By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Cardinal baseball team captured its second consecutive championship of the South Third District VFW Tournament by posting a pair of wins late last week.The Cardinals rolled to a 10-run win over Slayton during Thursday’s opener at Redbird Field.Luverne met Pipestone in Saturday’s championship game in Worthington.Playing the game without six regulars due to scheduling conflicts, the Cardinals rallied from a 4-0 deficit to pull out a 6-5 victory."We didn’t have a lot of our guys there, but it worked out good for us," said Luverne coach Mike Wenninger."With nine players, we didn’t have any substitutes. It worked out pretty good."The 27-6 Cardinals will compete at the Third District VFW Baseball Tournament in Worthington Saturday and Sunday.Luverne 6, Pipestone 5A clutch rally and a stunning play at the plate gave the Cardinals their second straight Southern Division title in Worthington Saturday.After falling behind 4-0 when Pipestone scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and one in the third, Luverne moved in front 6-4 by scoring six times in the fourth and fifth frames.The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh, when the first two Pipestone batters reached base safely.Luverne pitcher Caleb Bruynes nearly escaped the jam by fanning the next two batters he faced, but Pipestone’s clean-up hitter lifted a fly ball that found the outfield grass between Luverne’s second baseman and right fielder. Luverne second baseman Chris Fitzer retrieved the ball from short right field, but the Pipestone runner on second base scored his team’s fifth run by that time.When the runner who was on first base prior to the hit tried to tie the game, Fitzer threw a perfect strike (on the fly) to catcher Zach Olson, who applied the game-ending tag at home plate."The hit landed in a triangle between our second baseman, centerfielder and right fielder, allowing the first run to score" Wenninger explained. "Chris picked up the ball in short right field and threw a perfect strike to home, nailing the second guy trying to score. It was a quick play, but the guy definitely was out."Although it was a great defensive play that clinched the victory for Luverne, it took some timely hitting by the Cardinals to place themselves in a position to win the game.Luverne moved in front to stay (5-4) when it exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth inning.Jake Clark drew a walk and scored the first run when Olson doubled. Following a walk to Fitzer, Tyler Reisch singled home a run to make it 4-2. Back-to-back walks drawn by Jeremy Hoff and Bruynes accounted for the third run of the frame, and Chris Den Hoed capped the rally with a two-run single.The Cards scored their sixth run of the game in the fifth inning. Clark walked, advanced to third on a double by Olson. A sacrifice fly by Fitzer plated Clark with what proved to be the game-winning run.Bruynes worked all seven innings of the hill to get the win. He fanned seven batters during a six-hit, one-walk effort.Box score AB R H BIClark 1 2 0 0Olson 4 1 2 1Fitzer 2 1 0 1Reisch 3 1 2 1Hoff 2 1 0 0Bruynes 2 0 0 1Den Hoed 3 0 1 2Arndt 3 0 0 0Skattum 3 0 0 0Luverne 11, Slayton 1The Cardinals opened the tournament Thursday by posting a five-inning win over Slayton at Redbird Field.Reisch and Hoff drove in a combined five runs and Micah Boomgaarden tossed a complete game during a 10-run victory.After Slayton gained a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Reisch ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the first before scoring on an error to give the Cards a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish.Luverne proceeded to score at least one run in the next four innings to win the game by the 10-run rule.Boomgaarden, who pitched five innings to get the win, helped his own cause by singling and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Reisch in the second. Derek Elbers reached base on an error and scored on an error in the same inning, expanding Luverne’s lead to four runs at 5-1.Clark drew a bases-loaded walk in the third inning and Hoff slapped a run-scoring single in the fourth to make it a 7-1 game.Olson and Hoff delivered run-scoring singles to highlight a four-run fifth inning, which ended the game due to the 10-run rule.Boomgaarden fanned five batters and walked two during the contest.Box score AB R H BIClark 2 2 1 1Elbers 3 3 0 0Reisch 2 2 2 3DeBoer 3 0 0 0Skattum 1 0 0 0Olson 3 2 0 1Hoff 4 0 2 2Bruynes 1 0 1 0Arndt 3 0 0 0Boomgaarden 2 2 0 0

