-Luverne Fire Department demonstrated house safety tips.

-Little Lambs preschool had a construction paper fish pond.

-Child Care Resource and Referral helped kids make Lego necklaces and tissue butterflies.

-Rock County Family Service and the Sheriff’s Department offered fingerprinting and 911 forms.

-Rock County Extension had tips on nutrition and a food activity.

-Jubilee Foods allowed kids to build their own snacks.

According to sign-up sheets at the event, 38 dads, 46 moms and 68 kids attended the carnival.

Various children's activities were offered by representatives from area organizations.

-ECFE/School Readiness offered playdough and cookie cutters.

-Nobles-Rock Public Health had information on immunizations and car seat safety.

-Rock County 4-H supervised playdough activities.

-Heartland Express offered bus safety advice.

Luverne's Early Childhood Family Education hosted a Children's Carnival Thursday, March 8, in the Luverne Elementary School multi-purpose area.

The purpose of the carnival was to provide information about services available to families with young children.

Early Childhood Educator Nancy Kaczrowski said participation was much better than she expected.

"I am so very pleased," she said. "It was a fantastic turnout."

The Hills Community Club has scheduled 2001 Friendship Day for Saturday, June 9.

Organizers thank the past volunteers and ask for contributions of time and talent again this year.

Community members, churches, youth groups, clubs and businesses can help by sponsoring a booth or activity, donating to help fund an event or volunteering time.

In one hour of time a volunteer can help with the tractor pull, jump tent, parade route, bingo, concession stand or parade entries, according to event organizers.

Monetary donations help the Community Club defray the cost of trophies for the kiddie tractor pull, the cost of specialty groups for the parade, the cost of the jump tent and sumo wrestling rentals, and the cost of afternoon and evening entertainment.

To volunteer time or to sponsor an event, call Michelle Nelson at 962-3422. Donations may be sent to Hills Community Club Treasurer, RR 1, Box 39, Steen, MN 56173. Parade inquiries can be made to Brenda Plimpton at 962-3799.

The next Community Club meeting is Monday, April 2. Everyone is welcome.

By Jolene Farley
After some discussion Monday evening, the Hills-Beaver Creek Board of Education unanimously agreed to retain the services of Group II Architects for the high school locker room and possible fitness center project.

The board has been considering an addition to Hills-Beaver Creek High School. Building committee members can now begin meeting with Group II Architects to solidify building plans and arrive at a cost estimate for the project.

Group II Architects, Spitznagel Inc., and Hartman Architecture, all of Sioux Falls, made presentations to the board at the Feb. 26 meeting, hoping to be hired.

Superintendent Tom Knoll recommended the board hire Group II at Monday’s meeting. He said all references for both Group II and Hartman Architecture Inc. checked out. All parties the firms had done work for in the past would rehire them for future work.

Knoll never called references for Spitznagel, Inc., citing a lack of enthusiasm toward smaller projects as his reason.

The board and Knoll expressed concern the Hartman Group's presentation contained more information pertaining to construction management services rather than architectural services.

All board members agreed a construction manager wasn't needed for this project.

"If we didn't need one for the elementary (school) we don’t need one for this project," said board member Alan Harnack.

Group II Architects' extensive work in Minnesota was a deciding factor for the board.

"I like Group II also," Board member Ann Boeve said before she made the motion in their favor. "I like the fact they have done a lot of Minnesota schools."

All day every day kindergarten going well
Kindergarten teachers Michele Baker and Shelly Fischer updated the board on the switch to all day every day kindergarten.

Both teachers gave glowing reports on the virtues of the new schedule. "This year we have seen a great improvement, especially in Chapter kids," said Fischer.

The new schedule allows teachers to make changes to the curriculum for kids who need it, according to Fischer. Before, teachers had to very lightly touch on curriculum because the kids were in school only two or three days per week.

The teachers stressed to the board the importance of smaller class sizes. "These small class sizes really, really count. We are able to reach those kids who need our help," Fischer said.

Baker and Fischer plan to send out a survey at the end of the school year asking parents for their comments and concerns.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Although spring officially begins March 20, Mother Nature is prolonging winter with our latest round of snowfall that dumped about four inches of snow in Rock County. Weather forecasts predict yet another storm on the way for the end of this week. With additional snow, this road sign east of Hills may be buried. The next issue will be flooding when the snowfall begins to melt.

(Reprinted from the Hills Crescent, Dec. 31, 1970)

Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator is leveled by fire Monday evening.

The Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator, a farmer's cooperative, burned to the ground last Monday night. The fire was noticed when an automatic siren sounded at about 6 p.m. Mel Kinsey, employee of the firm, heard it from the cafŽ in Beaver Creek and went to investigate.

