By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team raised its record to 22-2 by recording a pair of wins since Saturday.

The Panthers secured a 16-point win over Lakeland in Terril, Iowa, Saturday before winning their second consecutive Camden Conference title with an 11-point home win over Lincoln HI Tuesday.

Ellsworth hosts Hills-Beaver Creek and is tentatively scheduled to play Lakeview in Cottonwood Tuesday.

Ellsworth 90, LH 79
The Panthers locked up their second consecutive CC championship when they toppled the Rebels by 11 points in Ellsworth Tuesday.

LH’s 1-3-1 zone press gave the Panthers some problems in the first half, but EHS was able to overcome the pressure and foul trouble to pull out a victory.

LH ambushed the Panthers by scoring the game’s first nine points before settling for a 23-19 lead at the end of the first period.

The Rebels led 44-43 at halftime before Ellsworth outscored the visitors 20-14 in the third quarter to gain a 63-58 advantage.

With Curt Schilling, Tom Janssen and Adam Sieff scoring nine, eight and six points respectively in the fourth quarter, EHS went on a 27-21 scoring run to prevail by 11.

Schilling finished the game with 38 points and 10 rebounds, while Dylan Kvaale registered a triple-double with 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Travis Jenniges and Janssen netted 12 and 11 counters for EHS. Brant Deutsch added eight rebounds and eight assists to the winning cause.

Box score
Schilling 13 0 12-13 38, Jenniges 4 1 1-3 12, Janssen 2 1 4-4 11, Kvaale 6 0 0-0 12, Sieff 1 2 0-0 8,, Deutsch 1 0 1-2 3, Brommer 2 0 2-4 6.

Ellsworth 87,
Lakeland 71
The Panthers opened a nine-point lead in the first quarter and never lost control of the game while besting Lakeland by 16 points in Terril, Iowa, Saturday.

Ellsworth ruled the glass by plucking 41 rebounds and was aggressive enough on offense to earn 34 free throws during the game.

"It was a game that we seemed to be in pretty good control of most of the way," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale.

"It was a good, physical game. I think the keys were our rebounding and the fact that they had a lot of fouls."

Ellsworth led 27-18 after eight minutes of play and increased the difference to 13 points (42-29) by halftime.

Lakeland trimmed the difference to 10 points (63-53) by the end of the third quarter before being outscored 24-18 in the final eight minutes to fall by 16.

Blake Brommer, who registered nine rebounds and six steals, led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points.

Curt Schilling, who passed for eight assists, had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 21 points.

Brant Deutsch added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists to the winning cause. Dylan Kvaale charted nine assists and seven rebounds, and Travis Jenniges added six assists.

Box score
Schilling 10 0 1-6 21, Jenniges 3 0 2-4 8, Janssen 0 1 6-8 9, Kvaale 3 0 1-3 7, Sieff 2 1 2-2 9, Deutsch 4 0 3-3 11, Brommer 6 1 7-8 22.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 64 field goals (48 percent), 22 of 34 free throws (65 percent), 41 rebounds, 13 turnovers.

Luverne senior guard Jesse Kuhlman drives past a Russell-Tyler-Ruthton player during the first quarter of Tuesday’s boys’ basketball game in Luverne. Kuhlman scored 17 points before breaking his left arm at 4:23 mark of the second quarter. Luverne went on to beat the Knights 57-52.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne boys’ basketball team experienced its most successful week of the 2002-03 season by winning two of three games in a six-day span.

The Cardinals beat Jackson County Central by 19 points at home Thursday before ending a 2-10 Southwest Conference campaign with a 22-point loss in Marshall Saturday. Luverne returned home Tuesday and upended Russell-Tyler-Ruthton by five points.

Luverne, 4-16 overall, ends the regular season in Ivanhoe Friday.

Luverne 57, R-T-R 52
The Cardinals overcame adversity to best the Knights by five points in Luverne Tuesday.

After watching senior guard Jesse Kuhlman get carted off the floor by a Luverne ambulance crew after sustaining a broken arm in the second quarter, no one would have blamed the remaining Cardinals if they would have packed it in for the rest of the night.

Instead, the Cardinals played some of their most inspiring basketball of the season while crowing the visiting Knights.

