By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth girls' golf squad avoided a winless regular season Thursday.

Playing as a member of a triangular meet in Pipestone, the Patriots used a 234-stroke tally to edge Wabasso for second place in the field. Wabasso was two strokes behind H-BC-E with a 236.

Pipestone-Jasper, with Andrea Carstensen leading the way with a 10-over-par 46, won the team competition with 206 strokes.

H-BC-E's Jessica Martens matched CarstensenÕs 46 to earn a share of the meet's medalist honor.

Marla Groen, Jessica Wassenaar and Kari Jansma added 55-, 60- and 73-stroke totals to H-BC-E's team tally.

Angie Bush shot a 78 without influencing the scoring for H-BC-E, which finishes the regular season with a 1-5 record.

Sarah Mahal led Wabasso with a 54.

The Patriot boys also placed second in a three-team field in Pipestone.

H-BC-E tallied 183 strokes to best Wabasso, which charted a 187. P-J won the team title with 174 strokes.

Patriot Dean Moss captured the medalist honor by shooting a two-over-par 38.

Blake Brommer and Tom Janssen contributed 48-stroke rounds to H-BC-E's team tally, while Ben Herman added a 49.

Kyle Sammons and Tom Beaner shot 53- and 57-stroke rounds without influencing the scoring.

Matt Oye shot a 42 to lead P-J, while Cole Guetter paced Wabasso with a 45.

H-BC-E's boys finish the regular season with a 3-3 record.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth track teams made a good impression during their first appearances at the Camden Conference meet staged in Tracy Friday.

Since Ellsworth will be competing in the league in volleyball and basketball starting next season, meet officials decided to invite the H-BC-E track teams to their annual conference meet this spring.

H-BC-E definitely made an impact at the event, setting three meet records and placing second in six-team fields on both sides of the team competition.

The Patriot boys established a pair of meet records while compiling 139 points.

Brad Haak won the 800-meter run with a meet record time of 1:59.04.

Haak also was a member of H-BC-EÕs 800-meter relay, which placed first with a meet standard of 1:37.11. Chris Reid, Chris Willers and Chris Fransman are other members of the team.

Reid, Willers and Clint Roozenboom won conference titles in individual events.

Reid covered 19-6 in the long jump, Willers ran 400 meters in 52.46 and Roozenboom cleared 8-0 in the pole vault.

Willers, Reid, Haak and Lee Jackson also won the 1,600-meter relay title with a time of 3:45.13.

Fransman placed second in a pair of individual events, running 200 meters in 23.86 and clearing 6-0 in the high jump.

Reid was second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.43, and Roozenboom was second in the 110-meter high hurdles in 19.27.

The Patriot girls set one meet record while scoring 126 points to place second in their team standings.

The 3,200-meter relay team of Cassi and Shanna Tilstra, Janelle Jenniges and Bev Wurpts established a meet standard with their winning time of 10:23.89.

The Tilstras, Jenniges and Brittney Rozeboom also took top honors in the 1,600-meter relay with a 4:24.43 effort.

Individual conference championships went to the Tilstras and Jenniges.

Cassi Tilstra ran 400 meters in 1:03.21, and Shanna Tilstra covered 800 meters in 2:35.12. Cassi also placed second in the pole vault by clearing a height of 6-0, and Shanna was second in the high jump after clearing 4-6.

Jenniges, who was second in the 800 with a time of 2:35.51, won the pole vault by clearing 6-6
Connie Lewis placed second for the Patriots in the triple jump with an effort of 29-0. Wurpts ran 3,200 meters in 13:43 to place second.

H-BC-EÕs 800-meter relay team of Lewis, Kelsey Hansel, Kelly Mulder and LaDonna Sandstede finished second in 2:01.57.

The Patriots will compete at the Sub-Section 10 Track and Field Meet today in Pipestone. Meet time is 4 p.m.

Here is a look at the team standings and the rest of H-BC-EÕs top six finishers from the Camden Conference meet.

Boys' standings: Canby-Minneota 176, H-BC-E 139, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton-Lake Benton 88, Dawson-Boyd 61, Lincoln HI 54. Lakeview 27.

Girls' standings: C-M 214, H-BC-E 126, R-T-R-LB 100, LH 75, D-B 17, Lakeview 10.

