By Sara QuamThe Rock County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to pay for half the cost of bringing the Pool and Fitness Center’s accounting to an even starting point.The Board will pay $20,000 more than budgeted due to this expense, as will the city of Luverne.The negative accounts come mostly from recording memberships as dollars received, even though people who signed up didn’t always pay in full, amounting to more than $19,000 through the years.Commissioner Richard Bakken said, "That’s like counting a dead cow in your cattle inventory."Commissioner Bob Jarchow said, "I’d like to know how this got by the auditors over the years. … I would like some assurance that this is not going to happen again."Jarchow and Commissioner Ron Boyenga voted against the contribution.City staff said it has corrected the problem and it won’t happen again.Commissioner Jane Wildung suggested the Pool Commission become more of a management body that is more powerful and has more of input on operating the facility.The city manages the finances of the Pool and Fitness Center and also hadn’t provided funds for accrued sick leave and vacation liabilities over time. Now there is a fund set up for that.The County Board also voted in favor of paying a $400 fee for the facility to become part of a state association that will allow members to use the new Blue Cross Blue Shield rebate program.The program allows insurance customers up to $20 a month in membership rebates if they go to a fitness center at least eight times a month.Selling seized vehiclesThe board approved the Sheriff’s request to sell seized vehicles from drug and alcohol arrests. A 2004 Dodge Dakota, 1999 Ford Mustang and a 1977 Subaru wagon will be available to the public. Sheriff Mike Winkels said he would probably sell them through local dealers, who will do the selling for commission. In the case of DWIs, Law Enforcement can seize vehicles as the result of gross misdemeanors or felonies.The proceeds are split among state, local attorney and special local drug and alcohol funds. The Dakota alone will bring an estimated $14,000.Road and bridge work scheduled for 2005Commissioners reviewed a road and bridge construction plan. A full five-year plan will be presented at a meeting April 5. Plans for 2005 include:oCounty State Aid Highway 37, from Highway 75 to CSAH 18, grade and surface workoHighway 75 and CSAH 37 from Veterans Drive in the city of Luverne to CSAH 37, grade and turn lanes and surface workoCSAH 4 (Luverne Main Street) from Highway 75 to CSAH 18 (Blue Mound Avenue), mill and overlay and patching. (This project includes laying utility conduit for new streetlights as well.)oCSAH 20 (west of the state park) from Highway 23 to Highway 75, mill and overlayoCSAH 11 (Steen blacktop) from Highway 270 to CSAH 4, mill and overlayoCSAH 18 (Blue Mound Avenue) from Luverne’s Main Street to northern city limits of Luverne, mill and overlayoCSAH 20, replacement of bridge L2153 3 1/2 miles west of Highway 75oSouth River Road Bridge L2258, 1 mile west of CSAH 9, replacementTotal cost for the projects is estimated at $4.2 million, with bonding and federal, state and municipal state aids offsetting the cost. Total local cost this year will be about $52,000.Land Management Office positionThe board voted to create a job description and start the hiring process for a 75 percent grant-funded position in the Land Management Office. The county will pick up the other 25 percent of the position’s cost. The position would exist as long as the grant is available.The position would help educate producers and promote conservation practices in Rock County, as the amount of work in that area has increased. The position’s duties could also expand.LMO Director Eric Hartman said in a letter to the board, "The three- to four-year time frame for this position would be a key factor in providing assistance in staffing needs during the next five years when those livestock producers with Open Lot Agreements will be making corrections to their existing lots."

