Elfie Markson, 102, died Friday, Jan. 18 at Mary Jane Brown Home, Luverne. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, with Rev. Maurice Hagen officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to service.

Lawrence Steiner, 87, Luverne, died Sunday, Jan. 20 at Parkview Manor, Ellsworth. Services will be Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Dell Sanderson and Rev. Maurice Hagen officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday, Jan. 22 from 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne.

By Sara Strong
The Luverne School Board dealt with unsettled contracts Thursday at its regular meeting.

Teacher Dave Svingen spoke on behalf of teachers when he addressed the board about the contracts. After 13 negotiations and two mediation sessions, teachers have been without contracts since July 1.

Svingen said to the board, "You are one of the unique school boards, the envy of 90 percent of the boards during their dire financial times. You have comfortable cash reserves and a community that passed the referendum."

With these factors considered, he said, "There seems to be not enough interest on your part to settle."

Svingen said that board members often comment on how they value staff and are proud of their work. He said backing those statements up with a contract the teachers support would mean more than praise.

"Do you want the average school?" Svingen said. "Then settle for an average contract. As an association, we are losing patience."

He reminded the board that they live in a community that values education and a board that fully supports teachers who are doing their jobs.

One of Svingen's personal concerns is his own retirement. He said that without a contract, he doesn't know if he can retire after 34 years of teaching.

He reminded the board of teachers' success in instilling the value of learning in Luverne students. He said 85 percent of the high school graduates go on to more schooling and 80 percent of those complete their degree.

Board Chair Don Bryan gave a report on negotiations as well. He said the Board tried to settle Nov. 1 with an offer of 9.17 percent salary increase over two years along with increases in sick and personal days which showed board support of teachers.

"We're very anxious to settle this contract. We do not want to negotiate in this meeting, but I'm reporting it to the board," Bryan said.

Standardized test results
The board also heard a presentation on student test results from the past few years.

Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff said of the compiled results in general, "We're doing our job teaching the standards. There's always room for growth, and that's why we're here."

The tests included in the data included the well-known Iowa Basics. Tenhoff emphasized that material in tests may not match what the teachers are teaching and the results donÕt always measure an individual's growth.

In Luverne, for example, math computation scores have consistently started out low, because the curriculum is more about problem solving.

But with that base knowledge of problem solving, the computation scores increase in later grades and are well above average. In fact, a testing expert remarked to Tenhoff that sheÕd like to know what Luverne is doing to reach the high math scores.

The Basic Standards Test can catch students at risk for not passing early on. They can be helped early enough to make sure they make the graduation standards.

Jan Olson, curriculum coordinator, said, "We are testing our kids a lot and that's why we need to start looking at the data and see what we're doing with it."

City street improvement bids set for Feb. 27
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
Sealed proposals will be received by the City Council of Luverne, Minnesota at the Luverne City Hall, 203 E. Main, P.O. Box 659, Luverne, Minnesota 56156-0659 until 1:00 P.M. February 27, 2002 for the 2002 Street Improvements, Luverne, Minnesota, at which time the bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud.]

The approximate quantities of work on which proposals will be received are as follows:

8,853 S.Y. Remove Pavement
15,575 L.F. Concrete Curb and Gutter, Design B624
33,600 S.Y. Mill Bituminous Surface
2,375 S.Y. Concrete Pavement
4,750 T. Type 41 Mixture
16,015 S.F. 4" Concrete Walk & Driveway
and other related items of construction.

All bids shall be made on proposal forms furnished by the Engineer and shall be accompanied by bid security in the form of a certified check or bid bond, made payable to The City of Luverne, Minnesota, in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the bid, which security becomes the property of the City in the event the successful bidder fails to enter into a contract and post satisfactory bond.

Water service line work shall commence on or before April 15, 2002 and shall be completed by June 3, 2002. The remainder of the contract shall commence on or after June 3, 2002. All streets shall be open to traffic and all work shall be completed by August 9, 2002.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technicalities and irregularities.

The City is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Copies of the Affirmation Action may be seen at City Hall.

