Just a little over a week ago we had a beautiful white landscape following six inches or more of snow. This past week our temperatures have definitely been on the mild side and we even had some sunshine! Now we know spring is here. After the snow melted the fields were brown, and some of the grass was getting a touch of green. So, never give up on the weather for it is like the old saying, "If you don’t like our weather, just wait 15 minutes!" Personally, I think it takes a little longer than that but spring is definitely in the air.The Steen Opportunity Extension Club had their March meeting at the Cena Mae Tilstra home on Tuesday afternoon. Etta DeJongh and Jane Baker Bosch presented the lesson "Food Facts." New officers were elected for the coming year. Elected were Henrietta Boeve, president; Cena Mae Tilstra, vice president; and Etta DeJongh, secretary/treasurer. Following the meeting a delicious lunch was enjoyed by all. Scott and Ladene Marquart and sons from Gresham, Ore., spent several days this past week visiting in the home of her parents, Bill and Bertha Bosch. The Hills Christian Reformed Church Spring Auction will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1. Everyone is welcome. Guess what! Daylight-saving time begins Saturday evening. Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before going to bed. Steen Reformed Church had a Good Friday morning brunch. It was hosted by the Women’s Mission, Circle four. A program was presented on the Good Friday theme and lunch was served. A free will offering was taken which was given to the Center of Hope mission.Daryl and Marie Paulsen returned home on Sunday from a business trip to Las Vegas. They accompanied their daughter, Suzanne, and her husband, Clark Meyer, to attend the four-day meeting.Easter Sunday dinner guests in the Joyce Aykens home in Worthington were Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens, Steen, Paul and Carole Aykens and Susan Veldkamp from Orange City, Iowa. Fred Keller and his wife, Alice Aukes Keller, formerly of Ash Creek, moved on Monday to their new home which will be at Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne. We wish them lots of happy days there! Congratulations to Robert and Lorraine Sandbulte on the birth of their first grandchild. Troy Douglas Pyle was born on March 15 to Jason and Stephanie (Sandbulte) Pyle of Iowa City, Iowa. The new baby’s paternal grandparents are Clayton and Nancy Pyle, Hartley, Iowa. Robert, Lorraine, Janet and John Sandbulte traveled to Iowa City on Monday, March 19, to visit the new baby boy and his parents. They returned home on March 21. Saturday night JoAnn and Melvin Paulsen, Steen, and Laura Paulsen, Hills, met their son and grandson, Mark, and his wife, Lisa, and family from Marshall at Luverne Pizza Ranch where they enjoyed an early Easter dinner together. Easter weekend guests in the Clarence Groen home in Steen were his son, Tim and wife, Nancy, from Des Moines, Iowa. March has always been known for its strong wind and this year has been no exception. It always manages to blow from one direction or another and always at a time when you really don’t need it. So when I read this article titled "The Winds of Life," it aroused my curiosity and I thought you might enjoy it. "March is supposed to be the windy month. Its blustery gales, so tradition has it, are winter’s last gasp before giving way to gentle spring. Did you ever watch the limbs of a tree bend before a March wind? At the first violent blast, the limb leans over, letting the onslaught of air stream harmlessly past. When the gale has subsided, the limb whips resiliently back into position. Many people have this quality of reacting simply to the winds of life. When misfortune hits them, they bend before it, not permitting it to break them. When it is past, they spring up again, ready for more. During a lifetime, we are all bound to encounter certain degrees of misfortune. This is the way of life. Some encounter it to a greater extent than others, but we all experience it. As someone has so aptly put it, "It is not so much the misfortune itself that counts, but the way you meet it!"We don’t always want to think that but actually, "No truer words were ever spoken."

