In the special world of products advertised "for television audiences only," personal grooming has suddenly become a group activity. One recent, hair-raising commercial touts a man’s grooming kit, which may be purchased for $12.95 plus shipping and handling, if you call the number at the bottom of your screen quickly enough and as long as limited supplies last. There’s a definite sense of urgency in the male announcer’s voice. Although the grooming kit is for men, the sales pitch is directed at women — "Ladies, keep that man in your life perfectly groomed," advises the announcer. During the commercial, a woman’s hands are shown trimming a man’s sideburns and eyebrows, as well as removing unsightly hairs from his nose and ears. The 60-second spot, unfortunately limited by time constraints, fails to show the woman removing the man’s built-up earwax or trimming his toenails. The ad puts a completely new slant on man-woman relationships. The implication, wrong as it may be, is that men must have these things done for them and that they are incapable of grooming themselves. Behind every successful, good-looking man is a woman who can tweeze, pluck, clip and trim. Most wedding vows fail to mention that a wife will "love, honor and remove unsightly hairs," so the group approach to personal grooming must be fairly new. For many generations, in fact since the first caveman dislodged a piece of meat from between his teeth with a sliver of bone, men and women took care of their own personal grooming and the nature of those tasks were kept from the rest of the world. That’s why locks were installed on bathroom doors and why so many men emerged from those same bathrooms with razor nicks on their necks and faces covered with tiny pieces of toilet paper. The blood-specked bits of paper were never mentioned in polite conversation because grooming was a private activity. Men have always taken care of their own grooming. So, what happened? If wives are now expected to do those tasks for men in their lives, can family grooming sessions be far behind? "OK, Johnny, you take care of Daddy’s toenails. Susie, tweeze his uni-brow and I’ll hold him down in his recliner chair!" An evening of tweezing, clipping and tidying up the father could be capped with a more traditional activity, such as a popcorn party in front of the TV. After men are accustomed to having their entire families descend upon them as they try to relax in their recliner chairs after long days at work, friends and neighbors might want to join in on the fun and excitement. "Joe is having a 50th birthday party," an invitation might read, "and you are invited to celebrate, desquamate (remove dead skin) and depilate (remove unsightly hairs) with the guest of honor!" It’s easy to imagine how women might feel if the tables were turned and they would hear, "Men, keep that woman in your life perfectly groomed." Without splitting hairs, it’s safe to say that sales pitch would never fly. Perhaps we are subconsciously avoiding an inevitable truth. As Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., wrote in 1860, "Husband and wife come to look alike at last." If the men in our lives look well-groomed, we will too.

By Lori EhdeLuverne School Board members are making their first steps into the troubled waters of cutting a massive $375,000 from the district’s budget.Teachers, staff and administration were asked to brainstorm possible areas to cut, and those ideas were laid on the table during the board’s Thursday, April 15, meeting.Superintendent Vince Schaefer had previously presented the board with several options — none of them popular — for addressing the district’s $375,000 anticipated shortfall.oReduce class sections (which would increase the number of students per class), program offerings and services in grades k-12.oReduce administration district-wide, which means performing the same work with fewer people.oReduce activities, including the number of events, which decreases travel costs.oGo to the voters this fall with the questions of increasing the operating levy, which is currently at $400 per pupil."We’ll do what we can to protect the educational opportunities for kids and the ability for teachers to teach," Schaefer said.Some specific ideas for cuts were discussed Thursday. For 2004-05, savings could come in the form of doing without a curriculum coordinator ($39,711) and alternative school director ($39,711), cutting back a second-grade section ($41,401), media center reorganization ($46,168), trimming $35,000 from staff development funds and reducing the English as a Second Language ($28,000) and middle school art programs ($20,299).A big ticket item that wouldn't considered until 2005-06, would be discontinuing all day every day kindergarten. The state currently only funds every-other-day kindergarten, and the district picks up the rest of the cost — $137,730 per year.Several factors causing financial problems for the district.oEnrollment decreased by 25 students since the start of the school year. That represents a loss of more than $100,000 in aid from the state.oTo balance its own budget, the state is withholding and metering 20 percent of promised aid. oMeanwhile the Legislature budgeted no new money for education in the past two years, and the same is expected for 2004-05.oThe second year of teacher labor contracts negotiated last fall have increases in salaries and benefits representing roughly $180,000.oTypical expenditures, such as heating, lighting, cooling, transportation, water, snow removal, etc., continue to increase.For example, when fuel prices increase 40 to 50 cents per gallon, that adds up for the Luverne district, which puts 250,000 to 300,000 miles on its vehicles.oFederal laws, such as No Child Left Behind, and more stringent state standards are increasing costs for curriculum, tests, instructional material and staff development.