Project manual and drawings may be examined at the office of the Engineer or at the Luverne City Hall. Copies of said project manual and drawings may be secured form DeWild Grant Reckert and Associates Company, 1302 South Union Street, Rock Rapids, Iowa 51246, telephone 712-472-2531, FAX 712-472-2710, upon payment of thirty dollars ($30.00), none of which is refundable.

Published upon order of the City Council of Luverne, Minnesota.
(1-31, 2-7, 2-14)

ISD #2184 School Board meets Dec. 27
DECEMBER 27, 2001
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2184, ROCK COUNTY, LUVERNE, MINNESOTA.
A regular meeting of the Board of Education, ISD #2184, was held in the District Office on Thursday, December 27, 2001, at 12:00 p.m.

The following members were present: Don Bryan, Colleen Deutsch, Cary Radisewitz, Bill Stegemann, Steve Tofteland, and Becky Walgrave. Absent: Dan Kopp. Also present: Superintendent Vincent Schaefer, Marlene Mann, and Lori Ehde Ð Rock County Star Herald.

The meeting was called to order by chairperson Don Bryan.

Superintendent Schaefer gave announcements.

Motion by Stegemann, second by Deutsch, to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Motion by Walgrave, second by Tofteland, to approve the consent agenda to include the December 13, 2001, School Board minutes and the Student Activity Report showing the balances as of November 30, 2001. Motion carried.

Motion by Tofteland, second by Deutsch, to approve paying the District bills in the amount of $1,053,113.74. Motion carried.

Motion by Walgrave, second by Radisewitz, to approve two days of unpaid leave for Karla Osterday. Motion carried.

There were no committee reports. It was noted that the Personnel Committee will begin mediation with the Luverne Education Association on January 3, 2002, at 5:00 p.m.

The upcoming meeting dates were reviewed. Motion by Stegemann, second by Deutsch, to adjourn. Motion carried.

Dated: December 27, 2001

Rebecca Walgrave, Clerk
(1-31)

By John Rittenhouse
Dusty Seachris and Kerry Fink picked up two matches each as members of the Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team since last Thursday.

Seachris, a sophomore, and Fink, an eighth-grader, represent H-BC on the Cardinal varsity squad.

They posted a combined 1-3 record while competing in duels at Luverne against Marshall and Adrian Thursday and Tuesday respectively.

L-H-BC-E came up on the short end of a 63-7 decision when it hosted Adrian Tuesday.

Both Seachris and Fink lost by fall during the duel.

Fink took the mat first at 119 pounds against Dragon Clint Metz. He was pinned 1:09 into the second period.

Seachris took on Dusty Bullerman at 130 pounds. Bullerman won by fall 1:02 into the second period.

The H-BC connection went 1-1 and produced six points during ThursdayÕs 54-21 victory over Marshall in Luverne.

Seachris was one of six Cardinals to draw a forfeit from the Tigers. His six-pointer came at 130 pounds.
Fink took a loss in the second period of his match at 112 pounds. He was covered by MarshallÕs Keith Mahlerek at 3:58.

L-H-BC-E, 3-13-1 overall, will wrestle in Redwood Falls tomorrow.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls put an end to an eight-game basketball losing streak by ambushing Southwest Christian by six points in Luverne Tuesday.

The Cards lost their eighth straight tilt by 13 points in Pipestone Thursday.

Luverne, 3-14 overall, host Redwood Valley tonight before playing in Adrian Monday.

Luverne 55, SWC 49
The Cardinals were able to recover from a slow start to upend the E-Gals in Luverne Tuesday.

Trailing 12-2 early in the first quarter, things didnÕt look good for the home-standing Cards. Luverne, however, rallied to outscore SWC 53-37 the rest of the way to post a six-point victory.

"We played a lot of good basketball after that slow start," said Cardinal coach Jason Phelps. "A lot of the things we've been working on all season came together Tuesday."

After falling behind by 10 points early, the Cardinals went on a 12-4 run to trim SWC's lead to two points (16-14) by the end of the first quarter.

Luverne moved in front by two points in the second quarter and took a 33-28 lead at the intermission when Maggie Kuhlman hit a three-point shot right before halftime.

