By Mark HaugenHills-Beaver Creek stayed above the .500 mark by splitting two games last week.The Patriots fell 50-44 on the road at Southwest Christian on Thursday and then bounced back with a big 50-38 victory over Adrian on Tuesday night.The Patriots play Friday night at Edgerton and Wednesday at Fulda.SWC 50, H-BC 44The Patriots managed only four points in the second quarter and seven in the third as they dropped a road game.Cassi Tilstra poured in 20 points for H-BC, including two 3-pointers. She also led the team with eight rebounds. Kelly Mulder made her presence known inside with seven rebounds and five blocks."I thought we played extremely hard, however, we didn’t shoot the ball well from the field or the foul line," Coach Goehle said.H-BC Box ScoreRozeboom 2 0-0 4, Fransman 1 1 0-0 5, A. Tilstra 0 0-0 0, Feucht 2 2-2 6, Fink 1 1 0-0 5, Helgeson 0 0-0 0, C. Tilstra 5 2 4-9 20, Roozenboom 0 2-2 2, Mulder 1 0-2 2. Total: 12 4 8-15 44.Team Totals:FG shooting: H-BC 16-51 for 31.4 percent, SWC 18-54 for 33.3 percent. 3-pointers: H-BC 4-16 (C. Tilstra 2-4), SWC 4-9. Rebounds: H-BC 35 (C. Tilstra 8, Mulder 7, Fransman 5), SC 36. Blocks: H-BC 5 (Mulder 5), SWC 1. Steals: H-BC 10 (Fransman 3, C. Tilstra 3). Turnovers: H-BC 19, SWC 15. Assists: H-BC 14 (Rozeboom 4, Fransman 4).H-BC 50, Adrian 38The Patriots rebounded from a 9-8 first-quarter deficit to winKelly Mulder led the way with 12 points and five blocked shots. Cassi Tilstra had 11 points and 11 rebounds."I thought our girls showed more patience on the offensive end," Goehle said. "That, coupled with the fact that on the defensive end we were aware of where their shooters were, helped us maintain control of the game."It is really early in the season, but I like the progress our girls are making individually and collectively."H-BC Box ScoreRozeboom 2 1-1 5, Fransman 0 1 1-2 4, Feucht 2 4-4 8, Fink 0 1 0-0 3, Helgeson 1 0-0 2, C. Tilstra 5 1-2 11, Roozenboom 1 3-4 5, Mulder 6 0-0 12. Team Totals:FG shooting: H-BC 19-38, A 16-39.

By Lexi MooreShelly Knobloch has been hosting exchange students for five years. Her experiences with the students led to her decision to begin placing students with host families in Iowa and Minnesota.She works with the Center for Cultural Interchange to place students within 150 miles of Hills.The Knobloch family has hosted students from Italy, Mexico, Germany, Belgium and most recently Ghana. Although their home sometimes feels like a revolving hotel, Knobloch says, "The family loves it. We have so much fun!"Both of her children enjoy having the students around and cherish having the opportunity to learn about other cultures.The Knobloch family hasn’t had an opportunity to visit any of the students they have hosted. But she says the relationships stay strong after the students head home. "We exchange pictures, cards and letters."Placing students with host familiesKnobloch has attended several educational seminars to help her improve her ability to place students with the perfect family. She also uses a website database to match family characteristics with those of the student.It is very easy for interested families to get involved with the program. The students have their own money for food and entertainment, so they’re not a financial burden on host families.The family is mainly there to provide emotional support while the students transition to American life.After an interested family contacts Knobloch, she asks them a series of questions, such as whether or not they have pets, smoke in the house or have other children.If the family has a nationality preference, the Center for Cultural Interchange will do its best to find a student from that country.Knobloch says that often a family background plays a big part in placements. "We really want a good fit. If it is a true fit, there are fewer problems."Host families commit to housing students for either five months or 10 months. Short-term summer placements are available, but interested families must commit to being involved in a variety of activities.Anyone interested in hosting a student can call Knobloch at 962-3772.

