had arranged to meet five Sioux City, Iowa, men in the parking lot at McDonalds at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22.As the money and drugs were about to exchange hands, several BCA officers and Rock County deputies placed the men under arrest.Felony charges are pending in U.S. District Court against the following men, all from Sioux City: Roland Garcia, 31; Guillermo Medoza-Martinez, 30; Atanacio Zavala Suarez, 25; Jose Antonio Alonzo-Reyes, 20; and Jesus Ivan Romero, 24.According to Winkels, one of the men tried to flee but then gave up. "They were arrested without incident," Winkels said. "It went very smoothly."In addition to several BCA agents and six Rock County deputies, also involved in the cooperative effort were 10 officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration from Sioux City and officers from the Minnesota State Patrol.Winkels said the buy was arranged at McDonald’s because it’s an easily recognized landmark at the intersection of two major roadways, Highway 75 and Interstate 90.The men are currently in custody in Minneapolis where they will appear in U.S. District Court on felony drug charges for possessing meth with the intent to distribute it to others.Their cars, because they were used to commit a felony, were seized and may become property of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department.The vehicles, a 1997 Subaru Outback Legacy, a 1997 Ford Mustang and a 2000 Chrysler 300M, are impounded in a county shed at the transfer station.If the vehicles or their potential lien holders don’t contest the seizure within 60 days, the cars become Rock County property and will be sold at an upcoming auction."Ninety percent of the time they don’t contest it," Winkels said.

By Sara StrongThe Luverne political scene is hearing a new, influential voice in Esther Frakes. Concerned about the current City Council’s actions to terminate joint dispatch and law enforcement agreements with the county, Frakes has started a write-in campaign in the North Ward. Her opponent is incumbent Tom Martius.Along with her campaign, Frakes is also leading a referendum petition that proposes the repeal of the Council’s decision to terminate its contract for law enforcement with Rock County effective Dec. 31, 2005."As citizens, we have the right to protest the Council’s decision to return to a separate police department," Frakes said. "As I see it, there is no way that two separate law enforcement units could offer the expanded services, such as the K-9 unit and the investigator, that we’ve had in place with the joint law agreement. My only agenda in heading up this referendum petition is to save joint law."The city has said it wants to continue negotiating a law enforcement agreement with the county, even though the contract was terminated.Frakes said that if the city hopes to reduce the cost of the contracts with the county, the level of services has to be considered. The city can’t offer to pay less than the services actually cost, yet expect the same services, she said. More to the campaignMartius said, "Competition is always good," of Frakes’ write-in campaign.He said he hopes the campaign is about more than law enforcement because the city handles much more than that.Frakes said she was inspired to run on the law enforcement issue, but that she is also ready to work for the city in other ways as a council member."I look forward to being supportive of cooperative ventures in the future between the county and city. I would also like to see Luverne expand and grow," Frakes said."I know I have a lot to learn but I have the time to research issues and serve the city."The referendum petition has a sponsoring committee of Frakes, Warren Herreid, Dianne Ossenfort, Annabelle Frakes and Gary Fisher.If the petition gets 200 signatures, the committee may serve it to the City Council, which would then have the option of reversing its vote to terminate the law contract or putting the issue on a special election ballot for voters to decide. It is too late to put it on this November’s election.Including committee members, 25 people are circulating the petitions. Frakes has collected 150 signatures herself to date.