By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council will consider forming a separate budget committee at its next meeting.The budgeting process takes much of a year to complete, and it’s not often understood by the public. By inviting four to six citizens to join council members and city staff in budget meetings, Administrator Greg LaFond and Finance Officer Barb Berghorst hope to build bridges.Councilman Bob Kaczrowski said it would be good for people to see the process up front.LaFond said, "If there’s one thing that people talk about and know very little about, it’s city property taxes and spending."New fees and increased taxes this year got big reactions, even though taxes were equal to a few years ago.All of the City Council supported the new committee idea, but will vote on forming it next week.County relationsThe city is sending a plan to the county to work on their joint meetings. The two boards used to meet occasionally to discuss joint issues. Contract disputes and other disagreements over the meetings themselves ended the former Liaison Meetings, as they were called.The city is suggesting dates and times for the county to consider. The City Council said it would rather meet as a full board rather than sending representatives to avoid communication problems among themselves in relaying information from the meetings.Mayor Glen Gust said he looked forward to the meetings as a way to continue to work together and mend fences.LaFond said the meetings will be centered on issues, not personalities or the past.Councilman David Hauge said improving relations is good, but working on real ideas is most important. "We need to hammer out the questions of law enforcement, which is the big issue between us," Hauge said. "It’s been dragging out for months. The other issues are secondary."

By Jolene FarleyThe Hills city council voted at a Wednesday, April 14, meeting to build a new basketball court at the city park."We lost the one we did have back at the school," Mayor Jim Jellema said.The basketball court at the high school was removed to make way for the construction of the locker rooms.Jellema asked Hills-Beaver Creek activities director Steve Wiertzema to check on what size the court should be and the type of backboards to use.His wife, city clerk Connie Wiertzema, brought the information to the meeting. The plan is to pour a 50-by-50 foot cement court behind the center field fence at the ball diamond. The council wants to add wooden posts around the perimeter of the court to make sure that no one drives on it."Get a price, get it going, get it done," Jellema said.In other council business:oThe Council decided to invest $3,000 in equipment to spray for mosquitoes. The sprayer would cover 15 miles of streets and alleys in an application. "I think there’s two other communities that would be willing to come down and have us do theirs," Jellema said."All three communities have parks and ball diamonds and I don’t think this West Nile thing is going to go away or get any better," he said.oThe council decided to purchase a sound system for the Hills Legion Hall.A group of citizens asked councilman and auctioneer Keith Elbers if they could borrow his sound system for the Memorial Day program. The current sound system didn’t work well at last year’s program and many in the audience couldn’t hear the speaker. Elbers told the council an adequate system could be purchased for between $300 and $500. He agreed to look for a sound system, and the council put a cap of $500 on the purchase.oThe council increased the amount of the city’s contribution to the fire department’s relief fund from $5,000 to $5,135. "The auditor’s coming back and saying, according to their figures, it should be $5,135 total," city clerk Connie Wiertzema said.oCity employee Wayne Ward asked the council if he could purchase a dog kennel to house the stray dogs he picks up. The dogs are tearing up the shed they are currently housed in, according to Ward.

By Jolene FarleyResults from the Minnesota 2004 Basic Skills Tests in reading and math were recently released. Reading and math tests were given to eighth-grade students in February. In Hills-Beaver Creek 84 percent of students passed reading, while 80 percent passed the math portion of the test."I think we had three students that missed passing by one point," Superintendent Dave Deragisch said at a Monday, April 12, School Board meeting.Statewide, 70.7 percent of students passed the math test and 81.1 percent passed the reading test. Minnesota public school students need to pass these tests and a Basic Standards Test in writing to meet state graduation requirements. At H-BC, 100 percent of the sophomores passed the writing portion of the test, compared to 91.4 percent statewide.Although local school officials think some testing is good, they wonder how much is too much."It’s really getting alarming when they (students) have their hand up in the air asking, ‘Do I need to pass this,’" Deragisch said at the April 12 School Board meeting. "I think we are going to see a point down the road of test burnout for kids," he said.H-BC Elementary Principal Todd Holthaus said, "Too often we look at the score and either live or die by that score."