By Sara QuamYou’d never know that the 32-year-old with clear skin, bright eyes and a pearly white smile has AIDS — but Nick Klein does."That’s why I’m willing to share my story," Klein said Tuesday. "AIDS is out there and it’s spreading and you don’t know who has it. I wouldn’t call myself an activist, but I don’t want people to have their heads buried in the sand."He participated in a panel on World AIDS Day last week at the University of Minnesota, Mankato."People think it’s in the big city or in California, but it’s here," Klein said.There are three HIV cases in Rock County and 11 in Nobles County according to the Rural AIDS Action Network. Those are the official statistics, which may be skewed if people move or report a different home address when being tested because of confidentiality concerns.Jennifer Weg, of Nobles- Rock Public Health said, "The numbers don’t show how big the situation is in southwest Minnesota. Part of that is because we don’t have local free testing available, so people do it in South Dakota or bigger cities in Minnesota."Also, it’s estimated that for every person who knows he or she has HIV, there is another person who doesn’t know.Klein is the grandson of Mary and the late Blackie Johnson, longtime residents of Hills. He went to elementary and middle school in the Hills-Beaver Creek district.Klein has been HIV positive for 11 years and has lived in Hills for seven years. Just last spring he got AIDS and started taking medication, which still makes him nauseous.Despite that, he said he feels good most of the time. He eats well, takes vitamins, and religiously takes his three prescription pills a day.He said the life expectancy of someone with AIDS isn’t what it used to be. "It’s a manageable disease if you don’t mess with your medications. … I plan on dying of old age," Klein said. "I’m way more optimistic about life now than I’ve been in the last 10 years."His viral load is almost undetectable and his immune system rating is increasing. He hopes to work full time again by the end of 2005."I’m still young and I want to grow in my life," Klein said. A walking billboardKlein thinks he contracted HIV when he was 19. He knows he got it from having unprotected sex.He found out he had HIV when he was 21. Then, dreams of becoming an English professor and marrying and having children faded. "I cried for four days," Klein said. "That first year, everything was flooded with thoughts of HIV."Instead of finishing college, he became a trucker, and he also made a living as a waiter and construction worker."I wish I could be a walking billboard for people to know what not to do," Klein said.He’s open about having HIV and AIDS, even when socializing or meeting new people."Sometimes people’s reaction is shock at my honesty," he said. Klein knows of some people with HIV who don’t tell others. "It’s just selfish and it makes me mad that some people don’t have a conscience. They sleep around because they figure they’ve already got it and don’t have anything to worry about."Klein said people with HIV still need to protect themselves even if for selfish reasons. There are different strains of the virus that they could contract, which are immune to some drugs. Different strains are harder on different people, too. Klein said his social life is pretty limited, but he enjoys going out. Observing people in the bar scene isn’t fun, though."You can’t tell me those people have been tested or that they’re being safe," Klein said. "People will lie, and you have to protect yourself. You can ask someone if they have HIV or have been tested and they will look you in the eyes and lie," Klein said."It’s all fine and dandy to think about it, but if you don’t do anything, what’s the point?"Klein compares his outlook on life to that of someone who survives cancer or a heart attack."It’s actually bettered my life because I cut all the crap out. It’s made me a better person and I can say I stop to smell the roses."

10 years ago (1994)
The Luverne City Council had a special meeting to review the budget and lower the levy by $22,750.
Nearly 250 telephone customers who live in Beaver Creek will wake up to new telephone service Dec. 13. At that time US West Communications will replace electro-mechanical switching equipment with digital equipment.25 years ago (1979)City employees will have a 9.5-percent wage increase this year Four shoplifting cases were in front of the Rock County courts.Mr. and Mrs. Ted Wahlert observed their 50th anniversary. Wedding announcements in the paper for this week were Christine and Gerald Reisch, Pamela and Douglas Dooyema, Kim and Kevin Sehr and Pamela and David Roemeling.50 years ago (1954)
Hills scheduled an egg show, which included producers bringing in their eggs for judging and speakers on eggs.