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne volleyball team kicked off Homecoming Week by sweeping a three-game match against Lennox, S.D., Tuesday.The win over Lennox was preceded by a three-game home loss to Marshall Thursday.Luverne, 10-4-1 overall, plays road matches against Jackson County Central and Hills-Beaver Creek tonight and Monday respectively. The Cardinals host Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Tuesday.Luverne 3, Lennox 0The Cardinals dominated play during their Homecoming match against Lennox.Luverne outscored the Ladybirds 75-42 on the way to a three-game sweep of Lennox.The Cards played their best volleyball early, posting convincing 25-14 and 25-9 wins in the first two games.Game 1 was tied at five when the Cardinals put together a 15-3 run capped by Maggie Kuhlman’s kill to open a 20-8 lead.Lennox closed the gap to 10 points (24-14) before Birdie Xaphakdy recorded an ace tip that iced an 11-point win for the hosts.The score was tied at two in the second game before the Cards went on a 15-2 run that ended with Traci Evans serving a point to give LHS a 17-4 advantage.Luverne went on to outscore Lennox 6-5 the rest of the game before winning by 16 points when Jessa Dahl delivered a kill.Lennox, which took its first lead of the night by scoring the first point in Game 3, opened a 7-4 cushion moments later.Luverne rallied to move in front 15-13 when Kuhlman served a point, but Lennox bounced back to knot the score at 16. The Cards then mounted a 9-3 run capped by a service point from Cassie Pap to lock up a 25-19 victory.Ashley Heitkamp played a solid match for the winners. She completed 14 of 15 serves and recorded four aces and 10 points. Heitkamp had seven kills and four blocks at the net.Kuhlman and Evans registered eight and five kills respectively, while Pap charted four blocks. Evans was 18 of 18 serving with 14 points and six aces.Chelsea Park and Brittney Williams contributed 15 and 14 set assists to the winning effort. Williams also had three ace tips. Kimi Xaisongkahm led the Cards with four digs.Marshall 3, Luverne 0The Cardinals dropped their first conference match of the season when they entertained Marshall Thursday.Marshall, the state’s top-ranked Class 3AAA team, proved it is a worthy opponent to the Cardinals by sweeping LHS in three games."They are strong," said Cardinal coach Lori Oechsle, when describing the Tigers. "Our serving (35-38) was good in the match, but you can’t afford to give up any points on service errors when you’re playing a good team like Marshall.""We need to work on our blocking," she added. "We only had one block in the match."Outscoring the Cards 75-36 in the match, Marshall secured 25-7, 25-11 and 25-18 wins during the sweep.Park completed eight of 10 serves with five points and two aces and led the hosts with eight set assists. Williams added six set assists.Kuhlman led Luverne with five kills and six digs. Evans added four kills and four digs to the cause.

By John RittenhouseA slumping Ellsworth volleyball team was unable to regain its winning form from earlier in the season during a pair of outings late last week.The Panthers, who have lost six of their last seven matches, were swept in a three-game match played in Minneota Thursday. Ellsworth went 1-3 and placed sixth at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Tournament in Russell Saturday.Ellsworth, 9-7 overall, plays in Lake Benton tonight before traveling to Edgerton Monday.R-T-R tourneyThe Panthers placed sixth during Saturday’s eight-team tournament played in Russell.Ellsworth did snap a losing skid by defeating Canby during the second round of the event, but the Panthers lost matches to Southwest Star Concept, Wabasso and Lake Benton before the tournament was complete."We’re just not jelling at all right now," said Panther coach Jason Langland. "We were getting after it and diving for every ball earlier in the season. Now it seems like were standing around a lot."The Panthers opened the tournament by splitting two games with SSC to open the tournament, but the Quasars were given the win based on total points scored in the games. EHS won 28-26 in the opener before falling 25-20 in Game 2.Lynette Drenth charted 18 set assists and Laurel Drenth delivered four kills in the first match. Amy Tiesler, who was eight of eight serving with two aces, charted three blocks. Brittney Kramer and Amanda Deutsch contributed three blocks and five digs to the cause respectively.The Panthers posted their win against Canby in the second round. EHS recorded 25-15 and 25-17 victories over the Lancers.Kramer led the Panthers