Relay for Life receives American Cancer Society awardThe Rock County Relay for Life recently received an award from the American Cancer Society West, for the highest per capita fund-raiser for counties with populations between 7,000 and 17,000.The local Relay for Life organization received the news as they were preparing for the 2004 event.The 4th annual event will be at the Luverne City Park on June 18-19.Last year, the group raised more than $57,000, with more than 500 team members participating.The money raised locally goes to both cancer research as well as patient services and support in Luverne.If you would like to participate in this year’s event, contact Nancy Kaczrowski at 283-9261 or Glenda Schomacker at 283-8677.County ends spring weight restrictionsWeight restrictions imposed by the Rock County Highway Department earlier this spring have been lifted.County Engineer Mark Sehr lifted the spring load restriction on Monday, April 19th.If you have any questions, you can contact Sehr at 283-5010. "Kids First" plates may help fund Minnesota schoolsWe’ve all seen the environmental license plates the state of Minnesota started issuing a few years ago. Now, Rep. Laura Brod (R-New Prague) is hoping to do the same thing for education.Under Brod’s plan, the plates will have a pro- education message. The revenues generated from the "Kids First" license plates, will benefit local schools.Those purchasing the new plates will be able to identify which district receives the funds and therefore, their money will be kept in their local communities, providing a direct benefit from the locally generated revenue.One stumbling block in Brod’s plan is the rigorous standards the legislature recently set for issuing new license plates.Initially, 10,000 people in Minnesota must intend to purchase the plates to make the program a reality.For more information on the proposed new plates, contact Rep. Laura Brod, at 651-296-4229.A foul ball for a birthday boyNicholas Rittenhouse was pretty happy with the Twins’ tickets he got for his 10th birthday, but he ended up getting a bonus.Nicholas’ dad, John Rittenhouse, sports editor for the Rock County Star Herald and his mother, Astrid, took Nicholas to the Kansas City Royals game last Saturday night.As they watched the game from their seats along the first base line, Kansas City slugger Juan Gonzalez hit a foul ball, which appeared to be coming up short of the Rittenhouse’s seats.But when the ball took a big bounce, John set down his beverage and snatched the ball out of the air from his ninth row seats.So, Nicholas will have more than a ticket stub and memories from his 10th birthday.Freya Manfred to appear as visiting author in Sioux FallsFreya Manfred, Luverne native and daughter of Frederick Manfred, will appear as the second visiting author at Zandbroz Variety in downtown Sioux Falls this Saturday.Manfred will read from her recently published book of poetry "My Only Home."In a recently published article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Manfred described her most recent publication, "My Only Home" as containing two styles: meditative passages that come out of her time spent on Minnesota’s lakes and those she considers more conversational.""My Only Home" is Manfred’s fourth published book. The first three were "Frederick Manfred: A Daughter Remembers", "American Road: A Book of Poems" and "Yellow Squash Woman."Zandbroz Variety is located at 209 S. Phillips in Sioux Falls. Manfred is scheduled to appear at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

A rose by any other word would smell … like a tulipWhat is in a name?Not much, if you’re introducing yourself to me and I don’t have a notebook in my hand.I don’t mean to seem indifferent or callous. It’s just that when I am introduced to people, I usually am so preoccupied with not making a fool of myself that their names slip by without much thought. Of course, if I am on the job, I have a notebook to save me. Once I write it, it’s not so difficult to remember. That’s why local railroad operator Brent Polanchek has always stayed on my mental Rolodex — instead of becoming Brett Polansky or something else I could invent if we had only been verbally introduced. I might have called city clerk Marianne Perkins, just Mary, a time or two. I guess it makes for a nice test of people’s tolerance. I meet Dustin, and call him Nick. I meet Judy, and think she’s Tammy. If they put up with me after that, we can be great friends. Freud even analyzed why some people don’t get names right. He notes that names may be forgotten, falsely remembered, and substituted. Or, memories might be diverted, especially if they are unpleasurable. I hope that doesn’t mean that if I stumbled over your name, I found you unpleasurable.Even when I try the tricks like word association, or mentally or verbally repeating the name, I still might forget. At least I don’t cover with things like: "I guess you just make me all flustered," or "Oh my gosh! Who am I? Where am I?"I don’t even say, "I can’t remember names, but I never forget a face," even though it’s true.Maybe you should take it as a compliment when someone remembers your face and not your name. As Shakespeare so wisely said, "What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."At least I can comfort those whose names I’ve slaughtered with the fact that by the second introduction and conversation, I will usually have your name, and your life story memorized.So, let’s just make a deal: Don’t be overly flattered if I remember things like your favorite song and all the facts of your astrological sign. But don’t be offended if I forget your name, either.