By John RittenhouseLuverne’s bid to reach the championship game of the Minnesota State Class AA Boys Basketball Tournament championship game was derailed by the Crookston Pirates Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis.The Cardinals, who were playing for a berth in a state title game for the first time since 1983, were unable to overcome a slow start and inconsistent shooting in what ended as a 46-35 loss to eventual state runner-up Crookston.The Cards shot a cool 24 percent (six of 25) from the floor while falling behind 32-17 in the first half.Luverne put together a spirited rally in the fourth quarter to trim Crookston’s lead to seven points (40-33) with 2:50 left to play, but the Pirates fought off the late challenge to prevail by 11 points."We were flat," said LHS senior John Tofteland, after Friday’s game."We just didn’t come out and play with the energy we should have. We dug a hole we couldn’t climb out of."Crookston took a 4-0 lead with a pair of field goals in the game’s first minute, but the Cardinals received a boost when junior Nick Heronimus was fouled while converting a three-point shot. Heronimus canned the ensuing free throw, knotting the score at four with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.The Cardinals were unable to sustain the momentum they appeared to gain when Heronimus tied the game at four. Crookston closed the quarter with a 14-4 run and led 18-8 when Andy Hughes converted a reverse layup with 43 seconds left in the stanza.The Pirates outscored the Cards 7-2 in the first three minutes of the second quarter to lead 25-10, and Crookston led by 17 points (30-13) when Grant Willhite drained a three-point shot with 2:25 left to play in the first half. The quarter ended with the Pirates sporting a 32-17 lead.According to LHS coach Tom Rops, a number of factors plagued the Cardinals in the first half.Playing a game one day after posting a big win over Moose Lake-Willow River stole some of team’s energy, and taking on the Pirates in a big venue like the Target Center proved a bit overwhelming for the players.The biggest difference was the way each team shot the ball. While the Cards struggled in the first half, Crookston cashed in on 59 percent (13 of 22) of its fields."I think it was a combination of (tired) legs and nerves that hurt us in the first half," Rops said. "We missed some easy baskets. We’ve had slow starts before and were able to come back. But, when you get down by 15 points at halftime, you’re going to have trouble in state tournament games."The Cardinals continued to struggle in the third quarter as they were unable to cut into Crookston’s 15-point halftime advantage. The Pirates led by as many as 19 points (38-19) before settling with a 40-22 advantage at period’s end.In an attempt to get back into the game, Luverne implemented full-court defensive pressure to test the Pirates in the final eight minutes of play.The change in strategy paid off as the Cards outscored Crookston 11-0 in the first 5:10 of the period, trailing 40-33 when Jake Hendricks sank a pair of free throws with 2:50 left to play.Crookston, however, scored the next four points to extend its lead to 11 (44-33) with 1:06 left to play before winning by 11 at game’s end."It really got us going," Tofteland said about the Cardinals’ full-court pressure in the fourth quarter."We just dug ourselves too deep of a hole early in the game. The plan was to play them straight up defensively and try to get some turnovers. We just missed a lot of bunnies in the first half."Rops agreed that the Cardinals’ defense got them back in the game."We went with pressure in the fourth quarter, because we knew we needed to get a few more possessions to get back into the game," Rops said. "Give our kids credit for not hanging their heads and giving up on the game."Brandon Deragisch led the Cards with 10 points and charted three steals along with Heronimus. Brad Herman led LHS with six rebounds.Box scorePick 1 0 4-4 6, Herman 2 0 0-2 4, Deragisch 2 2 0-0 10, Tofteland 1 0 2-2 4, Heronimus 1 1 1-1 6, Haakenson 0 0 0-0 0, Hendricks 0 1 2-2 5, Antoine 0 0 0-0 0, Boelman 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsLuverne: 11 of 53 fieldgoals (21 percent), nine of 11 free throws (82 percent), 23 rebounds, 10 turnovers.Crookston: 18 of 33 field goals (55 percent), seven of 11 free throws (57 percent), 33 rebounds, 20 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseTwo Luverne High School players were selected to the Minnesota State Class AA All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the state basketball tournament Saturday.Guard Brandon Deragisch and forward Jared Pick made the team for the Cardinals, who went 2-1 and placed third during the school’s first state tournament appearance since 1983.Pick scored 35 points, pulled down eight rebounds, charted four steals and distributed two assists in three tournament games.Deragisch scored 28 points, nabbed 18 rebounds, passed for six assists and recorded four steals during the tournament.Braham’s Isaiah and Noah Dahlman and Josh Vaughn, Crookston’s Jake Coauette, Andy Hughes and Grant Willhite, and Rockford’s Kyle Seiler and Jeremy Ungerecht round out the all-tournament team.