Grandmothers who knit and professional football players have more in common than you might imagine. Surprisingly, both groups can be very competitive. Speed-knitting championships were given recently in Zwolle, Netherlands, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hazel Tindall, the reigning champion (255 stitches in three minutes) from the Shetland Islands in Scotland was the hands-down and needles-up favorite, but then Miriam Tegels of Zwolle scored 257. The hometown crowd undoubtedly went wild, or as wild as fans can get in a room full of power-knitters. Miriam definitely had the home rocking chair advantage. When the competition was over, Hazel presumably gathered up her knitting supplies and headed back home, where she faced playful needling from her nearest and dearest friends. ("So what be it, Hazel, that brought ye down? The knit stitch or the purl stitch? Heh, heh.") The Journal article noted that the Shetland Islands "produces power-knitters the way Texas produces high school football players." As speed-knitting competitions develop more followers, it’s only a matter of time before the power-knitters will be compared with the big boys — pro football players. The following situations might indicate if your own dear, sweet grandmother has joined a speed-knitting team: She is suddenly comfortable with contracts and negotiations. You overhear her telling a grandchild, "So, dear, you would like Nana to knit you some mittens and a neck scarf for winter, would you? Well, tell you what. See that paper on the nightstand next to my teeth? It’s called a contract. If you sign it and promise to wash my car every weekend for six months, the mittens and scarf will be ready tomorrow. Won’t that be wonderful?" She becomes the Randy Moss of knitting. Whenever she finishes speed knitting a baby blanket or some other item that’s rather time consuming (at least five minutes), she triumphantly throws down her needles, jumps up from her rocking chair, turns around and pretends to moon anyone unfortunate enough to be sitting in the room. Whenever you drop in for a visit, you can hear her cheerleader friends, also members of her church circle and garden club, in the next room, practicing their latest cheer. "Knit one, purl two, we’re from Sioux City, whoo-whoo!" Grandma’s stooped-over posture, which reminds you of a pretzel, can no longer be blamed on arthritis or bone density loss. It’s mostly caused by the heavy gold chains hanging from her neck and her oversized, diamond stud earrings. Family members tend to steer clear of Grandma. For no apparent reason she might swat you so enthusiastically on your rear end that sitting down will be painful for several days. Instead of parceling out grandmotherly hugs, she insists on having what she calls "team huddles." Her parting words at the front door aren’t, "Call me when you get home, dearie," or "Drive carefully!" Instead, she will grab you by the neck and grunt, "Now, get out there and kick some butt!" She trades in her old Buick for a brand new Corvette. When you ask her why, she looks up from her speed knitting and explains, "Honey, I’ve got this need for speed!" Of course, the greatest similarity between speed knitters and pro football players is that when the competition is too intense, both groups tend to become unraveled.

MINUTES OF THE HILLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITYMarch 8, 2005Dana Dahlquist, President of the Hills EDA called the meeting to order with the following Board members present: Dana Dahlquist, Ross Metzger, Jim Jellema, Keith Elbers, and Linus Svoboda. Guest: Lexi Moore-Hills Crescent. Motion by Svoboda, seconded by Metzger to approve the minutes of February 8th. Motion carried. Motion by Jellema, seconded by Elbers to approve payment of the February expenditures. Motion carried. Motion by Elbers, seconded by Metzger to refund the security and pet deposits to Brad and Leah Callahan. Motion carried. No further discussion, meeting adjourned.Connie J. WiertzemaEDA Secretary(3-24)

