By Lori EhdeRenee Sawtelle is a part-time employee of the Luverne Elementary School, but she’s a full-time supporter of the district, its students and its staff.Sawtelle was named the 2005 Friend of Education by the Luverne Education Association during a ceremony Monday afternoon."To have a person like Renee floating around helping us is absolutely invaluable," said Luverne kindergarten teacher Shirley Harrison.She said Sawtelle’s list of volunteer contributions is too long to itemize. "She’s volunteered literally hundreds of hours for teachers and students."Sawtelle is particularly involved in activities of the elementary booster club, Parents: Partners In Education.She also helps with major annual science projects, such as the rain forest and the solar dome, and she assists with music programs, finding props and costumes where needed.Sawtelle’s acceptance speech was short because her Girl Scouts troop was waiting for her at a meeting scheduled at the same time as Monday’s ceremony."For what I’ve done here, I appreciate the teachers even more," she said. "They do so much for my children, and I’m just glad I can help them."Sawtelle and her husband, Tom, have six children ranging in age from 6 to 17. "We have two in high school, two in middle school and two in elementary school," she said.With her youngest child in kindergarten, Sawtelle said she has extra time now to volunteer."The teachers have an awful lot of work to do. They put in a lot more than eight-hour days," she said. "Just think of the material your child brings home from school, and multiply that times all the other kids … I think our biggest classroom has 28 kids. It’s a lot of work."For example, Sawtelle said she helps teachers get materials ready for art and craft projects, which is time-consuming.In addition to recognizing a need, Sawtelle said she helps because she enjoys being at school."I get such a kick out of some of the kids," she said. "And they grow up so fast."Sawtelle was recently hired by the district to help on the playground and in the copy room a few hours a day, but Harrison said Sawtelle works far beyond the hours she’s paid for."She puts in way more hours in the copy room than she’s supposed to, making sure it all gets done for the teachers," Harrison said."She’s a person who’s really made a difference in our school. Many thanks to Renee Sawtelle, our Friend of Education."

By Lori EhdeSteve Kollmann’s formula for successful teaching is to build students’ self esteem while having fun."I try to create an atmosphere in my class where everyone has fun," said Kollmann, who was named 2005 Teacher of the Year during Education Week activities Monday."We do a lot of different activities so everyone can feel good about themselves."Kollmann said he hopes those classroom experiences carry over into other areas of his students’ lives — both physically and emotionally."I hope the skills they learn here will carry over into a lifetime of physical activity," he said."I try to make all the kids feel good about themselves. To some kids, phy ed is the highlight of their day. They may not excel in the classroom, but in my class they all have a chance to excel."Kollmann was named Teacher of the Year during a ceremony after school Monday in the elementary commons.Teacher of the Year for 2004, Sandy Klosterbuer, announced Kollmann as the new selection."Many consider this educator to be a constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm," she began.She said Kollmann takes pride in his work and treats students with respect."This educator has been a great ambassador for the Luverne Public Schools for over 30 years," Klosterbuer said. "He is greatly respected by not only the students and the community here in Luverne, but by past students and athletes in surrounding communities."Kollmann said he’s surprised he qualified for the honor, since he hasn’t lived in Luverne for years."This is totally awesome and really unexpected," he said accepting his plaque. "…Teaching physical education doesn’t always get the respect it deserves."Kollmann, who plans to retire after this school year, thanked his peers for the honor."I really feel part of a very, very good team," he said. "Thank you all for being part of that team and helping me achieve this."Elementary physical education teacher Dan Amborn was particularly pleased to see Kollmann named Teacher of the Year."He’s an incredible human being … extremely positive," Amborn said after Monday’s ceremony. "He cares deeply about each and every one of the kids."Amborn said Kollmann has been a mentor for him through the years."The kind of human being that he is makes him a wonderful ambassador for the school system and whatever organization he’s involved in," Amborn said.