By John RittenhouseLuverne’s Colby Anderson led a two-person team to the overall championship of the Britz Open Golf Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club.Anderson, a standout golfer during his playing days with the Luverne High School team, joined forces with a former rival to win the all-around title during Saturday’s event.Anderson, who played with Augsburg College’s men’s program during the fall and spring seasons this past year, teamed up with Pipestone’s Ben Morgan to shoot a gross 64 and run away with the overall championship.The Britz Open is a unique 18-hole tournament, which requires two-player teams to play nine holes under scrambler rules and the final nine under an alternate-shot format.Anderson and Morgan carded a 33 during the first round and a 31 during alternate shot play to win the overall title by five strokes.Gary Golla and Don Klosterbuer, champions of the tournament’s Senior Men’s Division, placed second overall with a 69.Corey Stratton and Craig Martinson, who placed second to Anderson and Morgan in the Men’s Division, shot a 70 to place third overall.With Anderson and Morgan leading the way, 11 teams played in the Men’s Division. Mike and Andy Haakenson placed third in the division with a 72.Golla and Klosterbuer emerged as the champions of what proved to be a very competitive Senior Men’s Division. The 69 turned in by the division winners proved to be two strokes better than the 71 carded by Arvin Schaap and Fred Vander Kolk, and three strokes better than the 72 recorded by George McDonald and Mark Loosbrock.Paula Lammert and Lisa Dinger combined efforts to shoot a 77 and take top honors in the Women’s Division.Emily Crabtree and Mary Jo Graphenteen placed second with an 80, while Nancy Frakes and Myrna Van Voorst finished third with an 89.Dan Serie and Melissa Sterrett shot a 72 to win the Mixed Division.Chris Nowatzki and Sue Schneekloth carded a 75 to place second in the division. Karen Fey and Cody Hemme placed third with an 80.Alyssa Klein and Skyler Hoiland turned in a 75 to win the Junior Division.Matthew Sterrett and Phil Pickett placed second with an 85, and Britton Stratton and Zane Aubert placed third with a 95.A total of 36 teams competed in the event, which is hosted by 1979 U.S. Women’s Open and Luverne native Jerilyn Britz.

Last fall when I moved into my home in Hills, I had missed the apple season. The trees no longer were bearing fruit; the ground had stopped playing host to dozens of rotting cores – the process had ended.However, when my husband first saw the house in July, the apple trees were full and the image stuck with him. This year as July rolled in and began to pass, he started wondering about the apples. Why were his apple trees bare?I told him that it was not time for apples yet, but he assured me there were other trees in town that had tiny green apples hanging from their branches and that at this time last year the trees were full.At first I dismissed his complaints. It really didn’t matter that I didn’t have apples. I have lived with apple trees before and hate having to mow over the rotting apples that have fallen to the ground.However, his persistence continued to the point that I realized he might have decided to buy this house based on the sheer volume of apples it promised.Last fall he purchased a pie pan (we have never baked a pie) so that he could bake apple pies this summer. He talked about having an apple stand on the corner, had asked around about making apple sauce and even spent some amount of time worrying about the neighbors stealing all of the apples.Therefore, last week I decided to look into the problem so he could rest easy knowing he hadn’t killed the trees.My first resource was to ask the ladies at the Luverne Announcer office. Unfortunately, they offered little help. They just suggested the trees might be taking a year off. My boss, Rick Peterson, said he was having the same issue with his apple tree in Luverne – it had produced two lonely apples.Next stop, Deb DenHerder at the Rock County Extension Office.The Extension Service offered by the University of Minnesota is a handy little tool that is often overlooked by county residents. To learn more about the services offered, please read this week’s "Web site of the Week."DenHerder, the Extension Office manager, took down my questions, asked me several more and said that she would look into the situation and get back to me.Several days passed and I started thinking this Extension Office thing was a waste of taxpayer money, but on Monday a package arrived from her office.A nice hand-written note accompanied several pages of tree information.She diagnosed the problem with the crab apple tree as fire blight and referred me on to local nurseries for the McIntosh tree.Fire blight is caused by a bacterium that affects more than 130 plant species in the rose family. In Minnesota, fire blight is most often seen on apple, crab