By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls made a bid to end a three-game basketball slide in Butterfield Tuesday.Taking on the Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin Wolverines in a Red Rock Conference clash, the Patriots played well enough to sport a lead during the first half.ML-B-O, however, rallied to take a 29-25 halftime lead and fought off a couple of challenges offered by the Patriots in the second half to notch a 51-47 win."We didn’t move the ball around very well in the first half," said H-BC coach Jason Blosmo."We moved the ball better in the second half and cut their lead to one point, but we couldn’t get the shots to fall after that."H-BC, which dropped its fourth consecutive game, received a 14-point, three-assist, three-steal effort from Chelsi Fink.Stacy Bush scored 13 points, collected nine rebounds, distributed five assists and charted three steals.Playing her first game since undergoing knee surgery in December, Kerri Fransman returned to the floor and recorded three steals and two assists.H-BC hosts Comfrey Friday before playing in Tyler Tuesday.Box scoreFransman 0 2 0-1 6, Bush 1 3 2-2 13, Tilstra 1 0 0-1 2, Fink 4 2 0-0 14, Helgeson 1 0 0-1 2, Roozenboom 4 0 2-4 10.Team statisticsH-BC: 18 of 62 field goals (29 percent), four of 11 free throws (36 percent), 28 rebounds, 10 turnovers.ML-B-O: 19 of 47 field goals (40 percent), 10 of 19 free throws (53 percent), 35 rebounds, 21 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ basketball team couldn’t produce a win during a pair of outings.The Cardinals lost a 20-point home decision to Marshall Friday before falling by 16 points to West Central near Hartford, S.D., Tuesday.Luverne attempts to snap a three-game skid when it travels to Worthington Saturday.WC 53, Luverne 37The Cardinals couldn’t recover from a rough start when they challenged West Central near Hartford Tuesday.WC led 9-5 after eight minutes of play before building a 14-point (24-10) halftime advantage.The hosts led 42-24 at the end of the third quarter before settling for a 16-point win at game’s end."It was a combination of turnovers and poor shooting that put us in a hole early. They took a couple of our scorers out of the game defensively, and we didn’t do much offensively at all," said Cardinal coach Jason Phelps.Maggie Kuhlman turned in a solid effort for the Cards by scoring 18 points, snaring eight rebounds and charting eight assists. Samantha Gacke registered a double-double by scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds.Box scoreKlein 1 0 1-2 3, Nieuwboer 1 0 0-0 2, Snyder 0 0 0-0 0, Kuhlman 2 4 2-2 18, Hoiland 0 0 0-0 0, Vogt 1 0 0-2 2, Gacke 5 0 2-4 12.Team statisticsLuverne 14 of 52 field goals (27 percent), five of 10 free throws (50 percent), 34 rebounds, 31 turnovers.WC: 21 of 43 field goals (49 percent), nine of 13 free throws (69 percent), 26 rebounds, 17 turnovers.Marshall 43, Luverne 23The visiting Tigers outscored the Cards 29-9 in the second half to win Friday’s game in Luverne.Luverne, which entered the game with a strategy of being patient on offense, used the tactic to play the Tigers to a draw at 14 in the first half.The Cards led 17-16 after Erin Hoiland drained a three-point shot at the 15:18 mark of the second half, but the Tigers outscored LHS 27-6 the rest of the night to win by 20.In a low-scoring first half, Luverne recovered from an 8-3 deficit with a 6-0 spurt capped by a three-point shot from Kuhlman with 6:17 left to play to give the Cards a 9-8 edge.Marshall scored the next six points to gain a 14-9 lead, but Kuhlman sank a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining to tie the game at 14.Gacke led the Cards with seven points and 12 rebounds. Kuhlman passed for five assists. Hoiland charted