By Lexi MooreStudents at Hills-Beaver Creek High School joined BestPrep and more than 4,250 students in 100 schools around Minnesota for a third year to compete in The Stock Market Game‘ (SMG) this fall. H-BC social studies teacher Teri Richards is advising eight sophomore students as part of the social studies curriculum.BestPrep teaches economics and finance by teaming up with students in The Stock Market Game™ program. BestPrep, a Minnesota based non-profit, administers the program, which Richards said she believes in. "I chose the Stock Market Game because it is real-time, is very realistic, well-done and administered by BestPrep, and because the students really enjoy spending money. It is a great learning tool."Student teams participating in The Stock Market Game are given a virtual $100,000 to "invest" over a fourteen-week period. Teams receive daily portfolio updates on their current holdings, brokerage fees, interest, and team rankings. During that time, teachers incorporate the Game's supporting materials into their curriculum. The Game will end in December.New this year is the addition of mutual funds; students may now invest in mutual funds and stocks. Bonnie Vagasky, vice president of educational programs at BestPrep, said it’s good for students have access to this information at this stage of their lives. "Adding mutual funds to The Stock Market Game allows students to learn how mutual funds operate," Vagasky said. "Most Americans invest some of their retirement earnings in mutual funds, and now students can learn about this investment strategy through the program."

By Lexi MooreLast summer the city of Hills purchased a street sweeper from Sanitation Products of Sioux Falls.The used Elgin Premier Pelican, which cost $12,780 should be paid off within two years and is saving the city money. In the past, Hills would pay the city of Luverne $140 to clean the streets.That bill would include the time spent in Hills and the time used while driving back and forth from Luverne. The streets were once cleaned twice a year, but rising costs forced the council to cut back to once a year. Owning the sweeper has been a nice convenience for Hills Maintenance Manager, Wayne Ward. "Now we can clean the streets whenever they get dirty," he said. ?"The rock and gravel the sweeper collects helps protect our streets."In early November residents of Steen may have seen the Hills sweeper in their area. The city of Steen arranged to have Wayne clean their streets. It took the sweeper 15 minutes to get from Hills to Steen and four hours to clean all of the streets. Offering this service to neighboring communities helps Hills pay for the sweeper and its upkeep.The city has hoped to make similar arrangements with the mosquito sprayer they purchased last spring. Ward said it’s necessary for smaller communities to rely on each other, because it’s not possible to stock all of the machinery a town needs to survive, so outsourcing to other towns becomes a viable option. Ward chooses to split the cleaning of Hills streets over a period of two days. Because the sweeper generates a fair amount of noise, he said he tries to sweep when the noise won’t bother residents.The sweeper has an industrial brush that sweeps debris off the street and onto a conveyer belt. The belt carries the debris into a hopper at the front of the vehicle where rocks and dirt collect until they can be emptied.

10 years ago (1994)"The Rock County Board and Luverne City Council acted together Monday in a decision on how best to upgrade communications equipment in the Law Enforceemnt Center.With the help of communications consultant John DuBois, Edina, they decided on the next step in purchasing up-to-date radio equipment for emergency departments."25 years ago (1979)"Construction is in progress on the Human Services Building that will include the Southwestern Mental Health Center, Rock County Family Services and Community Health Services. The last details for the new building, however, continue to take considerable time at meetings of the Rock County Board."50 years ago (1954)"One fourth of Rock County’s cattle herds had reactors in the brucellosis and tuberculosis tests just completed, according to County Agent Luehr.However, only 3.2 percent of the total number of cattle tested were reactors, Dr. B.E. Schoneman of the State Live Stock Sanitary board, who supervised the testing, informed the county agent’s office."75 years ago (1929)"Halloween — Thursday, Oct. 31st — will be observed in Luverne as Witch day, and for this occasion an elaborate program of special events will be put on for the entertainment of everyone who spends the day in Luverne. One of the big features of the day will be a barbecue. The plans are to furnish refreshments for everybody free, as well as stage numerous unusual entertainment features."100 years ago (1904)"Department Commander Harrison White has made the following appointments of additional aides to his staff: George W. Baffam, Owatonna; J.F. French, Windom; A.T. Baker, St. Paul; JA. Peck, Wabasha, and W.T. Churchill, Glencoe."

