By John Rittenhouse
Serve receiving problems led to a less-than-successful appearance for Hills-Beaver Creek at the Central Lyon Volleyball Tournament played in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Saturday.

After placing second in the 2000 version of the event, H-BC was hoping to build some momentum for the rest of the season at Saturday's attraction.

The Patriots, however, went 1-4 at the six-team, round-robin event. H-BC ended up placing fifth overall.

It looked like it might be the Patriots' day when they stormed to 15-4 and 15-12 wins over Ellsworth to open the tournament.

The way things turned out, that would be the highlight of the day as H-BC lost consecutive matches to West Lyon, West Sioux, Sheldon and Central Lyon.

"We played extremely well in the first match," said H-BC coach Nicole Fey. "After that, things fell apart for us. Our serve receive really hurt us. We couldn’t do it because we were not moving to the ball like we normally do. Our serve receive didn't allow us to get our offense going."

The Patriots played well enough to beat WL 15-11 in the first game of the second match, but the Lions won the battle with 15-12 and 15-9 victories in Games 2 and 3.

The losses to WL ignited what turned into an eight-game losing streak for the Patriots as they fell to WS by 15-6 and 15-9 tallies, they lost to Sheldon by 15-6 and 15-1 counts, and fell by 15-7 and 15-5 counts to CL.

Melinda Sandestede fueled H-BC's attack at the net by recording 39 set assists for the tournament.

Erin Boeve and Brittney Olson took advantage of the sets by recording 31 and 11 kills respectively.

Boeve and Tonya Leenderts, who led H-BC with 21 digs for the day, both went 34 of 36 in serving.

Hills-Beaver Creek sophomore setter Melinda Sandstede (11) tips the ball over the net during Thursday's Red Rock Conference volleyball match against Comfrey in Hills. Sandstede contributed 28 set assists to H-BC's cause during a 3-1 win.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek volleyball team posted a come-from-behind victory in its first Red Rock Conference match Thursday in Hills.

Hosting Comfrey in its RRC debut after years of playing in the Tri-County Conference, H-BC made a good impression by besting the Rockets 3-1.

The Patriots struggled while falling 15-13 in Game 1, but they bounced back to play well while notching 15-8, 15-2 and 15-8 wins the rest of the night.

"We couldn't get our serves in and we were not moving well in the first game," said Patriot coach Nicole Fey. "The girls really picked it up after that and played more like themselves. We served 100 percent in the second game, and our passing was great. I really was impressed with our passing."

H-BC quickly erased the memories of a Game 1 loss by going on a 9-1 run to start the second game.

Tonya Leenderts, who was 21 of 24 serving with 16 points in the match, served three aces and another point to start the second game. Two kills by Erin Boeve and another by Jana Hup, and a service ace and another point by Melinda Sandstede gave the Patriots a 9-1 cushion.

The difference still was at eight points (12-4) when Comfrey recorded four consecutive counters to trail 12-8, but Angie Sjaarda served a pair of points before Leenderts recorded a kill that sealed a 15-8 H-BC win.

Game 3 was tied at one when the Patriots went on a 10-0 run featuring three kills and a service point by Boeve, one kill by Olson, three ace serves by Leenderts and a kill and a block by Hup to make it an 11-1 game.

After Comfrey ended the run, Hup served two aces, Olson added another and Boeve provided a block to clinch a 15-2 H-BC win.

Comfrey led 5-4 early in the fourth game before the Patriots scored seven straight points (an ace serve and two points by Boeve, two points by Sandstede and one kill each from Olson and Sjaarda) to gain an 11-5 advantage.

The Rockets closed the gap to four points (11-7) when H-BC went on a 4-1 run to ice a 15-8 victory. Boeve had two kills in the final run, while Sjaarda and Leenderts served one point each.

H-BC had an 8-5 lead in Game 1 and led 11-10 after Sjaarda produced a kill, but the Rockets scored the next four points to gain a 14-11 lead. A point and an ace served by Sjaarda made it a 14-13 game, but the Rockets scored the final point in a 15-13 win.

Sjaarda was 13 of 14 serving with 10 points.