three steals.Box scoreNieuwboer 1 0 0-1 2, Snyder 1 0 1-3 3, Kuhlman 0 1 2-4 5, Hoiland 0 1 0-0 3, Vogt 1 0 1-2 3, Gacke 3 0 1-3 7.Team statisticsLuverne: eight of 37 field goals (22 percent), five of 13 free throws (38 percent), 21 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Marshall: 14 of 47 field goals (30 percent), 13 of 16 free throws (81 percent), 33 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ basketball team snapped a three-game slide by rolling to a 15-point win in Pipestone Tuesday.The skid reached three games with a 26-point loss in Marshall Friday.Luverne, 11-3 overall, hosts Worthington for Parents’ Night Saturday.Luverne 52, Pipestone 37The Cardinals raced to a 30-15 lead in the first half and never looked back during Tuesday’s game in Pipestone.Marc Boleman, who blocked three shots along with scoring a team-high 18 points and collecting 10 rebounds, netted 11 points to help the Cards gain a 15-point lead at the intermission.Pipestone whittled the difference to nine points at one stage of the second half, but LHS thwarted the Arrows’ rally to end a three-game losing funk."It was nice to get a win on the road," said LHS coach Tom Rops."Pipestone came out in a zone defense in the first half, and we did a good job against it. We also rebounded the ball really well, probably as well as we have in quite some time."Derek Boeve and Jake Hendricks added 12 and 10 points to the winning effort. Nick Heronimus added eight rebounds.Box scoreBoelman 7 0 4-5 18, Miller 2 0 0-2 4, Hendricks 1 1 5-9 10, Boeve 5 0 2-6 12, Heronimus 3 0 2-3 8.Team statisticsLuverne: 19 of 45 field goals (42 percent), 13 of 25 free throws (52 percent), 26 rebounds, 13 turnovers.Pipestone: 15 of 51 field goals (29 percent), seven of nine free throws (78 percent), 23 rebounds, 16 turnovers.Marshall 80, Luverne 54The Cardinals dropped their third consecutive game when they traveled to Marshall for a conference clash Friday.Luverne played with the Tigers in the first half, trailing 39-31 at the intermission. Marshall, however, outscored the Cards 41-23 in the second half to win by 26."We came out flat in the second half and didn’t play very well. Give Marshall credit for executing its game plan of getting some turnovers and scoring easy baskets," said LHS coach Rops.Forcing the Cards to turn the ball over 20 times in the game and a 39-23 rebounding advantage lifted the Tigers to victory.Derek Boeve led LHS with 25 points and six rebounds. Marc Boelman netted 10 points and blocked four shots. Nick Heronimus recorded five assists.Box scoreBoelman 4 0 2-3 10, Miller 2 1 0-0 7, Hendricks 1 2 1-2 9, Boeve 5 3 6-8 25, Clark 0 0 1-2 1, Ward 0 0 0-2 0, Sawtelle 0 0 0-2 0, Heronimus 0 0 2-4 2.Team statisticsLuverne: 18 of 51 field goals (35 percent), 12 of 23 free throws (52 percent), 23 rebounds, 20 turnovers.Marshall: 28 of 63 field goals (44 percent), 19 of 31 free throws (61 percent), 39 rebounds, five turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian girls’ basketball team bounced back from a Thursday loss to record back-to-back wins.After Southwest Star Concept nipped the Dragons by three points in Adrian Thursday, AHS secured a 36-point home victory over Windom Saturday. The Dragons posted a 10-point win over Red Rock Central in Jeffers Tuesday.Adrian, 8-7 overall, hosts Westbrook-Walnut Grove Friday and Round Lake-Brewster Tuesday.Adrian 64, RRC 54The Dragons delivered a birthday gift to head coach Randy Strand when they defeated the Falcons by 10 points in Jeffers Tuesday.After trailing the Falcons in the first half, the Dragons scored the final six points of the half to gain a 25-23 lead.AHS proceeded to score the first 10 points of the second half to gain control of the game much to the pleasure of Strand, who was