By John RittenhouseLuverne senior Jared Pick drew a tough assignment for Thursday’s quarterfinal-round game of the State Class AA Basketball Tournament in the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis.Pick was asked to defend 6-5 Moose Lake-Willow River senior guard Geoff Probst, the leading scorer in the history of ML-WR boys basketball.Pick was up to the challenge in more ways than one.With help from his team, Pick limited Probst to 12 points (five in the first half) on four of 15 shooting from the floor to help the Cardinals post a 54-42 victory over the Rebels.Pick also shined on the offensive end of the court, scoring 15 points (nine in the second half) and converting on five of six field goal attempts to propel the Cardinals into the semifinal round.Although his offensive production was helpful, Luverne said it was Pick’s effort on defense that benefited his team the most."Jared Pick was man-up on their best player (Probst)," said Luverne coach Tom Rops. "He did a good job of denying Probst the ball. Jared had to be aggressive and stay in front of him, and everyone else had to help out. It worked out for us."Pick said he used a mental approach to make the strategy work."I tried to get into his head," Pick said after the game."We tried to be physical with him. He’s a little bit bigger than I am, but I didn’t let that bother me. I just tried to keep him from getting inside and made him shoot from the outside."With Probst contained on the offensive end of the court, all the Cardinals needed to do was produce on offense to advance to the semifinals. Luverne did that and more as it outscored ML-WR in all four quarters of the 12-point victory.The Rebels sported 2-0 and 4-3 leads early in the game, but the Cards moved in front 7-4 when Pick converted a field goal at the 4:18 mark of the opening period. The score was 8-5 when Pick drained a free throw at 3:04, which proved to be the decisive point of a first quarter that ended with the Cards sporting an 8-7 edge.ML-WR tied the game at eight early in the second quarter before Luverne’s Brad Herman sparked a 6-0 run with a tip-in at the 7:23 mark of the stanza. The run, which ended with Pick sinking a free throw at 6:03, gave the Cards a 14-8 lead.Luverne never led by more than six points or by less than four points during the remainder of the first half, which ended with the Cards owning a 22-18 cushion.LHS outscored the Rebels 14-7 in the third quarter to settle the issue.A 9-5 scoring spurt capped by two free throws from Brandon Deragisch gave the Cards a 33-23 lead at the 3:16 mark of the third quarter. Deragisch, who scored 13 points in the game, hit a three-point shot at 1:35 to cap the third-quarter scoring and gave LHS a 36-25 lead.ML-WR scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to trail 36-29, but the Cards countered with an 8-0 run capped by a reverse layup from Pick that expanded Luverne’s lead to 15 points (44-29) with 3:07 left to play.The Rebels trimmed the difference to 11 points on three different occasions and trailed by 10 when Probst hit a three-point shot with less than 20 seconds remaining. Luverne’s Jake Hendricks drained two free throws with 12 seconds left to ice the 12-point win.Although he led the Cardinals in scoring as a result of his slashing drives to the basket, Pick downplayed his offensive role when the game was over."I just try to shoot layups," he said. "I leave the outside shooting to the other guys."Along with limiting Probst to 12 points, Luverne kept ML-WR post Darrin Coil under control. The tallest player on the floor at 6-7, Coil was limited to 13 points in the contest."We knew which two kids were their scorers, and everyone helped out in holding them down," Rops said. "We didn’t shut Probst and Coil down, but I think we did slow them down."John Tofteland and Nick Heronimus made key contributions to Luverne’s effort. Tofteland charted five assists. Heronimus pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds, with 10 coming on the defensive