Trailing 13-12 entering the second quarter, Luverne took a 21-20 lead when Kuhlman converted a field goal near the five-minute mark of the period to account for his 16th and 17th points of the game.

Kuhlman came up with a steal moments later, and was fouled from behind while shooting a lay up. The force of the foul caused Kuhlman to miss the shot, and the blow sent Luverne’s leading scorer into the padded wall under the basket. Kuhlman broke his left arm on impact with the wall, ending his senior basketball season at the same time.

After nearly a 20-minute delay, play resumed in a somber way. Jake Studer, a senior guard who sustained a broken arm while pitching a baseball game a few years ago, was clearly shaken by the incident involving his friend when he shot the two foul shots for Kuhlman.

Fighting back tears, Studer made one of two free throws to ignite an 8-3 run capped by a Josh Lange field goal at the final buzzer to give the Cards a 30-23 halftime advantage.

Luverne kept the pressure on R-T-R by going on a 7-2 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter to gain their biggest lead of the game at 37-25. Studer, who scored 10 points for the Cards, hit a shot at the buzzer to give LHS a 42-29 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals continued to play well in the early stages of the fourth quarter as they increased the difference to 16 points (48-32), but the Knights countered with a 20-6 run capped by a three-point shot with 19.2 seconds left to trim the difference to two points at 54-52.

Luverne senior guard Joey Pick put the game on ice by sinking three of four free throws in the final 17 seconds.

Lange scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds for the winners. Aaron Schmidt led the Cards with eight rebounds.

Box score
Studer 3 1 1-2 10, Pick 0 0 3-5 3, Kuhlman 4 3 0-0 17, Schmidt 0 0 0-2 0, DeGroot 0 0 0-0 0, Boelman 3 0 0-0 6, Heronimus 2 0 2-2 6, Lange 7 0 1-2 15.

Team statistics
Luverne 23 of 52 field goals (44 percent), seven of 16 free throws (44 percent), 25 rebounds, nine turnovers.
R-T-R: 21 of 42 field goals (50 percent), four of four free throws (100 percent), 18 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

Marshall 71,
Luverne 49
A strong second half by the Tigers kept the Cardinals from posting back-to-back wins Saturday in Marshall.

Luverne played with the Tigers in the first two quarters, but Marshall outscored the Cards 49-32 in the second half to win by 22 points.

"Their pressure took its toll on us," said Cardinal coach Tom Rops. "They kept pressure on us for four quarters and were able to pull away from us in the end."

With Jesse Kuhlman netting eight of his team-high 20 points in the first half, Luverne stunned MHS by taking an 11-9 lead in the first period.

Marshall moved in front 22-17 at halftime before using a 22-14 scoring cushion in the third quarter to open a 44-31 advantage. The Tigers canned 12 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Cards 27-18 to win by 22.

Nick Heronimus added 10 points to Luverne’s cause. Aaron Schmidt pulled down eight rebounds. Kuhlman recorded three steals.

Box score
Studer 1 0 3-5 5, Pick 1 0 0-2 2, Kuhlman 1 6 0-0 20, Schmidt 1 0 4-6 6, Stegemann 1 0 0-3 2, Boelman 2 0 0-0 4, Heronimus 3 1 1-2 10.

Team statistics
Luverne: 17 of 53 field goals (32 percent), eight of 18 free throws (44 percent), 20 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
Marshall: 26 of 59 field goals (44 percent), 16 of 22 free throws (73 percent), 29 rebounds, nine turnovers.

Luverne 53, JCC 34
The Cardinals snapped an eight-game losing skid by coasting to a 19-point home win over the Huskies Thursday.

Luverne, which won its second conference game of the season, scored more than one-half of its points with three-point shots.

The Cards canned nine of 19 three-pointers (47 percent), which accounts for 27 of the team’s 54 points.

With Andy Stegemann scoring seven of his team-high 10 points and Kuhlman adding six of his nine counters in the first quarter, Luverne opened a 14-point lead (19-5) that was never seriously threatened the rest of the night.

The Cards extended the difference to 17 points (30-13) with an 11-8 scoring edge in the second quarter, and they remained in front by 17 (42-25) after battling JCC to a draw at 12 in the third quarter.