observing his 50th birthday."The girls gave me a nice birthday present," he said.Sam Lynn, who charted four steals, recorded a double-double by scoring 15 points and passing for 10 assists. Brittany Bullerman scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Kelsey Tjepkes snared six rebounds and Emily Thier added five assists to the cause.Box scoreEr.Thier 1 1 0-0 5, Em.Thier 1 0 0-0 2, Tjepkes 3 0 3-4 9, N.Lynn 2 0 2-4 6, S.Lyn 4 1 4-6 15, K.Bullerman 3 0 3-4 9, B.Bullerman 6 0 2-2 14, Kt.Wiertsema 2 0 0-0 4.Team statisticsAdrian: 24 of 56 field goals (43 percent), 12 of 20 free throws (70 percent), 30 rebounds, 10 turnovers.RRC: 23 of 65 field goals (35 percent), five of 14 free throws (36 percent), 34 rebounds, 17 turnovers.Adrian 70, Windom 34The Dragons turned in one of the most impressive efforts of the season when they dominated the Eagles by 36 points Saturday in Adrian.Adrian raced to a 15-point lead (34-19) in the first half and iced the contest by outscoring Windom 36-15 in the final 18 minutes of play."We played pretty well," said AHS coach Strand. "We put some pressure on them and got some easy buckets."Brittany Bullerman led the Dragons with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in the game. Katlin Wiertsema also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.Samantha Lynn added 14 points and five assists to the winning cause.Box scoreEr.Thier 1 0 0-0 2, Em.Thier 1 0 0-0 2, Tjepkes 2 0 0-0 4, N.Lynn 1 0 1-4 3, S.Lynn 4 1 3-3 14, Reisdorfer 2 0 4-4 8, Kl.Wiertsema 1 0 0-0 2, Block 0 1 0-0 3, B.Bullerman 8 0 6-10 22, Kt.Wiertsema 5 0 0-1 10.Team statisticsAdrian: 26 of 68 field goals (38 percent), 14 of 22 free throws (64 percent), 49 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Windom: 11 of 54 field goals (20 percent), 11 of 20 free throws (55 percent), 30 rebounds, 24 turnovers.SSC 42, Adrian 39A late-game rally by the hosts fell three points short when the Dragons entertained the Quasars Thursday in Adrian.Trailing by 10 points (34-24) with 7:46 left to play in the game, Adrian clawed its way back into the contest by putting together a 15-6 run capped by two free throws from Samantha Lynn with 25.6 seconds remaining to trail 40-39.SSC’s Shannon Hussong canned two free throws with 18.1 seconds showing on the clock to give the Quasars a three-point cushion. Adrian put up two potential game-tying shots in the final six seconds, but both attempts came up empty.After facing three two-point deficits in the early stages of the game, SSC gained its first lead at 7-6 and never trailed the rest of the game.The Quasars led 17-16 before closing the first half with a 6-0 spurt to gain a 23-16 advantage at the intermission.Lynn finished the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Dragons. Brittany Bullerman led the hosts with 11 rebounds. Kayla Bullerman recorded five steals.Box scoreEr.Thier 2 0 0-1 4, Em.Thier 1 1 0-0 5, Tjepkes 0 0 2-2 2, N.Lynn 0 0 0-0 0, Reisdorfer 0 0 0-0 0, K.Bullerman 3 0 0-1 6, B.Bullerman 2 0 2-2 6, Wiertsema 0 0 2-2 2, S.Lynn 4 1 3-4 14.Team statisticsAdrian: 14 of 49 field goals (29 percent), nine of 12 free throws (75 percent), 29 rebounds, 17 turnovers.SSC: 17 of 49 field goals (35 percent), seven of 10 free throws (70 percent), 26 rebounds, 13 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne gymnastics team picked up its first Southwest Conference win of the season when it edged Pipestone Monday in Luverne.The Cardinals lost a home league match to Jackson County Central Thursday.Luverne, 11-6 overall, competes in Windom Friday.Luverne 131.375, Pipestone 129.975Victoria Arends and Morgan Bosshart captured individual titles to lead the Cardinals to a 1.4-point home victory over the Arrows Monday.Arends, who tied for third place on the floor