I learned something new. This unlikely occurrence transpired when I took the loving mother to visit her sister (my aunt) in the Sibley nursing home. My aunt Gladys is "the one who loves me" and once owned a hunting lodge in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Her favorite flower is the gladiolus, and she loved to bake cookies, but hated to bake pies. She was (and still is) a woman with a big heart. For the past two years she has resided in the nursing home. Her health has been declining over the months, particularly in the past few weeks. When we arrived she was sleeping in a recliner in the living room area. We tried to wake her, but she was very weak and had difficulty keeping her eyes open. She’s 85 years old and has Parkinson’s disease. Just then I noticed one of her buddies, Floyd, at the other end of the room. He took Gladys under his wing when she first arrived at the nursing home, and we are deeply grateful to him for watching over her. I approached him and invited him to come over and visit with us. He maneuvered his wheelchair between the tables and chairs and parked next to us. He reached over and put has hand on Gladys’ arm and tried to rouse her from sleep. He said, "Hello sweetheart. You know I love you." Gladys opened her eyes, and a small, almost imperceptible smile came across her face. I sat there with my mouth open (as did my mother) staring incredulously. Could love actually emerge at this late stage of the game? In this environment? These are the elderly, 80-, 90- and 100-year-olds. They’re in final stages of the aging process. Most can’t walk, many can’t talk or dress or feed themselves. Yet there it was — "love" alive and well at the Sibley Nursing Home in Sibley, Iowa. For those of you who appreciate a good story where love prevails (don’t we all) you might like to try the new book by Danielle Steel, "Echoes." For the Wittgenstein family the summer of 1915 was a time of both prosperity and unease, as the guns of war sound in the distance. But for eldest daughter Beata it was also a summer of awakening. By the glimmering waters of Lake Geneva the quiet Jewish beauty met a young French officer and fell in love. Knowing that her parents would never accept her marriage to a Catholic, Beata followed her heart anyway. As the two built a new life together, Beata’s past would stay with her in ways she could never have predicted. As the years pass and Europe is once again engulfed in war, Beata must watch in horror as Hitler’s terror threatens her life and family, even her eighteen-year-old daughter Amadea, who has taken on the vows of a Carmelite nun.For Amadea the convent is no refuge. As family and friends are swept away without a trace, Amadea is forced into hiding. Thus begins a harrowing journey of survival as she escapes into the heart of the French Resistance. Here Amadea will find a renewed sense of purpose, taking on the most daring missions behind enemy lines. And it is here, in the darkest moments of fear, that Amadea will feel her mother’s loving strength and that of her mother’s mother before her. And here amid the fires of war Amadea will meet an extraordinary man, British secret agent Rupert Montgomery. In Col. Montgomery Amadea finds a man who will help her discover her place in an unbreakable chain between generations and a future she can only imagine, a future of hope rooted in the rich soil of the past.

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on January 22, 1915:OPERA HOUSE TO BE BUILTDefinite Assurance of Fine, New Opera House for Luverne is Given and Work will be Started Soon.BIG BRICK STRUCTURE ON UNION BLOCK CORNERThoroughly Modern Opera House, Two Store Rooms and Dance Hall Will be Contained in New Building"Positive assurance that Luverne will this year secure a new, thoroughly modern opera house, representing an investment of approximately $40,000, was given this week by Herman Joachims, of Schleswig, Ia. He is the owner of the property known as Union Hall, and the new play house will occupy this site. Mr. Joachims arrived here Monday and remained here until Wednesday evening, working out general plans for the new structure, which will be a brick building 63x135 feet in ground dimensions, and two full stories high, that will be similar in architecture and interior arrangements to that of the Orpheum Theatre of Sioux Falls. The plans provide for two rooms for rental purposes at the front of the building, with an entrance way fourteen feet wide extending north and south through the center of the building to the opera house proper. The store on the east of the entrance will be 23 feet wide and extend back 60 feet, and on the west side the store room will be 23 feet wide and 48 feet long. The opera house or auditorium will be located at the south end of the structure, with the stage adjoining the alley, and will occupy a space about 63x75 feet. At the rear of the auditorium will be a balcony and on each side two opera boxes. In the front end on the second floor, immediately over the entrance way and two store rooms, a dance hall will be provided with floor space 50x60 feet.Entrance to the hall and to the balcony and opera boxes will be gained by stairways at the rear of the store room on the west side of the entrance way, and immediately adjoining the stairways on the south will be the ticket office. The plans also call for another, and smaller stairway leading to the dance hall and balcony at the rear of the store room on the east side, and provision is made for entrance to the opera boxes from the stage. Aisles at the center and extreme sides of the auditorium are provided for. They extend north and south, and the side aisles lead onto the stage, connecting with the doors opening into the alley.The seating capacity of the auditorium will be 520, that of the balcony 144, and each one of the opera boxes will accommodate four people.These plans will at once be submitted to the state fire marshal and if they meet with this official’s approval, plans and specifications will be prepared and submitted to the common council. Mr. Joachims will return to Luverne the first part of February, and expects to start work on the new project March 1st. Mr. Joachims has conducted the opera house at Schleswig for a number of years and is said to be not only thoroughly familiar with all the requirements of such a venture, but also has ample means to carry out the large project that he has undertaken here. He recently disposed of his opera house at Schleswig and gives possession Feb. 1st. 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.