apple, pear, mountain ash and cotoneaster trees.The bacterium leaves the infected flowers shriveled and brown or black in color. As the infection progresses, leaves on the same branch turn dark brown or black (as if burned by fire). The leaves hang downward before falling to the ground.If the tree had fruit, it would become mummified and cling to the tree for several months.I had been watching these symptoms for months on my crab apple tree and am pretty sure DenHerder correctly identified the problem.The bacteria can get into the tree during warm, humid weather, especially following a spring or summer hailstorm. This was in line with our recent weather patterns.Now I will begin the search for properly ridding our tree of fire blight.I wonder if I can get a giant bottle of pink amoxicillin. That kills bacteria, doesn’t it?As for the other apple tree, the verdict is still out. It is not displaying the signs of fire blight, yet there isn’t any fruit. It has been suggested that it only blooms every other year or that the blossoms froze during a late winter storm.Whatever the reason, I hope the apples are back next year. Otherwise, what is the use of having a pie pan?Story ideas or comments can be emailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

10 years ago (1995)"Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Spindler and son, Klass, Brazil, arrived Sunday night for a couple days’ visit in the Charlie and Dawn Sandager home. They are the parents of Cristiano Spindler, the Sandagers’ exchange student. The family will be vacationing for two weeks in Canada and various parts of the U.S."25 years ago (1980)"Betty Rauk will retire from Rauk’s Grocery on Aug. 23 after 33 years of service.She has been affiliated with the store since 1947. The store was founded by her father in 1909. Her son, Ron, will continue to operate the store."50 years ago (1955)"The Spitzer Well Drilling Co. of Tracy won the bid for drilling the new well for Hills. Drilling will get underway within the next few weeks, according to plans. Spitzer’s bid was set at $4,055, to drill to a depth of 2,240 feet, plus setting a sand screen. He was the lowest bidder on the job. At present the company has a rig working at Edgerton, where they are drilling a well down into rock." 75 years ago (1930)"The Luverne fire truck was called to the Ben Slieter farm home Monday afternoon to assist with the fire in a new stack of straw near the barn. The straw stack burned to the ground and it is believed to have started from a lighted cigarette. With the help of the fire truck and threshing crew they saved the barn." 100 years ago (1905)"Lars Kolsrud has got the record beat for Martin township corn so far this year. He brought in five stalks Tuesday which measured 9 feet 2 inches. Each stalk has two large ears silked out. Lars says he has about thirty acres of the same quality on the school section north of his home. Talk about corn country. Martin township is surely ‘It.’ "

New to Hills is Violet Solberg, mother of Ron Solberg. Violet moved to Hills from Fosston and now lives at 204 N. 2nd St. Welcome to Hills, Violet!We welcome Amy (Buys) and Eric Haan to Hills. Amy and Eric reside at 500 Josephine Drive. Amy is originally from Edgerton and will teach kindergarten and first and second grades at Hills Christian School. Eric, who is originally from Sioux Center, Iowa, is now employed as a correctional officer for the Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls. Eric moved to Hills on May 1 and Amy joined him after their wedding on June 18. Congratulations and welcome to Hills, Amy and Eric!Congratulations to Mark and Kelly (Tucker) DeBoer of Hills on their marriage Saturday, July 9. Kelly and 7 1/2-year-old daughter, Lexi, are originally from Sioux City, Iowa. Mark, Kelly and Lexi will reside at 116 S. Church Ave. until their new home on the southeast part of Hills is finished. Mark works with his father, Erwin, at Erwin’s Towing and Recovery. Welcome to Hills, Kelly and Lexi!Sunday, July 24, Dan and Joan Schaefer, Rosemont, visited with Haley, Josh and new grandson, Leis Tollefson, for the day. Haley is employed by the H-BC school system and works with the after school program Kid-Kare and ECFE. Josh works at Citibank in Sioux Falls.Ray and Lois Nelson recently spent several days in Brooklyn Center with their son, Bruce. Bruce had taken a week off work, and Ray and Lois helped him work on building his new garage. Mark and Karen Sandager, Hills, recently spent a week in Boston, Mass., where Karen attended a continuing education course in nursing. Jane, Clare and Isaac Schubert arrived July 20 for a month of visiting with Fran Sandager, Jane’s mother, and family in the Hills area. Jane and family are from