The Cards led by three points (42-39) after the third quarter before prevailing by five in the end.
Patricia Willers led LHS with 12 points and nine rebounds. Kuhlman had five assists.

Box score
Kuhlman 3 1 0-0 9, Lange 2 0 2-3 6, Pick 4 0 0-4 8, Top 4 0 0-3 8, P.Willers 4 0 4-6 12, S.Willers 1 0 0-0 2, Bush 0 0 2-4 2, Kopp 4 0 0-0 8.

Team statistics
Luverne: 23 of 56 field goals (41 percent), eight of 20 free throws (40 percent), 28 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SWC: 18 of 58 field goals (31 percent), 10 of 21 free throws (48 percent), 17 rebounds, seven turnovers.

P-J 52, Luverne 39
The Cardinal girls scared the home-standing Arrows before falling by 13 points in Pipestone Thursday.

P-J, a team that lost two games overall entering the tilt, found itself facing 14-12 and 24-18 deficits at the first two quarter breaks and tied at 30 after the third quarter.

By making some defensive adjustments that confused the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, P-J outscored LHS 22-9 to win by 13.

"We lost our composure in the fourth quarter," said Cardinal coach Phelps. "They switched to a full-court press and fell back into a half-court man-to-man defense, and we didn't adjust to it very well. We were turning the ball over a lot, and they were nine-of-nine at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter."

Luverne's Sarah Lange scored all 12 of her points while carrying the Cards to a two-point lead in the first quarter. Luverne led by as many as 10 points in the second period before settling for a six-point halftime cushion.

Patricia Willers recorded a double-double for LHS by scoring 10 points and racking up 10 rebounds. Maggie Kuhlman had four assists for the Cards.

Box score
Kuhlman 0 1 0-2 3, Croft 1 0 0-0 2, Lange 6 0 0-2 12, Pick 1 0 0-0 2, Top 0 1 0-2 3, P.Willers 4 0 2-3 10, S.Willers 1 0 1-1 3, Tofteland 1 0 0-0 2, Bush 0 0 0-0 0, Kopp 0 0 2-2 2.

Team statistics
Luverne: 16 of 42 field goals (38 percent), five of 12 free throws (42 percent), 29 rebounds, 32 turnovers.
P-J: Field goal totals were unavailable, 14 of 20 free throws (70 percent, 19 rebounds, nine turnovers.

By Lori Ehde
There's no such thing as too much love and attention for children - or old people for that matter.

The Foster Grandparent program in Luverne Elementary School benefits both ends of the age spectrum while helping teachers at the same time.

Jim Vink, Luverne's only foster grandparent so far, can't say enough good things about the program.

"I really enjoy it," said Vink, who serves as a foster grandparent to Shirley Harrison's kindergarten students.

"What I enjoy the most is the reaction of the kids toward me. Some of them say 'Mr. Vink, I love you.' And that's very rewarding."

The Foster Grandparent program came to Luverne with a $3,600 federal grant through the Rock County Collaborative. The point of the program is to provide additional positive role models in classrooms.

Luverne has funding for 10 foster grandparents, but so far Vink is the only one who applied. Applicants must be 60 years old or older and must have an interest in working with children.

For Vink, who is paid only $2 per hour, it's a dream job. "I just love it," he said. "I just get to be a grandparent to the kids."

The grant specifies that his time be spent with the children - not on clerical work such as photocopying or errands.

In the classroom, he helps small fingers with glue and scissors, and he helps young readers sound out new words as they venture into words and sentences.

During recess, he plays with the students, catching small bodies off the slides and giving them an extra hoist in the air on their way down.

He's been known to defuse student scuffles by reminding them to be kind and to say they're sorry.

"It's my goal to be kind to the kids and help them in any way that I can, mostly by being a loving grandparent," said Vink, whose own grandchildren live on the West Coast. "I hope I can have a positive influence on them."

After suffering a stroke more than a year ago, Vink could no longer drive for Rock County's Heartland Express bus service.