with teammate Courtney Fodness (8.4 scores), won the bars and vault championships with respective 8.4 and 9.175 efforts.Bosshart tallied an 8.75 to win the floor title during the meet.Along with sharing third place with Arends on the floor, Fodness finished fourth on the beam with a 7.8.Brittany Mulder placed second on the floor (8.475) and tied for third place on the vault (8.9).Pipestone’s Lindsay Wolff, the all-around champion with 34.375 points, took top honors on the beam with an 8.8.Individual resultsBars: Arends, 8.4; Fodness, 8.05; Mulder, 7.925; Bosshart, 7.6; Krista Van Dyk, 7.5.Beam: Fodness, 7.8; Van Dyk, 7.5; Mulder, 7.475; Arends, 7.1; Brittany Sandager, 6.7.Floor: Bosshart, 8.75; Mulder, 8.475; Fodness, 8.4; Arends, 8.4; Jackie Broomfield, 7.225.Vault: Arends, 9.175; Mulder, 8.9; Bosshart, 8.885; Fodness, 8.6; LaRae Kor, 8.1.JCC 140.425, Luverne 132.725The Cardinals dropped their third consecutive conference match when they entertained the Huskies Thursday.JCC’s Kylla Bargfrede stole the show while leading the Huskies to a seven-plus point victory over LHS.Bargfrede won the bars (8.65), beam (9.325), floor (9.1), vault (9.275) and all-around (36.35) titles.Luverne’s Arends finished third on the bars and vault with respective 8.35 and 9.15 efforts. She placed fourth all-around with a 33.525 score.Mulder and Bosshart placed third and fourth on the floor with 8.85 and 8.8 tallies. Fodness finished third all-around with a score of 33.525.Individual resultsBars: Arends, 8.35; Fodness, 8.25; Mulder, 8.05; Bosshart, 7.75; Krista Van Dyk, 5.35.Beam: Fodness, 8.35; Arends, 8.25; Mulder, 7.35; Brittany Sandager, 6.8; Bosshart, 5.15.Floor: Mulder, 8.85; Bosshart, 8.8; Fodness, 8.425; Arends, 7.775; Jackie Broomfield, 7.3.Vault: Arends, 9.15; Mulder, 8.95; Bosshart, 8.85; Fodness, 8.775; LaRae Kor, 8.2.

By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season Jan. 17 in Tyler by racking up three straight home victories in the past week.The Panthers knocked off Minneota Friday, Remsen (Iowa) St. Mary’s Saturday and Round Lake-Brewster Monday to up their season record to 17-1.Ellsworth hosts Lake Benton Friday before playing in Little Rock, Iowa, Monday.Ellsworth 89, RL-B 64Cody Schilling registered his second consecutive triple-double to lift the Panthers to a 25-point home win over the Raiders Monday.R-LB canned 70 percent of its field goals in the first half to keep the game close (EHS led 43-37 at the intermission), but Schilling saved his best for the second half.The EHS sophomore, who pulled down 19 rebounds and passed for 10 assists, netted 19 of his game-high 31 points to help the Panthers outscore the Raiders 46-27 in the final 18 minutes."Everything they threw up bounced around and fell in during the first half," said EHS coach Markus Okeson."Once they started missing some shots, we were able to get out and run in the second half."Aaron Van Der Stoep hit seven three-points shots and contributed 23 points to the winning cause. Ben Herman scored 12 points and collected nine caroms. Bryan Kramer contributed 10 points and three steals.Box scoreDeBerg 3 0 2-2 8, Kramer 3 1 1-1 10, Schilling 9 0 13-13 31, Van Der Stoep 1 7 0-0 23, Herman 4 0 4-5 12, Chapa 1 0 0-0 2, Jansma 1 0 1-1 3.Team statisticsEllsworth: 35 of 66 field goals (53 percent), 21 of 22 free throws (95 percent), 37 rebounds, seven turnovers.RL-B: 25 of 50 field goals (50 percent), 12 o 14 free throws (86 percent), 20 rebounds, nine turnovers.Ellsworth 88, RSM 75The Panthers survived a strong challenge by Remsen St. Mary’s to post a 13-point home win Saturday.After falling behind by 17 points early in the first half, the Panthers battled back to slice RSM’s lead to one point (45-44) at the intermission. Ellsworth proceeded to outscore the visitors 