By Sara Quam
The Southwest Regional Development Commission said it will no longer operate the Prairie Expo "in any way, shape or form in the future."

The organization is now asking for $18,000 from Rock County and all the counties that make up the SRDC just to keep its head above water. But the Rock County Board Tuesday said it wasn’t going to give that amount of money to a sinking ship.

It passed a resolution asking for specific questions to be answered before the board would consider giving the RDC an advance against future RDC tax levies. The money is needed just to make next month's payroll. Without the funding, the RDC won't likely survive.

Commissioner Wendell Erickson said, "I hate to see the RDC go under, but we need more information."

The request gave county boards just 15 days to decide whether to invest the $18,000, which the RDC said it would pay back with future levy monies.

Commissioner Jane Wildung said, "The fact that we know nothing and we're supposed to be partners is very disturbing. It is not a private non-profit - it's supposed to be a government partnership."

She said there are major communication problems when the group that is supposed to run the RDC doesn't know what is going on in executive meetings. There has been little evidence that any options for the Prairie Expo building exist.

The city of Worthington is trying to get back 50 acres that it donated for future Expo expansion.

Wildung said that even though local cities and the county didn't give huge amounts to Prairie Expo, their money was used through state taxes, and the public has a right to know what will be done with the building.

Wildung made the motion that no consideration be given for money to the RDC until it explains what will be done with the building, reveals what other debts exist and plans to repay them, and not until it makes efforts for better communication with its members.

The board said it regretted that some talented staff people at the RDC are suffering because of the budget problems.

Energy fees
The board denied a funding request also due to budget overspending.

The Southwest Minnesota Energy Task Force requested that the county prepay $500 of its dues for next year. The advance is for lobbyist fees that went over budget. Lobbyists worked mostly for wind energy support and ran up a $14,000 bill.

Commissioner Ron Boyenga said he thought counties with more vested interest in wind energy should pay more of the lobbying fees on top of their membership dues.

Commissioners Ken Hoime and Erickson voted in favor of the funding that was denied.

Wildung suggested that the task force use the Regional Landfill as a model to use for paying fees and lobbying service charges to members.

Domestic violence
Raevette Loonan, Southwest Crisis Center director, updated the board on some of the programs the agency works on, especially during October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

She talked to the board about engagements at area schools where she tells them that students can do things to keep the peace.

Battered women often come to her for help, but she said children in those families suffer just as greatly.

She said that date rape and dating violence is a problem among teens, and she concentrates on those issues when talking with schools. Statistically 40 Luverne students will be victims of dating violence in the form of destruction of property or verbal abuse, for example.

Loonan said she is thankful for the County Board’s support and likes working with the local judge and attorneys.
She said she gets about two new cases a month and continues with about seven at any given time. "The ones who are angry and ready to leave are the easiest to work with," she said.

In her seven and a half years on the job, language has been a barrier to her services just twice. In both of those cases, an interpreter was available for extra help.

"We continue to work with law enforcement and other agencies so everyone is on the same page," Loonan said.

More than 40 international students converged on Luverne over the weekend for the 12th annual International Student Exchange Thursday through Sunday. Above, one group of students finishes up a tour of the Hinkly House Friday morning with Sister Mariella Hinkly, Luverne (back, far right).

Students pictured are (front, from left) Thiago Fernandos, Brazil; Silvia Fernandez, Spain; Catalina Andrade, Colombia (in sunglasses); Tacyana Benites, Brazil; Rebecca Birrer, Switzerland (in white jacket); Fernanda Nasser, Brazil; Anett Vamos, Hungary; Gustavo Cruz, Brazil; (back, from left) Ann Marie Goh, Thailand (in white); Mar”a-JosŽ Vera, Mexico (with one elbow on lion); Michael Kreiner, Austria (in far back); Mayu Koyanagi, Japan; Ema Stefanova, Macedonia; Ann Scheib, Germany; Anke Borchert, Germany; Tine Leinberger, Germany; Emilie Laarman, France (far back); Juliana Morotelli, Brazil; and Eugenia Logoda, Belarus.

Local families hosted the students for the event, cosponsored by the Luverne Rotary Club and AFS. The also toured the courthouse, Rock County Museum, Carnegie Cultural Center, EROS Data Center, Minnesota Visitors Center, Brandenburg Gallery, Prairie Heights Bison and the Pipestone National Monument. Students attended a football game and dance on Friday night and a hayride and bonfire on Saturday. On Sunday they returned to their respective host families located throughout the tri-state area.

