By Sara Strong
The lawsuit involving the community daycare issue was resolved Tuesday as the city of Luverne joined the Luverne School District and Rock County in signing an agreement.

Developer Donald Dunham Jr., Sioux Falls, filed the lawsuit May 7 alleging that the school, city and county didn’t honor the property tax abatement agreement which called for Dunham to provide space for a community daycare.

The school and county have already signed the settlement agreement which essentially means Dunham will have to pay property taxes from the year 2002 and beyond. The taxing entities will honor the abatement in the years 2000 and 2001.

The cost to the city of Luverne amounts to less than $2,000 of tax abatements.

Along with the city, county and school not honoring tax abatements over the years, Dunham won’t provide space for a community daycare.

The original agreement called for the city, county and school to abate Dunham’s taxes on the City Centre Apartments in exchange for a rent-free community daycare space.

The basement space wasn’t finished to the point where a daycare operation could start operating immediately. That’s where the local parties disagreed with Dunham on what was required to earn the abatement.

Dunham said he provided the square footage and the city, county and school said it wasn’t "finished" space for a daycare.

The original abatement agreement said in part "… renovation shall provide sufficient space and facilities, constructed in accordance with applicable codes, for a daycare facility, including infant care, of not less than 50 children. Further, that during the term of the abatement, the said daycare space shall be made available to a licensed daycare operator without rental charges. …"

The abatement would have ended in 2009, had it been carried out. Dunham purchased the former Luverne Elementary School building in 1998.

Gold’n Plump donation
Gold’n Plump executives delivered a check for $20,000 to the city of Luverne Wednesday, Dec. 4.

When the company first located in the city in 1998, it offered to be a good corporate citizen and donate $20,000 a year for 10 years to the city.

Those funds go to the Luverne Economic Development Authority and help to further economic development in the city.

Gold’n Plump employs about 200 people and plays an active role in community involvement, and encourages the same in its employees.

Kapperman clean-up
Clean-up of the Jerome Kapperman property on Southeast Park Street was back for discussion after being tabled at the Nov. 12 Luverne City Council meeting.

Kapperman said he would move the used grocery case and fixture equipment and get rid of the automobiles if he could have six months to do so. Attorney Doug Eisma represents Kapperman.

The sellable material from the Southeast Park property will probably be moved to the Edgehill salvage business.

The Kapperman property was damaged by a fire and the city has asked him to rid the neighborhood of the blight it created.

The Southeast Park site is in a low-density residential district and a salvage business cannot be operated there, by code.

Kapperman will ask the Luverne Economic Development Authority to grant him $2,500 to clean the property, as it has in other instances through a special program.

He will also return to the City Council this month to discuss specific plans for clearing the site.

By Lori Ehde
Agri-Energy and Broin Management are in the process of negotiating a settlement agreement over future management of Luverne’s ethanol plant.

Broin Management LLC filed suit against Agri-Energy LLC in Rock County District Court on Oct. 1, but the litigation stems from problems that started more than a year ago.

Conflict reportedly began when CornerStone board members tried to have Broin Management removed from the Agri-Energy Board to allow more freedom in making their own decisions.

Along with managing the Luverne plant, Broin affiliates have handled marketing and commodities for Agri-Energy, and the Broin family personally owns 6 percent of the CornerStone stock.

But the Broins also own shares in other regional ethanol plants, and some CornerStone board members alleged Broin affiliates weren’t securing the most profitable deals for the Luverne plant, due to what they perceived as conflict of interest.

Broin Management LLC filed suit in October to stop the board’s action to have Broin removed, and the courts supported Broin Management, which has retained a seat on the board.

CornerStone has since filed counter suits alleging conflict of interest and mismanagement, but Broin has filed to have those counter suits dismissed.

According to Norm Smeenk, chairman and CEO of Agri-Energy Ethanol Plant, the essence of the litigation centers on "differing philosophies as to how the plant should be run between the management company and board of governors."

Smeenk, Harrisburg, S.D., also serves as chairman of the board of CornerStone Cooperative.