Tanzania, Africa, where Jane’s husband, Daryl, is a missionary. Daryl is expected to arrive in a couple of weeks and join the family.Ian Sandager, son of Mark and Karen Sandager, returned to Hills for a visit after 10 months studying in Ireland and traveling in Europe and Africa. Ian is a student at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa, studying agriculture. Lonnie Albers celebrated his 45th birthday Saturday, July 23, with his son Zachary, sister, Cheryl Pavel, and niece Cheyenne Albers, by spending the day having fun in the sun at Wild Water West Water Park in Sioux Falls. On Sunday, July 24, Lonnie’s parents, Marvin and June Albers, son Zachary, Cheryl Pavel and Cheyenne, were guests of Lonnie’s where they enjoyed cupcakes decorated by Cheyenne and all played many rousing games of bingo. On Thursday, July 21, the Luverne Masonic Lodge presented a 50-year pin to Norman Larson. Norman is originally from this area and now lives in California. While in the area he was able to visit with many friends that he hadn’t seen for awhile. Don Briggs attended the Masonic Conference in Worthington on Saturday, July 23. Sandy and Tom Bush of Hills camped at Blue Mounds State Park this last weekend where they met with family for a Benson reunion. Wendell and Kathryn Erickson enjoyed all their children over the weekend by having a family reunion at Lake Madison, S.D. On Thursday, July 21, son Hans and his wife, Susan, and grandchildren, Siri and Maxwell of Eagan arrived. On Friday, July 22, all the Erickson children met Wendell and Kathryn at Lake Madison. Present for the reunion were Hans and Susan Erickson and children, Siri and Maxwell, Eagan; Margaret Erickson, Worthington; Dr, Kirsten Erickson and her husband, Patrick Anderson, Sioux Falls; Charles Erickson, Waconia; and Dr. Anna Erickson and her husband, Michael Gilman, and their children, Jens, Krista and Ben Gilman, Eden Prairie.

Summer has definitely arrived! The temperatures have been up to and sometimes over 90 degrees. So, if you didn’t get your suntan it wasn’t the weatherman’s fault.Our weather has been fairly predictable until Sunday evening when the clouds started building up. Soon the lightning began flashing and the thunder roared. The wind was blowing and there were hailstones hitting my windows. Thank goodness it didn’t last long. It must have rained very hard as I have heard of many, many homes having water in their basements, including mine. I didn’t have that much and I could sweep it to the drain but my son said he had two feet of water in their basement. That is just too much! Hopefully there will be better days ahead.Scott, Ladine and Evan Marquardt, Julie and Olivia from Portland, Ore., Bill and Bertha Bosch, and Mildred Keunen, all from Steen, were coffee guests in the Jo Aykens home Thursday morning to help Mildred Keunen celebrate her birthday. Rick Scholten underwent back surgery at the Sioux Falls Surgical Center on Wednesday. We wish him a speedy recovery. Joan Hoogeveen, Henrietta Huenink and Lucy VanWyhe attended the Christian Women’s Club meeting at Rock Rapids United Methodist Church Wednesday noon for lunch and a program in the afternoon.Sunday Wilda Pfeiffer from Coffeen, Ill., arrived by plane to visit her sister, Melba Boeve. They enjoyed dinner together at the Brian Boeve home in Sioux Falls.Friday Jo and Joyce Aykens and Mildred Keunen went to Orange City, Iowa, where they enjoyed lunch with Paul and Carole Aykens, Vince and Laurie Kurtz and daughter, McKenzie, and Andrea Aykens, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Henry Vander Weerd underwent knee replacement surgery on Tuesday at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. The Steen softball team will play Ellsworth on Friday, July 29, at Steen. The Steen team will play Hardwick at Hardwick on Tuesday, Aug. 2. I would like to share this following article about memories.Treasured MemoriesBy Norma SinclairWhile still in the hospital after the birth of my youngest son, I called home to speak with my other children. After talking with Jimmy (my five-year-old), I asked him to pass the phone to Benny.After making a couple of remarks and receiving no answer, I asked, "Jimmy, do you still have the phone?" A quiet "yes" was the response. "Well, say something and then give the phone to Benny.""I don’t want to say anything Mommy, I just want to listen to you." The warm glow I felt with his comment has stayed with me; it is nice to be missed.But it wasn’t until years later that I fully appreciated Jimmy’s feeling because there was a situation when I, too, "just wanted to listen." My oldest son was serving in Vietnam and managed to place a call home through a ham operator. I had little to say; I just wanted to listen."