H-BC-E boys
Third place: Cody Scholten, pole vault, 7-6; Fransman, long jump, 18-2 1/2; 3,200 relay (Greg Van Batavia, Kerry Fink, Derek Haak and Kale Wiertzema), 10:17.09; Jackson, 1,600, 5:00.97; Van Batavia, 300 hurdles, 52.05.
Fourth place: Jackson, 800, 2:17.02; 400 relay (Van Batavia, Roozenboom, Jesse Leuthold and Scholten), 50.57.
Fifth place: B.Haak, high jump, 5-6; Travis Broesder, triple jump, 27-3.
Sixth place: Van Batavia, triple jump, 24-8; Devin DeBoer, 110 hurdles, 22.3; Leuthold, 100, 12.7; DeBoer, 300 hurdles, 53.15; Nathan Fick, 3,200, 11:58.

H-BC-E girls
Third place: Heather Albers, pole vault, 5-0; Lewis, shot, 30-0 3/4; Wurpts, 400. 1:06.84.
Fourth place: Melinda Feucht, 100 hurdles, 19.46; 400 relay (Sandstede, Lewis, Sarah Rozeboom and Brittney Rozeboom), 57.72.
Sixth place: S.Rozeboom, 300 hurdles, 59.22; B.Rozeboom, 1,600, 6:10.96.

By Lori Ehde
Blue Mounds State Park is closed this week, preceding what would normally be one of the busiest holiday camping weekends of the year.

The main park office has been a crime lab since Monday as law enforcement investigates the murder of 20-year-old park attendant Carrie Nelson.

Her body was found at 2:45 p.m. Sunday by park management. An autopsy Monday revealed she had died earlier that afternoon from "multi-traumatic injuries to the head due to assault."

Authorities say there was no evidence of sexual assault, but robbery is cited as a possible motive.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Ron McClure said investigators are seeking information on two bank money bags believed to have been taken from the park office at the time of the murder.

The gray bags carry the logo of Minnwest Bank. A tip line, 283-1301, has been established for the public to offer information on the missing bags.

McClure said he couldn't comment on the amount of money stolen or whether any items of value were taken from the office.

The Rock County Sheriff's Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota State Patrol are all working on the case.

These are the only details investigators have released so far.

McClure said all possible witnesses are being interviewed, and he would not comment on whether investigators have narrowed their scope of suspects.

The biggest question still unanswered is whether the murder should be considered a random act of violence or if there was a connection between Nelson and her assailant.

When asked if residents should be concerned about their safety, McClure declined to say if the community was at risk but instead said it's always wise to lock doors and protect property.

Meanwhile, the murder has sent a ripple effect through the Minnesota State Parks system with regard to security.

Bill Morrissey, director of the DNR Division of Parks and Recreation, confirmed that in the 110-year state park history, Nelson is the first employee to be murdered on the job.

"I think it's absolutely fair to say [security] will be reviewed. We're at heightened security right now," Morrissey said Tuesday.

"In light of a changing world, you hope that whether you're a park visitor or a park employee, safety is a concern."

He said no surveillance cameras are used in any of Minnesota's state parks.

Morrissey said the Blue Mounds will be closed until Sunday when it will reopen for day use and camping Sunday night and Memorial Day.

"The contact station is not operable, and a lot of the equipment has been removed (for the investigation)," Morrissey said.

"We aren't going to put that burden on the park staff yet. They need some time to deal with this."

He said staff from other state parks will assist at the Blue Mounds this weekend, but campers may have to self-register.

Normally the Blue Mounds' 73 campsites are all reserved for Memorial Day weekend. "It's our opening weekend and one of the real big weekends for us," he said, adding that he hopes the murder investigation doesn't scare away park visitors.

"We want the public to understand we don't see any reason not to come out and enjoy our parks," he said.

"Thankfully the people of Minnesota take care of their parks and kind of look out for each other. We don't want this to deter people from enjoying their great outdoors."

By Jolene Farley
Hills-Beaver Creek High School students Jessica Martens and Jody Rentschler attended the Northern Star Leadership Conference on Saturday, May 19, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Four hundred eighty sophomores from the state of Minnesota attended the event, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Office of Admissions and the Alumni Association.

Four Hills-Beaver Creek students were nominated but only two from each school could attend the event, so the U of M made the final decision of Martens and Rentschler as representatives for Hills-Beaver Creek.

Students were nominated based on academics, leadership and overall activities, according to Dan Ellingson, Hills-Beaver Creek guidance counselor.

