By John RittenhouseTwo teams from the Star Herald coverage area opened the 2004 volleyball season by squaring off against each other in Hills Thursday night.Ellsworth and Hills-Beaver Creek, a pair of friendly rivals, renewed rivalry in the first match of the season for both teams.It was EHS, which lost to H-BC twice last season, that gained bragging rights this time by sweeping a 3-0 match from the Patriots.The teams exchanged blows in the early stages of Game 1 before Ellsworth pulled away to secure a 25-13 victory.The Panthers took a 3-0 lead behind the serving of Lynette Drenth in the second game, but H-BC countered with an 8-3 surge capped by a service point from Brittney Rozeboom to take an 8-6 lead.H-BC led 15-13 when Kelly Mulder delivered a service point as the game progressed. Ellsworth, however, knotted the score at 18 before going on a 7-0 run capped by a service ace from Amy Tiesler to notch a 25-18 victory.The Patriots erased an early 4-2 deficit in Game 3 when Kari Roozenboom recorded a kill to give the hosts a 7-6 edge.EHS met the challenge by scoring the next eight points to gain a 14-7 cushion. The Panthers went on to outscore H-BC 11-7 the rest of the game to complete their sweep of the Patriots with a 25-14 win in the finale.Rosie Lewis led EHS at the net with four blocks, and tied teammates Brittney Kramer and Laurel Drenth in kills with six. Kramer, who added two blocks, completed 17 of 17 serves, scored 17 points and registered two ace serves. Tiesler was 12 of 12 at the line with six points and one ace.Laurel Drenth, Tiesler and Amanda Deutsch charted nine, eight and seven digs respectively. Lynette Drenth and Marla Groen notched 14 and four ace sets.Cassi Tilstra was 10 of 10 serving and charted two blocks for H-BC. Rozeboom, who recorded three kills, went seven of seven at the line.Mulder added four kills and three blocks to H-BC’s cause. Roozenboom chipped in four blocks.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne tennis team posted a pair of match wins and competed in two tournaments during the second week of the season.The Cardinals participated in doubles tournaments in St. James (Wednesday, Aug. 25) and Friday respectively. Luverne opened match play by nipping Yellow Medicine East by one point in Pipestone Monday before winning its home debut by five points over Sioux Falls Lincoln’s junior varsity team.Luverne will compete at a triangular meet in Redwood Falls Saturday before hosting MACCRAY Tuesday.Luverne 6, Lincoln 1The Cardinals had little trouble disposing of Lincoln’s junior varsity team during their home opener Tuesday.Luverne took all three doubles matches and went 3-1 in singles on the way to a five-point win."We were just better than they were today (Tuesday), said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "Our doubles teams have played really well so far this year. The girls really seem to get along, so we’ve paired them up well. Things have really clicked for them."Luverne won all three doubles matches in straight sets.Andraya Gacke and Brittany Boeve bested Meghan Archer and Danielle Gilbert by 6-2 and 6-1 scores at No. 1. Heidi Sandbulte and Jessica Klein coasted to 6-0 and 6-1 victories over Katie Graue and Katherine Carstensen at No. 2. Christina Lovett and Robin Madtson collected 7-5 and 6-1 wins against Mari Coome and Kristie Xian at No. 3.Luverne’s Samantha Gacke strolled to 6-0 and 6-1 scores over Chelsea Koepsell at No. 1 singles, while Alyssa Klein won by the same scores over Amy Bertrand at No. 2. Kaitlyn Deragisch also secured a singles win for LHS, besting Katrin Profilet by 6-3 and 6-4 scores at No. 4.Lincoln’s Allie Gebauer recorded a point for the visitors by topping Nikki Van Dyk by 6-2 and 6-0 scores at No. 2.Antoine was satisfied with winning the match, but he wasn’t completely happy with his team’s demeanor on the court."The one thing we need to work on is playing with more feeling and emotion. We need to play with some desire," he said.Luverne 4, YME 3The Cardinals prevailed in their first dual meet of the season when they bested the Sting