By John Rittenhouse
Adrian knocked Hills-Beaver Creek out of the unbeaten ranks in Red Rock Conference West girls' basketball play by upending the Patriots 46-29 in Adrian Friday.

The game was tight for three quarters before the home-standing Dragons put together an impressive run in the fourth quarter to win by 17.

With Adrian's win over the Patriots, and Southwest Christian's 57-48 victory over Fulda the same night, the RRC West turned into a log jam at the top of the standings. Fulda, H-BC and Adrian now have one league loss each.

Adrian did its part to tighten the title chase by toppling the Patriots.

The teams were separated by no more than five points at the first three quarter breaks, but the Dragons turned a 30-25 lead into a 17-point win by outscoring H-BC 16-4 in the final eight minutes of play.

Maria Gengler scored all four of her points during Adrian's fourth quarter run, which featured six other Dragons contributing two points each to the rally.

Adrian led 12-10 and 20-17 at the first two quarter stops.

Sarah Kruger tossed in 10 points to lead the winners. Andrea Burzlaff charted five rebounds and four blocked shots. Kylie Heronimus and Jenna Honermann contributed four assists each to the cause.

Erin Boeve scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds for H-BC. Cassi Tilstra added 10 points.

Box score
H-BC
Rentschler 0 0 0-2 0, Tilstra 5 0 0-0 10, Broesder 1 0 3-7 5, S.Rozeboom 0 0 0-2 0, Boeve 5 0 4-6 14.
Adrian
Heronimus 4 0 0-0 8, Bo.Bullerman 3 0 0-0 6, Honermann 2 0 0-0 4, Burzlaff 4 0 0-1 8, Kruger 4 0 2-2 10, Gengler 2 0 0-0 4, Knips 1 0 4-4 6.

Team statistics
H-BC: 11 of 41 field goals (27 percent), seven of 17 free throws (41 percent), 16 rebounds, 10 turnovers.
Adrian:20 of 40 field goals (50 percent), six of seven free throws (86 percent), 20 rebounds, 12 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
A Hills-Beaver Creek High School junior posted three victories as a member of the Luverne-H-BC-Ellsworth wrestling team since last Thursday.

Dusty Seachris had a good week as the Cardinal 135-pounder. He went 3-3 while competing at events in Windom, Jackson and Harrisburg, S.D.

Seachris saved his best night of the season for a triangular in Harrisburg Tuesday.

Seachris went 2-0 for the night, which helped the Cards beat Garretson 42-30 before falling 45-25 to the host school.

During the win against Garretson, Seachris contributed six points to the team cause by pinning Casey Kringen 24 seconds into the third period.

He also rolled to a 15-2 major decision win against Harrisburg's Scott Gackle.

Seachris went 1-2 without placing at the Jackson County Central Tournament Saturday, an event L-H-BC-E placed eighth in as a team with 64.5 points. Twelve teams were represented in the field.

The H-BC junior opened the tournament by beating JCCÕs Seth Skalicky by technical fall in the first round.

Wabasha-Kellogg's Bruce Arens pinned Seachris at 1:42 of the quarterfinals, and he lost by fall in 3:51 to Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-OdinÕs Travis Winter at 3:51 in the consolation bracket.

Seachris also wrestled a match for L-H-BC-E during Thursday's Southwest Conference opener in Windom.

W-ML-B-O's David Borsgard topped Seachris 16-10 at 135 pounds during L-H-BC-EÕs 57-18 loss to the Cobras.

H-BC eighth-grader Kerry Fink dropped all three of his varsity matches since last Thursday.

W-ML-B-O's Jesse Schlager pinned him in 48 seconds in the 119-pound match Thursday in Windom.

Garretson's Dan Bonte pinned Fink in 1:02 in the 119-pound weight class Tuesday in Harrisburg. Harrisburg's Jake Cawthorne pinned Fink in 1:27 during the 119-pound match later Tuesday evening.

L-H-BC-E, 1-2-1 overall, hosts Pipestone-Jasper Thursday, Dec. 20.

By John Rittenhouse
A late-game run by the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriot girls gave them a 51-48 basketball victory over Murray County Central in Hills Tuesday.

After never playing with the lead through the game's first 31:44, the Patriots moved in front with 16 seconds remaining and added a pair of charity shots eight seconds later to prevail by three points.

According to Patriot coach Tom Goehle, his team did a nice job of staying with the Rebels through three quarters before H-BC's defense settled the issue late.

"We played sensational defense in the second half," he said. "MCC really took it to us early, but we managed to keep it close."

Erin Boeve, who scored 29 points and snared 11 rebounds while recording a double-double, came up big when the Patriots needed her most.