He sounded the fire alarm and then attempted to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but the blaze was far too hot for a small extinguisher. Trucks located in the elevator were removed safely, but that turned out to be the only property in the building saved. Total loss mounted to about a quarter of a million dollars, directors indicated.

The cause of the fire is another question. A corn cracker was used Monday, and the possibility of an electrical failure exists. The fire did start in this portion of the building.

A storage building, just east of the main elevator, was saved. It was filled to capacity with feed and other supplies. A grain dryer and outside mixer was also saved, or so it seemed at this writing. Internal damage could change the picture, however.

The Beaver Creek Lumber Co., another cooperative firm, also was endangered almost throughout the fire. Constant cooling was necessary on the end of the building and roof in order to prevent a spread. Had it caught fire, the village of Beaver Creek probably would all be black at this writing, for it is quite well stocked with lumber and other material that is highly combustible. No doubt the fire would have spread rapidly to other buildings, all of which are frame, save two or three. North of the fire a filling station and another building were endangered.
The Hills Fire Department answered the call for help shortly after six o'clock Monday evening and got there while the building was still standing, but very much ablaze. It was readily known that it couldn't be saved, but the other nearby buildings could be.

Seven fire departments were present: Beaver Creek, Hills, Valley Springs, Brandon, Garretson, Luverne and Hardwick. Water was hauled in from various sources as the Beaver Creek supply rapidly ran out as the seven fire departments poured it on.

Damage other than to the elevator resulted in the complete destruction of a railroad car standing alongside of the elevator. Extreme heat melted it and the rails into a twisted mess.

Residents of Beaver Creek were reminded of a previous fire that took a cafŽ, grocery store and another building about 20 years ago. They, too, burned on a cold night, like Monday night. Like then, the fire Monday night was not helped by a strong wind. Had it been, the story would be much different.

We talked to one of the directors and plans are already under way to put up a new building. In fact, some discussion had been had by the board in regards to a more fire-proof structure. Elevators throughout a wide area have been burning quite frequently, and they are getting concerned. The many pieces of equipment being used by elevators and feed companies these days is no doubt one of the main causes of fire, and the board was anxious to remove it. They now have their work cut out for them.

Manager Frank Ponto is presently on vacation in Texas and is no doubt in for a big surprise when he learns what has happened at the Beaver Creek Co-op Elevator.

By Jolene Farley
At the regular meeting Tuesday night, the Hills City Council approved a fire department budget of $21,850 for 2002. This is about $1,000 more than the 2001 budget.

In other business:
-The council proclaimed the city’s Arbor Day to be Sunday, April 27.
-The council asked Connie Wiertzema, city clerk, to invite playground equipment sales representatives to attend the next council meeting to demonstrate their products.
The council budgeted $3,000 for playground equipment this year.
-Wayne Ward, maintenance supervisor, asked the council to purchase a pump for use at the city ponds.

The council approved a $2,500 purchase providing Ward obtains another bid before the purchase.

By Sara Quam
A Luverne native's world was literally rocked Feb. 28 as he experienced the Seattle earthquake from his sixth-floor office at Starbucks.

That Wednesday morning, a frightened Anthony Carroll peeked out from under his desk to witness what the 6.8-magnitude perpetrator was doing to his office.

"I've never experienced anything like it, and given the chance to choose, I wouldn't do so again," said the 1988 Luverne High School graduate and son of Laurin and Rose Carroll.

Growing up in Minnesota, Anthony was accustomed to hiding from storms in basements. "But with this, you can't do anything but wait it out. There's nowhere to go," he said.

When the first tremors started at 10:55 a.m., Anthony's co-worker announced that it was an earthquake and they both darted under a desk. It was all over in about 45 seconds.

"First it was a swaying back and forth," he said, "and then it became what they call the Jell-O effect where the ground moves and the buildings follow. Things were really moving."

Anthony said he won't soon forget the feeling of the quake, but he remembers the sound, too. "It's almost like a train rumbling by, but multiplied times 100."

The nine-story Starbucks building is one of the most recognized landmarks in the hardest-hit part of Seattle. It is currently operating out of an office across town. Part of the repairs the office has to complete is water damage from the sprinkler system and bursting water pipes.

Anthony's home was unaffected by the earthquake, and the office fared as well as it did because of reinforcement efforts a few years ago.

He expects to be back in his regular office in four to six weeks, but it could take the rest of the city a lot longer.

Even though the recovery will take time, Seattle ended up better off than most cities with a quake that strong. Typically, 26 would be dead and 2,600 injured with $3.9 billion in damage. But no deaths were attributed to the earthquake, and damage was half what was expected.

The natural disaster scared Anthony, but it's not enough to make him want to leave his job in product management as an analyst. "I do have a slight longing to work on the first floor, though," he said.