He said Tuesday that, as far as members and the public are concerned, Agri-Energy’s viability will not be jeopardized by the outcome of the agreement.

"The plant has been profitable," Smeenk said. "People should not be concerned that the plant will close its doors."

CornerStone Cooperative owns nearly 70 percent of the business and has a 14-member board of directors elected by member investors to act on their behalf.

Co-op members have hired another marketing firm for Agri-Energy.

Former CornerStone Board Chairman Mike Pap and one of the largest investors in the Luverne plant, questions this decision.

"Luverne’s returns have never lagged behind any of the other plants owned or operated by Broin," he said.

He added that in months since the marketing contract went to Williams Energy, returns at the Luverne plant have dropped.

Smeenk said removing Broin from plant management may or may not happen. "But that’s not the focal point of our negotiations," he said. "We’re trying to resolve some issues."

Former CornerStone board member Harold Tilstra said he’s comfortable the Agri-Energy plant will continue to thrive.

"Our plant here in Luverne has its intra-family disputes, but business-wise its return on investment is as good or better than any like it," he said.

"Financially, it’s a top-performing business … that’s due partly to the good people there who run the plant."

Plant manager Rick Serie is an employee of Broin Management. He has accepted a full-time position to manage a Broin plant in Chancellor, S.D. Those duties will begin when a settlement is reached.

The Luverne High School Brass Choir practices early Wednesday morning for Friday night’s performance, part of the Christmas at the Palace program. Pictured are: Chris Thacker in front and Greg Helle. Christmas at the Palace begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Palace Theatre. It is a fund-raiser for Blue Mound Area Theatre to help preserve the theater and continue offering movies.

Along with the High School brass choir, other performers will be: the Luverne High School mixed ensemble, American Reformed Church, Joe Dorhout, New Life Celebration Church, Wendy and Heidi Sandbulte and Amy Donth, St. Catherine Catholic Church Jubilant Choir, First Baptist Church Ladies Ensemble, Grace Lutheran Church Exaltation Worship Team, Carol Zwaan and First Presbyterian Church.

Photo by Sara Strong

The sixth annual Winterfest celebration brought lots of light to downtown Luverne Saturday and heavy traffic throughout the town.The Green Earth Players lead carols in the Carnegie Cultural Center after the Winterfest parade. They are: (back, from left) Fred Manfred, Phil Voigt, Cheryl Nath, (front) Noreen Woodle, Katie Galer, and Fran Bohlke. Story inside.

Photo by Sara Strong

By Jolene Farley
Hills City Council members had many unanswered questions concerning the proposed $219,000 rural water improvements at their meeting Tuesday.

Dan Cook, Rock County Rural Water Manager, will be invited to the next council meeting to answer those questions.

Improvements proposed by Rock County Rural Water so far would include the installation of a six-inch line from two miles north of Hills to the northern edge of town.

Council members noted the proposal didn’t include replacing the four-inch line from the edge of town to the water tower. Not replacing the line would mean water supply would increase but water pressure wouldn’t.

"Everything else will stay the same," said city employee Wayne Ward. "They’re not changing anything in the water plant."

Mayor Jim Jellema said the line should be replaced to the water tower as part of the project.

A citizen voiced his opinion that rural water seemed to be enhancing their system at the cities’ expense.
After reviewing the initial contract from Rock County Rural Water, council member Linus Svoboda asked for the official plans and specifications on the improvements.

The council also questioned why the contract guarantees certain usage only during off-peak periods. The off-peak periods aren’t specified in the contract.

"If we go with that six-inch line, why should there have to be an off-peak," said Jellema?

"If you bore in the six-inch line you should have water when you want it and no off-peak," agreed Ward.
The council tentatively decided to finance the improvements, once agreed upon, through the Exchange State Bank at 5.25 percent interest.

Rock County Rural Water had agreed to finance the improvements at 5.5 percent interest for 20 years.