Trailing 42-36 entering the final quarter, Boeve scored 13 of the teamÕs 15 points during a 15-6 run that settled the outcome.

Boeve converted a three-point play with 16 seconds left to give H-BC its first lead at 49-48. Becky Broesder then sealed the win with a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining.

MCC took an 18-14 lead in the first quarter and turned it into a six-point halftime advantage (34-28) by outscoring the Patriots 16-14 in the second period.

H-BC, which improved to 3-0 in the Red Rock West with the win, received a five-assist effort from Cassi Tilstra.

The 4-1 Patriots play road games against Adrian and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton tomorrow and Monday respectively.

Box score
B.Rozeboom 0 0 0-0 0, B.Olson 1 0 0-0 2, Rentschler 1 0 0-2 2, Tilstra 2 1 0-2 7, Broesder 2 0 3-4 7, S.Rozeboom 2 0 0-2 4, DeNoble 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 12 0 5-7 29, A.Olson 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
H-BC: 21 of 54 field goals (39 percent), eight of 17 free throws (47 percent), 24 rebounds.
MCC: 17 of 45 field goals (38 percent), 10 of 18 free throws (56 percent), 28 rebounds.

By John Rittenhouse
A fourth-quarter surge by the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots carried them to a 44-27 Red Rock Conference West boys' basketball win in Adrian Thursday.

In what was a low-scoring contest, H-BC sported slim leads at the first three quarter breaks.

Adrian was in a position to challenge the Patriots with a strong fourth quarter, but H-BC dominated the final eight minutes of play while outscoring the hosts 16-5 to win by 17.

H-BCÕs late rally put a close game out of Adrian's reach.

The Patriots led 11-10 after eight minutes of play and sported a 15-12 advantage at the end of a second period that featured both teams scoring a combined six points.

H-BC increased its lead to six points (28-22) by the end of the third quarter before icing the contest in the fourth quarter.

Matt Buck, who had three assists, led the 3-2 Patriots with 16 points and eight rebounds. Lyle DeBoer added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals to the winning cause. David Top had seven rebounds for the Patriots. Darin DeBoer contributed six rebounds and three assists.

Bryce Block scored 14 points and Kyle Knips grabbed 12 rebounds for the 1-3 Dragons.

Box score
H-BC
D.DeBoer 0 0 1-2 1, Van Maanen 0 0 0-0 0, Haak 3 0 2-4 8, Leuthold 0 0 2-2 2, L.DeBoer 6 0 0-0 12, Top 1 1 0-1 5, Buck 7 0 2-4 16.
Adrian
Hohn 0 1 0-0 3, Wolf 0 1 0-0 3, Henning 0 0 1-2 1, Block 5 1 1-1 14, K.Knips 1 0 0-0 2, Kruger 0 0 2-2 2, C.Knips 1 0 0-1 2.

Team statistics
H-BC: 18 of 48 field goals (38 percent), seven of 13 free throws (54 percent), 33 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
Adrian: 10 of 52 field goals (19 percent), four of eight free throws (50 percent), 28 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

Regan Bly, Hills, tells Santa her Christmas wishes during his visit to Hills on Saturday. Kids watched the movie "The Grinch" while waiting for Santa to arrive. For more Santa photos turn to page 16 in the Crescent.

Photo by Jolene Farley

By Lori Ehde
Rock County Land Management Director John Burgers, Hills, pled guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud.

In doing so, the court dismissed the more serious charge of bribery.

By pleading guilty to mail fraud, Burgers admits that he engaged in a scheme to defraud citizens of Rock County by obtaining funds and loans in connection with a hog production facility in exchange for preferential treatment.

Burgers has been on paid administrative leave since the Sept. 20 indictment. When asked about the future of Burgers' employment in Rock County, personnel director Kyle Oldre said the matter will be discussed in a closed session during the Dec. 26 County Board meeting.

Burgers admitted in court that in March 1996 he learned that debris and waste were being dumped at a hog production facility owned by Global Ventures Inc.

Instead of notifying the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Burgers contacted a senior officer of GVI and advised him to take care of the problem before he contacted state officials.

A few months later, in June 1996, Burgers approached the same GVI officer and informed him he (Burgers) was in deep financial trouble and needed money.

"I heard rumors the bank and Global Ventures were involved in suspicious money transactions. I knew Dave Logan would see me as something of value and that he would know that I could make it tough or make it easy on Global Ventures," Burgers said in a written statement Sept. 18.

"I expected for that reason Logan could help me get loans at Pipestone Bank," Burgers wrote. Dave Logan used me as his heads-up guy to tell him of potential problems."

In those handwritten statements, Burgers said he received roughly $200,000 in loans from Global Ventures.

