By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team upped its season record to 13-8 with a 58-46 win over Murray County Central in Hills Tuesday.

H-BC opened a 12-point halftime lead and maintained it by battling the Rebels to a draw at 27 in the second half.

The win was H-BC’s fourth straight, which is the Patriots’ longest winning stretch of the season.

H-BC, 9-5 in Red Rock Conference play, ends the regular season by playing in Adrian tonight and hosting Fulda Tuesday.

According to Patriot coach Tom Goehle, H-BC turned in a solid performance on both ends of the court against MCC.

"Our girls did a great job defensively all night," he said. "Offensively, we moved the ball really well and attacked the basket very well. We received quality minutes from every one of our girls."

The Patriots opened a 14-9 lead in the first quarter before outscoring the Rebels 17-10 in the third period to boast a 31-19 halftime cushion.

MCC fought back to trim the difference to eight points (42-34) in the third quarter, but H-BC returned the favor by outscoring the Rebels 16-12 in the final eight minutes of play to prevail by 12 points.

Cassi Tilstra led the charge for H-BC by netting 19 points and passing for eight assists.

Erin Boeve had a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Melinda Feucht scored 12 points for the winners.

Box score
Bush 0 0 0-0 0, Feucht 4 0 4-7 12, Sandstede 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 3 3 4-5 19, S.Rozeboom 2 0 0-1 4, Boeve 5 0 8-13 18, Olson 2 0 1-3 5.

Team statistics
H-BC: 19 of 43 field goals (44 percent), 17 of 29 free throws (59 percent).
MCC: 17 of 54 field goals (31 percent), 12 of 18 free throws (67 percent).

Hills-Beaver Creek senior post Jesse Leuthold prepares to shoot the ball during Monday’s 59-56 boys’ basketball win over Sioux Falls Christian in Hills. Leuthold scored six points to help the Patriots win their 10th straight game.

By John Rittenhouse
A second-half comeback by the Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team gave the Patriots a 59-56 victory over Sioux Falls Christian in Hills Monday.

H-BC’s nine-game winning streak appeared to be at risk when the Chargers sported three- and two-point edges at the end of first two quarters.

The Patriots, however, rallied to outscore SFC 36-31 in the second half to win by three and secure their 10th straight win.

H-BC will go for its 11th consecutive victory when it travels to Adrian Tuesday.

Monday’s game against the Chargers was a battle.

H-BC trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and faced a five-point deficit in the third quarter using three runs in the second half to win the game.

SFC, which led 25-23 at the intermission, led 30-25 in the early stages of the third quarter.

H-BC tied the game at 32 with a field goal from Kale Wiertzema at the 3:07 mark of the third quarter and gained its first lead since early in the first quarter when Trey Van Wyhe connected for another field goal with 2:40 remaining to give the Patriots a 34-33 edge.

The field goals were a part of a 12-2 run that gave the Patriots a 37-32 lead, but a late three by SFC made it a 37-35 game heading into the final eight minutes of play.

H-BC opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run capped by two free throws from Wiertzema with 5:59 remaining that gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game at 45-35.

SFC countered with a 12-4 surge to trim H-BC’s lead to two points (49-47) with 2:25 left to play.

H-BC then made seven free throws (three by Tyson Metzger, two by Wiertzema and two by Tyler Bush) to extend its lead to nine points at 56-47 with 36 seconds remaining.

SFC outscored the Patriots 9-3, but the Chargers didn’t have a possession in which they could have tied the game during that span.

H-BC scored the first four points of the game before the Chargers went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-4 lead before sporting a 9-6 lead at period’s end.

The Chargers outscored H-BC 13-6 in the first four minutes of the second period to open a 22-12 advantage. H-BC put together an 8-0 run capped by a pair of charity shots from Bush to trail 22-20, and it remained behind by two points at halftime.

Van Wyhe led the Patriots with 22 points and nine rebounds in the game, while Wiertzema added seven assists, six rebounds and 12 points. Jesse Leuthold pulled down six rebounds.

The 17-4 Patriots outscored the Chargers 23-7 at the free-throw line during the game.

Box score
Bush 0 0 7-8 7, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 1 0 0-0 2, Broesder 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 1 2 4-7 12, Metzger 1 0 6-8 8, Van Wyhe 9 0 4-4 22, Leuthold 2 0 0-0 6.

Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 40 field goals (43 percent), 23 of 29 free throws (79 percent), 34 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SFC: 17 of 50 field goals (34 percent), seven of eight free throws (88 percent), 14 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

By Jolene Farley
Hills native Doug Deragisch has been named Middle School Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary Principals.

Deragisch, Marshall’s middle school principal, beat out seven other candidates to represent Minnesota in national competition in Washington, D.C.

Deragisch was notified Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Winter Work Shop in Minneapolis that he was the winner.

