By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ hockey team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Section 1A Tournament by posting a one-goal win in overtime against Mankato East in Mankato Tuesday.

Tuesday’s win was preceeded by home losses to Worthington Thursday and Morris-Benson Saturday, which ended an 8-12 regular season for the Cards.

Luverne plays No. 4 seed Austin, a 4-1 winner over Worthington Tuesday, in the section quarterfinals Saturday in Austin. Game time is 7 p.m.

Luverne 4, ME 3
The Cardinal girls recorded their first win in post-season play in the three-year history of the Luverne High School hockey program in Mankato Tuesday.

Playing No. 5 Mankato East on its home ice, the 11th-seeded Cardinals received a pair of goals from Natalie Domagala late in the game to advance in tournament play.

ME, which tied the game at two with a pair of second-period goals, gained its first lead of the night at 3-2 early in the third period.

Luverne, however, received an unassisted goal from Domagala with less than three minutes remaining in regulation play to force overtime. Domagala scored again with 4:00 left in overtime after being set up by Stephanie Morgan to give the Cards their victory.

Jenny Braa gave the Cards a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game. Domagala and Morgan received assists for the goal.

Domagala set up a goal by Sadie Dietrich that gave LHS a 2-0 cushion in the second period before ME came storming back to knot the score by period’s end.

Alyssa Wieneke stopped 33 of 36 shots to get the win in net. Luverne had 22 shots on goal.

M-B 5, Luverne 4
The Cardinals capped an 8-12 regular season by dropping a one-goal decision in overtime to Morris-Benson in Luverne Saturday.

Luverne took a 4-3 lead with 3:11 remaining in regulation play when Dietrich netted a short-handed goal after being set up by Domagala, but M-B’s A. Janssen tied the game with 34 seconds left in the third period and won it for the visitors with a counter 28 seconds into overtime.

M-B led 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period after receiving goals from K. Mahoney at 12:49 and 3:58.

Domagala tied the game at one after being set up by Morgan at the 12:00 mark of the opening period.

Luverne’s Dana Smeins tied the game at two with a power-play goal with 5:59 remaining in the second period, and the Cards led 3-2 when Domagala found the net with an unassisted tally when LHS was in a short-handed situation at 1:53. Suzanne Gluf and Dietrich set up the goal by Smeins.

M-B’s A. Evenson tied the game at three with a goal 53 seconds into the third period.

Luverne outshot M-B 28-22. Wieneke made 17 saves for LHS.

Worthington 3,
Luverne 0
Luverne’s bid to win a third straight Southwest Conference championship came to an end with a three-goal loss to the Trojans at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Thursday.

With a 3-2 league record entering the tilt, the Cardinals needed to beat Worthington (3-1-1 entering the game) to win the league crown.

Worthington, however, scored one goal in each period and used a standout performance by goalie Danielle Koopman to upend LHS by three goals.

Koopman was brilliant in the net, stopping all 34 shots she faced in the game. Luverne outshot the Trojans 34-15, but they couldn’t get the puck past Worthington’s goalie.

Three different players scored goals for the Trojans.

Amanda Duitsman opened the scoring with 2:17 left in the first period. Kelsey Rogers made it a 2-0 game at 9:31 in the second period. Rebecca Lehr capped the scoring with 7:59 remaining in the third period.
Taylor Nelson made 12 saves in goal for LHS.

Luverne senior Danielle Cook lunges toward the vault during Saturday’s home gymnastics meet against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva. Cook placed second in the event with a score of 8.95 points to help the Cardinals post a 129.25-122.3 win over the Panthers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek gymnastics team turned in a pair of record-setting performances during a three-meet week.

After dropping an 8.75-point Southwest Conference decision in Marshall Thursday, the Cardinals broke the old school scoring record of 127.35 points established Feb. 8, 2002, during a pair of home meets Saturday and Monday.

The Cardinals scored 129.25 points during a 6.95-point victory over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Saturday. The new record lasted two days as L-H-BC compiled 130.275 points during a 27.675-point win over St. James Monday.

L-H-BC, which has won two consecutive meets for the first time this season, takes a 4-7 record into road meets against Redwood Valley and Martin County West tonight and Friday respectively.

L-H-BC 130.275,
SJ 102.6
Records fell on two fronts during Monday’s 27.675-point home win over the Saints.

As well as establishing a scoring record as a team, Callen Bosshart set an individual school record in the all-around competition.