by one point in Pipestone Monday.Luverne swept the three doubles matches from YME, but it was Alyssa Klein’s victory over Melissa Rasmussen at No. 2 singles that clinched the win for the Cards.With the other six matches complete, Klein found herself trailing by one set after Rasmussen took the opener 6-1. With players from both teams watching from the stands, Klein battled back to win 7-5 in the second set before prevailing 6-1 in the finale."It was a pressure match for Alyssa," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "She did a nice job strategy-wise. She did a nice job of getting to the net, dropping some short shots and going wide on her opponent."Antoine was also pleased with his doubles teams, which bounced back from slow starts to win all three matches.Andraya Gacke and Boeve secured 6-4 and 7-5 wins over Jess Pederson and Haley Bennet at No. 1, and Lindsey Severtson and Katie Kraetsch notched 6-3 and 6-1 victories over Amanda Stavany and Tiffany Miller at No. 3.The No. 2 squad of Jessica Klein and Sandbulte won a three-set match (6-4, 3-6, 6-2) from Meghan Bredesen and Rachel Crowley.YME’s Ashley Bennet topped Samantha Gacke by 6-2 and 6-0 scores at No. 1 singles. Michelle Miller upended Deragisch by 6-2 and 6-1 tallies at No. 3. Jessica Dhoore bested Amy Herman by 6-0 and 6-2 counts at No. 4.Fairmont tourneyThe Cardinals won two flight titles and placed second as a team during Friday’s tournament in Fairmont.Six LHS teams competed in three flights (two in each flight) at the all-doubles tournament, and each team played seven games against the other doubles squads in each flight.Luverne, which fielded the winning teams in the Championship and Mr. T’s Flights, won 119 games during the tournament to place second to Fairmont (125 games) in the final standings. Worthington capped the field with 71 game wins."This tournament served as a good confidence-builder for us," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "It took us a while to get going in the morning after getting on the bus at 6:30 a.m., but I think we played better in the afternoon."The day turned in to a good one for the doubles teams of Samantha Gacke and Boeve, and Robin Madtson and Herman. Gacke and Boeve won 24 of 35 games to win the Championship Flight. Madtson and Herman posted 23 wins to take top honors in the Mr. T’s Flight.Alyssa Klein and Andraya Gacke secured 16 wins to finish fourth in the Championship Flight. Severtson and Kraetsch won 22 games to finish in a tie for second place in the Mr. T’s Flight.Deragish and Van Dyk joined forces to win 23 games and place second in the Captain’s Flight. Jessica Klein (all rounds), Sandbulte (three rounds) and Whitney Maine (two rounds) posted 11 wins to place fifth in the Captain’s flight.SJ tourneyThe Cardinals sent 16 players to compete in an all-doubles tournament in St. James Wednesday, Aug. 25.Luverne ran into some strong teams, going 0-3 against squads representing the host school, Sibley East and Maple River. Still, LHS coach Antoine thought tournament provided a positive experience for the girls."The competition was very good," he said. "We got a lot of good experience from this tournament. It’s always good to play against somebody that’s better than you are just to get an idea where you need to go."Luverne’s No. 2 doubles team consisting of Alyssa Klein and Deragisch experienced the most success for the Cards by going 2-1 for the day.They beat SE’s Whitney Trocke and Kendra Willhite by 5-1 and 5-2 scores in the first round before falling 5-3, 1-5, 3-10 (super tiebeaker for the third set) to SJ’s Ashley Ekstrom and Jana Runge in the second round. Klein and Deragisch bounced back to best MR’s Erynn Jensen and Heather Annis by 5-2 and 5-3 tallies in the finale.Luverne’s Samantha Gacke and Boeve went 1-2 at No. 1 doubles, Heidi Sandbulte and Severtson went 1-2 at No. 4 and Herman and Maine went 1-2 at No. 6.Andraya Gacke and Jessica Klein (No. 3), Madtson and Kraetsch (No. 5), Anissa Hanson and Tabitha Sanderson (No. 7) and Kelby Robinson and Maleeka Sandager (No. 8) all went 0-3.

