City workers and members of the Rock County Sheriff's Department were at the accident scene Monday just after the ambulance left with injured Phillip Kramer. Law enforcement officers took pictures of the scene and city workers checked equipment.

By Sara Quam
A Monday morning electrical accident in Luverne left a man in the hospital and parts of town without power.

Just before 10 a.m. Phillip Kramer, 21, of Fulda Electric came into contact with high voltage at the west substation in Luverne.

He was injured and transferred by air ambulance to Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls. Kramer is now in the Regions Burn Center, St. Paul, where his condition was fair Wednesday.

At the time, Kramer and two co-workers were doing work on the city of Luverne's electrical upgrading project that involves computerized data-gathering equipment.

Parts of town experienced a power surge at the time of the accident. South Luverne, though, was out of power for an hour and a half.

According to City Attorney Don Klosterbuer, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating Monday’s incident and the city of Luverne is doing its own investigation.

Another electrical accident on city property Oct. 20 ended in death for an out-of-town cable worker. OSHA is investigating it and hasn’t issued any citations.

A report on those findings will be issued in the next couple of weeks.

City Utilities Director Red Arndt was unavailable for comment Monday through Wednesday.

Pam Christensen's first-grade class is the featured Luverne Elementary School Class of the Week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Wyatt Aubert, Ethan Johnson, Austin Maxwell, Jacob Guy, (middle row) Joshua Friedrichsen, Thomas Graff, Jordan Stegenga, Matthew Overgaard, Megan Petersen, Nicole Hoff, (standing) Mrs. Christensen, Elijah Dooyema, Derek Van Wettering, Brenton Richters, Kaitlin Wohnoutka, Presley Akkerman and Mrs. Sharon Lais. Missing from the picture is Alexandra Schmitgen.

Mrs. Christensen's first-graders are busy writing Christmas stories and are excited about making reindeer ornaments. They are learning about our world by studying neighborhoods, communities, the United States, and earth. In math they are finding combinations of numbers up to about 15, reading, writing and sequencing numbers to 100, and counting quantities up to 40. "These first-graders continue to improve in reading and writing through daily practice," Christensen said.

Lexy and Adam Kindt portray Mary and Joseph for Hardwick's Zion Lutheran Church float.

Photo by Sara Quam

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's first appearance at the Red Rock Conference Cross County Meet proved to be a rewarding experience for the Patriots.

H-BC-E won three boys' team titles and five varsity runners made the All-RRC Team based on their performances during the meet.

"Any way you look at it, it was a great day for our kids," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "Both our boys and girls ran well. They were really excited (about their performances), and they should be."

The top 10 individuals in varsity competition make the All-RRC team, and Brittney Rozeboom made it for the Patriot girls. Rozeboom placed 10th in 17:35 as H-BC-E's lone entry in the race.

Four Patriot boys made the All-RRC squad for an H-BC-E team that ran away with the team championship with 27 points.

Adrian (62 points), Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin (64) and Southwest Star Concept-Sioux Valley Round Lake-Brewster (73) capped the field.

Brad Haak, Tyler Bush, Greg Van Batavia and Kale Wiertzema ran their way onto the All-RRC roster. Haak was first in 17:07, Bush fifth in 18:13, Van Batavia sixth in 18:31 and Wiertzema eighth in 18:47.

Nathan Fick placed 13th in 19:05 to round out the team scoring for H-BC-E.

Matt Buck and Lee Walraven placed 15th and 19th in 19:30 and 19:53 without contributing to the team effort.

Top 10 performances by Nathan Mahone, Derek Haak, Paul Jess and Jared Drenth lifted the H-BC-E boys to a team title (15 points overall) in the junior varsity race.

Mahone and Haak placed first and second with 15:45 and 15:55 times, while Jess and Drenth placed fifth and seventh in 17:25 and 18:00.

Justin Hinks capped the team scoring by placing 11th in 21:09.

The Patriots won the boys' junior high team crown with 29 counters.

Devin DeBoer, Kerry Fink, John Sandbulte and Adam Finke led the way by placing second in 6:36, fourth in 6:41, sixth in 6:45 and ninth in 6:59 respectively.

Grant Hoogendoorn placed 14th in 7:17 to pad H-BC-E's team tally.

Blake Crawford finished 20th in 9:03 without influencing the scoring.

H-BC-E's Stacy Bush placed seventh in the girls' junior high race in 8:11, while Becky Broesder was second in the girlsÕ junior varsity event with a time of 16:08.