During his guilty plea hearing Wednesday, Burgers told the court he received numerous bank account statements through U.S. mail that enabled him to monitor his financial situation and alert him when he would need to obtain additional preferential loans.

Burgers admitted that between March 1996 and April 1999 he repeatedly provided preferential treatment to Global Ventures, abusing his position of public trust.

In a Sept. 20 indictment, both Burgers and Global Ventures were charged with bribery and mail fraud and both entered not guilty pleas in October.

In exchange for BurgersÕ guilty plea to mail fraud Wednesday and his full cooperation in the payment of restitution or fines, the bribery charge is dropped.

In lieu of forfeiture of his assets by the court, Burgers also agrees that, by no later than sentencing, he will sell or surrender the boat, motor and trailer that he obtained with the December 1996 preferential loan from First National Bank, Pipestone, so that these assets may be applied to restitution or fines.

He faces a sentencing guideline range between six to 12 months and 24 to 30 months. His fine range is from $3,000 to $50,000.

A sentencing date is expected in eight to 10 weeks.

The case is the result of an ongoing investigation in Pipestone and Rock counties by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Shea prosecuted the case.

By Lori Ehde
Jim Harner and Luverne School Board members have settled on a contract for the interim middle school principal position.

Current Luverne Middle School Principal Dave Deragisch will begin his new superintendent duties in the Hills-Beaver Creek School District Jan. 1.

The Luverne district will advertise the position in January to fill his vacancy, but a new principal wouldn't start in Luverne until July, when the new school year begins.

Harner will serve as middle school principal Jan. 2 through the end of the school year. He will be paid an hourly rate of $35 per hour, with regular hours set from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The district will also pay health insurance premiums during that time.

After 33 years in education, Harner retired from his duties as Luverne middle school principal in 1993.

He came to Luverne in 1971 as high school principal, and his title became middle school principal when the school was restructured to reflect the middle school concept.

Since his retirement, Harner has worked part-time at Luverne Community Education as the defensive driving instructor.

Naming of athletic fields west of the school
On their agenda Thursday, Dec. 13, School Board members were to approve a suggested name for the baseball, softball and soccer fields west of the elementary school.

"Fledgling Fields" is the name recommended by athletic director Harvey Crable's office.

Board members considered the name, but tabled action, because they wanted to consider additional options.

"Fledgling Field on Highway 75 was for our elementary kids," said board member Becky Walgrave.

"When you talk about baseball and softball, primarily for high school athletes, I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know if it truly reflects the intended purpose of that area."

Other board members agreed, and Superintendent Vince Schaefer said he'd return the task to Crable's office and the Athletic Advisory Committee.

Revenue report and
levy certification
The board certified the gross district levy at $2,042,480.09 for taxes payable in 2002. This is a decrease of nearly 769,000 from last year's levy, or a more than 27-percent decrease.

The decrease is due to the state's shift of education funding from property taxes to sales and income tax.

The certified levy amount includes the 10-year $230,000 operating levy approved by voters this summer.

The board also heard a revenue report from district finance officer Marlene Mann, who said last year's revenues and this year's revenues are almost exactly the same. This is "scary," board members said, because expenses are rapidly increasing.

In other personnel matters, the board
hired Steven Lorenzen as assistant boys' hockey coach at $2,000,

hired Crystal Ellefson and Dan Carlson for $8.91 per hour as management assistants to help special needs students,

approved Melinda Krull, Northwestern College, to student teach with Angela Ahrendt for four weeks,

approved Brian Boll as volunteer assistant girls' hockey coach,

considered a one-day leave request by Janet Hanson to attend the Middle School Band performance at the state music convention,

approved a leave request by Judy Thies who will entertain former exchange student Ana Arias.

accepted the resignation, effective Dec. 18, of paraprofessional Robyn Wessels who accepted a position with Rock County Pool and Fitness Center.

In other business Thursday the board
heard a transportation report and set vehicle bid dates. The district, which buses students on 13 rural routes and 250,000 miles a year, will replace three buses with high miles. Bid opening will be at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 in the district office.

heard a first reading on an athletic booster club constitution,

changed the time for the next board meeting to noon on Thursday, Dec. 27.

By Sara Quam
Christmas and Carol just go together. Like Easter and bunny or chips and salsa.

Carol Hoogeveen, Luverne, has amassed a Christmas decoration collection that would make all of Santa's elves proud.

"People might think I'm crazy, but I like them," Hoogeveen said.

She's been collecting Christmas decorations, mostly ornaments, for about 40 years. "People say they could spend a lot of time walking through here and miss a lot," she said.

Art and Carol Hoogeveen's house at 514 N. Spring Street greets people from the street or sidewalk with Christmas cheer.

"So many people comment on the things in the windows," Hoogeveen said.