Once again I must write to protest the actions of our city council. First of all, I am outraged that the council has given the city administrator a raise of $9,345.60 plus a life insurance premium of $1,850. Who’s doing the math? In my book that computes to a 15 percent annual raise at a time when the city is trying to make $400,000 in budget cuts. At an annual raise of $9,345, LaFond will be earning a salary of more than $100,000 in just two short years! Even though numerous past council members, a past mayor, and many citizens have expressed dissatisfaction with the leadership of the City Administrator, the City Council has given LaFond glowing reviews in executive (closed door) session. Of even greater concern to this community should be the city council’s decision, under LaFond’s leadership and with his resounding endorsement, to terminate the joint law enforcement agreement with the county. In all of his flurry of paperwork and printouts, LaFond has not presented to the citizens of Luverne an outline or a plan of the police department which would need to be established to replace the existing law enforcement agency. We citizens have not been told what the structure of the department might be, which services would be provided, or what the cost to city taxpayers would be. (I might note that the cost will be a burden only to city residents, with no "indirect taxes" being paid by the county residents for city police services.) We have no evidence that the cost to city taxpayers may not, in fact, be higher under LaFond’s vision of a separate force than the city’s current costs for the joint law enforcement agreement. In addition, we cannot as a city afford all the services that have been available in cooperation with the county. We taxpayers must remember that we will be assessed our fair share of county law enforcement services through our county tax dollars in addition to the full expense of a separate city police force. Frankly, the concept makes no common sense!I once again urge the city administrator to negotiate with the county commissioners in good faith to reinstate the joint law enforcement agreement, without egos entering in. We are all better served by a joint law enforcement agency with ample staff to meet the ever-increasing needs of law enforcement. A note of caution to all residents of Rock County outside the city of Luverne:Administrator LaFond may decide to assess you your "fair share" of city police protection whenever you decide to set foot in our "fair city," so beware! Esther Spease FrakesLuverne

It seems I use this space to write about personal matters as much as I do to share my opinions on local news topics.Many times, when I decide to open up about my personal life, my family is the subject. I’ve written about Christmas joys; Thanksgiving feasts; my reverence for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day; the wonderful qualities of my grandmother, and about family vacations.What you may not realize, is that whatever I’ve written about my family has been cleverly edited before it hits the press. Although they give me lots of love and laughter, they also give me stress and heartburn and I just haven’t shared that aspect of our relationship before.But after spending a weekend in North Dakota with four girls from my family, it seems like it’d be more fun to complain this time around.I picked up my older sister three hours into the drive — we had about five hours ahead of us. We packed her yelping dog in a kennel and got snacks and drinks for the road. Then I settled in for the medical updates: her headaches were improving, but her triplexus muscle was bothering her; she needs to make a dental appointment, but hasn’t had the time, considering she’s been to the reflexologist.As we pulled into our destination, I was finally brought up to speed on her sinuses.Once there, we did fun things, like hang out with my cousin and her well-behaved toddler. We caught up on current family events and reminisced about the old days. We scoped out my other sister’s new apartment where she cooked us a beautiful meal, and we sampled the Rugby nightlife.After the fun, we had a little catfight about the merits of futons, however. We had disagreements over what words were allowed for points in a rousing game of Scattergories. Hamburger cannot be called a junk food according to me.The dog barked in the night and interrupted my sleep.My sister (the one who already has medical problems) fell while walking her dog, skinning her knee and shin to the point where she had to wrap most of her leg in gauze. My other sister was groggy from working nights all week. We all got tired of watching toddler videos. Like I said, they bring me such pleasure that it hurt to say good-bye, but even so — next time the girls want to spend a weekend with me, they can drive south.