Bosshart, who won the all-around title, compiled 33.875 points in the meet. Her effort surpassed the old school record of 33.5 points in all-around competiton.

Bosshart placed second on the bars (8.3) and won the beam (8.1), floor (8.45) and vault (9.025) crowns.

Amanda Dooyema helped the Cardinals sweep the individual events by taking top honors on the bars with an 8.6 effort. Dooyema also placed second on the beam with a 7.8.

Brittany Mulder and Morgan Bosshart, who finished second and third in the all-around competition with 32- and 30.3-point efforts, turned in strong performances.

Mulder tied for second place on the vault with teammate Danielle Cook with 8.85 tallies. She placed third on the beam (7.7), and tied for third place on the floor (8.2).

Morgan Bosshart placed fourth on the vault (8.75) and bars (7.3).

Along with tying for second place on the vault, Cook placed second on the floor (8.3) and third on the bars (7.65).

Brittany Boeve helped the team’s cause by placing fourth on the beam with a 6.3.

Individual results
Bars: Dooyema, 8.6; C..Bosshart, 8.3; Cook, 7.65; M.Bosshart, 7.3; Mulder, 7.25.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 8.1; Dooyema, 7.8; Mulder, 7.7; Boeve, 6.3; M.Bosshart, 6.2.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.45; Cook, 8.3; Mulder, 8.2; Dooyema, 8.1; M.Bosshart, 8.05.
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.025; Cook, 8.85; Mulder, 8.85; M.Bosshart, 8..75; Boeve, 8.675.

L-H-BC 129.25,
NR-H-E-G 122.3
The Cards turned in their first record-setting performance of the week during Saturday’s 6.95-point home win over the Panthers Saturday.

Callen Bosshart set the stage for victory by winning the all-around (33.4), bars (8.15) and vault (9.0) titles.

Bosshart also was involved in a three-way tie for second place on the beam with teammates Dooyema and Mulder (7.55 points), and she placed second on the floor with an 8.7.

Dooyema placed second on the bars with an 8.1, and Cook was second on the floor (8.35) and vault (8.95).

Boeve recorded an 8.65 to place fourth on the vault.

Individual scores
Bars: C.Bosshart, 8.15; Dooyema, 8.1; Cook, 7.75; M.Bosshart, 7.65; Mulder, 7.225.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 7.55; Dooyema, 7.55; Mulder, 7.55; Boeve, 6.75; M.Bosshart, 5.65.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.7; Cook, 8.35; Dooyema, 8.1; M.Bosshart, 7.85; Mulder, 7.75.
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.0; Cook, 8.95; Boeve, 8.65; M.Bosshart, 8.6; Mulder, 8.6.

Marshall 134.95,
L-H-BC 126.2
The Cardinal girls opened their busy week by dropping an 8.75-point decision to the Tigers in Marshall Thursday.

Marshall’s Gretta Blom and Jessica Dolan carried their team to victory by winning two individual events each.

Blom, the all-around champion with 36.275 counters, took top honors on the floor (9.05) and bars (9.25). Dolan won the vault (9.35) and bar (9.25) titles.

Three Cardinals placed third in individual events.

Dooyema recorded a 7.95 on the bars, Cook 8.8 on the vault and Callen Bosshart 8.0 on the floor.

Individual results
Bars: Dooyema, 7.95; C.Bosshart, 7.9; Morgan Bosshart, 7.65; Cook, 7.6; Brittany Mulder 7.65.
Vault: Cook, 8.8; C.Bosshart, 8.6; Mulder, 8.55; M.Bosshart, 8.5; Brittany Boeve, 8.25.
Beam: Dooyema, 7.85; Mulder, 7.65; C.Bosshart, 7.6; Boeve, 7.2; M.Bosshart, 6.35.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.0; Cook, 7.85; Dooyema, 7.35; M.Bosshart, 7.15; Mulder, 6.85.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team disposed of a pair of Red Rock Conference foes while extending its season-long winning streak to eight games.

The Patriots thumped Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster by 19 points in Round Lake Friday before posting a come-from-behind victory over Edgerton Public in Hills Tuesday.

H-BC, 15-4 overall, will play a key conference game against Southwest Christian in Edgerton Friday. The Patriots host Sioux Falls Christian Monday.

H-BC 52, Edgerton 46
A 17-2 run in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots a six-point win over the Flying Dutchmen in Hills Tuesday.