Luverne purchased a fully-equipped fire truck for $10,000.
Super Valu Food advertised the following: 2 pounds of bananas for 25¢, four cans of fruit cocktail for $1, t-bone steaks 49¢ per pound, hamburger for 33¢ per pound, and five cans of stewed tomatoes for $1.75 years ago (1929)Rock County’s livestock judging team was second only to a team from Oklahoma at the International Livestock Judging Contest in Chicago. The team consisted of Morten Kolsrud, Werner Stegemann and Vernon Kvale.
"The Mummy and the Mumps," a three-act comedy, was the junior class play at Luverne. Miss Mabel Thompson and Miss Margaret Bristol were directors. Actors in the story were Vernon Hansen, Leon Haggard, Vernan Osgood, Wilbur Rodman, Ernest Willroth, Grace Enger, Barbara Brown, Maud Ecker, Orva Baustian and Hildegarde Dubbe.100 years ago (1904)
Dr. C.O. Wright reports the following new arrivals at homes in Rock County the past week: a boy at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Peterson; a girl at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Peterson, and a girl at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Boysen.
"Beginning next Monday all of the stores in Luverne will remain open until 9 o’clock every evening until the first of January, for the accommodation of Christmas shoppers."

DISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONFIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTNOTICE OF INFORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKESTATE OFAnnabelle Hilger, a/k/a Bonnie Hilger DECEDENTNotice is given that an application for informal probate of the Decedent’s will dated October 19, 1978 and codicil (N/A) to the will dated N/A, and separate writing (N/A) under Minn. Stat. 524.2-513 ("Will"), has been filed with the Registrar. The application has been granted. Notice is also given that the Registrar has informally appointed William D. Sexton whose address is: Box 5032, Incline Village, Nevada 89450 as personal representative of the Estate of the Decedent. Any heir, devisee or other interested person may be entitled to appointment as personal representative or may object to the appointment of the personal representative. Unless objections are filed with the Court (pursuant to Minn. Stat. 524.3-607) and the Court otherwise orders, the personal representative has full power to administer the Estate including, after 30 days from the date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate. Any objections to the probate of the will or appointment of the Personal Representative must be filed with this Court and will be heard by the Court after the filing of an appropriate petition and proper notice of hearing. Notice is also given that (subject to Minn. 524.3-801) all creditors having claims against the Estate are required to present the claims to the personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred. /s/ Timothy K. Connell 12/03/2004Timothy K. Connell Registrar Date/s/ Sandra L. Vrtacnik 12/03/2004Sandra L. VrtacnikCourt Administrator DateAttorney For Personal RepresentativeDonald R. KlosterbuerSkewes, Klosterbuer & Vajgrt, L.L.P.120 N. McKenzieBox 538Luverne, MN 56156-0538507 283-911156674(12-9)

My fear of rejection is alive and well. Not since the club "The Pink Ladies" was formed in fifth grade have I actually applied to be a part of a group.Now I am awaiting approval from some "higher-ups" who will decide whether I’m fit to be a member of the Luverne Eagles Auxiliary.I signed up and paid my $15 fee because a lady Eagle friend of mine is trying to recruit the most new members to earn a prize.I figured the $15 would pay for itself in time with the discounted first drinks Eagles members get. But this week I started wondering when I’ll hear back on my application. I picture a secret meeting of Eagles who will judge my worthiness. And then, if I’m allowed in, will they make me wear some type of fez hat? Maybe I’ll have to call Bingo a few times a year. They’ll probably make me work in the kitchen buttering toast during steak fries.As long as the initiation isn’t too painful, I can handle it in the name of becoming an Eagle. The organization itself does many admirable things. About a month ago, the Eagles’ Jimmy Durante Fund donated $1,000 for handicapped accessible playground equipment. There’s also kidney, cancer, heart, diabetes, spinal cord injury and many other special funds that the Eagles Club supports. The local steak fries most Saturday nights are fund-raisers for many local non-profit groups.So I would be proud to be affiliated with the Eagles. But the question remains — will they want to be affiliated with me? In reality, they probably give everyone the rubber stamp approval to become a member. I’d still like to think I’m something special when (or if?) I get the final go ahead to use the secret handshake, though. But seriously, after all this free publicity, how could they say no to me? Now my biggest concern should be whether I’ll be called a sheagle , an eaglette, or just a plain old auxiliary member.