Sandstede recorded 28 set assists in the match, helping Boeve, Hup and Olson register 23-, eight- and five-kill matches respectively. Boeve had five ace blocks for the winners.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth engaged Southwest Star Concept in a Southwest Ridge Conference football shootout in Heron Lake Friday.

In a game that featured 623 yards worth of offense and 83 points, the Patriots ended up on the winning end of a 55-28 decision that served as the 2001 conference opener for both teams.

It seemed as if the defenses of both teams took the night off as 43 points were scored in the first half and 40 were tallied in the second half.

When it came to offense, or big plays in other areas of the game, both teams came up with their share.

"It was a wild game," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "Everyone was scoring in a lot of different ways. It seemed like when we were on the verge of going up by three touchdowns, they would come up with a score of their own. They did a good job of keeping things close."

The Patriots never had a comfortable lead until late in the third quarter, when they embarked on a 22-6 scoring run to put the game out of reach.

Before H-BC-E's late run, the Quasars did their best to keep the game interesting.

The Patriots gained the upper hand on SSC by scoring 13 unanswered points in the game's first quarter.

After being stopped during their first offensive possession, the Patriots put the ball in the end zone during their second and third possessions.

Chris Reid, who ran the ball for 188 yards and three touchdowns, opened the scoring with a four-yard run. Tyler BushÕs extra point made it a 7-0 game.

Jesse Leuthold, who ran the ball for 79 yards in the contest, added a one-yard burst before the second quarter was complete. The ensuing extra-point attempt failed.

SSC trimmed the difference to 11 points (27-16) by halftime when it outscored the Patriots 16-14 in the second quarter.

A six-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Leopold to Isaiah Rogers, followed by a Leopold-to-Jeremy Updike conversion pass, pulled the Quasars to within five points (13-8) of H-BC-E in the second quarter, but H-BC-E increased its lead to 13 points (21-8) when Reid scored on a three-yard run. A successful David Top-to-Brad Haak pass followed ReidÕs second touchdown of the game.

The score remained 21-8 until late in the second quarter, when the Top-to-Haak combination, which clicked five times for 87 yards in the game, produced a 48-yard touchdown pass that was followed by a missed extra point.

Not to be outdone, SSC's Leopold fielded the ensuing kickoff and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. Rogers ran in the conversion to make it a 27-16 game at the intermission.

The teams came up with key turnovers while exchanging touchdowns to open the second half.

After H-BC-E's Darin DeBoer recovered a fumble deep in SSC territory early in the third quarter, he found himself on the receiving end of a 15-yard touchdown pass from Top on the next play. A failed conversion run left the Patriots sporting a 33-16 lead.

The Patriot defense forced SSC to punt as the period progressed, but H-BC-E never did get the ball. SSCÕs Updike ripped the ball out of the hands of H-BC-E's return man and ran 23 yards for a touchdown. A failed conversion run left H-BC-E with a 33-22 cushion.

Any momentum SSC gained from Updike's big play vanished when the Patriots scored the next two touchdowns to open a 47-22 lead.

Chris Tiesler scored on a 13-yard run and Kevin Van Batavia carried in a two-point conversion when the Patriots made it a 41-22 game before the third quarter was complete.

Reid capped his three-touchdown game with a 47-yard sprint to make it a 25-point difference early in the fourth quarter.

SSC's Rogers scored on a one-yard run to trim the difference to 19 points (47-28) as the period progressed, but Patriot Dusty Seachris capped the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point conversion jaunt to make it a 27-point difference in the end.

"This was a good game for us because we got to use our reserves. Everyone who could play did," Ellingson said.

The 2-0 Patriots play 0-2 Lake Benton for EllsworthÕs homecoming game in Ellsworth tomorrow.

The Bobcats are coming off a 37-0 loss to Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in their SRC opener.

"Lake Benton was a team that was playing well at the end of last season, but they are 0-2 this year. They lost a lot of seniors from last yearÕs team, and their numbers are down from last season," Ellingson said.

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 307 rushing yards, 144 passing yards, 451 total yards, 12 first downs, seven penalties for 70 yards, five turnovers.