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETINGOF THE HILLS CITY COUNCILMARCH 8, 2005Mayor Jim Jellema called the meeting to order at 6:02 P.M. with the following council members present: Jim Jellema, Dana Dahlquist, Linus Svoboda, Keith Elbers, and Ross Metzger. Employees present: Connie Wiertzema, City Clerk; Joanne Goehle, City Treasurer; and Wayne Ward, City Maintenance. Guests: Jeff Bass-Hills Fire Department; and Lexi Moore-Hills Crescent. Motion by Elbers, seconded by Dahlquist to approve the February 8th minutes. Motion carried. Motion by Dahlquist, seconded by Metzger to approve payment of the February expenditures: General $5,104.10; Park $1,061.85; Fire $3,965.88; Street $3,806.28; Legion $1,295.25; Sewer $965.10; Garbage $1,883.69; Recycling $490.20; Water $3,778.38; Baseball $20.97; Softball $11.74. Motion carried. General Checking 133,055.44General Fund CD#18197, 2.5%, 12/4/04 243,300.81General Fund CD#17792 (prev. #15742) 2.5%, 5/29/03 - cashed in 6/3/03General Fund CD#17760 (prev. #17573) 2.5%, 3/15/05 20,994.17Sewer Fund CD#17877 (prev. #17433) 2.5%, 10/18/03 – cashed in 10/03 – ($21,000 to general)Sewer Fund CD#18255, (prev. #18171) 1.5%, 7/19/04 – inter-fund loan to Southern Hills Apts. to pay-off apt. bond - $70,771.64Fire Truck Replacement Fund CD#18647, 2.0%, 1/13/06 26,578.89Hills EDA Security Deposit Account 1,441.81Hills EDA Checking – Acct. #1248 23,513.04Southern Hills Condo Acct. #1263 66.67Southern Hills CD#17759 (prev. #17572) 2.5%, 3/15/05 5,248.54EDA CD#17850 (prev. #17384) 2.5%, 5/7/05 28,668.82EDA CD#18275 (prev. #17268) 1.25%, 07/04 – inter-fund loan to Southern Hills Apts. to pay-off apt. bond - $10,661.76EDA CD#18597, 1.0%, 1/17/05 (renew & int. added each month) 20,353.16EDA CD#18505, 1.0%, 1/22/05 (renew & int. added each month) 10,713.35Motion by Elbers, seconded by Dahlquist to add $50.000 from general checking to general fund CD#17760 and reinvest for six months. Motion by Dahlquist, seconded by Svoboda to renew Southern Hills (now EDA) CD#17759 on a monthly basis until May 2005; and then consider combining those funds with EDA CD#17850 for renewal on May 7, 2005.Motion by Dahlquist, seconded by Elbers to transfer $20,000 from EDA checking to be included in the renewal of CD#17759. Motion carried. The Council agreed not to seal coat streets this summer. City maintenance was instructed to obtain proposals to blacktop Sixth Street. City maintenance will attend the County noxious weed meeting on April 5th.Motion by Elbers, seconded by Metzger to proclaim April 22nd as the City’s Arbor Day. Motion carried. Jeff Bass, Hills Fire Chief, presented the Council with the Fire Department’s proposed budget for 2006 totaling $23,700.A committee will be formed of firemen, one city councilperson, and one township member to discuss and review information to replace the Fire Department’s tanker truck. Linus Svoboda volunteered to serve on that committee. A motion was made by Svoboda, seconded by Elbers to approve the Fire Department’s 2006 proposed budget. Motion carried.Svoboda, Wiertzema, Jellema and Elbers will attend the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization training meeting on March 31st. The City’s 2004 records were audited on February 17th; the auditor will present the written audit at a later date. Motion by Svoboda, seconded by Dahlquist to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6.54 P.M.Connie J. WiertzemaCity Clerk(3-24)

