Harlin Rozeboom, Hills, gets a little closer to God Tuesday as he works on the bell tower shingles of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Luverne. Rozeboom works with Beaver Creek Lumber, which is also reshingling the church roof. On the Minnesota State Historical Register, the church was built on the corner of Luverne and Cedar streets in 1891 of locally quarried Sioux quartzite stone.

Photo by Sara Quam

By John Rittenhouse
Like a poor guest, the Edgerton baseball team treated Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth rudely in Hills Thursday by sweeping a double-header from the hosts.

The Flying Dutchmen picked up a 5-1 victory in Game 1 before holding off a late charge by the Patriots to prevail 12-10 in the finale.

Edgerton scored the first four runs of the opener in the first three and one-half innings of play.

H-BC-E made it 4-1 with consecutive singles by Tyson Metzger, Matt Buck and Paul Jess in the bottom of the fourth, but Edgerton got the run back in the top of the fifth to win the six-inning game by four runs.

David Top tossed the first two and one-third innings to take the loss in the opener. Justin Van Maanen worked three and two-third innings in relief of Top.

Metzger led the Patriots with two hits in the opener.

The Patriots sported a 4-2 lead in Game 2 before falling to a pair of big innings produced by the Flying Dutchmen.

With Kevin Van Batavia and Lyle DeBoer slapping two-run singles in the top of the third inning, H-BC-E took its first lead of the day at 4-2.

Edgerton, however, countered with four runs in the bottom of the third before adding six runs in the fourth to take a 12-4 advantage.

H-BC-E did score three runs in the fifth and sixth innings but couldnÕt recover from Edgerton's big innings.

Jess singled home a pair of runs and Zach Wysong added an RBI single as the Patriots made it a 12-7 game in the fifth inning.

DeBoer, Van Maanen and Jess all drove in runs with one-out singles in the top of sixth, and H-BC-E had runners on first and third after Jess' single. Edgerton, however, got out of the jam when a relief pitcher fanned the next two Patriot batters.

DeBoer worked the first two and two-thirds innings on the hill and was saddled with the loss. Top tossed the final inning and one-third.

Jess, Metzger, Van Batavia, Top, Lyle and Darin DeBoer had two hits each for the Patriots, who ended the day with a 3-9-1 record.

The Patriots drew the 12th seed for the Section 3A Tournament. They play No. 5 Ortonville at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Granite Falls.

By John Rittenhouse
Steen will be the site for a Labor Day Weekend Fast-Pitch Softball Tournament.

The 11-team, single-elimination event begins Saturday. The final three rounds are set for Monday.

In the upper bracket of the tournament, the Hills Indees meet Carmel at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the winner to take on RCI at 12:45 p.m. Monday.

Ellsworth Town takes on Lester, Iowa, in another upper bracket game set for 9 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to Monday's semifinals.

Steen and NWIA meet in a 9 a.m. game Monday to open the tournament in the lower bracket. The winner of that game meets the winner of a 10:15 a.m. clash between the Ellsworth Indees and Bosch's at 2 p.m. Monday.

Beaver Creek meets the Rock Rapids (Iowa) Merchants at 11:30 a.m. in Monday's final lower bracket game. The winner advances to the semifinals.

The upper bracket semifinal tilt is set for 3:15 p.m. Monday, with the lower bracket semifinal to follow at 5 p.m.

A consolation game will be played at 7:30 p.m., with the title tilt to follow at 8:30.

By John Rittenhouse
The taste of success has left the members of the Hills-Beaver Creek High School volleyball team hungry for more.

After compiling a winning, 14-10 season in 2000, the 2001 Patriots would like to expand on that performance.

"I know the girls were really excited about finishing last year with an above .500 record, and they would like to improve on that this year," said second-year H-BC coach Nicole Fey.

"I think they have a good chance of doing that," she added. "We have four of six starters returning from last yearÕs team, so that should help."

Fey and the Patriots do have reason to be optimistic entering the new season.

H-BC lost four seniors to graduation, but the Patriots should be able to counter the loss with a strong senior class and a talented sophomore who could develop into one of the area's top hitters in 2001.