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know when I say the Vikings are the most schizophrenic team in the NFL.It's not just that they can look so good one Sunday and so crappy the next. It's that they can look so good for one quarter and then stink in the next three. Or that they can play so well at home, but then not even resemble that same team on the road.They are a team that can beat any team in the NFL or lose to any team. I don't have an answer or know anybody who does, but I don't see other teams in the NFL acting like this bunch of split personalities ,and I don't know a psychiatrist with a couch large enough to fit them all.Sooner or later people are going to have to ask who is responsible. I would like to think that, if you're getting paid millions of dollars to play a game, that in itself would be incentive enough to show up for a game with your head screwed on straight, but apparently not. So then you'd hope a coach would have the ability to motivate them or at least keep them on an even keel rather than have such up and down swings, but apparently not.I guess I'm just not too impressed with Coach Mike Tice. He's supposed to have a good rapport with the players, but so did Dennis Green. I don't think a coach has to be buddies with his players anyway. I don't think he's been a particularly good clock manager or flag-tosser when it comes to reviewing plays. I don't have major problems with his game plans and play calling like I did with Green, and we probably haven't had enough time yet to grade his draft picks, though they initially seem pretty good.But I say, if the Vikes don't make the playoffs this year and win a postseason game or two, Tice is cooked. I, for one, won't cry when he's gone. Patience is not one of my virtues and, hey, I'm 40 years old and I'd like to see a Super Bowl victory in my lifetime.Calling Mike Ditka!MAT NOTES: * It was nice to see the pep band at Thursday night’s Luverne wrestling match against West Central and to hear them sounding so fine. * Coach Tim Homan’s wife, Pam, was able to get away from her busy schedule as Sioux Falls school superintendent to watch her husband’s Luverne coaching debut.* West Central High School is located in Hartford, S.D., home town to a gaggle of Kappermans, including my wife’s mom. In fact, my wife’s cousin, Nick Kapperman, was one of the two Trojans defeated by Luverne wrestlers. It must run in the family, because my wife isn’t a very good wrestler either.GRADS IN THE NEWS:Luverne grad Hannah Dietrich, a senior at Augsburg College, earned All-MIAC honorable-mention honors with her 23rd place finish at the conference cross country meet this past season.She also competed in the NCAA Division III region meet and finished 40th, running the 6,000-meter course in 24:09.