After facing 14-4, 28-16 and 36-28 deficits at the first three quarter breaks, H-BC put everything together while outscoring Edgerton 24-10 in the fourth quarter to steal the victory.

H-BC’s 17-2 run, which ended when Edgerton hit a three-point shot in the final seconds, is what saved the Patriots.

"We went on a 17-2 run in the last four minutes to win the game," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We really didn’t play very well until then."

Tyler Bush, who had three steals in the game, ignited H-BC’s surge with a three-point play and scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Tyson Metzger scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Trey Van Wyhe added 15 points and seven rebounds. Jesse Leuthold and Kale Wiertzema both had seven rebounds. Wiertzema also charted eight assists and three steals.

Box score
Bush 4 0 5-6 13, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 0 0 2-4 2, Metzger 4 1 8-10 19, Leuthold 0 0 1-2 1, Van Wyhe 6 0 3-4 15.

Team statistics
H-BC: 15 of 41 field goals (37 percent), 21 of 28 free throws (75 percent), 30 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Edgerton: 17 of 51 field goals (33 percent), eight of 14 free throws (57 percent), 29 rebounds, seven turnovers.

H-BC 68, SV-RL-B 49
The Patriots racked up their seventh straight win by rolling to a 19-point victory over the Raiders in Round Lake Friday.

Three H-BC players reached double figures in scoring during a game that the Patriots locked up by the end of the third quarter.

After nursing a slim 15-13 lead at the end of the first period, H-BC increased the difference to nine points at halftime (34-25) before outscoring the Raiders 19-9 in the third quarter to sport a 53-34 advantage. SV-RL-B battled the Patriots to a draw at 15 in the fourth quarter.

Metzger, who had four assists for the winners, recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Wiertzema chipped in 18 points and nine assists, Van Wyhe added 15 points, Leuthold contributed 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, and Bush kicked in nine assists and four steals to the winning cause.

Box score
Bush 0 0 0-0 0, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 0 0 2-2 2, Broesder 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 3 1 9-10 18, Metzger 5 3 3-6 22, Leuthold 3 0 3-5 9, Van Wyhe 6 0 3-4 15, Spykerboer 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
H-BC: 21 of 45 field goals (47 percent), 22 of 29 free throws (76 percent), 29 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 20 of 48 field goals (42 percent), two of five free throws (40 percent), 20 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

By Sara Strong
The Palace Theatre is hosting a flashback of the last 25 years of Luverne community theater. With that comes some familiar players and songs from past productions.

The variety show (7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9) celebrates the Green Earth Players and the Palace Theatre. The anniversary show will raise money for the Palace as it acknowledges community theater’s contributions to local entertainment.

"It’s been a great opportunity for people who love live theater — to act or to take part in all phases of production," Ben Vander Kooi, program emcee, said.

Besides being an advocate for keeping the Palace open, Vander Kooi is president of the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County, which envelops organizations like GEP.

Having community theater return to the Palace keeps the historical theater true to its original intent, Vander Kooi said.

LaDonna Van Aartsen is directing the variety show and said a play from each year will be acknowledged — in song, statements or a short scene. Only original cast members will perform.

She said, "It’s fun to see everyone remember the old plays during rehearsals."

One actor who’s having fun remembering his time on stage is Dr. George McDonald. He hasn’t made acting a big hobby, but his lead role in "The Odd Couple" as Oscar made an impression.

"I can remember everything about the play. It should be a lot of fun to do it again, if I can remember my lines," McDonald said.

"The Odd Couple" was staged 22 years ago.

Tammy Makram, director of the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County said, "It’s very appropriate for [the Green Earth Players] to be raising money for the Palace, because they’re back in the Palace now."

She also said the show has a bigger impact on the community than just this one event. "If people want to be able to enjoy entertainment at the Palace, they need to come and support events like this."

Break a leg
The Green Earth Players’ premier production was "Ten Nights in a Barroom," directed by Tom Brakke in June 1978. The musical melodrama was performed at the Luverne High School Little Theatre.

Brakke, now living in Deephaven, is coming to Luverne for the anniversary show.

The June 7, 1978, Star Herald listed cast members. They were Bruce Kurtz, Melissa Weinman, Mary Peterson, Jeff Crull, Gerrit Van Aartsen, Ardella Johnson, Harlan Van Wyhe, Gary Swenson, Virginia Von Holt, Gregg Ormseth, Wade Shores, Jeannee Emery, Sally McFadden, Mark Harrison, Kariann Dahlen, Randy Wulf, Wendy Johnson, Lisa Gradert, Margaret Olsen, LeAnn Reu, Fred Manfred Jr., and Kris Achterhoff.