44-30 in the second half to notch the win."They were playing a man-to-man defense until we hit a couple of shots, then they switched to a 2-3 zone. We were able to come back against their zone," said coach Okeson.Schilling and Van Der Stoep, who scored 21 and 13 points respectively in the second half, turned in career-high 39- and 31-point efforts. Van Der Stoep tied a school record by making nine three-point shots.Schilling, who had three steals, recorded a triple-double by adding 16 rebounds and 10 assists to his point total. Herman added three steals to the cause.Box scoreDeBerg 1 0 1-2 3, Kramer 1 1 0-0 5, Schilling 9 1 18-19 39, Van Der Stoep 0 9 4-4 31, Herman 1 1 2-3 7, Jansma 1 0 1-1 3.Team statisticsEllsworth: 25 of 54 field goals (46 percent), 26 of 29 free throws (90 percent), 39 rebounds, eight turnovers.RSM: 24 of 53 field goals (45 percent), 22 of 28 free throws (79 percent), 28 rebounds, 11 turnovers.Ellsworth 88, Minneota 35The Panthers bounced back from their first loss of the season three days earlier by roughing up the Vikings by 50 points in Ellsworth Friday.Cashing in on 61 percent of its field goals in the game, Ellsworth rolled to a 44-15 halftime lead before outscoring Minneota 41-20 in the second half to win handily."We shot the lights out," said coach Okeson. "They came out in a zone, and we shot very well against it."Schilling, who pulled down 14 rebounds and distributed six assists, led the charge with 24 points. Van Der Stoep and Kramer scored 17 points each. Kramer led the Panthers with four steals. Herman nabbed five rebounds.Box scoreNolte 1 0 0-0 2, DeBerg 2 0 0-0 4, Deutsch 1 1 0-1 5, Kramer 4 3 0-0 17, Schilling 9 0 6-8 24, Matejske 1 0 0-0 2, Van Der Stoep 1 5 0-0 17, Herman 2 0 0-0 4, Chapa 2 0 0-0 4, Lindemann 0 0 2-4 2, Jansma 2 0 0-0 4.Team statisticsEllsworth: 34 of 56 field goals (61 percent), eight of 13 free throws (62 percent), 37 rebounds, 11 turnovers.Minneota: 13 of 41 field goals (32 percent), eight of 11 free throws (73 percent), 17 rebounds, 19 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseAn undermanned Luverne wrestling team came up empty in its attempt to produce a win during the annual Cardinal Wrestling Team Tournament staged in the Luverne Elementary School Saturday.Luverne, which had to forfeit in at least six weight classes during all four of its matches, couldn’t make up the points it was giving away.The Cardinals went 0-4 and finished sixth during the event.Luverne faced Sioux Falls Lincoln and Worthington in the first two rounds of the tournament, coming up on the short end of 61-18 and 60-27 decisions.Brandon Valley and tournament champion Wabasso saddled the Cards with 69-9 and 71-6 setbacks to end the event.Luverne’s Kelsey Petersen and Brad Donth wrestled well individually by posting 3-1 records.After being pinned by Lincoln’s Tanner LaVauerg 36 seconds into overtime during the first round, Petersen bounced back to win by forfeit against Worthington, edge BV’s Scott Filler 13-12 and pin Wabasso’s Jon Knott in 52 seconds.Donth pinned Lincoln’s David Baker in 45 seconds, won by forfeit against Worthington and pinned BV’s Tanner Lunstra in 40 seconds. Donth lost by technical fall to Wabasso’s Alex Ourada.Luverne’s Derek Petersen went 2-2 during the tournament, opening the event with a pin of Lincoln’s Alex Sandle (3:54) and a 4-0 decision win over Worthington’s Dayton Williamson.For the Cardinals, Michael Hup went 1-0, Anthony Boyenga and Nathan Meyer 1-3, Rustyn Crosby 0-3 and Chris Klay and Sam Dooyema 0-4.Match wrap-upsSF Lincoln 61, Luverne 18103 (L) D.Petersen pins Sandle.112 (S) Waterman by forfeit.119 (S) Sogn by forfeit.125 (S) Richter by forfeit.130 (S) Pio by forfeit.135 (L) Donth pins Baker.140 (S) Dutcher by forfeit.145 (S) Wulf 11-5 Boyenga.152 (S) Teal pins Crosby.160 (LaVauerg pins K.Petersen.171 (L) Meyer pins Butl.189 (S) Reit pins Klay.215 (S) Boehm 9-0 Dooyema.275 (S) Bissle by forfeit.Worthington 60, Luverne 27103 (L) Hup by forfeit.112 (L) D.Petersen 4-0 Williamson.119 (W) Pass by forfeit.125 (W) Rigalado by forfeit.130 (W) Canales by forfeit.135 (L) Donth by forfeit.140 (W) Steffl by forfeit.145 (L) Boyenga by forfeit.152 (W) Steffl pins Crosby.160 (L) K.Petersen by forfeit.171 (W) Steffl pins Meyer.189 (W) Cowdin pins Klay.215 (W) Schroeder pins Dooyema.275 (W) Bentele by forfeit.BV 69, Luverne 9103 (B) Uecker pins D.Petersen.112 (B) Hoffer by forfeit.119 (B) Miller by forfeit.125 (B) Daugherty by forfeit.130 (B) Williamson by forfeit.135 (L) Donth pins Lunstra.140 (B) Ruud by forfeit.145 (B) Langner 9-3 Boyenga.152 (B) Meyer pins Crosby.160 (L) K.Petersen 13-12 Filler.171 (B) Eitreim pins Meyer.189 (B) Ode pins Klay.215 (B) Neuberger pins Dooyema.275 (B) Kutter by forfeit.Wabasso 71, Luverne 6103 (W) Schunk 3-0 D.Petersen.112 (W) Grave by forfeit.119 (W) Rohlik by forfeit.125 (W) Jenniges by forfeit.130 (W) Elsing by forfeit.135 (W) Ourada t.f. Donth.140 (W) Ourada by forfeit.145 (W) Ourada pins Boyenga.152 (W) Altermatt by forfeit.160 (L) K.Petersen pins Knott.171 (W) Gladisch pins Meyer.189 (W) Wurscher pins Klay.215 (W) Johanneck 7-0 Dooyema.275 (W) Christensen by forfeit.

By Lexi MooreStudents in third through sixth grades are learning the art of watercolor from guest artist Jim Mondloch.Mondloch, an artist and teacher from St. Cloud, is known for his watercolor artwork and his ability to motivate and get his students to be involved in the painting process.On Monday he arrived in Beaver Creek with a van full of supplies and paintings. His residency will conclude on Friday.The first day, students learned about watercolor painting techniques and how to mix the paint with water.The grades will spend an hour each afternoon practicing the skills Mondloch is teaching.The students create a series of their own original paintings throughout the week. Their favorite paintings will be displayed at an art show on Feb. 16 in the elementary commons.Mondloch’s arrival at the school did not happen by accident. It took several months of planning and considerable financing.Last fall, principal Todd Holthaus applied for a grant with the Young Audiences of Minnesota.The organization is in its 42nd year of providing arts-in-education programs for students, families and communities in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.The application for the grant was accepted, but Holthaus needed additional funds to pay for the supplies the students would be using. The Exchange State Bank donated money to help make the weeklong residence possible.Jim Mondloch, Minnesota WatercoloristMondloch, a Young Audiences of Minnesota member, began painting while in college at South Dakota State University. He owns Mondloch Painting Contractors, a company offering commercial and residential painting in central Minnesota.He has had paintings displayed at several arts festivals and shows in Minnesota.In 2001, he joined Young Audiences of Minnesota. His love for art is revealed by the joy he experiences when he gets to teach people about art and watch them create it.He hopes students gain a deeper understanding of the artistic discipline and learn artistic terminology.During class, Jim demonstrates watercolor techniques, working with color, texture, values, design and various washes and brushstrokes.As is Mondloch’s habit, he will donate one of his prints to H-BC as a thank you for hosting his residency.The work can be used as an auction or raffle item to help raise money for the school’s art fund. Holthaus hopes to have a raffle in conjunction with the art show in February.