King of Trails ‘Fall Marketplace’ set for Sept. 11.A citywide rummage sale is planned in conjunction with the Highway 75 King of Trails Marketplace Sept. 11.The Luverne Chamber will sponsor the events.The King of Trails Marketplace is in its second year in Luverne.The King of Trails, or Highway 75, recently received statewide recognition when it was named the newest scenic byway in Minnesota.The marketplace will try to get local vendors to sell their products to people traveling along Highway 75, and other communities along 75 will do the same thing.The King of Trails organization is marketing the concept as a 400-mile long rummage sale.If you would like to participate in the marketplace, you can register at the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce.The fee is $12 for vendors.The Luverne site will be at the corner of Highway 75 and Gabrielson Road, just south of Buffalo Ridge Insurance.As for what you would sell … well, almost anything.Crafts, antiques, rummage items; baked goods, fruits, vegetables, parts, cars or anything else you think someone should own, you can sell at the marketplace.Vendors will set up by 8 a.m. and continue through 2 p.m.The Chamber will also have a booth set up to help promote the King of Trails.2004 Viking Opener golf outing moved to BC Golf CourseThe annual Viking Opener Golf outing is changing locations this year.The tournament will have a shotgun start at Beaver Creek Golf Course this year, beginning at 11 a.m.A new format will also be used. This year, in addition to stroke play, individual and team prizes will be awarded.If you would like to participate, you can sign up at Rauk’s or by calling Tim Plimpton at 962-3799.Wind Energy TourHave you ever wondered how those wind towers work, or what they look like up-close?Community Ed wants to answer those questions for you.Community Ed, in conjunction with Minwind Energy, is working to give you an up-close look and explanation of how they work.The tour will include the four already in operation, as well as those under construction.The up-close tour will include an explanation of how the wind towers work as well as the construction process.The bus tour will leave the Community Ed building at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9. To register phone 283-4724.Your back-to-school expenses are up about 6.5 percentAccording to Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer organization, Americans will spend $205 more on back-to-school items than they did in 2003.The average back-to-school shopper will spend $3,389 this year, compared to $3,184 last year.The highest amount spent for back-to-school supplies was $4,144 in 2002.The largest increases include spending on electronics, dorm room supplies and transportation.One of the primary reasons for the back-to-school increases is the tightening budgets of school districts, which have been forced to pass along more costs for transportation and fees to students.Back-to-school items include: electronics, clothing, fees, sporting activities, dorm room supplies, desk supplies and transportation.As another point of interest, if this year’s average back-to-school expenses ($3,389) are charged on a credit card, and only the monthly payments are made, it would take 39.5 years to pay off, and cost an additional $9,098 in interest payments.That calculation uses an 18-percent interest rate and a monthly minimum payment of 2 percent.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Last Sunday evening, atop Blue Mounds, I sat in my folding chair and watched the August full moon appear over the Rock River. It was the same full moon that shone earlier over the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics at Athens. The honey-colored moon arose over the town of Magnolia and then turned white as it moved across the river and the southern sky. Oh, the joy! I felt oneness with the whole world. The moment became my night prayer.The moon revealed a message for me: I am to reflect the light of Christ in the world, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. While the moon shone full in Athens, the Olympic athletes and spectators received fire from the big Olympic torch. They were charged with the mission to go to their places in 202 countries and spread peace, good will, and harmony. That’s what the light of Christ does in the world: bring the world closer together in mutual respect, in healing, and in hope. What a Sunday night I had at Blue Mounds! May your days of September be enlightening.