By Lori EhdeAn 8-year-old Luverne girl is recovering at home from injuries she received Friday morning in a bicycle vs. car accident on West Main Street.Sheriff Mike Winkels happened to witness the accident at 7:51 a.m. as Andrea Woods was riding her bicycle north on Donaldson on her way to school.She was struck by a 2001 full-size black Dodge pickup driven by Charles Weber, who was headed east on Main Street as the bike crossed the intersection.Winkels saw Woods sail 60 feet through the air and land face-down on the ground."She was unresponsive for a short time, but within a minute we could hear her breathing," Winkels said.He kept her stable until the ambulance arrived. "When she left the scene, we still didn’t know who she was," he said. "There were neighbors out there speculating whose daughter she might be, but she didn’t know who she was or what had happened."Woods was taken to Luverne Community Hospital and then airlifted to Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, where she was released sometime over the weekend.Winkels said it’s remarkable the girl came away with such minor — or at least non-life threatening injuries."She’s a very lucky young lady," he said. "I know for a fact she received a pretty good blow to the head, and she was covered with skin abrasions."Winkels said Weber, who was driving into the bright sun at that time of the morning, didn’t see Woods approach the intersection."He told me that all of a sudden she was just there," Winkels said.The Star Herald was unable to reach the girl’s mother, Laura Woods, for details on her injuries or recovery, but Andrea was reportedly back in school Monday, attending classes in a wheelchair.

By Lori EhdeWith a resurgence of mo-peds, go-peds and motorized skateboards, Sheriff Mike Winkels wants to clarify rules and laws governing who gets to drive them and where."It’s been a controversial issue," Winkels said. "And a lot of people are confused about the laws."At issue, he said are three different types of scooters, each with their own set of rules.Gas-powered scootersMost problematic, Winkels said, are the gas-powered, 49 cc scooters like the yellow ones featured in the Herman Motors showroom.The "Twist ‘N Go," manufactured by Custom Motorcycles and Sidecars Inc., Preston, Wash., looks like a mo-ped and drives like mo-ped, but it doesn’t have pedals.That, Winkels said, classifies it as a motorcycle, an important distinction to recognize. Also, the scooters can reach speeds of 30 mph, while most mo-peds top out at 15 mph."A lot of people think if it’s under 50 ccs — which is what mo-peds are — you don’t need a driver’s license," Winkels said. "But you do need a drivers license if there are no pedals."He said some local 13- and 14-year-olds are driving the gas scooters — a violation that could earn them a $163 fine, and possibly delayed driving privileges until 18 years old."We have three of them racing around town, and if we catch them they’ll be dealt with."Winkels said part of the confusion stems from the law allowing licensed drivers to operate scooters smaller than 50 ccs without a motorcycle endorsement.People mistake this to mean no driver’s license is necessary. "You need a driver’s license to be driving these gas-powered scooters," Winkels said.He also added that licensed drivers younger than 18 are required to wear a helmet (a bicycle helmet will do) and eye protection while operating a scooter. Those 18 and older are required to wear only eye protection.Fifteen-year-olds who have their driver’s permits may drive the scooters with a mo-ped endorsement.Motorized skateboardsThe motorized skateboards with handlebars, Winkels said, can be driven only on private property.Operators can push them manually from one location to another on a public sidewalk, but the motors can be engaged only on private property.The "go-peds," can reach speeds of 15 mph and have no age requirement by law.Winkels reminds all skateboarders and in-line skaters that the downtown area is restricted from skating of any kind. Sidewalks are marked accordingly.Electric scootersElectric-powered scooters are creating fewer problems for law enforcement, but Winkels said the laws governing their use are most confusing.He said state legislators are still debating the merits of allowing electric scooters on sidewalks, because they were originally designed to aid pedestrians with disabilities."The speed on these is minimal (15 mph), and so far, we haven’t had too many complaints about them," Winkels said.So far, he’s telling people to ride electric scooters on sidewalks, and there’s no minimum age for operating them.Further questions can be directed to Winkels at the Rock County Law Enforcement Center, 283-5000.