Other production staff included Donna Schmidt, musical director; Kevin Van Westen; Keith Van Westen, producer; Jim Hatch, associate producer; Dave Shapley, technical director; Mar Weinman, sets; Dean Mogck and Brenda Mann, stage managers; Mary Keitel, choreography; Julie McFadden, makeup, and Carole Achterhof and Audrey Walgrave, costumes.

To attend
The Carnegie Box Office will sell advance tickets for the
7 p.m. Feb. 8 and 2 p.m. Feb. 9 performances, but there is no reserve seating.
Carnegie hours are
11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The Carnegie’s phone number is 283-8294
and it is located at
205 N. Freeman, Luverne.

Tickets will also be sold before performances at the Palace Theatre.

Green Earth Players season tickets aren’t being honored, because the anniversary show is a fund-raiser, not a standard production.

By Sara Strong
Seniors who can’t afford to an assisted living facility or who can’t hold out to get on a waiting list might have another option.

Lutheran Social Services asked Rock County for a contract to provide assisted living services to residents of the Centennial Apartments in Luverne.

The Board didn’t object to the contract in principle, so Family Services will start the process of working on a contract for the Board’s final approval.

LSS already provides a similar service in Nobles County. It contracts for the care providers and gives residents a choice to accept services and to specifically choose the ones they want.

Assisted living through LSS would provide a higher level of care than the home care that’s currently provided through Nobles-Rock Public Health, but residents could still use Public Health if they chose.

Bonnie Fredrickson, director of Nobles-Rock Public Health, said "It’s good for people to age [where they
are] rather than move to get services."

Her only concern with LSS providing assisted living is that Public Health may lose up to $8,000 per month from clients it now has in the Centennial Apartments if they chose another option.

No matter who provides it, assisted living costs more than home health care, but would still prevent nursing home placements, which are the most costly alternative.

LSS and Rock County Family Services asked the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center, which is building an assisted living facility in Luverne, if it would consider this move competition.

With a strong community need for assisted living, the Mary Jane Brown Center wouldn’t object.

With Family Services consenting to the Centennial contract with LSS, it can revoke the contract if it finds that services aren’t adequate for residents.

County wages/hires
The Board of Commissioners approved a hiring freeze, anticipating the worst in state budget effects.

It also discussed the proposed state legislation freezing wages of state and public employees.

The wage increase freeze wouldn’t apply to elected positions, such as auditor/treasurer, recorder and sheriff.

As employees retire or leave positions vacant, department managers are asked to make due without the position filled. If it seems impossible, they will have to formally request to fill the position with the County Board.

Public employee union members organized a meeting Tuesday night regarding the salary freeze.

Corrections
The good news in Community Corrections is that numbers of people on probation is holding steady with the population increase.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners voted to pass a two-year Community Corrections plan at its Tuesday meeting.

In a joint meeting with Nobles County, Rock County got an update on Community corrections.

Both counties will see an increase in the next few years in the 20 to 29 age group, which is the group that commits the most crimes. Even if most of the crimes are misdemeanors, the system will be busy.

Juveniles are becoming a bigger concern for corrections as well. In the last two years, there have been 200 and 165, respectively, on probation in the counties, but through a special diversion program, more are avoiding probation.

While in custody, the goal is to stave off future offenses.

There will be more teachers in the jail, offering life skills classes and special women’s programs.

He said that risk assessment there can help criminals and victims. "That assessment tool will allow us to put the most resources in those with the greatest risk of re-offending — it’ll give us a bigger bang for our buck."

Although the majority of crimes are misdemeanors or DWI and drug convictions, minorities make up a disproportionate amount of the local jail system.

Eighty-six percent of the population of Nobles and Rock Counties is Caucasian, but 48 percent of the probation population is made up of minorities.

Community Corrections looks for continued involvement with the Collaborative groups in both counties, which have appeared to help in crime prevention.

In other business Tuesday, the board:
Asked to get a report from Sheriff Mike Winkels on suspect pursuit policies.