The first thing Fey must do is replace last year's seniors, who had their careers end in a disappointing way. H-BC earned the No. 4 seed for the 2000 Section 3A South Tournament, where it lost a 3-0 decision to No. 5 Fulda in the quarterfinal round.

Shanna Tilstra leaves the biggest shoes to fill. A player who rarely left the floor during her senior season, Tilstra played her way onto the final All-Tri-County Conference Team.

Jamie Arp, a right-side hitter, is another senior who graduated from the 2001 team.

Back row specialist Jamie Brandt and hitter Rachael DeHaan were the other senior members of the team that placed third in the T-CC with a 4-4 record one year ago.

As much as the 2000 seniors meant to last year's team, a new group of seniors will be in charge of leading a new band of Patriots into battle this fall.

Tonya Leenderts, a left-side hitter, has to be considered one of the team's top returnees from the senior class.

Leenderts is a returning starter who earned a spot on the All-T-CC squad as a junior.

Brittney Olson and LaDonna Sandstede also drew starting assignments as juniors.

Fey is looking for Olson to add some firepower to the team as a right-side hitter, but the coach will have to wait three or four weeks before putting Sandstede on the floor.

A full-time setter for the 2001 Patriots, Sandstede underwent surgery to have her appendix removed early last week. She's not expected to return to the floor until late September.

"We'll be without LaDonna for up to one month, which will hurt us. She was our No. 1 setter all of last season, and our hitters were used to her sets. ItÕs a bad deal, but we're fortunate this happened early in the season. At least now we have some time to work with a new setter before playing our first match," Fey said.

Sophomore Melinda Sandstede is expected to fill in for LaDonna to start the 2001 season.

Jana Hup, a player who Fey said has improved her game since last year, rounds out the 2001 seniors.

Hup, who picked up some playing time as a junior, will make an impact as a left-side hitter.

Erin Boeve, a 6-1 sophomore, returns as a starter from 2000. Boeve led the team in hitting as a freshman, making the All-T-CC team at season's end. She should be even more of an impact player this fall.

Fey is counting on Boeve and the seniors to take over the leadership roles for a team with a lot of potential.

"With four starters and five letter winners from last year's team coming back, we do have a lot of experience. What I like about them is that they are hard workers who do a good job of pushing each other in practice. They seem to be a lot more aggressive than they were last year, and I know a lot of them put time in during the off-season playing JO (Junior Olympic) volleyball or attending summer camps," she said.

Coach Fey will be counting on six juniors playing varsity volleyball for the first time to produce this fall.

Fey feels Jody Rentschler, a middle hitter, and defensive specialist Sarah Rozeboom are juniors who should help the team right away.

Right-side hitters Angie Bush and Melissa Fagerness and left-side hitters Angie Sjaarda and Kelsey Hansel will get the chance to produce at the varsity level, too.

As well as having some new players, the 2001 Patriots will be playing in a new conference. H-BC, Southwest Christian and Edgerton have joined the Red Rock Conference this year.

"Being in a new conference means playing a lot of different teams we haven't played before. We'll play every team (10 matches overall) in our conference once," Fey said.

The Patriots open the campaign by playing a road match against Sibley-Ocheyedan Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
Fielding a veteran team should benefit the 2001 Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team this fall.

Coming off a 6-4 2000 season with a team that received on-field contributions from four seniors, the Patriots will put a more experienced team on the field this time around.

H-BC-E has six players returning as starters on both sides of the ball from a team that tied for third place in the Southwest Ridge Conference a year ago.

In the game of nine-man football, that leaves the Patriots with two-thirds of their starters back in the ranks.

Patriot coach Dan Ellingson hopes the experience pays off in the form of a better regular season and a longer postseason compared with the 6-0 win over Southwest Star Concept that was followed by a 7-6 defeat to Nicollet in the semifinal round of the Section 2 Playoffs last October.

"In setting goals, we always want to do a little bit better than we did the year before," Ellingson stated. "That's what we're looking at again this year. We have (defending state champion) Westbrook-Walnut Grove in our conference and section. They lost a lot of kids but have some key players coming back, so they have to be the favorites.