Personnel
The council voted to change the benefit structure for two city employees. The employees will receive three weeks of vacation for ten years of service with one day for each year after ten years. One month of vacation time is the maximum accumulation.

The council agreed to increase the percentage of health insurance premium the city pays for city employee Wayne Ward from 70 percent to 75 percent in lieu of comp time and shift-off time.

"Right now we have three or four different systems going," Svoboda said of the current benefit and wage package.

Both employees also received a 35-cent hourly wage increase.

City treasurer Joann Goehle refused a pay increase.

Council members didn’t vote on a pay raise for themselves.

"We don’t know what the taxes will do," said Jellema. "I’m not doing this for the money."

Specific information on the wages of city officials and employees is public information available at city hall upon request.

In other business …
The city will no longer burn leaves and branches on the southern edge of town. Another hole will be dug on rural property owned by Doug Chapman, and small branches will be transported for burning.

This should alleviate smoke at the football field and in residential areas.

The council also discussed putting up a fence with a gate around the dump area to stop unauthorized dumping and traffic. The council tabled the idea until spring.

After reviewing the bills, the council instructed Ward to purchase items for the city in Hills whenever possible.

By John Rittenhouse
An Ellsworth High School junior joined a select group during the course of Thursday’s basketball game between EHS and Southwest Christian played in Ellsworth.

Curt Schilling, who has played varsity basketball for three years under coach Ken Kvaale, became the third Panther boy in recent history to score 1,000 career points.

Schilling drained a three-point shot from the top of the key with 2:45 remaining in the second period to reach the milestone.

The shot was an important one at the time as it gave the Panthers a 23-21 lead over the state’s No. 10-ranked Class A team.

Ellsworth, which is ranked second in Class A, went on to beat SWC 57-49.

Schilling led the Panthers with 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the win.

Schilling joins 1994 EHS graduate Scott Heidebrink and 1987 graduate Chad Boom as players to reach the 1,000-point club in the last 15 years.

School officials were unsure if Ellsworth had any 1,000-point scorers prior to Chad Boom.

Schilling reached the 1,000-point club nine days after Jenna Groen became the first Panther girl to reach that milestone.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek High School athletes produced a combined three wins at the Flandreau (S.D.) Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Dusty Seachris and Kerry Fink, members of the Luverne-H-BC-Ellsworth wrestling squad, mixed it up at Saturday’s event.

Seachris went 2-2 to place fourth at 145 pounds.

Fink went 1-2 without placing at 130.

Seachris ran into Howard’s Scott Stangohr, the eventual runner-up at 145, in the tournament’s first round. Stangohr pinned Seachris 1:44 into the second period.

The Cardinal senior bounced back to pin Elk-Point Jefferson’s Mark Donnelly in 58 seconds before notching a 9-3 victory over Sioux Valley’s Burton Moe in the consolation rounds.

Seachris placed fourth when he lost by technical fall to Flandreau’s Wade Quick.

Fink was pinned at 1:36 by eventual 130-pound champion Derek Pirner, of EP-J, in the tournament’s first round.

Fink then pinned Flandreau’s Noah Luttman in 2:49 before being pinned in 2:14 by Garretson’s Sam Johnson in the consolation bracket.

L-H-BC-E placed seventh out of eight teams at the tournament. Cardinals’ Canaan Petersen and Cody Jagow placed second at 152 pounds and heavyweight respectively to lead the Cards in the event.

L-H-BC-E wrestles at the Jackson County Central Tournament Saturday before competing at the Garretson (S.D.) Triangular Tuesday.

Hills-Beaver Creek sophomore Kale Wiertzema prepares to shoot the ball during Friday’s boys’ basketball game against Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in Hills. Wiertzema scored 11 first-half points to help the Patriots record their first victory of the season.

By John Rittenhouse
A fast start and a strong finish carried the Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team to its first victory of the season Friday in Hills.

Entertaining Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster for a non-conference clash, the young Patriots turned in a positive performance.

Their fast start allowed the Patriots to take a lead they would never relinquish, and the strong finish featured H-BC outscoring the Raiders 41-21 in the second half to win by 29 points.

