Greater love of chocolate hath no woman. Chocolate lovers the world over should admire one English woman’s enthusiasm for the tasty treat and her determination to buy her fair share. "A woman with an apparently insatiable sweet tooth stunned staff at a north London shop," recently reported Reuters news services, "when she bought more than 10,000 chocolate bars and had them loaded into her chauffeur-driven limousine." The total bill for the 10,656 Mars candy bars packed in 220 boxes — the store’s entire inventory — amounted to $3,828. (While we’re on the subject, this might be a good time to set the record straight. I have never been to north London, most of the Limousins in this part of the country are a breed of cattle, and my chocolate slush fund isn’t that healthy.) Yes, the woman should truly be admired. It’s not all that easy for an adult — an adult with a conscience — to buy a chocolate candy bar these days. With the anti-fat, anti-cholesterol factions being what they are, buying a candy bar at a grocery store or convenience shop requires a considerable sense of reckless courage. It has always been my suspicion that clerks in the stores tend to make value judgments about their customers. As shoppers’ junk food purchases are removed from shopping carts and parade over their conveyor belts in endless, mind-numbing formations, the clerks aren’t just thinking about prices. While they’re sliding packages of potato chips, cheese curls, and yes, even chocolate bars with their hands over the price scanners, they’re thinking, "Yeah, she needs this chocolate like she needs another hole in the head," or, "Whoa, girl! Have you seen your profile in a full-length mirror lately?" That’s why most of my fried, chocolate and other "it can’t be good for you" food purchases are usually made out of town, far away from the scrutiny of grocery store clerks and any doctors, nurses or health-conscious shoppers who might be standing in the checkout lane behind me. They are all among the critics who fail to realize that chocolate is a valuable, perfect food and it should be recognized as an important food group, not unlike vastly overrated meats, vegetables, grains and fruits. When you think about it, chocolate is actually a vegetable because it is derived from beans. In addition, if we consider that all matter on our planet is divided into three classifications — animals, vegetables and minerals — chocolate is definitely a vegetable. Chocolate is a versatile food and may be consumed in many forms, whether it be hot chocolate, chocolate chips for baking, or plain old candy bars. Chocolate is also a very portable form of nutrition. For example, it would be very cumbersome to strap a 28-pound roasted turkey or a 30-pound watermelon to your back for a weekend hike, but a week’s worth of candy bars can be easily slipped into a backpack. This spring, Finnish researchers gave us yet another reason to celebrate the wonders of chocolate. According to their studies, noted in New Scientist magazine, mothers who ate substantial amounts of chocolate during their pregnancies reported more smiling and laughter in their babies after they were born. In other words, show me a cranky baby and I’ll show you a mother who has very little but the respect of grocery store clerks in her hometown.

10 years ago (1994)"Randy Creeger is preparing for the opening of his fifth coat store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Creeger started the coat store concept in 1979 when he opened his first store in Willmar.Since then he has opened stores in Rochester in 1981, Mankato in 1982 and converted Creeger Clothing in Luverne into a coat store in 1991."25 years ago (1979)"The new Human Services Building will be the traditional brick exterior, rather than wood faced as originally planned. County commissioners changed construction materials during a special meeting Friday following an investigation of insurance fees and discussions with area residents."50 years ago (1954)"A Luverne man will be host to, and dinner companion of, President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the banquet which will be held next Tuesday night at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Alan C. McIntosh, publisher of the Star Herald, will preside over the affair as president of the National Editorial Association. President Eisenhower will be the principal speaker at the banquet.Not only will President Eisenhower be present at the affair but Vice President Nixon and Chief Justice Warren will be guests at the head table at the banquet.… One of the last official acts of McIntosh as the retiring head of the NEA will be to present an engraved plaque to President Eisenhower honoring the Chief Executive for opening up additional avenues of public information to the people of America.The occasion will mark the first time in the 69-year-old history of the publisher’s association that a President of the United States has attended one of the association affairs." 75 years ago (1929)"Manager C. E. Johnson, of the Luverne Co-operative creamery, was awarded a silver trophy for the highest-scoring butter exhibited at the annual convention of the Land O’ Lakes creameries of the 12th Minnesota district held Friday at Hendricks. A federal cream inspector judged the butter and Mr. Johnson was awarded the highest honors on a jar scoring 94 1/2 points. … This winning is made all the more noteworthy through the fact that the jar of butter entered by the Luverne creamery manager was taken out of a fairly large regular churning and was not made from a small quantity of especially selected and treated butterfat, as is frequently the case. About fifty Land O’ Lakes creameries were represented by their managers or officers."100 years ago (1904)"The many friends of Guy and Harry Burlingame in Luverne will be pleased to learn that they are making good progress in their overland trip to North Dakota and that they are thoroughly enjoying the trip. They left Luverne Wednesday afternoon of last week and spent the first night at Jasper with their old friend, Tom Dunn. Thursday night was spent at Flandreau and Friday night at Clear Lake, S.D., where they were guests of C.J. Ronald. Saturday night they camped on the banks of Lake Kampeska, and on Wednesday night of this week, after being on the road just one week, they reached Ellendale, just across the line in North Dakota. At that point the boys had covered about two-thirds of the distance to their first objective point — Bismarck — and had driven on an average about forty miles a day."