Five-year-old Hailey Hamann takes advantage of falling leaves by forming them into floor plans of her personal fort Tuesday after kindergarten. She later found they also work well for leaf fights with her grandma, Beatrice Hamann. Kids like to play in them, but grownups this year have enjoyed watching the leaves turn from green to brilliant shades of red and orange. Leaf pickup in Luverne starts Monday, and residents are encouraged to have their leaves on the curb by the weekend.

Photo by Lori Ehde

By John Rittenhouse
A smaller band of Patriots competed for Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth at the Rock County Invitational cross country meet staged in Adrian Thursday.

With a varsity volleyball match scheduled in Westbrook that night and the fact that the H-BC-E football team would be playing its biggest game of the season the next night, the other members of both programs decided to skip the meet.

H-BC-E did have representation in three races, but no Patriots ran at the varsity level.
Eight runners competed in the boys' junior varsity race.

Lee Jackson, Nathan Fick and Greg Van Batavia led the way by placing 10th, 11th and 13th in 15:01, 15:15 and 15:18 respectively.

Kale Wiertzema and Derek Haak placed 18th and 29th with respective 15:30 and 16:24 times to cap the team effort.

Nathan Mahone (39th in 16:46), Paul Jess (47th in 17:31) and Jared Drenth (52nd in 17:50) didnÕt influence the team scoring.

Six more boys ran in the junior high race.

Devin DeBoer, Kerry Fink and John Sandbulte cracked the top 10 by finishing fifth, seventh and eighth with respective 6:09, 6:17 and 619 efforts.

Adam Finke and Grant Hoogendoorn placed 16th and 18th in 6:42 and 6:44 to pad the team tally.

Justin Hinks didnÕt contribute to the team effort after placing 27th in 8:11.

H-BC-E's Amanda Tilstra and Kerri Fransman finished sixth and 12th with times of 7:06 and 7:19 as H-BC-E's lone entries in the girls' junior high race.

According to Patriot coach Tom Goehle, running against strong competition helped all of his runners Thursday.

"All of the kids ran as good of times as they have all year or better at this meet. I think running with the bigger schools helped us because it forced us to run harder. As a runner, it's a little bit different perspective when you are chasing people," he said.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek stepped out of the Red Rock Conference to post a volleyball win on the road Monday.

Taking on the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights in Tyler, the Patriots ended a stretch of playing eight of nine matches against RRC foes.

The way things turned out in Tyler, H-BC appreciated playing a match with fewer implications.

The Patriots snapped a tie at one by winning the third and fourth games while posting a 3-1 victory.

"The girls really played well," said Patriot coach Nicole Fey. "We've really been coming around of late. WeÕre starting to play more consistently, which is what we need."

H-BC came out strong against the Knights by recording a 15-8 victory in Game 1, but R-T-R bounced back to even the match at one game each with a 15-6 win in the second tilt.

The Patriots regained their winning form by outscoring the Knights 30-14 in the final two contests.

H-BC rolled to a 15-2 win in the third game before prevailing 15-12 in the finale.

LaDonna Sandstede contributed 20 set assists and 15 service points to H-BCÕs winning cause.

Tonya Leenderts tied Erin Boeve for the team lead with seven digs. Boeve and Leenderts had 17 and six kills respectively. Boeve also charted five ace blocks.

Fey expects to see the Patriots make more progress as the regular season winds down, and she hopes they reach their peak at tournament time.

"I still don't think we've seen our best match of the year yet. We'll be looking for that to come very soon," she concluded.

By John Rittenhouse
A shorthanded Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth cross country team competed at the Dragon Invitational in Adrian Tuesday.

Illness and injuries limited the number of Patriots entered in varsity competition, but H-BC-E did receive some solid efforts from complete boys' junior varsity and boys' junior high squads.

With Nathan Mahone winning an individual championship with a time of 5:50 to lead the way, H-BC-E won the boysÕ junior high team title with 26 points.

Kerry Fink (fourth in 6:05), Devin DeBoer (fifth in 6:09), John Sandbulte (13th in 6:21) and Adam Finke (15th in 6:32) contributed to H-BC-E's team cause.

Justin Hinks placed 33rd in 7:56 without contributing to the team tally.