H-BC raced to a 7-0 lead to start the game and led 14-2 with 4:21 remaining in the first quarter.

Kale Wiertzema led the charge by scoring five of his 11 first-half points in the first three minutes of the tilt.
SV-RL-B answered H-BC’s early run by scoring the final eight points of the first period to trail 14-10 at period’s end.

The Patriots extended their lead to eight points three different times in the first three minutes of the second quarter.

H-BC led by 10 points (27-17) with 1:30 remaining in the first half and sported a 31-19 lead when Clint Roozenboom connected for a field goal with 27 seconds left before the Raiders scored three points to trail 31-22 at the intermission.

The Patriots iced the contest in the third quarter, when they went on a 23-8 run to open a 54-30 advantage.

Tyson Metzger, who had a double-double for H-BC with 16 points and 13 rebounds, led the way in the third quarter by netting eight points.

H-BC padded the final margin of victory to 18 points by outscoring SV-RL-B 18-13 in the fourth quarter.

Jesse Leuthold scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half for H-BC, which led by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Wiertzema added seven assists and six rebounds to the cause, while Tyler Bush chipped in six rebounds, six steals and six assists. Trey Van Wyhe contributed five rebounds and three steals to the winning cause.

A 42-20 rebounding cushion and better shooting from the floor (47-37 percent) played key roles in H-BC’s win.

Box score
Bush 3 0 2-5 8, Elbers 0 0 0-0 0, Wysong 0 0 2-2 2, Jackson 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 3 0 3-6 9, Broesder 1 0 2-4 4, Wiertzema 3 1 2-2 11, Metzger 4 1 5-8 16, Leuthold 6 0 2-2 14, Van Wyhe 4 0 0-2 8, Spykerboer 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
H-BC: 26 of 55 field goals (47 percent), 18 of 31 free throws (58 percent), 42 rebounds, 21 turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 18 of 49 field goals (37 percent), five of nine free throws (56 percent), 20 rebounds, 21 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriot girls’ basketball team knocked off long-time rival Southwest Christian in a Red Rock Conference game played in Hills Thursday.

The Patriots struggled to score points in the second and third quarters, but they scored enough in the first and fourth periods to set the stage to a 38-29 win.

H-BC’s nine-point win upped its RRC record to 2-0 in the young season.

The victory, however, didn’t come easy.

Leading 21-13 at the intermission after a five-point third quarter, H-BC’s shooting woes continued in the third period. SWC battled back to knot the score before the Patriots regained the lead at 25-23 heading into the fourth quarter.

The E-Gals tied the game again early in the fourth quarter before the Patriots used a late surge to outscore SWC 13-6 in the period.

"We got a few transition baskets, got a few steals and made a few free throws to pull away in the final four minutes," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle.

H-BC also played well in the first quarter.

Cassi Tilstra, who led the Patriots with six assists, scored six of her 10 points to help the Patriots double (16-8) SWC’s scoring output in the first eight minutes of play.

The fast start for H-BC was followed by cold-shooting efforts in the second and third quarters.

"We went stone cold in the second and third quarters," said Goehle. "It’s unbelievable to score nine points in the second and third quarters and still win the game."

Erin Boeve had a double-double for the Patriots with 15 rebounds and 10 points.

Brittney Rozeboom charted 10 points, nine rebounds and six steals.

H-BC turned the ball over eight fewer times (20-12) than SWC, and that helped the Patriots overcome a rough night at the charity stripe (11 of 26).

Box score
B.Rozeboom 2 1 3-9 10, Tilstra 3 0 4-10 10, S.Rozeboom 2 0 0-0 4, Boeve 4 0 2-5 10, Olson 0 0 2-2 2, Mulder 1 0 0-0 2.

Team statistics
H-BC: 13 of 47 field goals (28 percent), 11 of 26 free throws (42 percent), 39 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
SWC: 11 of 37 field goals (30 percent), seven of 11 free throws (63 percent), 38 rebounds, 20 turnovers.