Gary D. Rozeboom, 55, Hills, died Wednesday, March 16, 2005, at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.Funeral services were Saturday, March 19, at Valley Springs Reformed Church in Valley Springs, S.D. The Rev. Benson Den Hartog officiated. Burial was in Pleasant View Cemetery, Valley Springs. Gary Rozeboom was born to John and Jennie (Van Loo) Rozeboom on June 12, 1949, in Valley Springs. He was raised on the family farm between Valley Springs and Hills. He graduated from Hills High School. Following his graduation he continued to work on the family farm. He married Sheri Cragoe on March 17, 1990, at Valley Springs Reformed Church. The couple lived on the family farm where he continued both farming and cooking for various restaurants in the area. Mr. Rozeboom was a member of Valley Springs Reformed Church and Brandon Valley Bowling Association. He enjoyed umpiring and playing softball, bowling, watching racing, fishing and camping. Survivors include his wife, Sheri Rozenboom, Hills, his two "kids," Midnight and Baby; parents-in-law, Ron (Barb) Cragoe, Sioux Falls, S.D.; sister-in-law, Darci (Todd) Sharlow, and children, James and Kayla, Sioux Falls, and Jeremy (Megan) and their son Gabe, Cedar Falls, Iowa; brother-in-law, Kelly Cragoe; Springfield, S.D.; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Mr. Rozenboom was preceded in death by his parents. Hartquist Funeral Home, Engebretson Chapel, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Sheldon and Ellie Sandager returned from South Africa to spend overnight in the Cities and returned to Hills, Thursday, March 16, after attending the wedding of their grandson, Sheldon Norton and Desirae Valnes. Desirae is from Luverne where her parents, Curt Valnes and his wife Kellie, live.Sheldon is the son of Jo Wulf and Fraser Norton. Also attending were Gene and Shirley Sandager, Brittany and Kelly, Hills, Jo and Floyd Wulf, Herreid, S.D., the groom’s sister, Carolyn Norton, Sioux Falls, S.D., his brother, Andrew, and his father, Fraser Norton, Roseau. The wedding was at Kingswood Chapel in Grahamstown, South Africa, where the couple resides. Sheldon works for the Cargill Company there. Sheldon and Ellie also got to see some of their former exchange students who came from that area and also spent a couple of days in Johannesburg, S.A. Melvin and Violet Hecht drove to Howard, S.D., Sunday to visit her brother, Chester Erland, 95, who is a resident of the assisted living center, the Whispering Winds, where Jim Iverson Jr., a former Hills resident is the administrator. They also visited Violet’s cousin’s wife, Martha Abrahamson, at the assisted living center in Madison, S.D. Martha is 100 years old. Dick and Audrey Heidenson and Wendell and Kathryn Erickson attended the U.S. Army jazz band at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, March 15. Chuck and Rheta DeBoer attended the 90th birthday party Saturday afternoon for Jessie Dykstra in Worthington. Luella Schlueter spent from Thursday until Sunday in the home of her son, Gerry and Sue Schlueter, at Lake Park. Gerry belongs to the Great Plains men’s chorus in Fargo, N.D., and she got to hear this chorus sing at the Waterford Home in Fargo Friday night. Then Saturday she attended the afternoon and evening performances of the "Skipper’s Chorus" of Detroit Lakes of which her son is a member. This was at the historic Holmes Theater in Detroit Lakes where a special guest quartet, called Downstate Express, was performing. This group consists of members from the Wabasha, Winona, and Rochester areas in Minnesota and one who just moved to Indianapolis. They recently won the International Seniors quartet championship in Biloxi, Miss. Gerry likes barbershop singing. Dick and Audrey Heidenson attended the Side Street Strutters jazz band at Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls Sunday night. Wendell Erickson was among many of the Rock County rural board members who attended the District’s 25th anniversary on Thursday, March 17, at Sharkee’s. Wendell was on the steering committee that helped get Rural Water in our communities, and he was the speaker of the evening.

