By Sara Strong
The Rock County Board of Commissioners and the Luverne City Council left a joint meeting about law enforcement Tuesday split on whether a consulting firm should be paid to help the Sheriff's Department implement community policing.

The Luverne City Council voted unanimously to ask the county to provide community policing standards under the direction of the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute.

The commissioners took no action, but Ken Hoime said he needed more time to think about options and Ron Boyenga said he was against it.

County Commissioner Jane Wildung spoke in favor of granting the city's request. The city is a partner under joint law and contracts with the county for law enforcement services.

Wildung said that the county has continually invested resources and money on family services, environmental issues and roads and bridges, "But we have not really invested in our law enforcement services. I am very supportive of this concept."

The philosophy of community policing is generally considered to be more proactive than reactive to crime. Communication and working with the public is encouraged.

Dennis Cusick, director of the Institute, said, "It's more than just appearances.... It's more than walking around town and having a D.A.R.E. program. It's an organizational change, not just little things on the surface."

Commissioner Boyenga said he thought most of the outcome of the consultants' work would be superficial and wouldn't help solve the outstanding murder or arson cases.

"I'd like to see what we can do on our own first," Boyenga said, noting that after a recent Sheriff's Department meeting with township residents that an arrest was made because of more open communication.

Wildung said, "Small tweaks aren't going to do the same job as an entire program."

Other than the concept of community policing, the City Council and County Board have to consider costs.

A total cost of $52,900 is proposed by the Institute, which would cover assessing the department, designing a system for the officers, training the officers, consulting with them, evaluating progress and travel, lodging and per diems.

The Institute is offering financial support of up to a maximum of 10 percent of the total cost of the final contract.

The fee for the contract can be paid over two years, and costs outside of the regular Sheriff's Department budget could be levied for.

In previous discussions, the county considered signing up for portions of the contract, which would have a lower total cost.

Principles and practices
Before the city's vote Tuesday, council member David Hauge said he was skeptical coming into the meeting. But he said after hearing the presentation, he was eager to give community policing a try.

"It may help straighten out some problems," he said.

Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure said, "I think it's a good idea - a good concept."

McClure also said he thought his officers would go along with it, even though change in any administration can be difficult.

Cusick said the term "community policing" can sometimes be looked down on by officers who have a long history of being reactive to crimes.

"Instead of thinking, 'Where can I be to catch the next bad guy?' you limit the opportunities for the bad guy," Cusick said,

Cusick is a retired law enforcement officer. He served 33 years in municipal law enforcement, the last 18 years as the Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police for the city of Cottage Grove.
He has worked on community policing for other small law enforcement agencies but hasnÕt yet dealt specifically with combined city and county law enforcement. But, he said, the concepts still hold true for Rock County's situation.

Under his plan, officers would have geographic accountability. That means regular patrols go on as usual, but officers track and keep up on crimes in their assigned regions. This establishes a familiarity and pride in the officers as well as the region.

Cusick said community involvement can be as little as encouraging more communication or as much as citizen education in law enforcement and neighborhood watches.

The old management style of policing, Cusick said, turns both the public and officers away from interaction that is so valuable to crime solving and prevention.

He said the regional accountability allows officers time to check in on homes where noise nuisances have been reported, follow up on restraining orders before they are violated, track areas that are notorious for speeding or check on adequate night lighting in neighborhoods.

The community policing concept also translates to rural areas where officers would do the same preventative and follow-up checks.

Cusick said, "Success of community policing is sometimes measured by intangible things, unfortunately."

He said faith in officers and feelings of increased safety are usually reported after community policing is implemented. "I've seen it work."

One man's junk is another man's treasure - or, in the case of these two Luverne kids, it's a luxury cruiser. Chris Smook reclined in a sofa sectional, and Mike Nelson, driving the lawn mower, cruised for junk Sunday on a unique mode of transportation built out of junk they collected Saturday. Items included in their Sunday loot included a mailbox, rims, a flag, a chair, a satellite dish and license plates. A sign taped to the rear of the laundry basket reads, "Recycled Junk."

Photo by Chantel Connell

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth golf team played its first match of the 2002 campaign at the Rock River Country Club near Rock Rapids, Iowa, Tuesday.

Entertaining Red Rock Conference foe Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster on a course the Patriots will call home until next season, H-BC-E came up on the short end of a 195-205 decision during the opener.