Luverne’s 11-9 scoring edge in the fourth quarter made the difference 19 points at game’s end.

Schmidt contributed six rebounds and four steals to the winning cause.

Box score
Studer 3 1 0-1 9, Pick 1 2 0-0 8, Kuhlman 0 3 0-0 9, Roemen 0 1 0-0 3, Deragisch 0 0 0-0 0, Goembel 1 0 0-0 2, Schmidt 0 0 4-8 4, Stegemann 2 2 0-0 10, Boelman 3 0 0-0 6, Heronimus 1 0 0-0 2.

Team statistics
Luverne: 20 of 55 field goals (36 percent), four of nine free throws (44 percent), 25 rebounds.
JCC: 12 of 40 field goals (30 percent), seven of 12 free throws (58 percent), 28 rebounds.

By Lori Ehde
Only three weeks after Cook’s closed its doors, former Cook’s employee Kathy Jarchow will reopen the doors as Gabe’s.

Leasing the 6,000-square-foot building from Bob Cook, Jarchow said Gabe’s will offer much of the same inventory as Cook’s shoppers are familiar with.

Why is the store called Gabe’s?

"My maiden name is Gabrielson," Jarchow said. "I didn’t think guys ordering Red Wing work boots would want to call ‘Kathy’s.’"

The store will have men’s and women’s clothing and shoes, and she’ll even hire the same Cook’s employees. "It’ll be the same Cook’s gang," Jarchow said.

Cindy Kooiker will be there full-time, and Henrietta Remme and Cleone Honken will work part-time.
Jarchow’s no stranger to the retail clothing business.

She started working for Randy Creeger when she graduated from Luverne High School in 1978.

After several years there, she was hired as assistant manager at Bostwick’s where she eventually became manager.

From there she worked for Bob Cook for 14 years. The last four years have been full-time as manager and buyer.

Jarchow said Cook’s clothing didn’t close because the business was doing poorly. Rather she said it was difficult to support the number of families that were depending on the business.

She said Gabe’s will be a secondary family income, and won’t offer the same volume of inventory as Cook’s did.

"Cook’s has always done well," Jarchow said. "I totally have faith in the community."

She said she’d been negotiating with Cook on leasing the building since he announced his plans to quit last fall.

Recent approval of a small business loan from the Southwest Minnesota Regional Development and local banks put the wheels in motion.

"I am very grateful to Dan Statema, Luverne EDA and Parnell Thorson for their help and guidance through this process," Jarchow said Wednesday when the loan was approved.

She’s planning to open Gabe’s early in April, but a grand opening won’t be scheduled until fall.

By Lori Ehde
As updates in software and technology rapidly outpace the shelf life of most computer hardware, computer owners find themselves with "perfectly good machines" they’d rather not use.

Because they’re still technically operable, it’s hard to justify throwing them out.

The result: computer graveyards have established themselves in basements and storage areas of homes and businesses around the world.

Luverne School District Technology Coordinator Wade Hiller said he tries to sell as many school computers as he can on the district’s rummage sale.

Last year, the school district upgraded nearly 70 Macintosh PowerMac 7200s to i-Macs, and Hiller hopes to get $50 to $75 apiece for the old machines.

That might be wishful thinking, given other rummage sales have taken in only $100 or $150 total.

"We don’t make much, but our purpose is to give everyone an opportunity, and so we don’t have to pay for the disposal," said District Financial Officer Marlene Mann.

"Yeah, it’s a low-end computer, but it gives them an opportunity and it allows the school to get rid of them."

The district pays garbage fees by weight, and discarding a large volume of sizable computer monitors would be costly.

Buyer beware
The seven-year-old machines are sold "as-is" with no technical support agreements.

"They’re all in pretty good shape, but some computers don’t have working CD ROMs or floppy drives," Hiller said. "We try to pick them apart and salvage some things before we sell them."

Hiller said the machines are all in good operating shape, but buyers need to understand they’re not getting speedy Internet surfers.

"They’re painfully slow," Hiller said. "That’s why we’re getting rid of them. They no longer have educational value."

He said they, like most used computers, are suitable for composing letters or organizing finances.