It didn’t do us much good to think spring this weekend as Friday we received several inches of snow. I have heard anywhere from 6 to 12 inches and, of course, the wind had to blow. I think there was also some freezing drizzle mixed in as the roads were slippery as well as snow-packed which made travel very hazardous. In fact Interstate 90 was closed from Luverne to Blue Earth at one time. That doesn’t happen very often!By Sunday morning most of the highways were in good driving condition so everyone could get to their destinations. We should know if we are ever going to have bad weather it will be during the basketball tournaments. I have traveled in some very severe weather just to see my favorite team play in the tournaments. So the weatherman must keep his same schedules every year. Joan Hoogeveen, Lucy VanWyhe, Winnie Scholten, and Henrietta Huenink attended the Christian Women’s Club meeting at United Methodist Church in Rock Rapids Wednesday afternoon. The theme was "Aprons" and many came wearing one. The speaker made it a very interesting afternoon. All moms of Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School students as well as ECFE families will host a Mom’s Night Out with Mom at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31. They will feature the movie, "Shark Tale." In addition to the movie popcorn and pop will be available. Have fun!Melba Boeve joined her sister, Wilda Pfeifer, Coffeen, Ill., for a 10-day vacation trip. They left on Saturday, March 5, for Sedona, Flagstaff and Sun City, Ariz. They returned home on Tuesday. March 15. Ann Tilstra underwent back surgery at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls on Tuesday.Don Schouwenburg will have heart bypass surgery on Thursday at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the Dale Sandbulte family on the death of Jodi’s grandmother from Iowa who passed away on Tuesday evening. The Steen Reformed Church Women will host an Easter Brunch at 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 1. The offering will go for the Center of Hope. Joyce Aykens, Worthington, Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens drove to Orange City, Iowa, on Monday to help Joyce celebrate her birthday which was that day. They enjoyed supper at the Pizza Ranch in Orange City. Paul and Carole Aykens, Andrea Aykens, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Susan and Jadeyn Veldkamp, Vince and Laurie Kurtz and McKenzie, joined them for supper. Happy birthday to Joyce!Easter arrives early this year. It falls on Sunday, March 27, when we have our Easter Sunday morning church services. Many churches and organizations have Easter sunrise services so thought you might enjoy knowing where that custom came from. Easter sunrise services are based upon an ancient tradition brought to the United States by Moravian settlers, with the first such ceremony conducted in 1741 near Bethlehem, Pa. Some early Christians believed the sun danced in the sky at daybreak on Easter morning. Sunrise services were often conducted on hilltops. Other awe-inspiring sites in this country where early morning Easter services are conducted include The Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colo., and the Theater of the Red Rocks near Denver, the Hollywood Bowl in California and the Hawaiian Punch Bowl. Many of our churches today have sunrise services and I have attended many, but I never really understood how they came to be a part of our Easter worship. As we prepare for Easter we can appreciate many of our customs and where they came from. But let us not forget the real meaning of Easter is our risen Lord and Savior.

If unattached, older women hope to attract men, they must smell like teenage girls. That’s the finding of researchers at Harvard University, where hormonal scents, or pheromones, isolated from a young woman’s armpit sweat were dabbed on 22 post-menopausal women. Another group of women received placebo dabs. During the next six weeks, 68 percent of the pheromone users experienced substantial increases in what the researchers referred to as "four intimate, sociosexual behaviors." In other words, the pheromone users partied until the cows came home. The most interesting part of the study was the statement in New Scientist magazine that neither the researchers nor the women knew who was in each group until the study’s end. That seems highly unlikely. The post-menopausal women who splashed on pheromones every morning and were suddenly attracting men of all ages like magnets must have noticed a difference in their lives. They must have asked themselves plenty of questions. "Is it the new support stockings? Could it be the tooth whitener I’ve been using? Could it possibly be the stuff the researchers dabbed behind my ears that’s attracting men like so many flies?" So if you’re a post-menopausal woman from the Midwest and you take a vacation in the Boston area, and a researcher from Harvard offers to spritz you behind the ears with some unidentified scent, be forewarned. After your return home, be prepared for the following changes: When you’re leaving the local grocery store, the carryout boys from the high school tussle with each other in a frantic attempt to carry your groceries to the car, but they don’t know why they’re acting that way. When you offer the local car dealer considerably less than he’s asking for a new car, he smiles helplessly, flutters his eyelids and whispers, "OK." You’ve lost any semblance of personal space when people are around. Men, in particular, hover around so closely you would think they need extra body warmth to make it through the rest of the winter. But you know that can’t be the reason — it’s sunny, it’s 70 degrees outside and it’s July. Countless men of all ages appear out of the blue, grab your arm and help you across the street, even when you don’t want to go there. With all of the unnecessary street crossings, your shopping trips to town are at least twice as long as they should be. Even when they don’t have packages to deliver to your house, the UPS and FedEx guys have begun showing up at your door just to ask how you’re doing. The mailman now hand-delivers the mail to your door rather than leaving it in the mailbox at the end of the driveway. "It’s the least I can do, " he confides, with a tip of his hat and a wink of his eye. "What are YOU wearing?" finally demands one woman in your bridge group. "You smell like a sweaty gym locker room!" A new twist on an old expression comes to mind — instead of "one man’s trash is another man’s treasure," this time it’s "one woman’s sweat is another woman’s perfume." At this point you recall that you had to break three dates to play bridge in the first place, and you vaguely remember the Harvard researchers dabbing some stuff behind your ears. Ah, that must be it.