By Lori EhdeLuverne native Mark Smith was found dead in his Chicago home after suffering a heart attack at the age of 28.His parents, Dave and Cloyce Smith, Luverne, spoke to Mark’s cardiologist Tuesday afternoon."Half of his heart muscle was operating at only 50 percent," Dave said. "As we all know, Mark was a big man, and the heart was having to work harder than usual. … As the doctor put it, his heart just gave out."Doctors told the Smith family that even if Mark had been hospitalized, they may not have been able to help him. "The heart attack was massive," Dave said.He said Mark has known about his condition a few years and was on blood thinning medication and losing weight in recent months. He was six feet tall and 285 pounds."The plan was to lessen the burden with the idea that the heart would build itself back up," Smith said."It wasn’t that he thought he was invincible. But he was single, and some of those lifestyle changes weren’t easy for him. He worked days, and he worked nights, and it was hard on his heart."Mark was employed at Home Depot in Chicago and was making arrangements to return to Luverne to work at Home Depot in Sioux Falls by the end of summer."He was looking forward to coming back here. He really loved Luverne and he loved the people here," Dave said. "Plus, more and more he felt he was missing out on his nephews."Mark’s sister, Carrie, and her husband Chad Overgaard, have two sons, Nathan, 3, and Connor, 1.Dave said knowing about Mark’s condition made the news of the heart less surprising, but he said it didn’t make it easier to hear."There’s a big void, and it’s going to take awhile …," Dave said. "The only thing we can say is if you have kids, love them every day that you can, because you never know. They’re a special gift from God. Mark was 28 years old, and we really appreciated the 28 years we had with him.Now, Dave said, the family is already turning to fond memories for comfort."There were so many good things about him — his love of life, his bear hugs … he just enjoyed life, and enjoyed people," Dave said. "We’ll miss those things, but they give us good memories."A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday in Grace Lutheran Church following a time of fellowship from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

By Lori EhdeThe staff of veterinarians at Rock Veterinary Clinic grew by one more last week — for a total of six — with the addition of Dr. Jason Johnson.Johnson and his wife, Suzie, and six-week-old Quentin moved to an acreage near Beaver Creek this spring, and his first day on the job in Luverne was Monday, June 7. "I’m enjoying the staff here, and it’s nice to be back in a community," Johnson said. "Everybody’s been so friendly."Johnson, son of Alverne and LaRay Johnson, grew up on a farm near Jasper and graduated from Pipestone-Jasper High School in Pipestone.He earned a two-year veterinary technician certification in Willmar but then went on to finish his undergraduate degree at the University of South Dakota, Brookings.Just last month he completed his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, St. Paul.Now, Johnson said he’s looking forward to getting his feet wet in a line of work he’s always loved."I grew up on a farm and have always had an interest in livestock and animals," he said."It’s interesting to me that you can manage the health of a herd — that you can make a difference that way."Johnson has training to work with both large and small animals, but right now, the clinic needs him to focus more on livestock.According to Dr. John Bowron, there are a few reasons for adding a sixth veterinarian to the clinic staff.Short term, the cattle market is stronger and another vet is needed to service local producers.Long term, Bowron said hiring additional vets now will better position the clinic for future retirements.The clinic is currently owned by Bowron, 58, Dr. Gordy Hamann, 61, and Dr. David Iverson, 60."We feel it’s going to take time to get new people started," Bowron said, "and we’re readying ourselves for transitions." Meanwhile, he said hiring new, younger veterinarians has strengthened the practice."We need younger people to bring in new techniques and new skills," Bowron said. "We need that energy and enthusiasm."In addition to the six veterinarians, Rock Vet Clinic employs six full-time support staff and three part-time employees."We’ve got a good crew," Bowron said. "We get along well."

By Sara StrongDenver and Mound Townships are hosting test towers for a California wind energy company.Rock County granted the company, SeaWest, conditional use permits for the meteorological towers. Steve Steinhauer of SeaWest said, "We’re trying to determine if it’s a commercially feasible resource at that location. It will be about a year before that’s determined." The four towers are actually 6-inch diameter tubes reaching 164 feet. They are fitted with wind detecting equipment, which sends the indications to a computer to tabulate wind energy potential.SeaWest has wind power projects all across the country, mostly west of the Mississippi. Steinhauer said he was interested in what the area has already done in wind power, in Rock County and further north in the region, near Lake Benton, for example.The company is based out of San Diego and manages wind energy projects of various sizes, from 300 to 3,000 turbines.Customers who use SeaWest can be project owners, power purchasers, or manufacturers.