"As far as finishing position goes, we want to be right up there with them in the conference. We tied for third place and lost three games in the conference last year. We want to finish at least in third place this year, and to lose more than two conference games would be disappointing."

The 2001 Patriots will need to replace last year's seniors before they improve as a team.

Scott Hansel was a senior who missed last season due to illness, but classmates Lance Crawford, Chris Willers, Stephen Swayze and Branden Domeyer played key roles for the 2000 team.

Crawford, a starting offensive end and linebacker, and Willers, a starting wingback and defensive back, played their way onto the All-SRC Team.

Swayze, a starting offensive guard who played some downs as a defensive tackle, received honorable mention from the SRC coaches. Domeyer started on the defensive line.

The players Ellingson has returning to his offense should make the Patriots a more explosive team in 2001.

"We have some good overall quickness," he said. "Back Chris Reid made it to state in the 100-meter dash in track last spring, and Jesse Leuthold and Lyle DeBoer are right behind him. Brad Haak also is a good runner. We have good quickness, so we’ll have to take advantage of that."

Reid and DeBoer, seniors who weigh 180 and 182 respectively, started at tailback and fullback respectively for H-BC-E last fall. DeBoer made the All-SRC team.

Leuthold, a 180-pound junior, can play either of those positions, too.

Ellingson said senior wing back candidates Chris Tiesler and Kevin Van Batavia have the potential to play the tailback and fullback positions, too.

The 130-pound Tiesler and 160-pound Van Batavia will start the year bringing in the plays from the coach while sharing the wingback position.

H-BC-E also will be experienced at the quarterback position as senior David Top returns as a starter.

At 6-4, Top usually has an unobstructed view when looking into the opposing secondary in passing situations. He also can run the ball when pressured.

Although Top has Haak, a 173-pound senior, returning as a starter at end, he lost his leading receivers in Willers and Crawford to graduation last spring.

One of the keys to the offense will be how potential receivers Matt Buck (200-pound senior), Darin DeBoer (160-pound senior) and Brant Deutsch (215-pound junior) progress at the position.

"We threw for more than 900 yards last year, but we lost our two top receivers," Ellingson said.

"Our passing game will depend on what our inexperienced receivers can do this year. As far as our ground game, we’ll run plays out of the I-, split-back formations and out of the T-formation in short yardage situations."

H-BC-E's three interior line positions will be manned by two returning starters and other senior prospects.

Kyle Braun, a 205-pound returning starter at guard, drew honorable mention from the SRC coaches in 2000.

Van Maanen, a 173-pound senior, returns as the starting center. He’ll be backed up by Pat Nelson, a 200-pound junior.

Other senior guard candidates include Ryan Ranschau (230 pounds), Randy Krull (245) and Lee Walraven (165).

Ellingson wants to see improvement from his offense this fall.

"We need to be more productive on offense this year. We got a lot of yards last season, but we would sputter when we got near the end zone. We need to address that and improve as a scoring team," he said.

H-BC-E should be able to take advantage of its quickness on defense, too.

"I think we'll be taking more chances rather than playing teams straight up because we have the personnel to do that. We’ll be more aggressive, like sending more linebackers on blitzes. With good size up front, we hope to control the line of scrimmage against most teams," Ellingson said.

The Patriots have three players returning to the defensive line.

Braun is one of the major contributors back from last year. He is expected to man a defensive tackle position.

Look for Nelson, Krull, Ranschau or Walraven to play the other defensive tackle position.

In Van Batavia and Deutsch, H-BC-E has both of its starting defensive ends back in the ranks.

Buck will play the end position as well.

Depending on the situation, Ellingson will use as few as two or as many as four linebackers on the field at the same time.

Reid is the lone returning starter at linebacker.

Van Maanen, Leuthold and Curt Schilling, a 183-pound sophomore, are other potential linebackers.

A situation could dictate the Patriots to play as many as four and as few as two defensive backs in the secondary.

Haak and Lyle DeBoer are returning starters.

Ellingson likes to have Haak guard the opposing team's best receiver as a cornerback, and he can play the safety position. Lyle DeBoer is a cornerback.