"It is good for the girls to go out and interact with kids from other areas," said parent Lori Rentschler.

Rentschler said the conference was advantageous because it made the girls think about college sooner instead of waiting until later in high school.

The keynote speaker for the conference was John Roethlisberger, who won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in gymnastics.

Roethlisberger's message to the students was to never give up in the face of adversity. He faced battles in his career but came back to win a gold medal.

In the afternoon, students attended leadership seminars and a group discussion panel designed to enhance leadership skills.

Each school in the state was sent a letter about the event, but the majority of the schools that participated were closer to the Twin Cities area.

The conference was a positive experience, according to Martens and Rentschler. Hills-Beaver Creek High School plans to participate again next year, according to Ellingson.

By John Rittenhouse
Luverne High School athletes locked up a combined eight championships during the annual Southwest Conference Track and Field Meet staged in Pipestone Thursday.

Four LHS boys captured a combined six conference titles during their version of the competition.
One Cardinal athlete won an individual title and a relay team emerged as a champion during the girls' competition.

The six SWC titles helped the Cardinal boys place third in the team competition with 105.75 points.

Marshall and Worthington bested Luverne in the team standings with 157.5 and 147 points respectively.

Pipestone-Jasper (96), Windom (76), Redwood Valley (62.5) and Jackson County Central (44.25) capped the boys' field.

Senior Darren Cook and junior Craig Bosch led the Cardinals to their third-place finish by winning a pair of individual events each.

Cook, who placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48, won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles titles with respective 14.8 and 40.49 times.

Bosch emerged as the shot put and discus champion with respective tosses of 49-1 and 147-9.

Freshman Tim Rust and eighth-grader Scott Goebel also picked up SWC championships for the Cardinal boys.

Rust cleared 10-6 to win the pole vault title. Goebel took top honors in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:45.52.

The Luverne girls placed fourth in a seven-team field by scoring 99 points.

JCC (135.5), P-J (126) and Worthington (107) topped the Cards in the standings. Marshall (96), RWV (69) and Windom (65.5) round out the field.

Senior Hannah Dietrich played a role in landing a pair of conference titles for the Cardinal girls.

Dietrich took top honors in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.98, which was just shy of a SWC meet record.

Dietrich also was a member of Luverne's 3,200-meter relay, which placed first in 10:24.9. Junior Patricia Willers, eighth-grader Sadie Dietrich and seventh-grader Victoria Arends are the other members of the team.

Cardinal girls placed second in four events during the competition.

The 1,600-meter relay team of Amanda Dooyema, Jenni Christensen and the Dietrichs finished second in 4:19.
Adria Sherwood whipped the discus 91-11, Amanda Aning cleared 9-9 in the pole vault and Sadie Dietrich ran 400 meters in 1:02.6 to place second in their respective events.

The Luverne teams will compete at the Sub-Section 10 Track and Field Championships in Pipestone today. Meet time is 4 p.m.

Here is a look at the rest of Luverne's top eight finishers from the SWC meet.

Luverne boys
Third place: Andrew Norton, high jump, 5-10; Marcus Walgrave, 110 hurdles, 15.9; Walgrave, 300 hurdles, 42.54.

Fourth place: Norton, long jump, 19-9 1/4; Norton, triple jump, 38-10.

Sixth place: 400 relay (Ben Peters, Cody Gehrke, Justin Van Wyhe, Norton), 48.9; 3,200 relay (Peter Loehnert, Jeff Luethje, Jamison Tooley and Kyle Bitterman), 9:37.24.

Seventh place: Andrew Hulstein, high jump, 5-6.

Luverne girls
Fourth place: Serena Franken, discus, 88-0; Marissa Stewart, shot, 31-0 1/2; Danielle Cook, 300 hurdles, 49.94; 800 relay (Callen Bosshart, Cook, Dooyema and Christensen), 1:54.2.

Fifth place: Stewart, discus, 86-10; Sara Sneller, shot, 30-1 1/2; Aning, high jump, 4-8; Cook, 100, 13.3; 400 relay (Bosshart, Nicole Willers, Maggie Vanden Hoek and Aning), 54.51.

Seventh place: Christensen, 400, 1:05.5; Andrea Drost, 800, 2:39.2; Arends, 1,600, 5:53.1; Tracey Scheidt, 300 hurdles, 51.9.