By Sara StrongThe city of Luverne is proposing a law enforcement contract with Rock County that could save the city (or city taxpayers) more than $360,000.City Administrator Greg LaFond outlined the various proposals to county officials this week. LaFond told City Council members that the city staff would finalize a proposal for Council consideration by Thursday, June 17th. LaFond indicated the proposal would separate the dispatch services and fees from law enforcement contract services and fees. The city pays half of the dispatching costs under its current contract, which will expire in December. In addition, city taxpayers pay an additional 18 percent of the total dispatch costs through the apportionment of the county tax levy. In 2004, the dispatch budget was $329,000, so city taxpayers funded $199,000 of the total budget. Law enforcement contract fees were $447,486 in 2004. City taxpayers paid an additional $89,500 through the county tax levy. The new proposal will also ask that the inmate health care and room and board costs be taken out of the law enforcement contract formula. The city didn’t pay for the board of prisoners when it had its own department, and counties are obligated to pay for it by state law.The proposal will also ask that Luverne’s contract for law enforcement be funded by hourly charges rather than a percentage of the county’s costs.LaFond said, "State statutes require sheriffs to provide emergency communications. … The Sheriff’s Department can’t operate without dispatch and the question is, why are city taxpayers paying a premium tax for the services?"The city has maintained that its residents already pay county taxes, and that, combined with contract costs cause city residents to pay 60 percent of the county’s law enforcement and dispatch costs.LaFond said about dispatching, "We didn’t do this in a void, we did a survey of 113 municipalities."Ninety of those do not pay additional direct charges for dispatch services. Luverne was one of 23 municipalities that pays additional direct charges for dispatch services.LaFond reminded the City Council what staff has found during its research into saving money in all contracts. The Council had seen the information before, but the presentation combined all the information for review before further negotiations with the county.The full meeting will air on PrairieWave’s public access channel at 8 p.m. Friday, June 18; 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, and 8 p.m. Friday, June 25. The city will also make available tapes of the presentation at City Hall and the library.The county will respond to the latest proposal, but has said it is treating the city fairly in its contracts. County commissioners said surveys and number comparisons can be skewed and that they would prefer to operate as they have to avoid changing services.

By Lori EhdeNearly a whole year of hard work and fund-raising efforts are about to pay off this weekend during the fourth annual Rock County Relay for Life.So far, 22 teams of nearly 400 individuals have raised more than $40,000 for the American Cancer Society."We have an awesome community," said Glenda Schomacker, who’s co-chairing this year’s event with Nancy Kaczrowski.The goal again this year was $35,000 and local teams again surpassed that goal prior to the event."The stretch goal is now $45,000," said Schomacker, a cancer survivor who served as the honorary chairman during last year’s event.Luverne’s Vivian Holst heads up the registrations and treasurer duties for Rock County’s Relay for Life. "I know we’ll reach that stretch goal," she said. "We have very generous people in this area. It’s absolutely fabulous."In 2001, the community raised $51,750, an unheard first-time effort for a community starting Relay for Life.In 2002, the local event raised $44,128, and last year volunteers raised a whopping $57,763 for the Cancer Society.Relay for Life is the trademark fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. The annual event involves teams of runners and walkers competing against each other to raise the most money.Teams of individuals representing corporations, hospitals, neighborhoods and families take turns on the track through the night with at least one team member on the track at a time.The first two Rock County Relays were held on Luverne High School track and field, but last year and again this year, it will be in Luverne City Park.It starts Friday night with a 5:30 supper for a free-will donation, and the official Relay kicks off with a Survivor Walk at 7 p.m.The Relay for Life is now held nationwide, and thousands of people participate each year to help fight cancer.The event is most noted for its luminaries that glow in memory of individuals who have died from cancer or in honor of those who have survived cancer.While the Relay and luminaries are the focal point of the event, the field will be filled with local entertainment, food booths and planned activities.Many of the activities and booths offer additional opportunities for participants to raise money.For example, this year, each participating team put together a basket of items that are displayed in the Pizza Ranch window. Those baskets will be sold in a silent auction, with bids taken until the luminary lighting at dusk.The event wraps up at sunrise Saturday with a 5:45 a.m. closing ceremony and light breakfast.New this year, area churches are sponsoring a Father’s Day breakfast at Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center, Luverne. Brunch, including eggs, pancakes, sausage, ham, rolls, fresh fruit, milk, juice and coffee, will be served from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.Proceeds will be donated to Rock County Relay for Life.