SSC: 55 rushing yards, 117 passing yards, 172 total yards, nine first downs, seven penalties for 65 yards, three turnovers.

Individual statistics
Reid 14-188, Leuthold 12-79, Seachris 3-22, Van Batavia 2-7, Tiesler 1-13, Clint Roozenboom 1-minus one, Top 1-minus 1.

Passing: Top 9-11 for 144 yards, Curt Schilling 0-1 for zero yards.

Receiving: Haak 5-87, DeBoer 2-57, Reid 1-7, Leuthold 1-minus seven.

Defense: Schilling 13 tackles, Leuthold 11 tackles, Haak eight tackles and one interception, Reid seven tackles and one interception, Van Batavia two sacks, Brant Deutsch two sacks, Kyle Braun seven tackles and one sack, Matt Buck one sack, DeBoer one dumble recovery.

By Jolene Farley
Discussion continued at the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board meeting Monday night on the locker room project at Hills-Beaver Creek High School.

"Before we proceed I want to make sure we have the money sitting there," said board member Lloyd DeBoer. DeBoer added he wanted to see more than one plan for the project.

The board voted unanimously at the March 12 meeting to retain the services of Group II Architects, Sioux Falls. Although the firm provided a rough cost estimate to the district for no fee, no further work will be done without direction from the School Board.

At the July 16 meeting the board was advised by Superintendent Tom Knoll that the $200,000 previously earmarked for the project would likely not be enough. Knoll said plumbing costs added tremendously to the cost of the project. The board tabled the issue until all board members were present.

Knoll began the application process for a $150,000 Health and Safety Levy for the district.

Funds generated from the Health and Safety Levy could be used for the locker room project because current locker rooms are below grade and are not handicap accessible, according to Interim Superintendent Darold Williams

He cautioned the board about using the $200,000 in general fund money.

"Do you want to use general fund money when enrollment could decline? Once the fund is down low it is really tough to build back," Williams said.

Board member Gary Esselink suggested checking into ways to continue using the existing locker room facilities for the younger athletes.

"You want it functional," Esselink said. "We should be looking for something bare bones."

According to board member Ann Boeve, the biggest problem with the existing locker rooms are the showers have limited water pressure or donÕt work and the rooms are dark and donÕt dry well.

"I donÕt care to see it die," said Boeve. "We need to see what our options are."

Williams suggested calling the state to determine if other Minnesota schools have completed similar projects. If so, these districts could be contacted for cost information. He said a construction management company could also help.

"Why can't we do it locally?" asked Boeve. "I don't think anyone is looking for fancy here."

H-BC staff should have input on the project, according to Williams. "They'd have an idea what would work most effectively."

The board indicated at the Monday meeting the district would likely be unable to afford the proposed fitness center without additional outside funding.

Grounded flights
All airlines nationwide were grounded following the four hijackings and subsequent terrorist crashes.
In Luverne, that meant local travel agents weren't booking flights.

"We have been extremely slow today. Nobody wants to fly or even think about flying," said Stacy Mente at Roundwind Travel.

"I've just been concentrating on who I have flying now and figuring out how to get them to their destinations."

Sue Hoffman at Great Planes Travel, Luverne, helped Luverne residents Tom and Sandy Klein arrange for a rental car to drive home.

The Kleins were returning home from San Antonio when their flight was grounded in Kansas City Tuesday morning.

"It was pretty scary," Sandy told the Star Herald when they returned home Tuesday night.

"Our flight left San Antonio at 7:15 like it was supposed to, and an hour and a half later, the captain came on and said there had been a national emergency, and they were advised by the FAA that all planes needed to land at the nearest airport.

"The nearest airport was Kansas City, so we were diverted there.

"You could see out the window other planes circling around waiting to land, and we were pretty lucky because we were one of the first to land."

Klein said heightened security at the airport was very obvious, and police squad cars manned all entrances and exits.

She said they stood in line for two hours waiting for a rental car, and the only reason they got one was because they called Roundwind in Luverne to have one reserved.

Despite the long waits for luggage and rental cars, she said no one complained. "Everyone was so happy to be on the ground, knowing what was going on."