By Lori Ehde
A threatening call to the a local crisis hotline had local banks reviewing their security procedures Tuesday afternoon.

At 6:45 a.m. a Luverne man called the crisis hotline through Southwestern Mental Health Center threatening ill will to an unspecified banking institution.

As a precaution, crisis line operators passed the threat along to the Rock County Sheriff's Department, which in turn alerted local banks.

Individual bank responses varied from locking doors and letting customers in one by one to merely putting employees on alert.

According to Mike Engesser of First Farmers & Merchants Bank, his staff used the threat as a good reason to run a security drill.

At Minnwest Bank, Greg Burger said employees were told if the individual entered the bank, they were to be on alert for threatening behavior.

Burger said he didn't feel he or his employees were in real danger, because law enforcement who had spoken with the man appeared to have the situation in hand.

"They nipped it right out of the chute," Burger said.

Security issues
The board reviewed a Safety and Security Evaluation. The board knew of past security issues and has since moved Corrections Agent Cathy Rockman to the Human Services building to provide her with a secure entrance.

Other security issues revealed in the report require slight changes in operations of the courthouse.
The security consultant advised installing security cameras in hallways, moving waiting areas, altering dropped ceilings that could be used for weapon hiding, security locks on more office doors, jury room monitoring, installing bulletproof material in benches used by employees in courtroom, adding more side desks in the courthouse, installing cameras in the courtroom, locking doors during court recesses and installing security locks on judgesÕ chambers to avoid walk-ins.

Rural address signs
County Engineer Mark Sehr came to the board meeting with an update on rural signing progress.

Sehr, Sheriff's Office representatives and postal employees attended a meeting to consider all aspects of rural addresses for 911 purposes.

Sehr said, "I think we learned about some things we weren't aware of."

The county will number streets and avenues, giving rural residents more identifiable addresses. These addresses will be mapped for 911 emergency use, but mail carriers are also affected.

Postal workers suggested numbering avenues and streets exclusively with either odd or even numbers. They said many people leave the "street" or "avenue" off addresses, and making numbers correspond to either direction would eliminate confusion.

Wildung suggested incorporating an "R" for Rock County into the addresses so delivery people know which county a mailing goes to in cases where addresses border other counties.

The addresses will likely be designated and mapped for 911 before the signs are installed. Residents will be notified of their new addresses and the Post Office will allow a grace period for subscription and other correspondence change of address notification.

Community daycare
The Luverne Community Economic Development Corporation notified the county, city and school that it is turning the community daycare issue back to the three entities.

The LCEDC has reached an impasse with Dan Dunham on the community daycare issue. The tax abatement for providing a daycare space is approaching the December 2001 due date, so the LCEDC is backing out.

The issue is whether Dunham is meeting his end of the bargain by simply providing a vacant area for daycare use within his City Center apartment complex.

The LCEDC maintains that he is supposed to make the space ready for daycare, a cost of about $180,000 to Dunham. But he says that by providing the space, he is meeting his end of the bargain.

A meeting with the city, county and school boards will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 12, in the school library to discuss community daycare.

Mercedes Fletcher marches Thursday to patriotic songs in the Luverne kindergarten production of "Music All Over Me." Other kindergarten students are pictured above singing the soothing "Sway" as they waved colorful scarves. The song and dance production involved all students in the kindergarten classes and was directed by Seana Graber, Patti Nelson and Beth Capistran.

Photos by Sara Quam

By Lori Ehde
A missing person case in Sioux Falls ended sadly Monday morning when Luverne native Brett Roemeling was found dead in his car north of Corson, S.D.

Roemeling, 36, had been reported missing since Friday night when he had been with friends in Garretson, S.D.

According to the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Department, a gravel truck driver spotted Roemeling's car Monday upside down in Splitrock Creek.

"The car was completely hidden from traffic on Highway 11, but the gravel pit was more or less at the same level as the creek," said Assistant Sheriff Bruce Swan.

"Had nobody been working there, he could have been missing for days or weeks."

The autopsy report hasn't yet been released, but Swan said it appears Roemeling fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the creek.

"There were no skid marks, and it appears he veered off the road and ended up on his top in the water," Swan said.

Roemeling attended school for some time in Luverne but graduated from Jasper High School. He most recently lived in Sioux Falls, where he worked at the Airport Days Inn.

Funeral services were today in Sioux Falls.