By Lori EhdeNearly a whole year of hard work and fund-raising efforts are about to pay off this weekend during the fourth annual Rock County Relay for Life.So far, 22 teams of nearly 400 individuals have raised more than $40,000 for the American Cancer Society."We have an awesome community," said Glenda Schomacker, who’s co-chairing this year’s event with Nancy Kaczrowski.The goal again this year was $35,000 and local teams again surpassed that goal prior to the event."The stretch goal is now $45,000," said Schomacker, a cancer survivor who served as the honorary chairman during last year’s event.Luverne’s Vivian Holst heads up the registrations and treasurer duties for Rock County’s Relay for Life. "I know we’ll reach that stretch goal," she said. "We have very generous people in this area. It’s absolutely fabulous."In 2001, the community raised $51,750, an unheard first-time effort for a community starting Relay for Life.In 2002, the local event raised $44,128, and last year volunteers raised a whopping $57,763 for the Cancer Society.Relay for Life is the trademark fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. The annual event involves teams of runners and walkers competing against each other to raise the most money.Teams of individuals representing corporations, hospitals, neighborhoods and families take turns on the track through the night with at least one team member on the track at a time.The first two Rock County Relays were held on Luverne High School track and field, but last year and again this year, it will be in Luverne City Park.It starts Friday night with a 5:30 supper for a free-will donation, and the official Relay kicks off with a Survivor Walk at 7 p.m.The Relay for Life is now held nationwide, and thousands of people participate each year to help fight cancer.The event is most noted for its luminaries that glow in memory of individuals who have died from cancer or in honor of those who have survived cancer.While the Relay and luminaries are the focal point of the event, the field will be filled with local entertainment, food booths and planned activities.Many of the activities and booths offer additional opportunities for participants to raise money.For example, this year, each participating team put together a basket of items that are displayed in the Pizza Ranch window. Those baskets will be sold in a silent auction, with bids taken until the luminary lighting at dusk.The event wraps up at sunrise Saturday with a 5:45 a.m. closing ceremony and light breakfast.New this year, area churches are sponsoring a Father’s Day breakfast at Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center, Luverne. Brunch, including eggs, pancakes, sausage, ham, rolls, fresh fruit, milk, juice and coffee, will be served from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.Proceeds will be donated to Rock County Relay for Life.

By Lori EhdeThe Hills-Beaver Creek School District has only a few positions left to fill for the 2004-05 year.Supt. Dave Deragisch updated board members at their Monday meeting.A contract for the half-time art teacher is pending and Deragisch interviewed a candidate for high school band director Tuesday.The district still needs to fill an 80 percent special education position and Heather Erickson resigned, so the part-time positions of paraprofessional and ECFE parent educator will also need to be filled.Erickson will remain Kid Care coordinator for the district’s after-school program.Book of the WeekThe board also approved summer contracts for the Book of the Week Club.Sara Oldre, club coordinator was approved at $600. Teri Richards, Diane Vanden Hoek, Mary Mudder and Laura Louwagie were all approved at $500.The summer reading program, in its third year, is funded through Rock County Collaborative dollars and family tuitions."Our goal has never been to make money on the program," Deragisch said. "Our goal is to break even."He said students get to keep the books and materials and that the program has proven to be successful."It’s a daytime program, and it’s hard for some parents to get there," Deragisch said. "But what I like about it is lots of times you see Grandpa or Grandma sitting there reading with the kids. It’s just excellent bonding time for them, too."Marching bandDeragisch reported on the H-BC marching band’s appearance in the Hills Friendship Day Parade."I got goose bumps," he said. "They looked great, they sounded great. I have to give Mr. Steinert a lot of credit and the kids a lot of credit. … They’ve made remarkable progress."Exchange State Bank donated the matching t-shirts for the 70-some band members.SBA donationsDeragisch reported that the Small Business Association in Sioux Falls moved to a new office and donated office equipment to the H-BC district.Michele Arends, Hills, made Deragisch aware of the opportunity, and he and Steve Wiertzema filled an enclosed trailer with supplies.The list includes fourteen executive office chairs, seven conference room chairs, seven stackable chairs, six five-drawer vertical file cabinets, three four-drawer horizontal file cabinets, a round table, a fireproof 625-pound safe, a storage cabinet with glass fronts, an 18-cubic foot refrigerator/freezer, an electric water cooler, a wooden cabinet with dry-erase board and cork boards and a typewriter stand.In other businessoThe H-BC board approved a new pairing agreement with Luverne for wrestling and baseball.The action was prompted by Ellsworth’s recent decision to end its pairing agreement in those sports with Luverne and H-BC.oThe next H-BC School Board meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. June 24, which is a Thursday. Agenda items for that meeting will include new teacher contracts (likely for band and art) and testing results.