The MASP is an association of high school and middle school principals in Minnesota.

"It’s a great honor and I appreciate it very much," he said. "It’s recognition for the entire, in my case, the building. I want to give teachers, staff and the superintendent credit for what they’ve done here in Marshall."

Under Deragisch, the Marshall Middle School has evolved from traditional to block class scheduling.

Interdisciplinary teaming, a teaching technique, is now used by the teachers. Teachers build on topics in different subject areas. For instance, if the topic is the 50’s and 60’s, items pertaining to the same era would be taught in music, history, English, etc.

"We switched from a junior high philosophy to a true middle school philosophy," he said. "It’s knowing the middle school student, what makes them tick. … We have to help develop a program to fit the students needs instead of trying to make them fit our needs."

For the state competition, Deragisch answered four written questions. One question asked what major change in a school system he was involved with. In his answer, he detailed the switch to a true middle school at Marshall.

Deragisch, the son of Doris Deragisch Blom and the late Dean Deragisch, graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School in 1981. He earned a teaching degree from the University of Sioux Falls.

He taught eighth through eleventh-grade social studies at Storden-Jeffers after earning his degree. He coached volleyball, basketball and track and was a drivers’ education instructor.

After four years of teaching, Deragisch decided to return to college for a master’s degree in administration. He continued to teach at Storden-Jeffers while furthering his education.

When the school consolidated with another, he was squeezed out of a job.

He landed a job as the assistant principal at Worthington Junior High for two years before accepting the position in Marshall.

In addition to his junior high school duties at Marshall, this year Deragisch added fifth-and sixth graders to his roster.

"I enjoy the kids," he said. "I enjoy the spontaneity of them. They’re very excited about school."

Doug married another Hills native, Danette Hadler, and they have three children.

The groundhog reportedly saw his shadow Sunday, officially signifying six more weeks of winter (or non-winter, as the case is this year).

Despite the bad news that spring will arrive on time, as usual, I have my own silly reasons for optimism this time of year.

It’s a little known fact that mid-February is a turning point of sorts in the darkness factor of winter.

It’s a point at which the days are as long now as they were in late October when summer was drawing to a close.

Technically, we’ve been gaining daylight since Dec. 22, but now we’re able to see daylight at quitting time, and that makes all the difference in the world to working mothers with small children.

We’re gaining an average of two minutes of sunlight per day, which means moms everywhere are earning renewed respect from their children in daycare.

For little ones with no reliable mechanism for telling time, lengthening shadows are their only indicator that it’s almost time to go home. Darkness could only mean one thing: Mom’s late — or worse yet, has forgotten them.

Tonight, the sun will set at roughly 5:45. On Tuesday, it was still above the horizon when I picked up the boys at 5:25. "Mom, how come you’re early?" Jonathan said, surprised.

"I just missed you," I said slyly.

Pretty soon, minute by minute, I’ll be Super Mom in his eyes, as I’m able to still get all my work done, while picking him up sooner and sooner every day.

Speaking of dark days
Gov. Tim Pawlenty made quite an impression on me during his visit to Luverne last month — for two reasons.

For one, his presentation was the most dark and dismal commentary on government budgets that I’ve ever heard.

What impressed me about that was his statement that EVERYONE would have to share in the responsibility of balancing the budget.

I was sure to quote him on that, because anyone who knows anything about how things work at the Capitol knows that those with the most effective lobbyists are the ones who come out ahead.

It will be interesting and entertaining to watch the song and dance and see if the burden is actually shared equally — or at least fairly — in the end.

In addition to his message, the other thing that impressed me about our governor was his delivery style.

I came to the event curious to meet the weasel who had come up with such idiot proposals, but I freely admit came away understanding his motives and appreciating his candor.

He addressed the crowd respectfully and articulately without a prepared speech, and he seemed to be well-versed on a number of miscellaneous issues thrown at him afterward.

I know style won’t count for much when we assess our governor’s performance at the end of his term, but I for one, found him to be a refreshing change from our former governor.

And, after the predictable State of the Union address last week, I’m just glad to know there are some politicians who know how to put a sentence together that isn’t scrolled across a teleprompter.

Green Earth Players ‘bring ‘em in’ for the Palace
The Green Earth Players, Luverne’s community theater group for the past 25 years, used that event last weekend to help raise money for the Palace Theatre.

GEP showcased a song or an act from each of the 25 years, using original cast members whenever possible.

The event started with Tom Brakke, one of the founding members of the GEP, giving the audience 25 years of Green Earth Players’ history.

Ben Vander Kooi served as Master of Ceremonies.

The productions were performed both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

According to Dianne Ossenfort, 423 people attended the two performances and raised more than $2,500 to help refurbish the Palace Theatre.

Prudence Johnson at the Palace
Well known Twin Cities recording artist, Prudence Johnson, will be making an appearance at the Palace Theatre later this month.