Tom Janssen played a solid round for the Patriots by shooting a seven-over-par 42 on the par-35 course. Janssen earned the meetÕs medalist honor for his effort.

Kyle Sammons, Jeremy Tiesler and Jeremy Elbers contributed 51-, 54- and 58-stroke rounds to H-BC-E's team tally.

Jordan Scott and Clint Roozenboom shot 59- and 66-stroke rounds without influencing the scoring.
Tim Sather led the winning Raiders with an eight-over-par 43.

SV-RL-B fielded an incomplete B team against an H-BC-E squad that recorded a 217.

Dusty Seachris led the Patriots with a 51.

Travis Broesder, Nick Deutsch and Dustin Bonnema pitched in 52-, 53- and 54-stroke rounds to the team total.

Tom Scholten and Adam Lange shot 58- and 60-stroke rounds during the B squad match.

The 0-1 Patriots host Southwest Star Concept and Westbrook-Walnut Grove at the RRCC today and Tuesday respectively. The Patriots play Lincoln HI in Hendricks Monday.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth evened its baseball record at 1-1 by posting a Red Rock Conference win in Lamberton Tuesday.

After dropping their opener one week earlier by giving up a big lead in the seventh inning, the Patriots turned the tables while posting a 7-3 win over Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

H-BC-E trailed 3-2 when RRC-W-WG plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third but rallied to score five runs in the sixth and seventh innings to give first-year coach Jason Langland his initial victory.

"Our guys really impressed me," Langland said. "The kids really played a great game. Justin Van Maanen pitched a great game, we made some plays defensively and we hit the ball well."

Van Maanen, who allowed a first-inning run before being touched for a pair of counters in the third, blanked RRC-W-WG over the final four frames to get the win. He allowed four hits and eight walks while fanning three batters.

The Patriots turned Van Maanen into a winner by scoring two runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh.

Darin DeBoer, who doubled twice and drove in three runs in the game, tied the game at three with a two-bagger in the top of the sixth. Zach Wysong, who also had two RBIs in the game, chased home DeBoer with the go-ahead run as the inning progressed.

Lyle DeBoer capped a two-hit, two-RBI game with a run-scoring double in the seventh. Darin DeBoer added a two-run double.

After RRC-W-WG took a 1-0 lead in the first, H-BCE tied the game with an RBI single from Wysong in the second. Lyle DeBoer doubled home a run to make it a 2-1 game in the top of the third.

H-BC-E hosts Murray County Central today and Edgerton Monday before playing in Adrian Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
When Ron Behr rolled his first 300-pin game at Luverne Lanes Nov. 25, 1992, the perfect performance was followed by a thunderous celebration by the appreciative members of the Wednesday Night Pinbusters League who witnessed the event.

Behr remembers that occasion well.

It was the night before Thanksgiving Day, and it ended with the Hills man producing the establishmentÕs first 300 game since the 1960s.

Behr is a member of the Hills-Beaver Creek Co-op Farm Service Grain Elevator team that competes in the Saturday Night Mixed League at the Luverne Lanes. He relived his perfect performance of 10 years ago on March 30, 2002.

Only this time his achievement went virtually unnoticed by those in the building.

"The unusual thing about it was we thought he rolled a 290," said Luverne Lanes owner John Serie. "When he threw his first ball of the game, it got stuck in his hand. His momentum carried him over the foul line, but the ball never touched the lane."

In front of teammates Nelva Behr, Lloyd DeBoer and Bev Wassenaar, Behr proceeded to roll 12 straight strikes after his unfortunate start. However, since he did cross the foul line during that first attempt of the game, he played the game like he recorded a spare in the first frame.

"I was using my new ball for the first two games, and my finger had swelled up before the third game. When I threw it (his first ball of the third game), I couldnÕt get rid of it. I figured it was a foul because my momentum carried me over the line. After that I used a different ball, and struck out," Behr said.

BehrÕs assumption that he had a spare in the first frame turned out to be wrong.

Under American Bowling Congress (ABC) rules, since the ball didn't leave his hand and touch the lane, itÕs officially considered to be a dead ball. Although he intended to release the ball, it's considered a non-throw because the ball did not touch the floor.

In the end, the game Behr thought wasn't perfect really was.

It will go down as the sixth 300-game in the history of Luverne Lanes, and the first since Larry Mulvihill rolled his on Oct. 28, 1998.