He advised most people considering their first home computer purchase to "get the latest and greatest with technical support."

If individuals and small businesses think their computer stockpiles are getting out of hand, Hiller is happy to show off the district’s massive "bone yard," as he calls it.

That’s where he and his student interns prepare used computers for sale, or strip down broken computers for parts.

They clean them up, "wipe the hard drive" and reinstall the original operating system software.

Wiping the drive
Wiping the drive, as he calls it, is something everyone should do before selling or donating used computers.

He said simply deleting files doesn’t permanently clear them from the computer’s memory.

Information, or at least remnants of it, will remain in the computer’s data storage sectors until new information is rewritten over the top — or until the drive is manually erased.

While Symantics, Disk Warrior and Norton Disk Wipe are reputable software options, Hiller said most computers come already equipped with disk wiping capabilities.

He also advised those with older machines to buy older wiping software to make sure it will be compatible.

He recommended home computer operators seek help when wiping their drives. "Most people aren’t going to know how to do it," he said. "Most people will need assistance to get their computers free of information."

That help could come from students who show interest in computer technology, and Hiller said he’d be happy to refer people to some kids who can help.

The reason it’s so important to wipe a drive is that personal computers often contain personal information, such as credit card or bank account numbers.

Donating computers
Another option for used computers is to donate them to charities.

While there are no established local organizations that receive computer donations, the Web site christina.org links interested donors with charitable organizations interested in receiving them.

Among those links are:

The Lazarus Foundation, which refurbishes used computers and gives them to the needy. Since 1993, its mission expanded to include teaching the recipients how to set up and use these computers. It can be found at www.lazarus.org.

Jamaica Organization for Youth (J.O.Y.), which provides needy children in Jamaica with technology in schools and community centers. It can be found at www.funspot.net/joy.

Heartsandminds.org offers a listing of several reputable organizations that accept computer donations.

If all else fails, used computers collecting dust in graveyards eventually find their way to legitimate junkyards.

It’s not that throwing them away is an expensive option for Luverne residents.

According to City of Luverne Public Works Director Darrell Huiskes, residents can dispose of their computers with their regular household garbage for no special fee.

Star Herald photo illustration by Sue Bruynes

By Sara Strong
The vacated hospital space in Adrian will soon have a new use if plans stay on track.

A special task force is confident in the possibility of creating a "board and lodge" with limited home health services in the former hospital space.

The hospital closed a year ago, but Arnold Memorial Nursing Home and Clinic remained open. The hospital space was without a use until these new plans came forward.

Adrian Mayor and Hospital Board member John Faber said, "We’re leaning toward a board and lodge concept."

The city of Adrian owns the Arnold Memorial building, but leases the facility to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System.

A board and lodge designation means that limited services, such as meals, laundry and housekeeping, will be offered to residents.

This shouldn’t be confused with an assisted living facility, because the boarding rooms won’t offer nursing staff, or other expanded services that come with assisted living facilities.

The next task force meeting is March 3, and the Adrian City Council must approve any recommendation from sub-boards and committees.

It’s expected that the former hospital space can accommodate eight rooms and a community room.
Faber said many details like service providers and specific costs aren’t available yet.

Last year at this time, the hospital board accepted Sioux Valley’s proposal and recommended hospital closure to the Adrian City Council.

The city council also voted at that time to work with Sioux Valley on implementing new services in the hospital space.

A task force was formed and has met several times to explore options for the space. The board and lodge concept became one of the most feasible possibilities, considering costs and state requirements.

Those interested in becoming residents will be asked to commit to at least a month-long stay and will be screened for physical and mental health.

By Sara Strong
The Lewis and Clark Rural Water Project is a part of a bill on President Bush’s desk, after waiting through some doubtful months.

Bush had originally appropriated $2 million for the fiscal year 2003 budget, but the full $7 million made it through.

The system can now start the process of purchasing land and digging wells to get the Missouri River water project started.

U.S. Representative Gil Gutknecht is a new legislator in the southwest district. He voted against the bill because of the high cost.

The budget that included Lewis and Clark was sent to the president with a 338-83 approval in the U.S. House of Representatives and 76-20 in the Senate.