Johnson, formerly with the jazz group "Women That Cook," is described as "an artist that sings cool jazz, torch songs and ballads with heart and soul."

Pulse Magazine described her as a "national treasure."

They went on to say "This is no ordinary vocalist. Whether jazz, country, pop, folk or Broadway, Prudence Johnson has spent more than 25 years masterfully giving each song its due. And her latest recording project, "Moon Country," an exquisite collection of songs by American icon Hoagy Carmichael, is no exception.

Along the way, Johnson has done two tours of Russia, earned a Grammy nomination in 1992, and had a cameo role in Robert Redford’s Academy Award-winning film, " A River Runs Through It."

Her performance at the Palace will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23.

Advance tickets are available, and doors will open one hour prior to show time.

Making ‘Do Not Call’ tougher, or eliminate it?
John Marty, Minnesota State Senator from Roseville likes the "do not call" list.

In fact, the only thing he doesn’t like about it is that there are too many loopholes.

If Marty has his way, changes to the bill will include:
Eliminate a "prior relationship" as grounds for exceptions. He said, "it’s too broad, because a "prior relationship" could go back years."

As an example, he said, "Tell me how many people have not had Qwest service. If you‘ve ever had it, any of their affiliates could call you."

Tighten up the exception for companies that have a "current relationship" with the consumer. Calls would be allowed only if they are not made with a computer dialing system.

Prohibit telemarketers from calling in order to establish a business relationship and then calling back later with a sales pitch.

Eliminate the exception that now allows telemarketers to make sales pitches over the phone as long as they complete the transaction face-to-face.

They’re trying to get you to give them permission to come to your house and make a heavy sales pitch," Marty told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

While Marty is trying to make the law tougher, telemarketers went to court last week in an attempt to stop the U.S. government from setting up a proposed nationwide "do-not-call" list.

I’ll tell you more about that next week.

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Dallis K. "Pete" Frakes, 67, Luverne, died Friday, Feb. 7, 2003, in Orlando, Fla.

Services were Thursday, Feb. 13, at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Rev. Gary Klatt officiated. Burial, with military honors, was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Dallis Frakes was born to Jesse C. and Amelia (Hovland) Frakes on April 10, 1935, in Magnolia. At the age of three, he moved with his family to Luverne. He graduated from Luverne High School in 1953. He served his country in the U.S. Army, serving in Germany from 1957 to 1958.

He married Irene Stelzer in December 1958 in Germany. They later divorced.

He married Pat Burke on Feb. 26, 1970, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The couple lived in Luverne. Pat died Nov. 19, 2000.

He married Esther Spease on March 8, 2002, in Luverne.

He worked with his father and Milt Abraham to operate Frakes, Frakes & Abraham Construction in Luverne. Later he operated D.K. Frakes Construction. He was an underground contractor for Northwestern Bell and others. He was hired by Virgil Christensen as construction manager for the building of the Prince of Peace Project in Sioux Falls. He also worked on the Barnett Center in Aberdeen, S.D. He was later hired by Gov. Janklow as independent consultant for the South Dakota Housing Development Authority to inspect new-home construction at Springfield Prison, Springfield, S.D. In retirement, he began building his own home on Labor Day 1993. He took pride in building his home in Luverne as well as supervising the addition to the Luverne Country Club.

Mr. Frakes was a member of United Methodist Church in Luverne, Maplewood Cemetery Association, Habitat for Humanity, Luverne Country Club and a former member of Luverne Planning and Zoning Commission. He enjoyed golfing, woodcarving, reading, playing cards and his backyard wildlife. He especially loved making his personal greeting cards on his computer.

Survivors include his wife, Esther Frakes, Luverne; son, Rory Burke, Sioux Falls; son and daughter-in-law, Tim and Pam Frakes, St. Cloud; daughter, Keely Frakes-Rau and her husband, Tom Rau, Avon; two grandchildren, Jacob Michaelis and Amber (Mike) Wiener; great-granddaughter, Genevieve Wiener; sister, Gayle (Roger) Beers, Luverne; brother, Jesse C. "Skip" Frakes Jr., Cherokee, Iowa; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Avis (Al) Schmitz, Ft. Myers, Fla., Carol (the Rev. Gerald) Gieger, Watertown, S.D., Henry (Linda) Huhnerkoch, Alexandria, the Rev. Herb (Barb) Huhnerkoch, Kissimmee, Fla., Gaylen (Betty) Dell, Marathon, Iowa, Daryl Dell, Rohnert Park, Calif.; a special bond with niece, Vicki Baartman, her husband, Bruce, and their daughters, Hannah and Emilie; and several other nieces and nephews.