Prior to Behr's 1992 gem, the local bowling alley didn't have a perfect game recorded in two decades. In the 1960s, Charlie Zoellner rolled a pair of 300s (one was sanctioned). Ron Mulvihill also had a non-sanctioned 300 game in the 1960s.

All signs point to Behr's effort on March 30 turning into a league-sanctioned 300 game that will be recognized by the ABC.

The ABC then will award Behr with a ring for his 300 game and a watch for bowling a game 100 pins higher than his 183 league average.

By Jolene Farley
Gene Sandager, Hills, returned March 25 from a 14-day international study tour in Argentina and Chile sponsored by the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership Program.

The tour was designed to expose participants to government operations, economics, trade and culture in the two countries.

An overnight stay on the Argentinean farm of Francis Macadams was the highlight of the trip for Sandager.

"I got to see how they farm and what my competition is … what their struggles are," he said. "It was interesting to be able to visit and compare with our (the United States') No. 1 competitor in corn exports."

He noted how similar farm operations there were to those in the United States.

"The Macadams' farm operation could be a mirror image of a medium to large farm in Minnesota," wrote Sandager in an e-mail to the Crescent.

"The major difference can be found in the government policies and the economy," he wrote. "Francis was very discouraged with paying large amounts of taxes with little or no results for the payment. He was also discouraged with the collapsing economy."

Sandager and his group toured the cattle yards in Buenos Aires, the largest auction in the world. The cattle yard sells 10,000 head a day, five days a week. Sixty private buyers are employed at the yards.

Fat cattle were the size of U.S. yearling cattle, according to Sandager. They sold for 15 cents per pound, compared with 70 cents per pound in the United States.

Due to an ongoing problem with hoof and mouth disease, the United States has banned the import of Argentinean beef, according to Sandager.

"The concern is to protect our internal production from disease," he said. "Also, our consumers don't understand the food is still safe." (Hoof and mouth disease cannot be transmitted to humans.)

Chile's government, considered the most stable in South America, is very similar to the United States government except voters vote for a party rather than individual candidates.

In contrast, Argentina’s government and economy is corrupt and chaotic. While the MARL group was in Argentina, the government froze savings accounts at banks nationwide and halted loans to farmers.

Argentinean currency de-valued rapidly on the international market. Farmers wondered how contracts would be paid on their products.

"The concern was what price would I get for my product," he said.

American companies used the flux in currency to import raw materials and manufacture products with the cheap labor in the South American countries, according to Sandager.

Sandager said he learned a lesson from his visit to the South American countries.

"It is extremely important to be involved or participate in making the rules that we live by," he said. "In Argentina 99 percent of the people we talked to hated the government but wouldn’t get involved to change it."

Both countries produce, on average, 160 to 180 bushels of corn (PER ACRE?), but don’t have the infrastructure to transport crops to market. With dirt roads, if it rains, harvest is halted.

Land in Chile and Argentina varies from $200 to $300 per acre at the end of the road to $2,000 to $3,000 per acre near an adequate road and a seaport.

By Jolene Farley
A $19,000 bid for the Beaver Creek Community Center, offered by auctioneer Duane Mulder, was accepted at a special Beaver Creek City Council meeting Thursday, March 28.

Mulder, Luverne, said he plans to convert the structure into an indoor auction facility.

"WeÕll be doing some interior work, some painting and increase the lighting in there for sure," he said.

Mulder previously held auctions at the Luverne Armory. "Every winter we are locked out of there (because of gymnastics); thatÕs the reason we went to Beaver Creek," he said.

"WeÕve been looking for a facility closer to Sioux Falls. This is exactly what we were looking for."

Beaver Creek officials decided to advertise for bids on the Community Center after realizing city property currently stored in the building could be moved to the new fire hall after construction on that structure is completed, according to Mayor Al Blank.

"The city felt we just couldnÕt keep it open for the occasional income it brings," he said.

The building, about 45 years old, was rented out for a $200 fee for dances and auctions. It was also used (free of charge) for events such as Memorial Day programs, FFA meetings or senior citizens gatherings.

"I think some of those things will probably be held in the elementary gym now," said Blank. "We donÕt have a large meeting room in the new facility."

At a council meeting on Thursday, March 21, Blank opened sealed bids for the building. The city received bids of $2,900, $5,500, and $14,900.

Council member Julie Buysse made the motion to reject all the bids, including the high bid of $14,900 made by Bruce Dysthe, Beaver Creek.

"The council made a move to turn the bids down. We thought we should get more money," said Blank.