end of the court. Pick led the Cards with two steals.Box scorePick 5 0 5-8 15, Herman 4 0 0-0 8, Deragisch 1 3 2-4 13, Tofteland 1 1 3-4 8, Heronimus 2 0 2-2 6, Haakenson 0 0 0-0 0, Hendricks 1 0 2-2 4, Antoine 0 0 0-0 0, Boelman 0 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsLuverne: 18of 36 field goals (50 percent), 14 of 20 free throws (70 percent), 29 rebounds, 11 turnovers.ML-WR: 18 of 50 field goals (36 percent), four of 10 free throws (40 percent), 27 rebounds, nine turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe 2004-05 Luverne Cardinals had a knack of shocking head coach Tom Rops all season, and they saved their biggest surprise for Saturday’s third-place game of the Minnesota State Class AA Boys Basketball Tournament in St. Paul.Taking on Rockford less than 15 hours after losing to Crookston in the semifinals, a surprisingly energized Luverne team rallied in the second half to post a 60-55 victory over the Rockets at Concordia University.Coach Rops was concerned about the physical and mental state of his team entering Saturday’s game. Thirty minutes after an 11-point loss to Crookston on Friday in Minneapolis’ Target Center, Rops said he thought his key players were worn down from playing the first two tournament games. At the same time, he wondered if the Cards would be able to recover from playing at 9 p.m. the night before to put on a good show during the third-place game at noon on Saturday.To the coach’s amazement, LHS met the challenge as well as it possibly could. The Cardinals played well enough to sport a lead for a good share of the first half before falling behind 28-23 at the intermission. Luverne rallied to outscore Rockford 37-27 in the second half to secure a five-point win in the third-place game."I have no idea where we got the energy from," Rops said minutes after Saturday’s clash. "The guys were running on empty. The enthusiasm the kids played with was absolutely outstanding."According to Brad Herman, one of five LHS seniors on the team, a sub-par performance wasn’t an option."We were a little tired after playing a 9 o’clock game the night before. We pulled together and came through," he said.Luverne’s resolve was tested early in the third quarter. After trimming Rockford’s five-point halftime lead to two points (28-26) in the first minute of the second half, the Cardinals found themselves trailing by eight (35-27) when the Rockets put together a 7-1 run that ended at the 4:48 mark of the third quarter.Instead of giving up, the Cards put together a 9-1 run and trailed 37-36 when Jake Hendricks, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half, converted a three-point play at the 2:20 mark of the third period. LHS senior Dusty Antoine completed the comeback when he drained a three-point shot with three seconds remaining in the stanza to give the Cards a 40-39 edge entering the fourth quarter."Jake (Henricks) gave us a spark, and Dusty (Antoine) hit some big threes for us in the third quarter," Rops offered.Luverne cashed in on 12 of 15 free throw opportunities and never lost the lead in the fourth quarter.A pair of free throws by Herman at the 7:09 mark of the final stanza gave the Cards a five-point cushion at 44-39, but the Rockets battled back to trim the difference to one point (47-46) with less than four minutes left to play.Hendricks knocked down a three at 3:19 to increase the lead to four points (50-46), and senior John Toftland settled the issue when he nailed a three-point shot with one minute remaining to give the Cards a 57-50 advantage.Rops didn’t like Tofteland’s decision to take a three-point shot with 1:00 remaining, but his opinion changed when the ball sailed through the net without touching the rim."It was one of the most beautiful shots I’ve ever seen," the coach said.Rockford managed to close the gap to three points (58-55) with 10.8 seconds remaining. Tofteland, who made eight free throws without a miss and led the Cards with 16 points, erased any thoughts of a Rockets’ rally when