Three officers, Evan Verbrugge, Jeff Wieneke and Ken Baker were involved in an accident Dec. 29 while chasing a stolen vehicle on a gravel road. Reduced visibility from road dust was a factor in the crash.
Damage to the squad cars ranged from $480 to $3,200.

Saw a fee collection tally from the License Center. Rock County collected $77,097 in license fees in 2002 and the state of Minnesota got $2,256,180 collected in Rock County. Rock County’s License Center was noted for being one of the most accurate in the state.

Approved asking a district representative and senator to change the county recorder position from elected to appointed. The current recorder, Jere Ohme, approves of the legislation.

Proposed a lease agreement for land used in the Continental Western Group expansion. The lease will go to the Luverne Economic Development Authority for approval. The county set the lease on its .39 acres at $1,000 per year. There is an option to sell at the 10-year mark for $10,000.

Approved the purchase of filtering software for the Internet and e-mail. The software blocks certain Web sites and personal e-mail accounts (such as Yahoo! or Hotmail) not located on the county’s server. In the past, viruses have come through this type of Internet use and the filter will help stop that.

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Rural Water Board wants to pull out of the Lewis and Clark agreement — mostly because of increasing costs, but also because new water won’t reach Rock County until 2014.

While it’s always been known that Lewis and Clark was a long-range plan, the Rural Water Board voted Monday night to try to withdraw from the Lewis and Clark system.

The Rural Water Board vote is a recommendation to the county Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners indicated they’d like to hear a presentation from Lewis and Clark to get the entire picture before voting on Rural Water’s recommendation.

Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer is looking into the details, whether Rural Water can sell its share of allocated water or whether it can even break the contract.

Lewis and Clark Rural Water System will provide an alternative, backup water supply from the Missouri River to 24 towns and water systems in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

The vote from local Rural Water comes as President Bush’s budget proposal for 2004 gives nothing to Lewis and Clark. The House and Senate can still include it in their budgets, and negotiate the difference.

But with 80 percent of the project funding coming from the federal level, RCRW doesn’t like what it sees.

Luverne Utilities Coordinator Red Arndt, who is also on the Lewis and Clark Executive Committee, said he’s hopeful federal support will come through to some extent, even if it can’t be the $7 million requested.

The current federal budget hasn’t been passed yet, but Arndt still hopes for the $7 million that’s in conference committee.

If Rock County’s rural water system cancels its agreement, it will impact the overall Lewis and Clark project financially, but Rock County is a small portion of the system. RCRW is signed up for a maximum of 300,000 gallons a day from the 29 million gallons that Lewis and Clark will produce.

"They’re a small part of it, but politically, it isn’t good," Arndt said.

New state legislators Rep. Doug Magnus and Sen. Jim Vickerman support Lewis and Clark. On the national level South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle is also a project proponent. He called Lewis and Clark board members Monday to express his disappointment in the President’s proposal and to pledge his continuing support.

Arndt said, "When the Minority Leader takes the time to call you, it means a lot."

Arndt said he believes in the merit of Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, considering the cost and timeline.

"This water is for my kids and grandkids," Arndt said. "The total cost seems like a lot, but one year payment isn’t much."

The city of Luverne, for example, 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.

Rock County’s doubts
County Commissioner Ron Boyenga also sits on the Rock County Rural Water Board. He said, "This is the time to ask the tough questions, not later."

Funding delays, especially from the federal level, have already slowed the project and increased costs.

RCRW Manager Dan Cook said that when the county signed on to the Lewis and Clark project, it was expected to be completed by now.

Since 1993, RCRW has almost doubled its number of wells and has the capacity to pump three times its average use. On peak days Lewis and Clark water would have been most useful.

Cook said, "The funding and the time frame just isn’t as good as we were told initially. If we can maintain our existing water quality we’ll be good."

Contamination of the shallow wells is always an issue in this area. Cook said well field protection areas are helping to avoid nitrate contamination. Along with the increased number of wells, the wells are in different watershed areas, which Rural Water sees as a sign it can handle itself.

"Since 1993, we’ve been working to stave off the problems we identified, which made us want to become members of Lewis and Clark," Cook said.

Lewis and Clark costs are increasing for all members, but RCRW doesn’t want to take it on anymore.

When it signed up, Rural Water was expected to pay $303,018; in 2001 it was estimated at $450,741.

Commissioner Bob Jarchow said that the Rural Water Board should plan to fund future improvement and expansion costs if it doesn’t want to stay with Lewis and Clark.