with seven blocks and five kills in the match. Lynette Drenth notched nine set assists. Tiesler was 10 of 11 serving with six aces. Deutsch recorded six digs.Wabasso bested the Panthers by 25-23 and 25-17 tallies in the third round.Laurel Drenth was seven of seven serving with one ace against the Rabbits, and shared the team lead in digs (three each) with Tiesler, and Deutsch. Tiesler produced a team-high five kills, while Kramer led the way with two blocks. Lynette Drenth charted eight set assists.EHS beat Lake Benton 25-22 in the first game of the fifth-place match before falling 25-22 and 15-10 in the final two contests.Kramer and Tiesler led the Panthers at the net with 10 kills and four blocks respectively. Kramer, who had five digs, was 13 of 15 serving with two aces. Laurel Drenth tallied 13 set assists in the finale. Deutsch contributed five digs.Minneota 3,Ellsworth 0The state’s third-ranked Class A team had little trouble in disposing of the Panthers Thursday in Minnesota.The highly-regarded Vikings outscored EHS 75-30 during a convincing, three-game victory."They got the whole package," admitted Panther coach Langland. "They run a lot of different offensive sets, and there are not a lot of high school teams that are quick enough to block them. They are a very good team. There’s no doubt about that.Minneota made an early statement by rolling to a 25-8 win over the Panthers in Game 1.Ellsworth scored 15 points in a 25-15 loss in the second game, but the Vikings dominated play again while coasting to a 25-7 victory in the finale.Rosie Lewis charted three kills and three blocks for EHS, while Lynette Drenth added three kills and three set assists to the cause. Laurel Drenth, who had three digs along with Deutsch, completed eight of nine serves with one ace and five points. Tiesler completed all five of her serves and scored two points.

By John RittenhouseLuverne cross country squads swept the boys’ and girls’ varsity team titles at the Jackson County Central Invitational in Jackson Thursday.In a meet that also attracted Adrian, the Cardinals proved to be the top teams in the field.The LHS boys tallied 34 points to win the nine-team event. The Cardinal girls emerged as the top squad in an eight-team field after scoring 37 points."We had a tremendous meet," said Cardinal coach Bruce Gluf. "Our boys ran like they were possessed. They were not listed in the Top 20 teams when the state’s Class A cross country rankings came out, and they want to get back their respect. Our girls had a great meet, too."Five solid performances turned in by Tom Ward, Thomas Pinkal, Steve Schneiderman, Nick Otten and Dusty Antoine carried the LHS boys to victory. Ward placed fifth in 17:12, Pinkal seventh in 17:57, Schneiderman eighth in 17:59, Otten ninth in 17:59 and Antoine 10th in 18:08.Travis Halfmann (12th in 18:08), David Nelson (44th in 19:52), Craig Oeding (48th in 20:00), Michael Nelson (60th in 20:30), Eric Kraetsch (77th in 21:40), Tyler Muck (92nd in 24:54) and Jerome Willers (94th in 25:04) also ran in the varsity race for LHS.Three Cardinal girls finished fifth or better as individuals during their win in varsity competition.Lexi Heitkamp won the individual crown with a time of 15:20. Amanda Saum and Kayla Raddle placed fourth and fifth with respective 16:00 and 16:42 times.Kelsey Dooyema and Amanda Kannas capped the team scoring for LHS by placing 11th and 20th in 16:42 and 17:14.Kristy Heikes (27th in 17:44), Ashley Kraetsch (79th in 21:15) and Christy Van Dyke (85th in 21:55) ran in the varsity race without influencing the scoring.Adrian, which placed sixth as a team in the boys’ field, was paced by Brandon Bullerman’s 32nd-place finish in 19:15.Lee Stover (35th in 19:23), Ethan Wieneke (38th in 19:35), Jarod Boltjes (39th in 19:40) and Robert Swayze (42nd in 19:48) made contributions to Adrian’s team effort.Aaron Mormann (45th in 19:54), Brad Brake (54th in 20:09), Bryce Antelope (56th in 20:16), Jack Albertson (68th in 20:42), Dustin Lonneman (76th in 21:16), Eldon Vaselaar (95th in 25:09) and Trent Lutmer (100th in 26:29) ran the varsity race without padding the team tally.Adrian ran an incomplete team in the girls’ varsity race.Leslie Stover (sixth in 16:05), Erica Thier (eighth in 16:08), Megan Henning (37th in 18:15) and Kelly Banck (51st in 18:50) represented AHS in the varsity field.Here is a look at the team standings and the junior high