The project still has a struggle to get water to Rock County by 2014. President Bush’s budget proposal for 2004 gives nothing to Lewis and Clark.

With 80 percent of the funding coming from the federal level, members are closely watching what happens to the upcoming budgets.

Rock County Rural Water recommended to the Board of Commissioners that it not sign a new agreement to continue membership of the system. Rural Water said the cost wasn’t worth the benefits and noted that its own improvements are sufficient to end the need for Lewis and Clark water.

Cost to members of the system is spread over time. The city of Luverne is estimating a payment of $36,000 this year for its contracted amount of 750,000 gallons of Lewis and Clark water. Rural Water’s portion of the agreement for 2003 was $20,000 for the 300,000 allotment.

By Sara Strong
Beyond its popular aesthetics, the Rock County Courthouse is the hub of county government activity.
Unfortunately, it’s also outdated and costly in some regards.

A private firm has spent a few months studying the Rock County Courthouse and came up with some projects that would make the county more efficient. Johnson Controls presented its findings and a proposal to the Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

Commissioners didn’t indicate they favored all components of Johnson Control’s proposal for the courthouse, highway building and Family Services, which came at a cost of $801,000. That figure includes a maintenance agreement.

First, the courthouse boiler is almost 40 years old and was converted from a steam to hot water boiler years ago. There is no back-up heat source and a new boiler system would improve energy efficiency.

Humidity in the courthouse is also an issue, so an upgraded cooling system is also a part of the proposal for the courthouse.

The county can elect to use parts of the proposal instead of "all or nothing."

Other parts of the Johnson Controls proposal were lighting retrofits to brighter, whiter light; increasing heating and cooling receivers for specific areas of the courthouse that aren’t currently reached effectively; ventilation improvements, and Highway Department garage radiant heat installation.

Johnson Controls said the most important upgrades would be the mechanical improvements, heating and moisture control.

When the courthouse was last remodeled in 1987 improved ventilation and a new boiler were included in the plans, but because of budget strains, were deleted from the final project.

The county can bond for up to $295,000 of the costs and finance the rest through Johnson Controls.

The Board of Commissioners will discuss the proposal at its next board meeting to include Ron Boyenga, who was absent Tuesday, in the discussion.

In other business Tuesday, the board:
Proclaimed April 2 through 9 as Stomp Out Youth Tobacco Use week. Rock County 4-H Ambassadors Sarah Nath, Lindsy Sells and Lindsay Den Herder made the request to the board. They are planning youth activities for the Stomp Out week.

Accepted a request from Holli Arp, director of the University of Minnesota Extension in Rock County, to hire a summer intern.

Arp said, "We just feel we need something to keep our 4-H program strong."

The intern will cost about $830 more than budgeted, but with Fraser Norton leaving, Arp said the budget will more than make up for it. It’s still not known whether the University will fill his position.

oApproved a pursuit policy from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office. Essentially, the policy asks officers to use their judgment based on individual circumstances. Sheriff Mike Winkels said the department is probably involved in three pursuits a year.

"The guys use their discretion really well," he said.

Winkels said the level of crime is a major factor in determining whether to pursue a vehicle that is clearly avoiding law enforcement.

Sometimes officers are able to know who they are pursuing and can use measures other than vehicle chases to apprehend suspects.

The policy is reviewed annually. The board requested to hear from Winkels after three deputies were involved in an accident during a pursuit.

Luverne High School students helped the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center deliver Valentine greetings around town Friday. Pictured are Kyle Bitterman, Jamison Tooley, Tim Boen, Daniel Amborn and Colby Anderson singing "Earth Angel" a cappella. The fund-raiser got 60 orders this year, most of which were able to be delivered, despite the snowy weather.

Other serenaders were Alisha Moeller, Becky Antoine, Melissa Boeve, Kristen Radley, Angie Cleveringa, Dan Nath, Phil Voigt and Kevin Aaker.

Photo by Chantell Connell

Luverne's Kathy Jarchow (second from right) will open Gabe's (named for her maiden name, Gabrielson) with her former Cook's employees, Cindy Kooiker (left), Cleone Honken and Henrietta Remme. Story inside.

Photo by Chantel Connell