My favorite quote is by Charles Swindoll on attitude. He writes, "Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it."At the Tollfeson Publishing we’ve seen some unexpected changes in the past year, and I’m proud to say our attitudes are in the right place.Our advertising director, graphic designer, copy editor, Hills Crescent editor and Star Herald sports editor all made career changes in the course of a few months.While we’ve missed these key players, I’m proud to say we’ve embraced the changes as opportunities to explore new directions.The positive approach has a lot to do with our new people: oMark Haugen at the sports desk, oEsther Frakes at the copy desk, oChristine Mann in advertising sales, and oLexi Moore halftime at the Crescent helm and half-time in graphic design.They’re a stellar crew and we’re lucky to have them on board.With their enthusiasm, a remaining core of talented experience, plus an ambitious newspaper consultant on board, we’re looking at all kinds of ways to improve. Our goal is to be a better business in the community and present a better product to our readers and advertisers.Our Star Herald sports readers will notice the biggest changes. In addition to presenting his own writing style and page design, Mark will add a new dimension to that section with a weekly column and a new format for bowling and pool league results.In the news department the changes will be more subtle, but still noticeable.oThe B Section now leads with a feature story or photo package. Those soft-news items take a lot of work, and we’re proud of the end result, so we’re giving them more visibility.oThe inside pages of the A Section will showcase contributing local writers on a more regular basis. We’ll be hearing from our public officials on city, county and school on timely topics in their own words with their own little mug shots attached to the write-ups.This won’t replace our already popular columnists, such as librarian Glenda Bremer, historian Betty Mann and On the Rock pastor columns. It also won’t replace our regular news coverage of local government.oThe Opinion Page will lead with weekly editorials, in addition to usual columns Sara and I take turns writing. Our writers will work on the editorials together, and the goal is to both encourage dialog and stimulate thought processes, or, as with this week’s editorial, to advocate positive activity in the community.As always, we welcome input from all our readers on ideas for editorials, or better yet, original letters to the editor.oRemember When will have shorter entries from old newspapers and more of them, with an emphasis on including more local names that appeared in the news back then. Along those same lines, Mark is planning to introduce a sports version of Remember When in his pages.oThe Dining and Entertainment Page that used to appear only in the Announcer now also appears in the Star Herald, as does the Dial-A-Specialist listing. These advertisers make our Star Herald pages more newsworthy, and in turn, their placement on our news pages adds value to their messages.We’re still the same business that’s brought you news for the past 130 years, but stay tuned for exciting new reasons to keep reading.

ORDINANCE NO. 267, THIRD SERIESAN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE GROUP INSURANCE PROGRAM, AMENDING SECTION 2.37, SUBD. 1, AND ADOPTING BY REFERENCE CITY CODE CHAPTER 2 AND SECTION 2.99 WHICH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CONTAIN PENALTY PROVISIONSWHEREAS, to not conflict with provisions of the City’s Personnel Policy, an amendment is needed in Subdivision 1 of Section 2.37 deleting the last sentence relating to City provided group insurance for elected officials.NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Luverne, Minnesota, does hereby ordain: SECTION 1. That Section 2.37, Subd 1, be amended in its entirety to read as follows: Subd. 1. The salary of the Mayor shall be $5,100.00 per year and for each alderman $4,200.00 per year. Salaries shall be paid in conjunction with the regular City payroll for administrative personnel and shall include such deductions and withholdings as are required or authorized by law. SEC. 2. This ordinance shall take full force and effect seven (7) days after its publication. (11-18)