he drained two charity shots with 10 seconds left to play."On paper, Rockford is a team with a lot more size and depth," Rops said. "I was hoping we wouldn’t get blown out. Give our kids credit. We rode the wave and were able to get the job done."Both teams played well at times in the third half.LHS senior Jared Pick, who made six of eight field goals in the game and scored nine of his 14 points in the first half, scored his team’s first five points to give the Cards an early 5-2 lead. LHS led 9-7 before the Rockets scored the final four points of the first quarter to lead 11-7 at the break.After taking a brief 12-11 edge with a free throw from Antoine early in the second quarter, the Cards fell behind 15-12. But they put together an 11-2 run capped by a three-point shot from Tofteland at 2:35 that gave LHS a 23-17 cushion. Tofteland scored seven of the 11 points during the surge.Rockford answered the challenge by outscoring the Cards 11-0 the rest of the first half to lead 28-23 at the intermission.According to Herman, sticking to the game plan was the key to victory for LHS."Rockford is a more (physically) solid team than Crookston. We wanted to move the ball around and find the open man," Herman said. "They started in a man-to-man (defense) and switched to a 2-3 zone. We just kept moving the ball and found the open door."Luverne, which ends the season with a 21-9 record, received a nine-rebound effort from Brandon Deragisch. Tofteland added six rebounds and three assists to the winning cause.Box scorePick 6 0 2-7 14, Herman 3 0 2-4 8, Deragisch 0 0 5-6 5, Antoine 0 2 1-2 7, Tofteland 1 2 8-8 16, Haakenson 0 0 0-0 0, Ward 0 0 0-0 0, Hendricks 2 1 3-6 10, Boelman 0 0 0-0 0, Heronimus 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsLuverne: 17 of 35 field goals (49 percent), 21 of 33 free throws (64 percent), 31 rebounds, 12 turnovers.Rockford: 22 of 61 field goals (36 percent), five of five free throws (100 percent), 33 rebounds, eight turnovers.

10 years ago (1995)
Rauk’s Texaco Store, on Interstate 90 in Beaver Creek was burglarized.
Congressman David Minge met with area farmers to discuss the 1995 Farm Bill.
Lowell and Diane Jauert, and their children, Peter, Jake, Katie and Alexa were recognized as the Rock County Farm Family of the Year.
Johnna Bowron was the lone Cardinal named to the 1995 All-Southwest Conference Girls Basketball Team.25 years ago (1980)
Rock County may be the only county in the 15-county district that will not have a judge or judicial officer in the county. Rock County submitted objections to the plan, which was to take effect in 1984.
It was decided that Luverne fifth-grade students would attend class in the high school building.
Jim Fick is the Star Farmer for the Luverne FFA Chapter.50 years ago (1955)
Hans Lafrentz, who lives south of Mounds, found an old newspaper dated 1860 in the walls of his house while doing some remodeling work. The newspaper, called the United States Journal, was in excellent condition and could be read quite easily.
Tommy Nergaard is just two years old but already he’s consumed the staggering total of 5,150 bananas. He is a celiac and does not digest other food normally. Doctors have him eating bananas and a milk-like product called Probana, as almost all other foods make him seriously ill.75 years ago (1930)
Creeger & Co. will present their annual style revue Friday evening, March 28, in connection with the regular motion picture program at the Palace Theatre.
Geo. W. Fried was re-appointed as postmaster of Luverne.
The Luverne boys basketball team defeated Adrian, winning the district tournament and moving on to regionals.100 years ago (1905)
Contractor P.N. Gillham has a force of men at work this week building the safety deposit vaults which Nelson Brothers are having placed in their store building.
O.I. Thompson, of Vienna Township, was in Sioux City last week and purchased two carloads of young steers.
Herman Lamp and Mary Marxen were united in marriage Wednesday at the home of her father.