Cook also said Rural Water is a primary system, but members still need to maintain a backup supply of their own.

The city of Sioux Falls is also considering what Bush’s proposal could mean to its water supply. Sioux Falls will use about 40 percent of the Lewis and Clark supply, so its crucial for the system to continue. It is contemplating looking for another backup water supply in the event that Lewis and Clark can’t deliver when its needed.

In his 2004 budget proposal, Bush didn’t fund any regional water projects.

Rebecca Dreesen, director, and Don Johnson, executive director, are heading up the new Southwestern Youth Serivices in Magnolia.

By Lori Ehde
The Magnolia facility for troubled youth has a new name and, in time, will have a new image. That’s what the directors of Southwestern Youth Services are working toward, anyway.

Executive Director Don Johnson and Director Rebecca Dreesen are building a new program to instruct 13- to 19-year-old males who have been court ordered to the facility.

Southwestern Youth Services offers detention for youth who need to be held away from their homes between arrests and court hearings. Most of the services, however, focus on short-term and long-term residential programs.

It does essentially the same things as Pinnacle Programs Inc., which used to occupy the facility, but Johnson and Dreesen say they run the show with a different approach.

"Our philosophy has always been positive peer culture, and I’m a strong believer in that," Johnson said. "But we focus on de-escalating behavior to avoid physical confrontation. I like to place a lot of emphasis on positive reinforcement rather than negative."

He said using physical restraint is often unavoidable due to the criminal nature of the youth they work with, but he said the fact it’s used as a last resort sets the Southwestern Youth Services apart from its predecessor.

Improving the facility’s tarnished image may be as challenging as rehabilitating the youth themselves.
Pinnacle Programs Inc. opened in the former Magnolia school building in 1995 and at one time housed more than 20 young people.

However, a 1998 sex scandal that sent local employee Sharon Smidstra to seven years in prison cast serious doubt on the program.

Smidstra was found guilty in a July 1999 jury trial of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and seven counts of furnishing tobacco to a minor.

Families of the children filed lawsuits alleging negligence, and judges began sentencing juveniles to other facilities.

To make matters worse, the state of Nebraska last year mandated its judicial system sentence youth only to in-state facilities. The majority of Magnolia’s young residents were from Omaha.

Last summer, Maurice Crowley sold the property to PDI Realty Corporation, a group of investors primarily from South Dakota.

Johnson and Dreesen have been working to keep the doors open.

"I’m from Ellsworth, and people keep asking me ‘are you closing your doors?’ and I tell them, ‘No, the sign is just down, we’re not closing our doors,’" Dreesen said.

The facility officially became Southwestern Youth Services on Jan. 1, and a sign will soon be placed on the front lawn.

At one point, enrollment dropped to three, but there are currently six boys in the program, with several more referrals and commitments underway.

If anyone can rebuild the program, Johnson and Dreesen feel they can.

Dreesen started at the Magnolia facility shortly after the school was transformed into a correctional program. She’s worked nearly every position on the roster, including cook, peer leader, administrative support and management.

Johnson comes to Magnolia after 26 years at the South Dakota Training School in Plankinton. He resigned after 15 years as manager two years before the state closed it down in 2001 following the controversial death of a juvenile girl there.

He lives in Adrian and returns on weekends to Plankinton, where his wife still lives.

Both Johnson and Dreesen have their sights set firmly on the future, and spend little time looking back.

Right now that means marketing the program. They’re visiting with judges and personally distributing literature. "I think it’s critical that people have a chance to meet you eye-to-eye," Johnson said.

Dreesen said, "We tell everyone they’re welcome to tour the facility and meet the staff."

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Community Library is expecting a new shipment of the popular "Rock-a-Bye Baby Reader."

In its second edition, the book, by former Luverne resident and Star Herald reporter Carole Olson, got a redesign and is also getting attention for its use as a friendly introduction to reading.

Forty Minnesota counties have placed orders and, with more educational conferences coming up, "Rock-a-Bye Baby Reader" could become a favorite for many families.

The book promotes reading to infants as an important introduction to reading and learning — and it gives parents an extra reason to hold and communicate with their babies.

Counties that ordered the book plan to give it to newborns as part of the standard gift package families often receive. People can privately purchase the book as well, through the library or through Third Week Books, 1112 W. 66th St. #1, Minneapolis, MN 55423 or by contacting thebabyreader@yahoo.com.