H-BC-E will field complete varsity teams for the Section 3A Championships set for Thursday, Oct. 25, in Tracy. The girls' race begins at 4:30 p.m., with the boys' race to follow.

By John Rittenhouse
A season-long three-game winning streak came to an end for the Hills-Beaver Creek volleyball team when it dropped a three-game home match to Murray County Central Tuesday.

The streak reached three consecutive wins with a five-game victory over Fulda on the road Thursday.

H-BC, 9-11 overall, will end the regular season by competing at the Southwest State University Invitational Tournament in Marshall tomorrow and Saturday.

MCC 3, H-BC 0
The Patriots couldn't keep the momentum rolling when they hosted the Rebels Tuesday.

Plagued by receiving problems throughout the match, H-BC never clicked offensively while dropping 15-4, 15-12 and 15-12 decisions.

"Our serve receive was not good at all," said Patriot coach Nicole Fey. "We were not able to pass the ball well because of our receiving problems, so we never really got into our offense."

Jody Rentschler charted 14 digs for the Patriots. Erin Boeve led the way with 12 kills.

H-BC 3, Fulda 2
An impressive rally by the Patriots gave them a five-game road victory in Fulda Thursday.

After dropping the first two games of the match to the Raiders, H-BC responded by posting three straight wins to steal the match from Fulda.

According to Patriot coach Fey, the difference of winning and losing games in Fulda came down to the mental approach of her players.

"In the first two games we just didn't play very smart volleyball. In the last three games we started to read their defense and take what they were giving us. We played smarter volleyball in the last three games," she said.

After losing the first game 15-5, H-BC raced to an 11-2 lead in Game 2 before the Raiders went on a 13-0 run to prevail 15-11.

The Patriots trailed by three points early in the third game before snapping a tie at 11 with a 4-1 surge that capped a 15-11 win and ignited H-BC's comeback.

H-BC won Game 4 by a 15-8 margin before racing to a 10-0 lead that led to a 15-5 win in the finale.

Erin Boeve led the Patriots with 31 kills and 17 digs, while LaDonna Sandstede recorded 19 set assists. Tonya Leenderts completed all 35 of her serves and scored 26 points.

Eight seniors will lead the Hills-Beaver Creek High School boys' basketball team into battle during the 2001-02 season. Front row, left to right, are: Matt Buck, Randy Krull and David Top. Back row: Justin Van Maanen, Darin DeBoer, Lyle DeBoer, Brad Haak and Paul Jess.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys have the ingredients to develop into a good basketball team this season.

The Patriots, who are coming off an 8-15 campaign, possess many ingredients needed to be successful on the court.

Topping the list of positives is experience. H-BC has five players who drew starting assignments for the 2000-01 team returning to the ranks and two other letter winners who picked up playing time in a reserve role.

With three players 6-3 or taller, the 2001-02 Patriots will have the size to create match-up problems for future opponents. Add in athleticism that appears in the form of quickness, and H-BC has a list of strengths that creates optimism for the upcoming season.

Experience, athletic ability and a physical presence are qualities that most area coaches would love to have in their teams. According to Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema, this H-BC team has something else that makes it special.

"What I like about this group is the intensity they have been practicing with. If we can play with the same intensity in games, it will be a plus.," he said.

"Other things I like about this team are our experience and size," Wiertzema continued. "The kids have played a lot of basketball, and it's always good to have experience. We also have pretty good size and quickness."

A combination of H-BC's strengths has made the Patriots a team area coaches will not take lightly after a rough 2000-01 season.

With a 7-14 regular season, which included a 1-3 record and a third-place finish in the Tri-County Conference, the Patriots drew a less-than-impressive eighth seed for the South Section 3A Tournament.

What the seeding didn't reveal was H-BC was a team on the rise at seasonÕs end, and that was evident when it sported a fourth-quarter lead over eventual state champion Southwest Christian before falling 52-42 in the quarterfinals of the post-season event.

The Patriots did lose two key players from the 2000-01 team, and they will have to find a way to replace graduates Lance Crawford and Chris Fransman.

Crawford was a post who led H-BC in rebounding while locking up a spot on the All-T-CC roster during his senior year. Fransman, an outstanding jumper as a forward, also started at times for a Patriot team that did not feature a set starting five last year.

Wiertzema's decision not to establish a regular starting five last winter should pay dividends this season. H-BC will have five players with starting experience and seven letter winners coming back to a team with a pre-season roster consisting of eight seniors, three juniors and one sophomore.

"We'll be trying to play most of our kids to start the year just to see where we are at," Wiertzema said. "Obviously, the returning letter winners will be playing. We'll also give our seniors the first shot to play their way in or out of our lineup."