By Sara QuamLuverne Council members were knee-deep in sanitary sewer information as a part of their regular Tuesday meeting. They took a detour from City Hall to learn about the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was changed to an A Grade, so it has to meet stricter standards than before.The purpose of the facility is to treat sanitary sewer water (essentially toilet flushes) so that it’s safe enough to discharge the material to the Rock River.Senior operator Verlyn Van Batavia said, "Everything we do is under permit and we follow national guidelines, so we have to meet those limits every day."The process involves low-tech solutions, such as stirring the water to catch solids, as well as high-tech lab work that ensures a safe chemical balance.Van Batavia said he enjoys the work. "I am interested every day," he said, "from what we have coming in, to how we treat it, to what we have going out."There are the typical mis-flushes such as keys, small toys, coins and even a set of dentures one time. But the plant also has to filter feminine hygiene products, paper towels, condoms and other things that are regularly flushed even though they shouldn’t be.Van Batavia said, "One time we were cleaning, and there was a $20 bill stuck to a pipe. That hadn’t happened before."Operations A typical day has the plant treating about 800,000 to 1 million gallons of wastewater.That can reach to as much as 3 million gallons, but March 14, for example, brought in 719,000 gallons.The flow increases with precipitation, because older sewer pipes allow water from the ground into the system.Supervisor Al Lais said, "Some pipes on the outskirts of town can take a few hours to reach us."The city’s plant was built in 1956 with an addition in 1987, and it still has some of the original pumps. The average number of gallons treated is 312 million per year through the last 32 years.The peak monthly average for 2004 was 1.3 million gallons per day in July.Lais points out that 99 percent of what comes to the plant is water. But it’s dirty enough to have to go through a complicated filtering process.First, there is a grid chamber that takes out inorganic matter. Then, everything left over is pumped to a wet well, a trickling filter and an oxidation ditch. The oxidation helps naturally break down organic matter.A clarifier then slows down the process and solids settle. Then, the wastewater travels over layers of rocks inside a tank. The rocks are covered with bacteria, which helps naturally break down the organics.There is another clarifying step, and then chlorine is added to kill pathogenic bacteria. After a couple more steps of filtering, the chlorine has to be neutralized with another chemical before it is discharged into the river.The leftover "sludge" that can’t be discharged is heated to 95 degrees and kept in a tank so bacteria continue to break it down. A local farmer used 600,000 gallons of it for fertilizer last year.Methane gas produced through the sludge process, is burned as fuel for the boiler system that heats the building and the tanks.The wastewater plant occupies 3 acres and is working at all times. Staff members take turns being on call in case of problems, but they complete the required lab work and testing during regular hours.

By Lori EhdeIt’s one thing to test students to measure classroom achievement, but it’s quite another to compile the data into useful information.Luverne Elementary Principal Stacy Gillette and a team of district teachers attended training last fall to decipher the mountains of data resulting from frequent testing."It was a unique opportunity for us," Gillette said about what was called a data retreat. "We not only were trained in how to use the data, but we actually took our data with us to the retreat."Gillette presented school data information to School Board members at their Feb. 24 meeting.The retreat, sponsored by the state, broke the data into four categories: 1. achievement data (test scores), 2. perception data (survey information), 3. program data (math and language arts) and 4. demographics (socio-economic student status).1. Achievement DataAccording to test results of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, Luverne School District is meeting Adequate Yearly Progress."We’ve made AYP for the last two years, but we need to do more than maintain the status quo," she said.AYP is the measuring stick for the federal No Child Left Behind Act. "The benchmark for AYP keeps going up every year, so we need to keep doing better," Gillette said.2. Perception DataThe retreat last fall helped districts use information collected from surveys."We were very lucky because we had just conducted surveys in the district," Gillette said. "Surveys are hard to do."Parents of fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade students were surveyed last year about their perceptions of the district. In addition, a high school student survey was taken last year with useful results.3. Program dataProgram data put math and language arts under the microscope, in addition to all-day every-day kindergarten and the Reading Recovery Program.Gillette said the K-5 math program was identified as a possible area of concern for Luverne."This confirmed some of our concerns when we went there," Gillette said. "Now we have data to support it."She said by the time the data was examined, Luverne Elementary teachers were already implementing changes and improvement in curriculum.Another concern for the district is intermediate (third through fifth grades) and middle school reading scores."We have good readers in the early grades, and some of our best reading and writing scores are in the high school," Gillette said. "But we have this dip in the middle grades, and we’re looking at curriculum and the amount of time dedicated to reading in those grades."She said personnel changes in the middle school English program may have also affected test scores. "We’ve got Jan Olson in that department now working to get our feet on the ground again," Gillette said.4. Demographics To measure AYP, test scores are broken down by demographic groups. "We can’t take the average of all our kids anymore," Gillette said.Test scores are looked at by gender, special education and those qualifying for free and reduced lunch."When we looked at gender, we wondered, ‘Are boys really better than girls in math and science?’ And to be honest, we didn’t find anything significant there," Gillette said.She said Luverne’s special education students are showing improvement. "The goal is to get them performing up to grade level," Gillette said. "Since 2000, the MCA data shows fewer of our special education students are below grade level, and more are above grade level."Nearly 15 percent of Luverne’s students fall into the special education category. The state average is about 11 percent.In the demographic subgroup of students qualifying for free and reduced meals, Gillette said test scores dipped."Their scores were lower than students not on free and reduced meals," Gillette said. "So the conclusion of our team was we need to monitor this group."She said the district will make a more concerted effort to connect students in this group to mentoring and tutoring resources through the district’s Child Guide program.About 30 percent of Luverne’s elementary students qualify for free and reduced meals. The category is singled out, because of possible socio-economic effects on learning. Overall, Gillette said the data information has helped teachers and staff put test data to use in Luverne."I saw this retreat as an opportunity to look at where we go from here," Gillette said.