I am a reality TV junkie. I gave up on scripted television the first week I discovered I could watch unpaid Americans compete to stay alive and win $1million on Survivor. It’s much better than watching a group of high-class unbelievable friends act like idiots and get paid millions.As I have tuned in over the past six years I have noticed that elements of reality TV trickle into my reality.These behaviors have never been as evident as they were last week when I left Minnesota to attend a wonderfully eccentric wedding in Marfa, Texas.During a wedding adventure to the foothills of the Davis Mountains in far southwest Texas teams of friends and relatives gathered to witness the marriage of a French man and a Puerto Rican woman.All of the reality show criteria were met, modes of transportation included a bus, car, train, plane and foot. Participants had little knowledge of our destination, there were plenty of people speaking foreign languages and, of course, we all had a common goal: not money or prizes, but to make this adventure lovely and peaceful for the bride and groom.David and I left for the Sioux Falls airport at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 16, to board a flight to Chicago. Once in Chi-Town we caught our connecting flight to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.We were given the customary reality show rest and relaxation period that evening and Thursday morning.Thursday afternoon we joined a caravan of cars heading toward Houston. About an hour into our journey, the tire on my friend’s GMC Jimmy blew out – this would be our first Road Block.The tire was fixed in record time, and we were back on the road. In reality TV as in reality, being efficient and making good time is important.In Houston, teams of wedding guests from Fort Worth met up with teams from France, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Houston at the home of the bride and groom.Next, 32 members of the wedding party, including the happy couple, boarded a chartered bus at 12:30 a.m. Friday. Our destination was FortDavis, Texas, population 1,050. Fort Davis is located 595 miles west of Houston nestled in the Davis Mountains, just north of Big Bend National Park.On reality TV this 12-hour bus trip would have meant more rest and relaxation, time given to contestants to prepare, sleep and plot. In reality the bus took on a nightclub atmosphere.Even after seven hours of travel people could be heard mixing drinks and rejoicing about the spectacular sunset they were lucky enough to watch as others slept. Yes, they were saying "sunset." After all, it was their second day in America.These comments stirred me from my sleep. As I looked out the giant picture window next to my bus seat I realized I had been transported to the middle of nowhere.The landscape of Texas strip malls and car dealerships had been replaced by a desolate environment. Low-lying shrubs and cacti dotted vast stretches of land. The horizon was littered with plateaus. Even the interstate seemed empty.Once in Fort Davis teams would be on foot until given word to board the bus to Marfa for the wedding. Suddenly there was opportunity and time to compete in challenges. Guests could choose among mountain climbing, yoga, shopping or cacti jumping.Our final pitstop on the race to a wedding was in the most spectacular of settings, just like on TV.Wedding guests were dropped off at a courthouse that was built in 1893, and they had no idea as to where to go or what surprise would be next.When the door to the building was unlocked we began climbing stairs. There were three flights of wooden stairs, much like you would expect to find in a courthouse, but then a door in the ceiling was opened. It exposed a much smaller, narrower flight of stairs. This led to a tower with a panoramic view of the surrounding desert landscape.Guests stood along the perimeter of the tower watching the sun set behind the mountains and waiting for the bride to arrive.The race was over, everyone had survived and we were much better off for having participated.When the spontaneous host and hostess exchanged their vows I felt that the love for them in that tower could never be exceeded nor taken away. The lengths they had gone to ensure that every guest felt entertained and safe was worthy of any reality TV set. All teams were happy and aware that this was a winning couple. They had the guarantee. Their marriage was based on love; it would work.