Six of the eight seniors on the roster played varsity basketball last season, and five of them did start at times.

Matt Buck, a 6-5 post, is the most experienced senior. He earned a spot in H-BC's starting five late in his sophomore season and has become a go-to player ever since. Buck made the All-T-CC team as a junior.

Seniors David Top and Brad Haak bring added size to the floor along with past starting experience.

Top and Haak are 6-4 and 6-3 wings respectively.

Darin and Lyle DeBoer are the other seniors who started for the Patriots in 2000-01.

Darin DeBoer is a 6-1 point-guard, and Lyle DeBoer is a 6-1 wing.

Senior Justin Van Maanen and sophomore Trey Van Wyhe are the other experienced players on H-BC's roster.

Van Maanen is a 5-10 wing and Van Wyhe a 6-2 post for a Patriot team that should be able to challenge opponents a lot of different plays.

"We'll look to push the ball some, but we won't be a true fast-break team," Wiertzema said.

"Our size will allow us to set up in a half-court offense and create some mismatches we hope to take advantage of. Our overall depth will allow us to play at a higher tempo. Man-to-man will be our base defense, but weÕll also do some zone pressing and playing some half-court zone defenses because our size will created problems for some teams."

Seniors Paul Jess and Randy Krull will be given an opportunity to add to H-BC's depth this season.
Jess is a 5-8 guard and Krull a 6-1 post.

Juniors Tyson Metzger, Clint Roozenboom and Jesse Leuthold round out the pre-season roster.

Metzger is a 6-1 guard, Roozenboom a 6-2 wing and Leuthold a 6-0 post.

Wiertzema is looking forward to playing in the Red Rock Conference this season, which H-BC joined when the T-CC disbanded last season.

Instead of playing four conference games last year, H-BC will play 15 league tilts in the 2001-02 season.

"That will be fun. We'll be playing a bunch of new teams, and there will be some great competition," Wiertzema said.

Not knowing the teams H-BC will be facing keeps the Patriot coach from establishing win-loss goals for the season. Wiertzema, however, thinks H-BC will be a team that gets better as the season progresses.

"We'll get better as the year goes on, because of the length of the football season and the fact we still donÕt have our basketball legs yet. We have some kids nicked up, so we've only been practicing once a day rather than twice a day in past years. I think we're going to have a good year playing an exciting brand of basketball," he concluded.

The Patriots open the season by hosting Ellsworth tonight.

By John Rittenhouse
A Hills-Beaver Creek High School athlete will be a member of the Luverne-H-BC gymnastics program this winter.

Angie Bush, an H-BC junior, was in attendance at the team's pre-season practice sessions that started Nov. 12.

A member of the H-BC volleyball program this fall, Bush is expected to compete in three events during her third year as a member of the gymnastics program.

The balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercises are the events Bush is expected to participate in.

She will see action at the junior varsity level to start the season, which has the look of becoming a good one for the L-H-BC team.

"We have a lot of younger girls this year, and we also have a lot of talent," said Cardinal coach Phoebe Flom. "We have a lot of potential overall."

L-H-BC is coming off a 6-6 2000-01 campaign that ended with the Cardinals placing sixth as a team in the Section 3A meet.

Allana Gacke, who set a program scoring record in all-around competition during a meet last season, was a key member of the team who was lost to graduation last spring. Gacke drew honorable mention from the Southwest Conference coaches at the end of the season.

L-H-BC has six varsity letter winners returning to the program this season.

Senior Amanda Aning, junior Gabe Van Dyk and sophomores Callen Bosshart and Amanda Dooyema are all-around competitors expected to lead the 2001-02 team.

Senior Jessica Mann and freshman Cassie Pap are varsity candidates who also lettered last winter.

The L-H-BC squad opens the season in St. Peter tonight.

By Jolene Farley
Many Rock County farmers have "surfed the net" this week visiting the Web site ewg.org.

Earlier this month, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group listed the amount of every farm program payment made over the last five years, organized by state, county and producer on the database.

Since then, farmers have had plenty to say about the information. Many complain the numbers are misleading

"I don't have a problem with it being printed, but I wish people would understand it isnÕt all profit," said Beaver Creek farmer Roland Crawford.

"They all see that and say, 'h, they are making a whole lot of money.' It isn't like we made a whole bunch and they are giving us that on top."

He said accepting subsidies is a necessary evil. "If we would get paid so we could make a living ... With commodity prices so low there has to be some incentive to keep going."