results from the JCC Invitational.Girls’ standings: Luverne 37, Martin County West 46, Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin 107, Comfrey-Springfield 120, Blue Earth Area 144, Worthington 152, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 261, St. Peter 302.Boys’ standings: Luverne 34, BEA 50, St. Peter 91, JCC 106, C-S 121, Adrian 171, Worthington 180, MCW 207, ML-B-O 225.Junior high boysLuverne: Davonte Maine, 10th, 6:10; Nick Den Herder, 36th, 8:51.Adrian: Nathan Reyne, first, 5:29; Ross Wieneke, third, 5:36; Kyle Henning, sixth, 6:00; Zach Runia, seventh, 6:07; Jordan Pater, 16th, 6:29; Nick Kellen, 19th, 6:40; Huston Heitkamp, 20th, 6:58; Nick McCann, 29th, 7:40.Junior high girlsLuverne: Rachel Saum, sixth, 6:41; Whitney Oehlerts, 22nd, 7:24.Adrian: Hailee Heitkamp, 22nd, 6:03; Anna Sauer, 15th, 7:00; Alissa Sauer, 30th, 7:40; Samantha Vaselaar, 40th, 8:33.

By John RittenhouseThe longest winning streak of the season for the Luverne tennis team reached three games when the Cardinals recorded a pair of victories at different sites.The Cardinals capped Southwest Conference play with a 3-2 record by nipping Pipestone Thursday in Luverne. The Cards posted another one-point win in Sleepy Eye Tuesday.Luverne, 7-3 overall, plays at the Southwest Conference Tournament in Redwood Falls today.Luverne 4, SE 3A run of wins late in the match gave the Cardinals a one-point victory in Sleepy Eye Tuesday.SE led 3-1 after the first four matches were complete, but Luverne rallied to win the final three matches to pull out a 4-3 victory."We needed to win all of the last three matches, and the girls came through," said LHS coach Greg Antoine.Alyssa Klein and Nikki Van Dyk posted crucial singles wins late in the match.After losing the first three games to Ali Tews at No. 3 singles, Klein bounced back to win 11 of the last 12 games on the way to 6-3 and 6-1 victories. Van Dyk padded a personal winning streak to six straight matches by downing Katie Carrothers by 6-0 and 6-1 tallies at No. 4 singles.Robin Madtson and Amy Herman locked up the win for LHS by besting Jenna Taehler and Jessica Little by 6-3 and 6-0 scores at No. 3 doubles.Luverne’s Samantha Gacke recorded her ninth straight win by notching 7-5 and 6-2 victories over Megan Anderson at No. 1 singles.SE’s Allie Siefert secured 6-0 and 6-4 victories over Brittany Boeve at No. 2 singles.SE’s Ann Roiger and Emily Carrothers handed Andraya Gacke and Kaitlyn Deragisch a pair of 6-3 setbacks at No. 1 doubles. SE’s No. 2 team consisting of Sammi Sellner and Cassie Jarvis saddled Heidi Sandbulte and Christina Lovett with a pair of 6-1 setbacks."I thought all of our singles players played well again," Antoine said. "They were very aggressive. They got to the net real well and forced their opponents to make good shots."Luverne 4, Pipestone 3The Cardinals completed a 3-2 Southwest Conference season by edging the Arrows by one point in Luverne Thursday.In a match played under windy conditions and featured a 45-minute rain delay, the Cardinals were able to rise above the adversity to win their second straight match.All four of Luverne’s team points came from the singles players, who assured the team of having a winning SWC record with their performances against the Arrows."Our singles played very smart," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "They were really aggressive and took advantage of their experience."Luverne’s Samantha Gacke and Van Dyk extended their personal winning-streaks to eight and five straight matches at No. 1 and No. 4 singles respectively.After falling 6-3 in the first set to Pipestone’s Amber Baustian, Gacke rallied to post 6-2 and 6-1 wins and win the match. Van Dyk notched 6-2 and 6-1 victories over Kaitlyn Templin.Luverne’s Alyssa Klein coasted to a pair of 6-0 wins over Allison Zollner at No. 3 singles. Boeve saddled Travie Eeten with a pair of 6-1 setbacks at No. 2.Pipestone took all three tightly-contested doubles matches.Tory Hess and Abby Brady notched a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 in the tiebreaker) win over Andraya Gacke and Deragisch at No. 1.Lauren Jones and Christy Cunningham topped Jessica Klein and Lovett by 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 scores at No. 2. Britt Sendelback and Nargis Kabiri topped Sandbulte and Lindsey Severtson by 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 tallies at No. 3.