By Lori EhdeDespite continued state funding cuts, Luverne Community Education programs remain strong.That was the essence of a report by Community Education Director Karen Willers to School Board members during a recent meeting.She said no new legislation was enacted for funding in 2004, so cuts from the 2003 session remained. To illustrate, state funding of $5.95 per capita funding for Community Ed and Summer Rec programs is now $5.23 — a 12-percent reduction.In Early Childhood Family Education, a 20-percent funding cut was felt this year. "The effect was that we held on to seven classes per week but cut four weeks of classes per year," Willers said. "We now have two 10-week sessions instead of four six-week sessions."Creative marketing and fund-raisingTo remain viable, Community Ed staff and volunteers have stepped up efforts in fund-raising and more marketing.Last year, an Eagles Club steak fry and Fall Fair raised more than $1,500.Willers said Community Ed is a valuable resource for local families, and she's working to get that message to the public."We offer such a wide variety of classes, from arts and humanities to health and safety," Willers said. "And we serve all ages, from infants to senior citizens."The Community Ed brochure, mailed to every home in the district, is one way to market those services.For the 2004-05 issues, 13 businesses advertised in the brochure, bringing in $4,100 to offset printing costs. Also, inserting the brochure in the Luverne Announcer saved $725 per year in postage.Increased feesTo offset funding cuts, fees are increasing.On average, fees charged per Community Ed Class have increased $2 to $3 per person enrolled to cover costs."We need money to pay for instructors, custodians, lights, heat," Willers said. "State funding to support Community Education doesn't even come close to covering salaries for staff and covering the program costs."To help out, grants from the Southwest Minnesota Foundation and Sioux Valley Energy helped start the Community Ed Opportunity Fund. It's a grant program available to offset fees to qualifying families.She added that many local instructors, knowing about funding woes, donate their services so that fees can go to the Opportunity Fund."We still want to make sure Community Ed classes are available to everyone," Willers said, "not just to those who can afford it."She said Community Ed has granted $3,833 since the fund started with $4,500 in June 2000.Numbers overviewLast year, Community Education served 4,775 people with a total of 238 classes, not counting ECFE or Discovery Time Preschool.In 2003-04, ECFE served 184 different parents and 199 children from birth to 5 years old. "That was 41 percent of the 0-4 census," Willers said. "Of those, fathers accounted for 23 percent of the parents."This year, she said five of seven classes are for children 3 years old and younger.School Readiness currently has 32 children enrolled between the morning and afternoon sections, Willers said. "Plus we do regular home visits for two families and provide periodic special events for families."She reported the FamilyU School Age Care Program has reached its maximum number of children in kindergarten through fifth grade — 35 enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade.Fees charged for summer FamilyU have not been covering costs, but the budget is balanced, Willers said, "due to start-up grants along with almost immediate success of the program, which started in February 2001."She reported a higher number of adults enrolled in ESL-GED-ABE programs, and Community Ed provides child care while adults are in class, utilizing the ECFE classrooms.