Myrna Nelson (front), Mary Akkerman and Brenda Goembel use the new access ramp at the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center for the first time Tuesday.

By Lori Ehde
For many swimmers at the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center, getting into the water just got easier.

A long-awaited access ramp was installed in the north corner of the shallow end Monday.

The 15-foot-long ramp has stable stainless steel rails and enters the water at a gentle decline toward the deep end of the pool.

For elderly swimmers, those with disabilities and physical therapy patients, the ramp has been high on their wish list for several years.

"This is what we've been waiting for so long," said Mary Akkerman, who helps adults with disabilities toward independent living.

She and her clients entered the pool Monday with amazed smiles on their faces. Previously, they had to use a chair lift on the south side of the pool to access the water.

Akkerman strongly advocates the water for any kind of therapy. "I had knee surgery a year ago, and my recovery was faster because of being in the water."

According to Pool and Fitness Center Manager Carol Wessels the hospital sends roughly 10 patients a week to the pool for physical therapy two to three hours a day.

She said the ramp is referred to as a handicap access ramp, but it has already been appreciated by all kinds of swimmers.

"The other group that will benefit is parents with small children," Wessels said. "It's really hard to get in and out of the water with a child in your arms."

Luverne's access ramp cost $6,624.30. It was purchased with a gift from Luverne Community Hospital and Luverne Community Health Care Foundation, which equally shared the cost.

Wessels said the facility has been exploring the possibility of a ramp for some time, but she said to do it right was always too cost prohibitive.

"With a one-size-fits-all ramp, you have a real problem with algae, which becomes a concern for disease," Wessels said.

"With this one, everything is fabricated for this pool ... It doesn't interfere with our circulation system."

Cathy Rust's kindergarten class is the featured Luverne Elementary Class of the Week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Spencer Oeltjenbruns, Brianna Duerr, Josh Slieter, Brooke VanWettering, Aimee Moss, Cody Hess, (second row) Ashley Cooper, Mariah Boomgaarden, Jonny Vajgrt, Paige Baker, Autumn Schmitt, Dalton Jacobsma, Kristen Reisdorfer, (third row) Shane Conklin, Bailey Stratton, Blake Stegenga, Gunnar Olson, Tara Sudenga, Kenny Casazza, Victoria Kalass, Terry Swenson, (back) Ms. Rust and Mrs. Nyla Sohl.

Ms. Rust's kindergarteners have been learning many new words and are reading a lot of books and writing in their journals. In math they are measuring, and they are very excited about their music program next Friday.

Photo by Lori Ehde

The Habitat for Humanity home is quickly progressing in Luverne. The walls and roof are up and the interior layout is taking shape as volunteers work Saturdays on the home. Above is Bill Paulsen and Joe Podzimek, who finish framing a room. Inset is Dallis Frakes going over construction plans.

The four-bedroom home on the corner of Southwest Park and Warren streets is slated to be ready for Kracht to occupy by July.

Photos by Sara Quam

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth track teams were able to participate in a meet after losing one over the weekend.

The disappointment of having a performance cancelled in Sturgis, S.D., Saturday was erased after some solid performances at the Arrow Relays in Pipestone Tuesday.

H-BC-EÕs boys compiled 98 points to place third out of eight teams in Class B competition.

The Patriot girls scored 67 points to place fourth as a team.

H-BC-E won a combined eight meet titles Tuesday, and six of them came from the boys.

Patriot Chris Reid won the 100-meter dash (11.41) and the long jump (20-8) along with running a leg for H-BC-EÕs winning 1,600-meter relay team that was timed at 3:36.74. Tyler Bush, Lee Walraven and Brad Haak are the other team members.

H-BC-E also won the medley and 3,200-meter relays with respective 3:47.56 and 8:31.72 times.

Tyson Metzger, Greg Van Batavia, Lee Jackson and Haak teamed up in the medley. Jackson, Van Batavia, Bush and Haak ran the 3,200.

Bush also won the 800-meter run in 2:06.06.

Haak and Jesse Leuthold placed second in the high jump (5-8) and 200-meter dash (24.24) respectively.

The 800-meter relay team of Trevor Boltjes, Metzger, Walraven and Leuthold placed second in 1:41.13.

The H-BC-E girls won a pair of events and placed second in four others while finishing fourth as a team.

Erin Boeve covered 15-8 to win the long jump, while LaDonna Sandstede, Boeve, Cassi Tilstra and Bev Wurpts took top honors in the medley relay with a time of 4:39.06.

Wurpts placed second in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:47.71, while Amanda Tilstra came in second in the 3,200-meter run in 13:47.41.