California will never be paradise to a Minnesota boy. After five years of living in California in the ‘80s, I missed my Minnesota so much; and I missed the seasons most of all. The following is a result of such restlessness written in 1989.*******I loved the country in the fall.I romanced it. It struggled with it.I tasted its earth and from it my spirit-strength grew.I raced country miles through harvested fields, sprinting, leaping, dodging imaginary ghosts; fallen cornstalks flying, black earth giving to my step; harder, harder I ran; farther, farther; arms, chest giving sweat; generated wind deafening me to only my breathing sounds and my internal cries. I ran to collapse and face down tasted the earth, soaked with my sweat and tears.Autumn touched my land with its a frosted breath of silence. I became the animals, the movements of a sleeping land. I suckled earth's pure springs, kicked damp leaves amid glacier rock and, under swelling, swirling skies, bare-handed earth-chilled carrots from their deep, dark home of black soil.As winter approached, brave, hungry deer foraged near where I, just moments before, had split the night's fire logs. Soon, thoughts of the day's last warmth led to a knowing sense to ready against winter's way.*******The road to Shiloh witnessed brother killing brother. That harsh-weather battle was brought to life on my parents' Magnavox by worn, red Civil War records, usually during winter months when nature forces families into new habits. Even the slightest Canadian wind plugged our home's only route to the outside, a strategically fashioned tunnel from the front door through layers of a day's snow. We lived for months in an ice cocoon.Outside roamed polar bears and I explored the North and South Poles and maintained camouflaged snow-forts for protection from Attila the Hun.Once a large wildcat was frightened off our roof and leapt overhead and into the night.My first kiss ever was a winter one, a stolen peck as we kids skated over snow-ice in the ditch. As first kisses go, it was only memorable in that my whole grade knew about it by morning. I didn't kiss a girl again for seven years.It was a time when imagination was your best friend.It was a time when nature allowed you to be whatever you couldn't be at home. You spoke with her, cried and cursed with her. You were never alone, never in need, in a season when the land lay still.The snow was warm.******* There was never a spring I didn't like. It was a time to play ball, a time to emerge from woolen clothes.I wanted to be in school to feel that unique anticipation of getting out.Bikes were oiled, storm windows removed, smiles returned and sore bones soothed.On my hill, spring is master of the senses and forces me to love her.There is sweetness all around.Colors hug the land.Each flower, each petal so delicate in first bloom you must tiptoe through their fields to protect them.Horses graze on fresh dew and grass. Buds and branches reach for sun.A warm, inspiring wind arrives from paradise.Butterflies dart as slow lightening.For a time, there is no winter of life.Each day now, I arise anew.And there is no heaven beyond the smell of lilacs in the springtime.

Buying shoes for their children is particularly serious business for German parents. For that reason a U.S. shoe company is making big strides there with its expandable "Max der Wurm" (Max the Worm) shoes. Reuters reports the shoes have an extending concertina panel between the toe and heel. When a silver button on the shoe is depressed, the panel can be lengthened to accommodate the quickly growing feet of a German youngster. The desire of German parents to make sure their children have comfortable shoes runs directly counter to my mother’s theory while her children were growing, "If the shoe doesn’t fit, wear it anyway", usually followed by, "Money doesn’t grow on trees." Like many mothers of her time, my mother didn’t trust her children’s foot measurements. After a shoe salesman would determine the perfect size for one of us, my mother would ask for the shoe in one or more sizes larger. Although the salesman would try to convince her that a finger width of space at the toe of the shoe would allow the shoe to grow with us, my mother wasn’t happy until another child’s entire foot would fit in the toe space. "She’ll grow into them," would argue the woman, who also sent her children out into the world with 12-inch cuffs on their blue jeans and shirttails which hung to their knees. With so much extra toe space in our new shoes, we didn’t walk around as much as we clunked around. Tripping over our own oversized shoes became a way of life. Because our shoes were expected to last for years rather than months, we also needed the shoe repairman at the corner, who would extend the life of