Sometimes a person can get a little stressed during the holiday season. I am one of those people. Some individuals just can’t handle the pressure of shopping, writing Christmas letters, wrapping gifts, attending Christmas programs, traveling to visit the relatives, etc. I like all of those Christmas activities. My holiday stress comes from baking. My mother and I used to make 15-20 different kinds of cookies and bars and candy: fudge, peanut butter fudge, maple fudge, toffee, divinity, caramels, cappuccino caramels, sugar cookies, maple sandwich cookies, peanut blossoms, Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Chunk Molasses Chewies, pecan tarts, candy cane cookies, peppernuts, popcorn balls, turtles, almond bark, macaroons, etc. Each year we might abandon one recipe and add another. We distributed plates of goodies to all of our friends, relatives, and co-workers. I gain 10 pounds every Christmas, because each time I bake something, I have to conduct a taste test (several times) not only the finished product, but the dough, the batter, the frosting, the chocolate chips, the pecans, the coconut, etc. Once I read that if you chew gum, you won’t be tempted to taste everything. I tried it. But let me ask you. Can a piece of gum stand up to the temptation of Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Chunk Molasses Chewies? Not in my lifetime. Another year I tried taping my mouth shut with Scotch Brand packing tape. That worked the one baking day I used it. And I didn’t need it for subsequent baking days because when I removed the tape, certain parts of my lips went with it. Pain works. Last year we decided to cut back. We limited our baking efforts to 12 recipes, and it worked out well. We don’t have as many friends and relatives anymore. Many have died or moved or are on the low-carb diet. I may cut back even more for 2004. Maybe I’ll make just one or two of my favorites, eat them all myself, and gaining that 10 pounds won’t be so much work. You can also relieve holiday stress by escaping with a good novel. The Loop Group, by Larry McMurtry might do the trick. Maggie Clary’s three grown daughters arrive at her Hollywood home to try and make sense of her life. This isn't easy, first of all because their own lives are a mess, and secondly, Maggie thinks her own life makes perfect sense. She is self-supporting, running a successful "loop group" dubbing movies. She has a boyfriend (admittedly he is her psychoanalyst, and very old), and leads a busy life that intersects with lots of interesting, (all right) bizarre people. Still, her daughters cause her to have a few second thoughts, and these are reinforced when her best friend, Connie, seeks an escape from her own world of complex and difficult relationships with men. Since neither high-end nor low-end shopping seems to relieve their angst, Maggie comes up with the idea of driving to visit her Aunt Cooney's ranch near Electric City, Texas. This road trip will end by changing their lives. Alternately hilariously funny and profoundly sad, "Loop Group" is a joy to read. "Black Wind," by Clive Cussler. In the waning days of World War II, the Japanese tried a last desperate kamikaze mission, this one carried out by two submarines bound for the West Coast of the United States, their cargo a revolutionary new strain of biological virus. Neither sub made it to the designated target. But that does not mean they were lost. Someone knows about the subs and what they bore and has an extraordinary plan in store for the prize inside — a scheme that could reshape the world as we know it. All that stands in the way are three people: a marine biologist named Summer, a marine engineer named Dirk, and their father, Dirk Pitt, the new head of NUMA. Pitt has faced devastating enemies before and has even teamed up with his children to track them down. But never has he looked upon the face of pure evil ... until now.

The following articles appeared in the local column in the Rock County Weekly Herald on February 1, 1884: "E.N. Darling murdered a turkey Wednesday that weighed, denuded of all its feathers, and deprived of its head, legs and digestive organs, 26 pounds. This monstrous fowl attracted the attention of mine host Joles, and he, always on the alert to secure for his excellent hotel the best there is in the market, purchased the bird and will serve him up in first-class style for the gastronomic edification of the guests at the Luverne House next Sunday at the usual dinner hour. "The interest manifested by the public in the skating rink continues unabated. The attendance every evening during the past week has been large and the day sessions have been well attended. The beneficial effects of the exercise to say nothing of the sport is becoming generally appreciated by many of our business men as well as by the young people, and the rink promises to maintain its large patronage throughout the season. Sheriff Gillham has not yet completed the construction of his mastodon skates, but it is understood that the work will soon be finished and that he will make his appearance on the floor some time next week. Judge Haley has made rapid improvement and promises to become a formidable rival of Mr. Nelson. Mr. Skyberg has been an earnest and faithful student of the art and has attained a degree of success which enables him to maintain his equilibrium at least three-fourths of the time. Hon. P.J. Kniss’ skill as a skater is still somewhat embriouis, but gives indications of development. President Jacobsen has made but few attempts as yet but these have served to distinguish him and there is reason to believe that he will yet become a master of the art." Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.