She said people were working together to carpool to get everyone home. In fact, the Kleins carpooled with a man from Minneapolis, who took the rental vehicle on with him after they retrieved their van in Sioux Falls.

At the Sioux Falls airport, she said the entrance was blocked and they had to persuade the police officer to let them get their vehicle.

"We're going to wake up tomorrow and it's going to seem like such a dream," Klein said.

She added that all their hassles in getting home seemed like a small price to pay, considering all the families mourning for victims on the East Coast.

Local effects
The East Coast terrorism was felt across the country as major centers of population were shut down, including the Mall of America in Bloomington and the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls.

Hardwick native Deb (Bruynes) Fick works for the Minnesota Department of Transportation building in St. Paul.

She e-mailed her sister, Sue Bruynes, Tuesday, about how the East Coast terrorism has affected the State Capitol.

"I can't believe there is another terrorist attack," she wrote. "Always makes me a little nervous to be working in a government building right by the Capitol!"

She and her co-workers spent much of the day Tuesday in a security lockdown with no access to current news via television or radio.

"All of our offices have been locked to the outside world, and security has been called in to all entrance points," she said via e-mail.

"Visitors are not allowed unless they are escorted by a Minnesota Department of Transportation employee."

In Rock County, schools and government offices were open as usual.

According to a spokesperson with the Minnesota National Guard, heightened security had been ordered at training and community centers around the state, but Army and Air Force Guard members were not placed on special notice as of Tuesday.

A prayer service, organized by the Rock County Ministerial Association, was Tuesday night in the Christian Reformed Church, Luverne.

By Lori Ehde
Tuesday dawned sunny and peaceful in Rock County, but news of the East Coast terrorist attacks quickly hit home for many local residents.

In what is being called the most deadly attack against the United States, hijackers crashed two commercial planes into the World Trade Center Tuesday morning. Within the same hour, another dived into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed outside of Pittsburgh.

Hills-Beaver Creek graduates Chris Fagerness and Matt Ebert are roommates in Washington, D.C., and contacted their parents in Hills after the terrorist attacks.

Their apartment is less than a mile from the Pentagon, and they spent a good share of their morning trying to get home - mostly on foot.

They spent much of the rest of the day watching television and viewing the destruction from the observation deck of their building.

They figured the terrorists had flown the hijacked plane directly over their apartment building before crashing it into the Pentagon.

"Even from my bedroom window I can see smoke pouring out of a gaping hole in the building," said Fagerness, son of Steve and Joan Fagerness. He is an assistant athletic trainer for a Washington, D.C., school that evacuated.

Ebert is a paralegal in the Justice Department. To get to work, he gets off the subway at the Pentagon. "It's freaky, because I was just in the Pentagon about an hour before the plane crashed into it."

Ebert, son of Gregg and Cyndi Ebert, described the scene as something he'd seen in the movie, "Independence Day."

"Cars were honking, people were scrambling to get out of the area and sirens were going," he said.

"It's tense, but it's remarkable how organized the chaos is. If this had happened in another country it'd be far worse, but here you can tell people are working together. All things considered, people are responding well to it."

Luverne graduate ordered to evacuate Senate building
Luverne High School grad Eric Steinhoff had been interning in Sen. Tom Daschle's office for only a week Tuesday when he was ordered to evacuate the Senate Office Building.

"When the planes hit the towers, that was bad, but it was still in New York. But then the Pentagon was hit, and they said, 'That's it. Everybody's clearing out,'" said Steinhoff, son of Dave and Joann Steinhoff, Luverne.

"We're a mile from the Pentagon, but our building is right across from the Capitol. Even before the Pentagon was attacked, a lot of people in our office were worried, because we knew if it was going to happen, this is where it's going to be."

He said it took him a long time to get home because traffic was gridlocked. He said it was equally as difficult to let his parents know he was OK because phone lines jammed.

"This is a tragic event, but it's pretty amazing being here," Steinhoff said. "I'm used to watching this stuff on TV, but now I'm here."

He said the city had been declared under a state of emergency, and as he spoke on the phone from his apartment, he could hear police sirens and see helicopters and military aircraft circling in the sky.