Blank said after the meeting Beaver Creek residents approached him and told him the council should have accepted the $14,900 bid by Dysthe.

Dysthe hoped to use the building for storage for his construction business.

Blank called a special council meeting on Thursday, March 28. Dysthe agreed to renew his offer of $14,900 but requested an immediate answer from the council.

During the meeting when the council called for other bids, Mulder topped DystheÕs $14,900 bid by $500. Dysthe and Mulder continued to bid against each other until Mulder offered $19,000.

"When the bidding stopped, we moved to accept," said Blank.

Mulder takes possession of the Community Hall Oct. 1.

By Jolene Farley
Construction at the appropriately-titled "Drivers" restaurant on the Beaver Creek Golf Course is expected to be complete by May 6.

Carpet in the restaurant will be laid this week, leaving only a few small tasks in the kitchen before the opening, according to general manager Rodney Scholten.

"Once that is done, we should have the restaurant side pretty well locked down," he said.

Scholten hopes Drivers is a place people will visit frequently.

"I think the experience is just going to be one that makes them want to come back," he said. "We are going to focus so much on customer service and satisfaction... it is going to be the priority for the staff."

Scholten hopes to begin staff development and training of 15 employees by the end of this week.

More than 35 applications have been received so far for waiter, waitress, cook and bartender positions.

A grand opening for Drivers is tentatively planned for June 7 and 8 with special menus, an informational open house on the banquet facility and door prizes, according to Scholten.

Drivers features a regular menu with everything from hamburgers and fries to ribeye steaks.

"The menus are going to include or exclude things as we go," he said. "We want the consumers to tell us what they like and dislike. They will do this by what they purchase."

After Drivers is operating, work will intensify on the banquet facility, Scholten said.

The banquet facility has 14 wedding receptions and several class reunions already booked.

"The weddings have been from early on," he said. "That has just kind of grown." Scholten said the quality and location of the facility help sell it.

Banquet hall rental is $400 with linens included, and for $300 Ben Davis Productions will provide a DJ service. Tony's Catering, Luverne, will cater any events.

"Basically, if you have a date in mind you can call us," Scholten said. "We can take care of banquet hall and dance needs."

Scholten stressed use of the facility will be an upscale experience. "We want everyone who comes in to experience quality time," said Scholten.

The first event planned in the banquet hall is the Beaver Creek Fire Department benefit on May 18.

Course builder John Reardon is expected to begin work this week on the golf course with a projected completion date in August.

Investors wanted to open the restaurant immediately so customers could watch the golf course being built.

"Sort of watch the course go up ...a unique experience if you think about it," Scholten said.

Ten lifetime golf course memberships have been sold, and investors will offer 10 more on a first-come, first-served basis until they are gone or until the end of May.

Yearly family memberships for the golf course are $450 per year; single memberships are $350.
Scholten is working on a graduated fee scale for this year, since play will not begin until August.

Five lots have been sold on the golf course, and two or three homes will be built sometime this year, according to Scholten.

"People have contacted us that they are interested, but they want to see the finished product," he said.

Investors in the project are Rodney Scholten, Mike Blank, Ben Davis, Leonard Scholten and Dan Van Otterloo.

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek Education Association named Jane Baker Bosch, Steen, the 2002 Friend of Education Monday.

"For the past 11 years, Mrs. Bosch has worked with children in many different ways and has touched them immensely," said Elementary Administrator Jil Vaughn.

Baker Bosch volunteers in kindergarten through third grades at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary at least one day a week. She also chaperones field trips and takes extra work home to help the teachers.

"She creates games for the kids to play, cuts things out and just does all those extra things we may not have time to do if we tried to fit it all in," said elementary teacher Michele Baker, who also is the Friend of EducationÕs daughter-in-law.

Always a homemaker, Baker Bosch raised six children with her first husband, Albert. She has several grandchildren and stepgrandchildren in the district.

Baker Bosch said she had no idea what it would be like to volunteer when she started helping at H-BC.

"She (Michele) asked if I would like to help out," Baker Bosch said. "After just once or twice in school, I knew this was the thing for me to do."

She enjoys seeing kids progress academically from year to year.

"I think it's important to have volunteers help at school," she said. "It's so important to do one-on-one work with the children."

She was surprised she received the award. "I just had no idea there was going to be an award," she said. "It was an honor."

She encourages everyone to try volunteering at the school. The smiles, hugs and appreciation from kids are a great reward, according to Baker Bosch.