The boys' junior varsity team placed second to Sioux Falls Washington by a 42-43 margin.

Tyler Bush won the individual crown with a time of 14:27.

Greg Van Batavia (sixth in 15:35), Lee Walraven (seventh in 15:42), Derek Haak (13th in 16:16) and Paul Jess (26th in 17:26) padded the team tally.

Jared Drenth placed 33rd in 17:51 without contributing to the scoring.

Brad Haak and Nathan Fick represented the Patriot boys at the varsity level.

Haak finished second individually with a time of 17:28. Fick was 35th in 19:52.

Stacy Bush placed 20th with a time of 7:48 in the girls' junior high race, and Brittney Rozeboom was second in the girls' junior varsity run with a 17:31 effort.

The Patriots compete at the first Red Rock Conference meet in Slayton Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
In what was expected to be an entertaining game that lived up to its billing, the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots nipped Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster 21-20 in a classic nine-man football game played in Hills Friday.

The clash pitted two teams that were ranked in the top 10 of the state's nine-man poll.

The seventh-ranked Patriots lost what was a nine-advantage earlier in the game when second-ranked SV-RL-B moved in front 20-15 with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

H-BC-E, however, regained the lead at 21-20 with 4:30 left and used an interception in the final seconds to preserve a one-point victory.

According to Patriot coach Dan Ellingson, who couldn't remember the last time H-BC-E won a game as big this one, the victory should improve his team's standing in the state poll.

Not only that, the win should give the Patriots some confidence heading into tomorrow's game against defending state champion Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Westbrook.

"It was a great game," Ellingson admitted. "It was a game that was expected to be close, and it ended up being a one-point game that wasnÕt decided until we intercepted a pass on the second to the last play. It was a big win for us both in the conference race and for the upcoming section seedings."

The contest featured a number of big plays, and SV-RL-B produced two of them early in the first quarter while opening a 6-0 lead.

H-BC-E received the kick to start the game, but what would turn into a big night for Patriot tailback Chris Reid didn't start that way as his fumble on the first play from scrimmage was recovered by the Raiders.

Moments later, SV-RL-B tailback Paul Paplow dashed 35 yards for a touchdown. A failed conversion run followed the touchdown.

The score remained 6-0 until the second quarter, when the Patriots scored 15 straight points to take a nine-point advantage before the intermission.

Chris Tiesler tied the game at six with a four-yard run that capped a long drive early in the second period. Tyler Bush added the extra point to give the Patriots a 7-6 edge.

Reid, who ran the ball 22 times for 230 yards in the game, gained some redemption for his early fumble during H-BC-E's next offensive possession. Displaying his ability to strike from anywhere on the field, Reid dashed through the SV-RL-B defense for a 63-yard touchdown run. Tiesler carried in the conversion to make it a 15-6 game after the touchdown.

According to Ellingson, good blocking from his H-BC-E teammates allowed Reid to terrorize the Raider defense throughout the night.

"We ran the ball very well against them. It seemed like we got a good surge from our offensive line. Reid was able to get past the line of scrimmage and make his cuts down field. Our linemen did a great job, and so did (fullback) Lyle DeBoer with his lead blocks," Ellingson said.

The momentum shifted into SV-RL-B's favor after halftime.

After the teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter, Raider reserve fullback Corey Place rumbled 30 yards for a touchdown to cap his team's second possession of the half. A failed conversion run left the Raiders facing a three-point deficit at 15-12.

Place came up big for the Raiders again when he scored from seven yards away before running in the two-point conversion during the first minute of the fourth quarter to give the Raiders a 20-15 advantage.

H-BC-E, which turned the ball over five times in the game, had a halfback pass intercepted to end the possession following Place's second touchdown run.

The Patriot defense forced the Raiders to punt moments later, giving the H-BC-E offense the ball at its own 33-yard line. From there the Patriots went on a 67-yard, six-play drive that ended with Reid scoring on a 38-yard scamper with 4:30 left to play. A run for a conversion came up short, leaving H-BC-E with a 21-20 edge.

SV-RL-B got the ball back twice in the gameÕs final minutes but couldn't produce the winning points.

The Raiders did advance the ball to the H-BC-E 35 with 23 seconds remaining, but a third-and-13 pass was picked off by Patriot Brad Haak at the five-yard line to secure the victory.