"It’s simple, inexpensive and can make such a difference to children," Olson said. "I tried not to preach, but rather to encourage."

Locally, new parents are still getting copies of the book through the Rock County Collaborative, which distributes the book through home visits. Families participating in Early Childhood Family Education also get copies of the book.

Karen Willers, who chairs the Collaborative’s Pre-natal to age 5 Work Team, said, "I think people are excited to get their copy."

Getting the word out
"We included more diversity in the pictures this time," Olson said of the book’s redesign.

Her partner in Third Week Books, Cheri Schneider, also revamped the graphics she created for the first. Olson credits Schneider with keeping the project fresh and pushing for its growth.

The book’s second edition also brought a separate Spanish version. Its title roughly means "an awakening to learning."

Rock County participants in English-as-a-second-language classes get copies of the Spanish version.

Some of the Spanish and Mexican folk tales are similar to the content in the English book, the standard children’s rhymes and stories.

Through child development experts, Olson learned that reading to babies is a vital part of giving them a head start to learning. The mother’s voice — heard while in the womb — gets the biggest response from babies and has an ongoing effect.

Olson said that in writing the book, she considered intellectual development secondary to family bonds.

"That’s the main thing to remember — that when parents read, they’re holding their children and talking to them, not showing them a video."

Olson hopes her book is enjoyed by families with newborns, long after the first set of brochures and info packets are thrown out.

"I wanted to promote reading as a good tool in a way that isn’t preachy and isn’t in a language that’s difficult to understand," Olson said.

Knowing that some new parents weren’t read to as children, or were intimidated by the educational process, Olson made the book’s message clear: Loving babies and reading to them makes learning easier for them.

"This book is not supposed to be a treatise on how to develop geniuses, just an encouragement to get moms and dads to turn off the TV set, hold their kids and read with them."

By Sara Strong
Besides being a member of the Luverne Fire Department for 25 years, Kurt Kester was chief for five. He retired this year, confident the department is in good hands.

He said, "I really liked it all, but it got to be more work than fun, so I stepped down to let the younger people take over."

New chief Don Deutsch said, "I had the pleasure of being a member with Kurt for 22 years."

Besides Deutsch, other experienced firefighters like Steve Wynia and Tim Anderson also moved up the ladder.

Deutsch calls Kester a good leader, but beyond that, a good friend, who made the work fun.

The firefighting business has evolved through Kester’s time in the department. When he started, he wore a rubber coat and hip boots on calls. Now, the protective gear, including masks, makes battling a blaze easier on the crew and more efficient for the property.

To keep up with training, weekly drills include more topics than ever: hazardous material handling, grain bin rescues, ladder work and accident extraction, to name a few.

But, as much as some aspects changed, the job stresses stayed the same.

Kester had to take each fire call seriously. "The biggest fear is of hurting or losing a member of the department or a citizen getting hurt," Kester said, noting that a couple fatal fires in Luverne were difficult on the entire department.

"This is a small community, and there’s a real good chance that the fire will involve a friend or relative of a department member."

Fire prevention efforts and education are more a part of the department than ever.

"We’ve had very good luck with fire prevention and opening up the department to kids. Parents come up to us for about a month after, asking, ‘What did you do to my kids?’ because they all go home and check the smoke detectors batteries and see where they are and [talk about evacuation plans]."

Keeping the department up to regulations and well-trained was a source of pride for Kester, and it earned the department a great deal of respect.

"The city of Luverne has supported us for as long as I can remember," he said.

Kester said the actual act of putting out flames is a true science. For example, he said it’s more effective to try to "push" flames out of a burning building. Instinct might tell people to hose down a building through a window, but if the fire is contained near the window, it would be more effective to go through the building and spray water toward the window.

Avoiding excessive water damage is one of the most difficult aspects of firefighting.

"The best times are training people who haven’t been at a live fire before. I liked to stand back and watch their faces instead of the fire," Kester said.

When he became chief, Kester relinquished some of the standard duties to lead the department.
The fire chief is in charge of the instant command system, wherein the chief observes the overall picture of a fire and makes tactical decisions based on what he sees.

The big blazes are now left to his former co-workers in the fire department, but Kester hasn’t turned in all his badges. He is still busy as a sergeant with Sheriff’s Department, but is getting used to some extra free time.

For now, when Kester hears a call, he’s relieved he doesn’t have to go out in the cold in the middle of the night, but he said, "My heart will still jump a little when I hear a pager."