By Lexi MooreHills-Beaver Creek School District honored its paraprofessional workers last week during Minnesota Paraprofessional Recognition Week.Paraprofessionals fill many important roles at the H-BC Elementary School and High School, and teachers and administrators say these individuals make their jobs easier."We have a great group," superintendent David Deragisch said at Monday’s School Board meeting. "They do an outstanding job – day in and day out."Elementary principal Todd Holthaus said he’s proud of the work the group did last year to become certified under new No Child Left Behind laws.The new law requires all paraprofessionals working at a school to be certified. Certification is awarded after completing testing and attending several workshops or seminars."We really couldn’t do it without them," Holthaus said. "They make our school better." Enrollment review:Deragisch presented the School Board with enrollment numbers for the second half of the year, compared to where the numbers were on Sept. 8.Enrollment at the elementary school lost two students for a total of 140. The high school lost four students, bringing that total to 162.Overall, Deragisch said he’s not concerned with the loss of six students."We are still way ahead in student totals when you look at where we were projected to be five years ago – we are holding our own."He also said Holthaus expects to have a strong 20 coming into kindergarten next year.School Board Election Changes:On Monday, the board began looking at election options for future elections because of new state election mandates that would be costly to the school.In the past, the district has held board elections on odd years, in order to call more local attention to the elections. Typically, in odd years, there are few national, state and local elections, giving the school district plenty of room to make candidates known in the community.Due to new state requirements for using standardized counting and voting machines at all polling places, the district is considering moving its elections to even years.This will allow H-BC’s candidates’ names to appear on the ballot with national, state, county and local elections. This will save the district from having to pay for an entire election out of its budget.With the current system, the district pays for election judges and little else. The election takes place at the high school with handwritten ballots.Meeting the standards of the new system would require the district to pay for the ballots, the use of the new automatic counter and automatic marker machines, judges and an additional handicap-accessible machine. Deragisch estimates this bill could total nearly $10,000.He presented the board with a solution that would change the year of the school board elections to even years, giving the district the option to use local machines and ballots, with nearly zero cost to the district. To change the year of the elections, the board would need to adopt a resolution establishing a transition plan.If the board decides to adopt the resolution, members would add a year to their terms. Board members who would have been up for re-election in 2007 would have their terms extended to 2008, while board members elected last November would not be up for re-election until 2010.The board will vote on this resolution in February or March, giving time for community members to voice their opinions on the matter.Dates to Remember:
Report cards were mailed to parents on Friday, Jan. 20.
Thursday, Feb. 2, will be H-BC skating night for elementary students at the H-BC gym. There will be a DJ, door prizes and food available.
Monday, Feb. 6, will be Family Reading Night at H-BC Elementary.Policy News:H-BC School Board members heard the first reading of three policies. The board will vote to accept or deny the new versions of policies 529, 530 and 532 at the board meeting on Feb. 13.
Policy 529 deals with staff notification of violent behavior by students. It states that the school is required to notify any staff or paraprofessionals working directly with a student who was violent in the past year.Violent behavior includes damage to the building or property or harming a school employee.
Policy 530 states that the school district requires proof of immunizations for communicable diseases as a condition of enrollment.
The purpose of policy 532 is to describe the appropriate use of peace officers and crisis teams to remove a student with an individualized education program from the school grounds.