"Our defense played very well," Ellingson said. "They had 62 offensive plays in the game. Other than a couple of big runs, we held them in check. Our linebackers (Curt Schilling, Jesse Leuthold and Reid) had a combined 51 tackles, so they were outstanding. We did a great job of gang-tackling."

The Patriots will need another solid defensive effort tomorrow in Westbrook, where they face a 5-1 Charger team that is on a five-game winning streak.

"They lost their first game of the year to SV-RL-B, but they had a bunch of young kids who were starting for the first time then. They have their starting quarterback coming back from a state championship team. They have a good tailback, a load of a fullback who started at guard for them last season, and the fastest receiver we've faced this year. It will be a big test for us," Ellingson said.

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 302 rushing yards, zero passing yards, 302 total yards, 12 first downs, four penalties for 35 yards, five turnovers.

SV-RL-B: 260 rushing yards, 23 passing yards, 283 total yards, nine first downs, five penalties (yards were unavailable), two turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 22-230, DeBoer 15-63, Tiesler 3-11, David Top 3-minus 2.

Passing: Top 0-5 for zero yards, DeBoer 0-1 for zero yards.

Defense: Schilling 25 tackles, Leuthold 14 tackles, Reid 12 tackles, Kyle Braun 11 tackles, Haak nine tackles and two interceptions, Lee Walraven one sack.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek snapped a two-match losing skid in Red Rock Conference volleyball play by sweeping a three-game match from Southwest Star Concept in Hills Tuesday.

By turning in a sound defensive performance and playing well through all three games, the Patriots showed some positive signs that could lead to some big things when post-season play begins.

"The girls played really well defensively," said H-BC coach Nicole Fey. "We dug up just about all of their hits. We also played three consistent games, and consistency is something we have struggled with this year."

Along with posting a three-game win, the Patriots more than doubled SSCÕs offensive production by outscoring it 45-22 in the match.

The Patriots prevailed 15-10 in Game 1, which proved to be the most competitive match of the night.

H-BC controlled play while notching 15-5 and 15-7 wins in Games 2 and 3 respectively.

Leading the charge for the winners was Erin Boeve with 24 kills and 18 digs.

LaDonna Sandstede recorded 25 set assists in the match.

Jody Rentschler and Tonya Leenderts charted 12 digs each. Leenderts served 16 points to set the pace at the line.

The 8-10 Patriots will try to win their third straight match for the first time this season when they play in Fulda tonight. H-BC hosts Murray County Central Tuesday.

By Jolene Farley
At Monday night's meeting, the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board unanimously ratified the superintendent's contract with Dave Deragisch.

"We have to be kind of proud how the superintendent search went," said board member Alan Harnack. "I think we made a good choice."

The two-and-one-half-year contract allows 20 vacation days, 15 sick days and paid health and dental insurance with 220 work days per year. The contract is effective Jan. 1 and expires June 30, 2004.

Bus replacement
Interim Superintendent Darold Williams advised the board they needed to plan the purchase of one or more new buses, either this year or in the next few years.

Williams provided statistics about the model year, make, mileage and repair bills on each bus in the fleet to the board.

Many buses have high mileage or cost the district an excessive amount in repair bills, Williams said.
The board instructed Williams to begin shopping for a bus to purchase.

"If we are having this much trouble going into winter it's going to continue," said board member Gary Esselink.

Class size concern
Elementary district administrator Jil Vaughn asked the board to consider hiring additional help at the elementary school.

Vaughn recently observed some of the elementary classrooms with higher student numbers and said a lot of teacher time is spent redirecting students.

Board member Ann Boeve said a parent approached her with concerns about class sizes.

The teachers need help during reading, math, language and writing classes in the different grade levels, according to Vaughn.

"In my opinion, that's an administrative call. I'm not there every day," said Board Chair Roland Crawford.

"We need to be good stewards of the fund balance, but we don't want to slip backwards," Williams said.

In other board business:
The board agreed to hire an extracurricular event supervisor at $25 per event.

The event supervisor would prepare money for ticket takers, distribute money for officials and monitor halls.

Ann Boeve was appointed acting School Board clerk, taking over duties for Dave Roozenboom while he is hospitalized and during his recovery.

The board canceled meetings scheduled for Monday, Oct. 22, and Monday, Nov. 12. The board will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. to canvass the School Board election.