H-BC-E also placed second in the girls' 400- and 3,200-meter relays with times of 54.74 and 10:39.98.

Melinda Feucht, Cassi Tilstra, Sandstede and Boeve ran the 400. Mya Mann, Brittney Rozeboom, Boeve and Cassi Tilstra ran the 3,200.

The Patriot teams will compete at the Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls tomorrow and Saturday before returning to Pipestone for the Frisbee Relays Tuesday.

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

Class B boys' standings: Southwest Christian 130, Fulda 112, H-BC-E 98, Elkton 67, Baltic 63, Adrian 55, Lincoln HI 42, Edgerton 20.

Class B girls' standings: Fulda 143, Elkton 82, Baltic 73, H-BC-E 67, SWC 57, Edgerton 56, Adrian 52, LH 38

H-BC-E boys
Third place: Bush, triple jump, 37-7.
Fourth place: Van Batavia, 400, 58.53.
Fifth place: Kale Wiertzema, 3,200, 11:30.8; Roger DeBoer, 110 hurdles, 21.31.

H-BC-E girls
Fourth place: Feucht, 300 hurdles, 58.25; 1,600 relay (Rozeboom, Danielle Fransman, Amanda Laqua and Wurpts), 4:44.53.
Fifth place: Laqua, 110 hurdles, 20.81; 800 relay (Sandstede, Feucht, Fransman and Kelly Mulder), 1:59.92.
Sixth place: C.Tilstra, high jump, 4-4; Mann, 400, 1:07.18; Mann, 200, 29.83.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys' golf team had a two-match winning streak snapped when it took on Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in a match played in Lake Park, Iowa, Thursday.

Cold and windy conditions took a toll on all the players, but the Raiders withstood the challenge a little better than the Patriots did as they came away with a 206-220 win.

A disqualification of an H-BC-E player led to SV-RL-BÕs Jason Colby becoming the meet's medalist.

Patriot Tom Janssen shot what appeared to be a nine-over-par 45 to lead all scorers, but it was discovered Janssen played the wrong ball during the final two holes. The mistake led to a disqualification, which gave Colby the medalist honor with his 48.

Kyle Sammons led the Patriots with a 51, while Blake Brommer, Jordan Scott and Dusty Seachris round out the team scoring for H-BC-E with 55-, 57- and 58-stroke tallies.

Nick Deutsch shot a 60 without contributing to the team effort.

SV-RL-B had an incomplete B team, but H-BC-E had six B-teamers play nine holes of golf.

Ben Herman led the lot with a 54. Dusty Bonnema, Jeremy Tiesler, Travis Broesder and Tom Scholten all shot 56s, while Jeremy Elbers turned in a 61.

The 2-2 Patriots play Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Westbrook tomorrow.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Patriots gained some revenge for an early-season baseball loss Monday in Hills.

Hosting Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster-Southwest Star Concept in a Red Rock Conference tilt, the Patriots were hungry for a victory after what happened during a meeting between the teams in Brewster April 9.

H-BC-E took an 18-12 lead into the bottom half of the seventh inning that day, but the hosts rallied to score seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to steal a 19-18 win.

There were no such late-inning heroics during Monday's game in Hills.

The game was tied at three after two innings of play before H-BC-E gained control of the contest by outscoring the visitors 4-2 the rest of the way while posting a 7-5 win.

The victory was H-BC-E's second straight, and it evened the Patriots' season and conference record at 3-3.

The Patriots host Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove today before playing road games in Pipestone tomorrow and Slayton Tuesday.

H-BC-E took control of the game by scoring three runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth to open a 7-3 cushion.

Kevin Van Batavia tripled home a run, Justin Van Maanen slapped an RBI double and Darin DeBoer added an RBI single to H-BC-EÕs three-run rally in the fourth that gave it a 6-3 cushion.

Chris Tiesler tripled and scored when Zach Wysong capped a four-for-four day at the plate with an RBI single to make it a 7-3 game in the fifth.

SV-RL-B-SSC scored two times in the top of the sixth to trim the difference to two runs before being blanked in the seventh.

David Top, who had three hits for the winners, gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the first.

SV-RL-B-SSC scored three times in the top of the second before the Patriots rallied to tie the game at three with two runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Lyle DeBoer chased home one run when a ball he put in play was booted by the SV-RL-B-SSC shortstop. Van Maanen, who also had three hits in the game, sent home the tying run with a fielder's choice.

Lyle DeBoer pitched all seven innings to pick up the win.

By Jolene Farley
The weight of deciding who would fill two vacancies on the Beaver Creek City Council fell on the two remaining council members Tuesday.