The average return per acre in south central Minnesota without government payments was a negative $62.04 per acre for corn and a positive $1.60 per acre for soybeans, according to information provided by Extension Educator Kent Thiesse.

Hills farmer Gary Esselink said subsidies have become part of doing business. "There are payments, yes, but it all balances out with the low commodity prices," he said.

Esselink said commodities are a safety net for farmers. In his opinion, when the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act or the "Freedom to Farm Bill" was enacted the government never expected the prices to go so low, but overproduction and a strong dollar on foreign markets sent demand and prices plummeting.

"It's a tough call. The government wants cheap food for the consumer. If they are going to do that they are going to have to help us out some," Esselink said.

"It's frustrating. Any farmer you talk to about this says this is not the way they want to farm. They would rather have corn at $3 per bushel and beans at $7 to $8 per bushel."

Beaver Creek farmer LeRoy Kellenberger said he is paid the same price for his crops as he was paid 30 years ago, while his expenses have increased by three-quarters. He said without government subsidies he wouldn't be in business.

"Do I feel good about it? No, I don't. But that's the price farmers have to pay," he said. "We just can't operate on $1.50 corn; that's what we got 30 years ago. It just isn't a gift. Most farmers would just as soon have the price."

Who are the top 10 percent?
The preliminary results of EWG's analysis of 2000 USDA farm subsidy payments indicated that two-thirds of the $27 billion paid out in federal farm subsidies last year went to 10 percent of the nation's farmers.

Thiesse points out the percentages can be very misleading unless that factor is accounted for.

He said the "highest 10 percent of farm program recipients" in most counties are family-based and operated by persons who live in their communities, support their local businesses, attend their schools and churches and serve many leadership roles.

Kellenberger agreed, "When you look at the dollars spent in Rock County (on subsidies), farmers turn around and spend that money. It goes right back into the system."

More complicated than numbers indicate
Thiesse said payments for "market loss assistance" and "oilseed" have been added in the last three years of this study (1998-2000), and again in 2001, to offset low commodity prices and reduced farm incomes.

The Loan Deficiency Payments or LDP's and "non-recourse" marketing loans were established to encourage farmers to market grain, even when it was below CCC loan rate.

Continued low commodity prices for the past two years led to the large amounts of payments listed for LDP's and gains in marketing loans on the database, according to Thiesse.

Because these payments are based on the county loan rate, for the most part, these payments should not be considered as payments that usually enhance net income.

"It (the database) makes the farmer look like he is getting a handout from the government," when what farmers really want, according to Steen farmer Alan Baker, is a fair price.

"They should put an explanation why we get that (the payments) and how we get that. What it's based on, how we get the farm program payments," said Baker.

"We all need each other. We are all just a link in the puzzle, but unfortunately we all like to fight each other."

Public's right to know vs. farmers' rights to privacy
Most Rock County farmers have found their own names and possibly the names of their neighbors and the amount of farm subsidies received on the site. All have an opinion on the availability of such information, and it is not favorable.

"It is federal money. There is other federal money spent and I feel it all should be printed," said Crawford.

"Do they publish what doctors get from Medicare, the government?" asked Kellenberger.

Many wonder how the USDA information was available to place on the Web site to begin with and if any data privacy policies were violated.

The Web site information was obtained by EWG through the Freedom of Information Act, according to their Web site. The data was made public as a result of a 1996 lawsuit won by the Washington Post. A federal judge ordered the United States Department of Agriculture to open its records to the public.

By Jolene Farley
Santa Claus is coming to town Saturday, Dec. 15, but his visit will not coincide with Hills Appreciation Day this year.

For more than 10 years, Hills merchants have served an appreciation lunch to thank customers for their business throughout the year.

This year, Hills Development Corporation has decided to discontinue the yearly event due to a dwindling number of people attending. A lack of retail businesses on Main Street was also a contributing factor, according to Hills Development Corporation representative Bob Hanson.

In previous years, merchants contributed money to sponsor the event and many volunteered to work. Hills merchants have mixed feelings about the decision not to have appreciation day.

"I guess we would like to see it," said Hills Product and Design owner Jeff Bass. "If we had our way we would definitely have it."

"It was kind of slow (last year), but the weather was nice. Maybe it would be better to do it in the evening," said Hills Product and Design manager Amanda Rozeboom.

Another business owner said she could understand why the event wasn't going to be held this year. The last few years, she said it "seemed like not too many people were around." She also said it was usually a limited number of people who did the work.

Some merchants will have their own holiday or customer appreciation open houses for their customers.