The front porch windowsills are covered with Christmas decorations facing outward and a large tree anchors the room.

That tree has many older ornaments that hold special meaning for Hoogeveen. Some are from her mother's tree, and some were gifts from family or friends years ago.

"When I take one out I remember who gave it to me or where I got it," she said. "But I've never met an ornament I didn't like. I just get a kick out of them."

While ornaments are her favorite Christmas collectible, garlands, small trees, Santas, angels and snowmen fill the house.

Some of the trees have themes. There's a Disney and Barbie tree, a snowman tree, a cardinal tree, a Santa tree, a nativity and crismon tree, Hershey's and Campbell's trees, a tree with Peanuts and Winnie the Pooh characters, and an angel tree. There's even a seven-foot tree in an upstairs bedroom that's decorated entirely with Precious Moments.

The biggest tree is 9 1/2 feet tall and sits in the dining room. That's covered in Hallmark collectible ornaments except for the angel at the top.

There are some miniature trees interspersed with the larger ones with ribbons and lights or flowers, birds and berries.

Storage space for all the ornaments is organized for faster decorating and packing. Hoogeveen used to put each ornament in its original box but changed to using bubble wrap after Art spent five hours unpacking Hallmark ornaments for decorating one year.

She shops at craft shows and Hallmark gift shops for most of her ornaments and decorations, but some are also gifts. She finds many good deals at the after-Christmas sales.

"I always try to buy on sale and find a bargain. ... I'm going broke bargain hunting," she said with a laugh.

Because she collects so many name-brand ornaments, it might appear that she has a too-refined taste. But Hoogeveen said she just enjoys Christmas and all the fun that comes with it. She truly likes all the ornaments - even the milkweed pod painted to look like a snowman.

"There are so many unique ornaments. I like them all," she said.

By Lori Ehde
A year ago at this time, the family of former Luverne Baptist Church pastor Tom Mabe had one Christmas wish: that he would live to spend another Christmas with them.

A year later, it appears that wish has been granted.

Mabe, now a pastor at Colony Park Church, Edina, is still recovering from what he calls "the heart episode," but he's in far better shape than he was a year ago at this time.

On Dec. 6, 2000, Mabe collapsed in his Luverne home from an aortic aneurysm that nearly killed him.

At the time, he and his wife, Stephenie, were in the process of moving from Luverne to Edina where they were about to start ministering to a new congregation.

On the night he collapsed he was home alone, and church secretary Rhonda Morris had stopped by the parsonage to pick up a television set her son was interested in fixing.

Doctors say if she hadn't been there to call the ambulance, Mabe wouldn't have survived.

In medical terms, he suffered a "dissecting aortic aneurysm," which means his main aortic valve split open and separated from the lining of his heart.

Because Mabe received prompt medical attention, doctors were able to operate that evening to restore blood flow to his body by bypassing the damaged area.

During the surgery, his heart didn't beat for 21 minutes while machines kept blood and oxygen flowing to his brain.

That was a Wednesday. Thursday was a day to wait and see if the procedure even worked, and by Friday it was clear he'd survived the aneurysm and the surgery. It was a day of hope.

The days and weeks that followed held no guarantees as Mabe's health took little steps forward and big steps backward.

Mabe won't use the word "hell," but he said those days were as close as he could imagine the place to be.

"I'm glad I've forgotten most of it," he said, adding that the ordeal was also hard on Stephenie and other family members as their lives revolved around trips between hospital and home.

He said a compassionate network of friends in Luverne helped them through those dark days.

"I really appreciated the support - the prayers and loving concern they showed us during that time. So many people helped in the process. I can't begin to explain what that meant to us," he said.

"We look back on it and realize if we hadn't had that support ...I don't know if we would have come through. It was extremely draining."

Even after his discharge from the hospital, he was faced with the uphill battle of physical therapy.

"I had wasted away for so long," Mabe said. "I had to learn how to walk again."

It would be months before he could think about work, which he finally started in March.

Operating now at only 75 percent of his previous strength, Mabe said his low endurance limits what he can do.

"All in all, as far as my heart goes, it's beating, but I'm not where I was before. I hit a wall at 10 o'clock at night," he said. "At first, just climbing up the stairs to my office was a major chore."

Mabe said he and Stephenie are adjusting to city life and the challenge of their new congregation.

"We're seeing God work each week in our congregation," he said. "There are a lot of good people here. It'll take God's hand in guiding us to greater growth."

He said visits from Luverne people have helped to ease their separation.

"We love everyone in Luverne and have great memories of our time there," Mabe said.

"We were there for 10 and a half years - longer than anywhere else we've lived - so that's home to us."

The Mabes are planning a return visit to Luverne early next year.