Mr. Frakes was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Pat Frakes, one son, Perry Frakes, Sept. 2, 1983, and one nephew, Scott Beers, Oct. 30, 2001.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Darwin R. Day, 76, Luverne, died Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003, at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Services were Monday, Feb. 10, at First Baptist Church in Luverne. The Rev. Rick Cornish officiated.
Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.

Darwin Day was born to Sidney and Laurena (Reiten) Day on April 5, 1926, in Granite Falls. He was raised and educated in Granite Falls.

He married Shirley Mae Jammerthal on June 21, 1946, in Marshall. Because of his work in the construction industry they moved around a lot. They first lived in Granite Falls, then Flandreau, S.D., next Pipestone and in 1974 moved to Luverne. He worked as a superintendent for Christensen Corporation for many years, building banks, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

Mr. Day enjoyed fishing, hunting and woodworking.

Survivors include his three sons, David (Nancy) Day, Hopkins, Dennis (Shirley) Day, Bakersfield, Calif., and Gary (Marilyn) Day, Yankton, S.D.; four daughters, Nancy (Verlyn) Anspach, Montevideo, Jody (Terry) Newcomer, Sioux Falls, S.D., Sherry (Keith) Forsberg, Luverne, and Peggy (Bruce) Carlson, Thompson, N.D.; 14 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; one brother, Keith (Paulette) Day, Elgin Ill.; three sisters, Mildred (Wallace) Odegard, Granite Falls, Margaret (Harry) Morland, Marshall, and Lois (Ron) Owens, Willmar; many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends.

Mr. Day was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Shirley, in 1995, four brothers, Donald, Dale, Gordon and Jerry, and one sister, Dolores "Babe."

Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Russell A. Goembel, 90, Harlingen, Texas, formerly of Luverne, died Monday, Feb. 3, 2003, at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Services were Friday, Feb. 7, at First Methodist Church.

Russell Goembel was born in Luverne on April 12, 1912. He grew up and received his education in Luverne.

He married Helen Egge on Oct. 25, 1957. They lived in Sioux Falls, S.D. He worked at Sioux Steel for 17 years before retiring in 1972. They wintered in Harlingen before moving there year-round in 2001.

Mr. Goembel was a member of First United Methodist Church and the Moose Lodge.

Survivors include his wife, Helen Goembel, Harlingen; six sons, Keith (Janice) Goembel, Brandon, S.D., Glenn Goembel, James (Marvella) Goembel, Daryle (Sonja) Goembel, Bryce (Margaret) Goembel, and Larry Goembel, all of Luverne; three daughters, Barbara (Don) Ossenfort, Rapid, City, S.D., Diane (Dave) Stearns, Luverne, Mary Ann (Gordon) Kerschmann, St. Peters, Mo.; one daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Goembel, Valley Springs, S.D.; 42 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Marion Swenson, Grace Miller, all of Luverne, and Ruth (Lionel) Wetzel, Lake St. Louis, Mo.; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Mr. Goembel was preceded in death by his parents, two sons, Clifford Goembel, James Branson, one daughter, Sharon, one brother, Don Goembel, and one sister, Mildred McKay.

Miller Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth girls’ basketball team fell out of contention for a Camden Conference championship after losing a 13-point decision in Minneota Friday.

The Panthers were scheduled to play Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Tuesday, but the game was postponed (no rescheduled date has been announced) due to poor weather conditions in the Ivanhoe area.

Ellsworth, 14-7 overall, hosts Lakeview tonight.

Minneota 65,
Ellsworth 52
A dominating first half by the home-standing Vikings set the stage for a 13-point victory over the Panthers in Minneota Friday.

Minneota ambushed EHS by opening 23-13 and 41-15 leads at the first two quarter breaks.

Ellsworth did outscore the Vikings 37-24 in the second half, but the Panthers simply couldn’t overcome what happened to them in the first 16 minutes of play.

"It was a nightmare," said Panther coach Schnaible. "We shouldn’t have gotten off the bus because we were not mentally ready to play. It was 41-15 at halftime, and I thought it was the poorest display of defense on our part in my three and one-half seasons of coaching in Ellsworth. We didn’t contest any of their shots, and they did a good job of making them."

Jenna Groen scored 25 points, including 19 in the second half, and charted five steals for EHS. Brittney Kramer, Danielle Jenniges and Missy Leuthold added 10, six and five rebounds respectively.

Box score
M.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, Jenniges 1 0 2-2 4, Drenth 4 0 0-0 8, J.Leuthold 0 0 0-2 0, M.Groen 0 0 0-0 0, J.Groen 7 1 8-14 25, Kramer 4 0 1-2 9, Timmer 2 0 2-4 6.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 19 of 58 field goals (33 percent), 13 of 24 free throws (54 percent), 37 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
Minneota: 21 of 56 field goals (38 percent), 19 of 28 free throws (68 percent), 37 rebounds, 17 turnovers.