footwear by re-stitching leather seams and replacing worn-down heels. If he was feeling particularly generous, he would let us have our old rubber heels for games of hopscotch on neighborhood sidewalks. Life had its perks. We were raised with comparisons to other children living in harsher circumstances. ("You wish you had another pair of shoes? There are children in this world walking around with bare feet! They would feel very fortunate to have your shoes!") We presumed that they were the same downtrodden children in Africa or Asia or would have gladly eaten our broccoli and spinach. If we continued to plead for new shoes, my mother, and presumably every mother of that time, would weave stories about children they knew during The Depression who had to wear worn down car tire treads, cut to fit and nailed crudely to the bottoms of their shoes. That would have been a growing child’s nightmare — with an extended warranty from the tire maker, the shoes could have lasted for five more years or 50,000 miles. "It must have been difficult to dance with shoe soles made from tire treads," my mother would add as an afterthought. She was very good with afterthoughts. If the expandable shoe trend catches on with cost-conscious parents in the U.S., there will be conflicts with our disposable shoe mentalities. Given the fact that so many children today have a voice in picking out shoe styles, we can only wonder how they will feel about wearing expandable SpongeBob SquarePants shoes or pink, glittery shoes influenced by Barbie to their high school graduations, college entrance interviews or weddings. We might not be ready for shoes that last longer than our fleeting interests.

It was a dark and stormy night when a monster began to grow in the garden. The ghastly beast began as 10 innocent gourd seeds, which were to produce gourds three feet in diameter. I can’t recall why I wanted gourds that big, but at the time it seemed like a fun thing to grow. The awful organism is now a 250-square-foot living, breathing mass of dark, dense foliage spreading across the terrain. Each day it extends its lethal tendrils, clutching onto sweet flowers and tiny grass blades in a death grip. I believe the evil plan includes a hostage takeover of the tomatoes and perhaps the garden shed. In fact, just the other day, I felt a slimy twisting tendril slither across my ankle as I harvested the green beans. I gasped. Where was the chainsaw? I regain my composure long enough to look down and discover a mini-worm crossing my leg. So I didn’t really need to panic. As of today, the massive beast is approximately two feet from the garden shed. From there it could possibly creep over to our neighbors, the Richters, and then onto the Buss homestead, maybe even to Blue Mound Avenue and the power plant. I’m not predicting a worldwide apocalyptic event, but a sinister plot is definitely unfolding! Another sinister plot unfolds in the new book by Kay Hooper, "Hunting Fear." He’s no ordinary kidnapper. Not only does he strike again and again, but he collects the ransom, gets away and leaves his hostage dead. After months eluding the best law enforcement professionals available, this monster leaves nothing in his wake, but a cold trail of unconnected victims. He’s no ordinary cop. Lucas Jordan has an extraordinary skill: he locates missing people. But his uncanny ability comes with a price, and his methods rouse mistrust in the hard-nosed cops forced to call him into the investigation. Complicating the situation further, is the presence of someone who’s even more mistrusted, carnival psychic Samantha Burke, a woman from Jordan’s past. Now the killer is hunting Jordan and threatens the one life he values more than his own. Also new on the shelf this week is, "Slow Kill," by Michael McGarrity. Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney travels to a California ranch looking to buy some prime quarter horse breeding stock. Instead, he finds himself the prime suspect in a possible homicide when a guest at the ranch, Clifford Spalding, is found dead. Confronted by a determined cop unwilling to let him off the hook, Kerney decides to conduct his own investigation. As he digs into the victim’s background, he learns that Spalding’s ex-wife refuses to believe that her son, a soldier killed in Vietnam some 30 years ago, is dead. Kerney digs deeper and soon finds himself sharing the woman’s doubts: Did Spalding’s current wife, a much younger woman, orchestrate his murder with the help of a lover? Did a California cop collude with Spalding to keep his ex-wife from learning the truth about her son? "Slow Kill" races from West Coast to East Coast as Kerney attempts to find the answers to a 30-year-old mystery and extricate himself from a situation that could ruin his career.