The resignations of Arnold Brondsema and Julie Buysse forced Jeff Dysthe and Carolyn DeBoer to appoint two new members to serve on the council until the end of 2002.

Before votes were cast, Mayor Al Blank explained the voting process and the length of the terms for those appointed.

Daryl Fuerstenberg, Jane Blank, Burdell Willers and Arlyn Gehrke volunteered to fill the vacancies.

Dysthe and DeBoer both voted for Arlyn Gehrke, while Jane Blank and Burdell Willers each received one vote.

Dysthe and DeBoer voted four more times, each time for Blank and Willers.

With a tie vote that didn't look like it would be broken soon, the council decided to make the final decision at the next council meeting on Tuesday, May 14. Gehrke will also be voting on the appointment.

According to City Clerk Kathy Reu, Mayor Al Blank was advised that, by statute, he could not vote to break the tie. Because Blank is his daughter-in-law, there was a clear conflict of interest.

In elections this fall, voters will elect a mayor, two four-year council members and one council member to complete the two years remaining of Buysse's three-year term.

By Jolene Farley
Scores released by the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning on Hills-Beaver Creek and Hills Christian School students shows 91.3 percent of students passing the reading portion of the Basic Standards Test, while 87 percent passed the math portion of the test.

"I was pleased with the results," said Dan Ellingson, district testing coordinator.

"I can't recall what the results were last year, but I know they were very close."

Teachers emphasize the number of students passing the test and how close students who didn't pass were to passing rather than percentages, according to Ellingson. With only 23 students taking the tests in February, percentages can be misleading.

"I don't compare our school to other schools," he said. "We are more worried about our students."

This year, the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning reported improved passing rates on the Basic Skills Tests for public schools.

A passing score in the reading and math portions of the test is 600.

Of eighth-graders taking the test for the first time, 80 percent met state passing requirements on the reading test and 74 percent passed the math test, compared with 79 and 72 percent in 2001.

Of 96 Luverne Middle School students who took the test, 91.7 percent scored above 600 in reading, while 81.3 percent scored above 600 in math.

In Adrian, of 54 students who took the test, 90.7 percent scored above 600 in reading while of 53 students tested for math 88.7 percent scored above 600.

The Basic Skills Tests are administered to ensure no student graduates from a Minnesota public high school without a basic competency in reading, mathematics and written composition.

Tests in reading and math are given in the eighth grade, and a written composition test is given in 10th grade.

Hills-Beaver Creek and Hills Christian School students who haven't passed the test will be given another chance to pass in July, according to Ellingson.

To take the test again, students are required to attend a recommended number of study sessions. At the study sessions, teachers will help with reading remediation and administer practice tests.

"It's going to be good for the kids," Ellingson said. "They are not going to be worried about other class work or any co-curricular activities. They are going to be concentrating on this."

By Jolene Farley
The Hills Community Club has a variety of activities planned for Hills Friendship Days 2002 on Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8.

Festivities begin at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Rock Rapids Country Club for the Friendship Days Golf Tournament. To enter the tournament, contact Amanda Rozeboom at 962-3195 before June 4.

Also Friday, the Country Cruisers Trivia and Poker Run begins at 7 p.m. in Brandon and ends in the Hills park. For more information, contact Mark DeBoer at 962-3256.

Bright and early Saturday, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., health screenings will be offered at the Hills Fire Hall.

Also that morning, FFA Alumni will sponsor a pancake breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Hills Legion.
Following the pancake breakfast, health booths will open in the Legion featuring health information, demonstrations and giveaways.

Health and farm safety experts will speak, and car seat checks will be offered. For more information, contact Kelli Hellerud at 962-3218.

The volleyball tournament starts at 9 a.m. in the park. To enter your team, contact Amanda Rozeboom at 962-3195 by June 5.

At 10:30 a.m. the Kids' Tractor Pull begins in the park, and the Country Cruisers show off their rides from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the baseball diamond.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Hills Christian School serves lunch and concessions in the park.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the park, the Hills Lions Club and the Hills Community Club will sponsor jump tents.

Doug Chapman offers high-flying fun from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with airplane rides.

The Hills Community Club will serve an evening meal from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hills American Legion.

At 7 p.m. the Hills-Beaver Creek dance line kicks off the parade on Main Street. To register a parade entry, contact Colleen Martens at 962-3694.

The Kiddie Parade, usually a separate event, will be combined with Saturday evening's parade. The theme for the parade is Patriot Pride, and trophies will be awarded to the winning entries.

The Hills Lions Club will serve homemade ice cream before and after the parade.

Human Bowling, Giant Trikes and a Jump Tent, sponsored by Cargill and Hills Community Club, will follow the parade.