He was left with limited use of his right hand, and his brain was affected in some capacities. "The stroke erased the number system in my brain," he said, for example.

He's had therapy, but he said reading and communicating with the children has helped improve his health.

School counselor Marie Atkinson-Smeins said the program has benefits for the students, teachers and the foster grandparents.

She encourages local seniors to apply.

Interested applicants can call Luverne Elementary School, 283-4497, for more information, or 1-888-205-3770, to apply.

Dave Knips has been a certified nurse anesthetist at Luverne Community Hospital since 1982.

By Lori Ehde
This week, Jan. 20 through 26, is National Nurse Anesthetists Week, and Luverne Community Hospital's Dave Knips says having an anesthetic is now safer than the risk of driving.

Knips, a certified nurse anesthetist, started at Luverne Community Hospital in 1982. Since then, he's seen significant improvements in methods and outcomes of anesthesia.

"It's safer today to have an anesthetic than it would be to drive your car down Main Street," he said.

National mortality rates have improved from 1 in 100,000 20 years ago to one death for every 240,000 anesthesized people today.

Knips said this is due to improved technology and medication and better training for nurse anesthetists and physician anesthesiologists.

"In the past, emerging from an anesthetic could take hours. There was more nausea and vomiting," he said. "Now patients emerge faster and are clearer mentally."

Since the hospital purchased a Bispectral Index Monitor in December 1999, anesthesia in Luverne has become an exact science.

The BIS monitor analyzes brain waves to determine a patient's exact level of consciousness.

In addition, vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature and oxygenation are used to determine depth of anesthesia.

With more precise monitoring, anesthesia staff can tailor a patient's anesthetic to their exact needs. This results in a decreased wake-up time, which ultimately leads to fewer complications.

Certification for nurse anesthetists requires seven years of training and education. Knips went to Mount Marty College, Yankton, S.D., for a four-year degree in nursing.

He spent nearly two years training in critical care, such as an emergency room or a coronary care unit.

He then completed a two-year anesthesia program, also at Mount Marty, which offered one of the first degrees in anesthesia in the nation at the time.

The difference between a certified nurse anesthetist and an anesthesiologist is that prior to anesthesia education anesthesiologists receive medical education while CRNAs receive nursing education. Both receive the same two-year anesthesia training.

Knips said working with people and being able to help them through their hospital experience is the most rewarding aspect of his job.

"It's an ever-changing challenge," he said. "Most people think I give one shot, the anesthesia begins, and my job is finished. This is just the beginning. Every anesthetic is different, and every patient responds differently. It's my job to see patients receive the best anesthetic possible for their situation."

Knips grew up near Magnolia and graduated from Adrian High School.

He and his wife, Brenda, live in Luverne and have four children: Stacey, Megan, Erica and Matt.

By Sara Strong
A long-time goal for the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center is closer to being realized.

Tuesday the Pool Commission gave Director Darrell Huiskes the go ahead to purchase a zero-depth entry ramp for the pool.

Huiskes said that after researching it, he thinks installing the ramp will be doable with funds outside the center's regular budget. Cost of the ramp that will be bolted to the existing pool is $6,220.

A survey of pool members about two years ago showed that was a top request for improving the pool. Slightly disabled or those there for physical therapy may find the ramp easier for entering the pool and less conspicuous than using the chair lift. The chair lift will still be available.

Commission member Ken Hoime said he's continually heard the request and thinks it will keep a lot of members happy.

Pool and Fitness Center's future
The Commission also discussed the upcoming requests for proposals (RFPs) that the Rock County Board and Luverne City Council approved advertising for.

Commission member Ed Bouwman said, "As an advisory body we should send our recommendation to the governing boards."

When the RFPs do come in, Bouwman said the Pool Commission and governing boards shouldn't forget that one option is also leaving the facility as it is and making improvements from within.

"While all the RFP talk is going on in the background, we should do what we can now to improve what we have," Bouwman said.

County Administrator Kyle Oldre agreed. He said every option should be on the table with no hidden agendas and no secrets. "And if come July, we're sitting here with business as usual," he said, "maybe that's a lesson learned."