PROBATE COURTDISTRICT COURT-COUNTY COURTPROBATE DIVISIONORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING FOR FORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE IN SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKBert Spykerboer, DeceasedTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS:It is Ordered and Notice is hereby given that on the 22nd day of August, 2005, at 3:30 O’clock P.M., a hearing will be held in the above named Court at Rock County Courthouse, Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of the above named deceased, dated August 4, 1995, and for the appointment of Priscilla Spykerboer, whose address is 361 170th Avenue, Ellsworth, Minnesota 56129, as personal representative of the estate of the above named decedent in supervised administration, and that any objections thereto must be filed with the Court. That, if proper, and no objections are filed, said personal representatives will be appointed to administer the estate, to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses, and sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the estate. Upon completion of the administration, the representative shall file a final account for the allowance and shall distribute the estate to the persons thereto entitled as ordered by the Court, and close the estate. Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representatives or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred. Dated: July 25, 2005 /s/Timothy K. ConnellDistrict Court Judge /s/ /s/Douglas E. Eisma Sandra L. VrtacnikAttorney for Petitioner Court AdministratorEisma and Eisma130 East Main, Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507)283-4828I.D. #158343(7-28, 8-4)

Hills-Beaver Creek Dist. 671Minutes6-30-05The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board met for its semimonthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the library in Beaver Creek. Board members present were Harnack, Esselink, Crawford, Leuthold, and DeBoer. Absent were Boeve and Baker. Superintendent Deragisch and Principal Holthaus were also in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Harnack. Visitors to the meeting were recognized by the chairman. The only visitor was Lexi Moore of The Crescent. Motion by Esselink, second by Leuthold, and carried to approve Rollie Crawford to fill out the term of Matt Larson who resigned. Resolution attached.The minutes of the last meeting were approved as sent out. Motion by DeBoer, second by Esselink, and carried to approve the bills.Motion by Crawford, second by Leuthold, and carried to approve the ECSU contracts for 2005-2006. Legislative update was given by Esselink.School Board election information: July 5–19 8 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. filing open for candidates for Nov. election. Candidates may file at the high school during these times. MSBA summer workshop will be held in the Cities August 4-5.First reading of Policy #406 – Public and Private Personnel Data.First reading of Policy #416 – Drug and Alcohol testing.Dates to Remember: July 18 School Board meeting @ 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8 School Board meeting @ 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4-5 MSBA Convention in the CitiesAgenda items for next meeting: Contracts for new teachers.Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.Lois Leuthold, Acting ClerkRESOLUTION FILLING SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY BY APPOINTMENTWHEREAS, a vacancy exists in the office of school board member with a term expiring the first Monday in January, 2006; andWHEREAS, the vacancy has occurred on or after the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the school district general election or less that two years remain in the unexpired term; and WHEREAS, Roland Crawford meets the qualifications established by Minnesota law to serve as a school board member;NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of Independent School District No. 671, State of Minnesota, as follows:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 123B.09, Subd. 5, Roland Crawford is hereby appointed to fill the vacancy and to serve the remainder of the unexpired term ending the first Monday in January, 2006, and until a successor is elected and qualifies.Motion by Esselink, second by Leuthold, motion carried. (7-28)

By John RittenhouseZach Wysong played in three playoff games for the Luverne Redbirds last week.Luverne’s amateur squad opened the Gopher League Playoffs by going 2-1 in the first three rounds, remaining alive in the double-elimination event.Wysong made two relief pitching appearances during the games, pitching a pair of scoreless innings.He went 3-13 at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring twice.Luverne opened the playoffs by posting a 12-2 win over Worthington at Redbird Field Wednesday, July 20.Wysong went hitless in four trips to the plate.An 11-6 loss to Hadley in Windom Friday sent the Redbirds into the loser’s bracket of the tournament.Wysong contributed an RBI single to the cause in five plate appearances. He also pitched one scoreless frame.Luverne posted a 12-2 victory over Heron Lake in an elimination game played Sunday in Luverne.Wysong singled and scored a run in the fifth inning, and he slapped a run-scoring single in the seventh.He also tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the team.The 12-12 Redbirds hosted Pipestone for an elimination game Wednesday, July 27.A win would set up another elimination game at a site to be determined on Friday night.