When H-BC played three defensive backs last season, Darin DeBoer usually was the third back.

Top, Tiesler and Clint Roozenboom, a 153-pound junior, are other potential defensive backs.

"The thing I like about our defense is we have a large number of kids who are similar in ability. If some of the kids are playing on offense, too, we should be able to give them a break for a couple of plays without losing much," Ellingson said.

The Patriots open the season by playing a non-conference game against Lakeview in Cottonwood tomorrow night.

By Jolene Farley
When Rick and Lila Tatge purchased Beaver Creek Lumber in June 1995, neither was a stranger to the lumber business.

Rick graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School on a Friday evening in 1971 and began working at Beaver Creek Lumber the next morning.

Lila worked as an employee at the lumber yard.

Rick managed the lumberyard for 25 years before the couple decided to buy the business from a cooperative ownership.

The Tatges' sons are carrying on the family tradition by also working at Beaver Creek Lumber. Shannon works full-time and Jeff part-time, while he attends college.

The business has one employee besides family members. It is "truthfully a family business.

Besides selling construction materials through the lumberyard, the Tatges do all types of construction work, new or remodeling.

According to Rick, remodeling is more of a challenge than new construction. "You go on your reputation," he said.

The couple eventually hopes to purchase another storage building in Beaver Creek, but there isn't a lot of property for sale near them.

"You keep accumulating but donÕt have a place to put things," said Lila. "There are always more products to have."

Both Rick and Lila (Doorneweerd) were born and raised in Beaver Creek and graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School. "We are very proud of our community and our school district," said Rick. "You should be if you live in a community."

Beaver Creek Lumber is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

Jolene Hannett (left), Brent Steinert and Marie LaRock are new faces around the Hills-Beaver Creek School.

By Jolene Farley
The Hills-Beaver Creek School System hired three new teachers this year.

New speech/language teacher Marie LaRock is a familiar face in the H-BC halls. The daughter of Duane and Marilyn Nelson, LaRock is an alumnus of the district.

She received her bachelor of arts in psychology and master of science in speech/language pathology at Moorhead State University.

LaRock was previously employed at the Children's Care Hospital and School in Sioux Falls.

LaRock and her husband, Dan, have a 1-year-old son, Luke.

LaRock's goal for the upcoming school year is to become more acquainted with the students, families and staff.

New school psychologist Jolene Hannett graduated from the University of South Dakota with a bachelor of science in psychology and a specialist degree in education in school psychology.

Her goal is to work closely with students, staff and families to ensure a successful school year.

Hannett is a resident of Sioux Falls, S.D.

Brent Steinert will begin duties as music instructor for Hills-Beaver Creek Schools this fall. He will be responsible for all instrumental music venues and secondary vocal music.

Steinert graduated from Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D. He was previously the instrumental music director at Avon High School in Avon, S.D.

His goal is to promote "students in music."

Steinert and his wife, Sarah, live in Sioux Falls, S.D.

(Above) A backhoe stirs a fire intentionally set Monday to burn the remains of Doug and Marci Bork's house north of Beaver Creek. The home was destroyed Tuesday, June 26, by a fire of undetermined cause. On the evening of the blaze, Marci Bork went to bed at around 10 p.m. and slept soundly while flames spread through her home. The family cat, Luna, awakened Marci at around 11:20 p.m. to a smoke-filled house. "It (Luna) actually got in her face and started clawing at her face to wake her up," said Doug Bork. Thanks to Luna, Marci was able to crawl out a window and call for help with her cell phone. Doug arrived home from a meeting at about 11:30 p.m. and the fire department arrived soon after, but the structure could not be saved.

Luckily, the couple's two children, James, 15, and Eric, 13, were away vacationing with their grandparents. The Borks are moving a spec home from Edgerton onto the same site as their old house. They hope to move into their new home within a month.

Old Fashioned Saturday night, sponsored by the Hills Community Club, was an excellent time to visit with friends and neighbors. Diane Greenfield (left), Grace Wassenaar, Carole Lonkey, and Martha Lindrud enjoy the meal served by the Community Club.

Photo by Jolene Farley