"I'm glad to be out of there," Steinhoff said of the evacuation from his office. "It's pretty traumatic. We left in such a hurry. You feel so vulnerable, too, because there's nothing you can do about it. It's American planes taken over and crashed."

Accounting for family
Luverne's Bill and Esther Beimers were among millions of Americans watching the horrific events unfold on television.

Their son, Tom, works and lives in Washington, D.C., and their other son, David, and his family were flying home to St. Paul from Maine that morning.

Fortunately, Tom called them soon after the news broke on major networks.

Tom, a 1987 LHS grad, was on his way to work Tuesday morning when he heard the news about the Trade Center terrorism.

"He was about to get on a bus to his downtown law office on Pennsylvania Avenue when he decided to take a cab instead," Bill said.

"They were stopped at a stoplight and he said there was a terrific explosion on the mall, and both he and the cab driver decided not to get closer. They turned the cab around and now Tom is at home."

Bill said Tom was close enough to see and feel the explosion, but he didn't see what caused it.

"He said there was low flying military aircraft in the area, but he didn't know if there was a crash or a bomb," Bill said.

Later that evening, Bill and Esther finally heard from David and Sarah, who were supposed to have departed from the Portland airport Wednesday.

They were traveling with their 4-year-old twin boys and infant daughter. Their flight remained canceled as of Wednesday.

By Lori Ehde
Under the threat of drastic price increases, local motorists lined up at the pumps Tuesday night to stock up on gasoline.

According to Rock County Co-op Oil Manager Jim Jellema, consumers overreacted to premature reports of shortages and price hikes.

He said it's true that prices in some parts of the country increased over the $5 mark, but that was where supplies had actually decreased due to panic buying.

"Everyone got excited thinking there was going to be a problem [as a result of the terrorism], so everyone started purchasing in fear of high prices," Jellema said.

"This created shortages at the pipelines, but that's about to be alleviated if they can just hang in there with us."

Regional media warned motorists that prices could be over $3 per gallon as early as Wednesday morning, so that's what prompted panic buying in Luverne Tuesday night.

In reality, local supplies were able to handle the extra business, so prices remained unchanged Wednesday.

Jellema said he purchased a load at 14 cents higher to handle the additional demand, so his pumps will reflect a slight increase for that load. The same may be true for other local gas stations if they were forced to buy at the increased price.

He said prices nationwide are likely to level off within a week once the pipelines have restored supplies.

The Great Plains Oliver Club sponsored Plow Day on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Bill Kroon farm near Steen. Collectors from South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa participated with 10 Oliver tractors plowing and 48 people attending. The event is a chance to "travel back in time," according to Bill Kroon. "Not many people plow anymore," he said. "It was an opportunity to get people together and play in the dirt." Vicki Bennet and Jason Kroon help Bruce, Vicki's husband, plow a straight line. Vicki is Bill Kroon's niece visiting from Boston, Mass.

Charlotte Marshall Phalen, 87, Carson City, Nev., a native of Luverne, died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2001, in Carson City.

Services were Saturday, Sept. 1, at Walton's Carson Gardens in Carson City.

Charlotte Marshall was born to William and Ada Marshall on June 6, 1914, on a farm near Luverne. She attended rural school District 24 in Rock County and graduated from Luverne High School in 1931. She received a two-year diploma from Winona Teachers College in 1933 and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, Nev., in 1958 with a bachelor of science in elementary education. She taught in rural school in Pipestone and Rock County for 15 years and Hawthorne, Nev., Elementary School for 21 years.

She married Joseph Phalen on Nov. 3, 1934, in Luverne. They lived in Jasper from 1938 to 1953 and then moved to Hawthorne.

They moved to Carson City in 1974 to enjoy their retirement years. Mrs. Phalen was active as a volunteer and a member of educational and retirement groups in Carson City. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Carson City.

Survivors include three daughters and sons-in-law, Delores and Don Pringle, Carson City, Azalia and Roy Alexander, Towanda, Kan., and Cheryl and Danny Nelson, Elk Grove, Calif.; seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Phalen was preceded in death by her husband in 1991.