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian Dragons took over the top spot in the Little Sioux Conference football standings Friday night.Adrian helped its own cause in that respect by notching a 12-6 win in Fulda during a clash between teams that brought 2-0 league records into the game.When Russell-Tyler-Ruthton defeated Dawson-Boyd, a team that also sported a 2-0 record in league play entering Friday’s games, Adrian found itself at the top of the standings with a 3-0 record on Saturday morning.Although Dragon coach Randy Strand likes where his team is sitting in the LSC, he wasn’t pleased with the way AHS performed in Fulda."It was a battle," he said. "We didn’t play extremely well. I thought the Fulda kids stepped up and played hard and well."All 18 points scored in the game came in the first quarter, and Adrian’s two touchdowns came on fourth-down plays.The Dragons got off to a good start when they turned their opening possession of the game into a 6-0 lead.Senior quarterback Levi Bullerman hit Brent Tjepkes for a 43-yard pass reception on the first play of what turned into a 10-play, 83-yard drive.The march ended with Bullerman tossing a 23-yard touchdown pass to running back Billy Anderson, who scored all 12 of Adrian’s points in the game. The ensuing extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Dragons with a 6-0 cushion at the 7:30 mark of the opening period.Adrian doubled its lead (12-0) after forcing the Raiders to punt four plays into their first offensive possession of the game.The AHS offense advanced the ball 53 yards in 10 plays with Anderson capping the drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge at the 2:23 mark of the opening period. A fumbled snap led to a failed two-point conversion attempt after Anderson’s touchdown run.Fulda got back into the game by scoring six points with its second offensive possession, but the Raiders were unable to reach the end zone the rest of the game.The Raiders mounted a six-play, 55-yard scoring drive late in the first quarter.Raider quarterback Easton Laackmann threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Jon Isder to cap the march with eight seconds remaining in the opening period. The run for a two-point conversion failed.According to Strand, Fulda never threatened to score after the first quarter.The Dragons were in position to add to their lead as the game progressed, but mistakes thwarted the threats."We had the ball inside their 20-yard line three more times, but all three drives ended up stalling because of penalties. We had a 21-play drive in the third quarter that didn’t result in any points," Strand said.The 4-0 Dragons will hit the road again Friday when they travel to Canby to face the 0-4 Lancers.Team statisticsAdrian: 198 rushing yards, 180 passing yards, 378 total yards, 16 first downs, four penalties for four yards, one turnover.Fulda: 104 rushing yards, 74 passing yards, 178 total yards, seven first downs, five penalties for 55 yards, two turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Anderson 23-68, Bullerman 13-67, Tony Sauer 12-51, Clint Metz 2-12.Passing: Bullerman 8-17 for 180 yards.Receiving: Brett Block 3-70, Tjepkes 1-43, Anderson 3-44, Cody Reverts 1-23.Defense: Metz 13 tackles, Sauer 10 tackles and one sack, Casey Knips nine tackles and one sack, Block one interception, Anderson one interception.