By John Rittenhouse
A Hills-Beaver Creek student returned to the wrestling mat for the first time since early December when the Luverne-H-BC-Ellsworth squad traveled to Worthington for a Southwest Conference match Thursday.

Kerry Fink, an H-BC seventh-grader, wrestled for the first time since breaking a bone in his arm during a Dec. 5 match in Fulda.

Fink took over the 103-pound weight class for the Cardinals against the Trojans, where he was pinned by Trojan Anthony Kunkel in 4:33.

The Cards and Trojans competed in a match that featured six lead changes before Worthington prevailed by a 45-29 count.

The loss left L-H-BC-E with a 0-3 SWC mark and a 1-7-1 record overall.

L-H-BC-E hosts a team tournament Saturday before wrestling in Tracy Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek High School seventh-grader Kerry Fink played a role in helping the Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team pick up its first Southwest Conference win of the season in Marshall Saturday.

Fink, L-H-BC-E's 103-pounder, won his match during what turned out to be a 43-30 Cardinal victory over the Tigers.

Fink opened the duel by recording a 14-8 decision victory over Marshall's Nate Boerboom.

The 3-0 lead provided by Fink's win set the stage for L-H-BC-E's first SWC victory in four tries.

The Cardinals were scheduled to wrestle in Adrian Tuesday, but that match was postponed. L-H-BC-E will take a 2-12-1 record into a home match against Redwood Valley tomorrow.

By John Rittenhouse
Windom's one-two front court punch of Nicole Maras and Megan Wendorff proved to be a strong combination when Hills-Beaver Creek traveled to Windom for a non-conference girls' basketball game Thursday.

With Maras and Wendorff netting a combined 39 points, the stage was set for a 62-47 win for the home-standing Eagles.

"We had trouble handling their inside game," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "They are a big, physical team."

Maras and Wendorf make up most of Windom’s inside bulk. Maras burned the nets for a game-high 22 points, and Wendorff chipped in 17.

The Eagles led 18-12 and 31-23 at the first two quarter breaks before going on a 13-8 run in the third quarter to make it a 44-31 difference.

Windom's 18-16 scoring edge in the fourth quarter made it a 15-point difference in the end.

Erin Boeve's double-double consisting of 14 points and 11 rebounds was the highlight of the game for H-BC.

Shanna Tilstra had 11 points and three assists for a Patriot team that played with Windom most of the night.

"We hung around most of the game," Goehle said. "The game never got totally away from us, but we couldn't get much closer than six or eight points."

H-BC had two games postponed due to the winter storm that hit the area Monday and Tuesday.

Monday's home game against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton will be played Monday, Feb. 12. Tuesday's home game against Faith Christian is tentatively rescheduled for Saturday.

Box score
C.Tilstra 1 0 0-0 2, Olson 1 0 0-1 2, Sandstede 3 0 1-2 7, Rentschler 0 0 2-2 2, S.Tilstra 4 1 0-0 11, Broesder 1 0 2-3 4, DeNoble 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 5 0 4-8 14, DeHaan 0 0 0-0 0, Arp 1 0 3-4 5.

Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 40 field goals (43 percent), 12 of 20 free throws (60 percent), 22 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
Windom: 26 of 62 field goals (42 percent), 10 of 16 free throws (63 percent), 31 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The stage has been set for the fourth annual Rock County Sportsman's Show that takes place in Luverne High School Saturday, Feb. 10.

The event, which attracted 1,000 people last winter and has a goal to bring in 1,500 more individuals this year, will run from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.

Nearly 60 exhibitors have made commitments to attend the 2001 version of the event, with the products and services offered being on display throughout the day.

Boats, campers and RVs will be on display outside the facility. There also will be indoor exhibits.

Nearly five hours of youth and adult seminars are on slate in the elementary school gym.

Main attractions for this year's show will be Gary Allen, a professional Missouri River fishing guide from Chamberlain, S.D., and Judd Cooney, a nationally recognized bow hunter from Pagosa Springs, Co.

Allen will round out the seminar schedule by offering tips and fishing tactics for the Missouri River from 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Allen also will have an exhibit booth on hand for the event.

Cooney, a man with Rock County ties, will put on two different seminars during the day.

A 1956 Luverne High School graduate, Cooney is an active outdoor writer and photographer who was inducted into the Rock County Hall of Fame in 2000.

He runs an elk and white tail deer hunting service.

After Cooney's appearance at the Rock County Sportman's Show, he will fly to Las Vegas, where he'll be inducted into the National Bow Hunter's Hall of Fame.

Cooney's first seminar will address wild turkey hunting, and it will run from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Cooney will offer an elk and white tail deer hunting seminar from 2 to 2:30 p.m.
Lon Hohenstein, Monty Gall and Dustin Kjelden will offer different seminars during the day.

Hohenstein's talk of ice fishing techniques opens the seminar slate from 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Gall will offer a plug fishing for walleye seminar from 12:30 to 1 p.m, which will be followed by Kjelden's lake fishing seminar from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m.

Nearly $2,000 worth of raffle prizes will be given away starting at 4 p.m.

Raffle tickets will be sold for $1 each during the day, and ticket holders need not be present to claim their prizes.

Along with all the seminars and exhibits, different Rock County community organizations will offer different food options during the show.

Tickets to attend the event will be $2, with children 5 and under admitted free.

All proceeds from the event will go to Big Buddies of Rock County, Hills-Beaver Creek-Steen Baseball Association, Patriot Partners, Steen Community Park Committee and the Hills Lions Club.

By Jolene Farley
Spencer and Pam Sells, Beaver Creek, have been selected as the 2001 Rock County Farm Family of the Year by the Rock County extension committee.

This annual award honors families for their contributions to agriculture and their community.

Members of the Rock County extension committee, which is comprised of six elected officials, two commissioners and an administrator, and winners of the award for the past three years submitted the names of 12 Rock County families they felt deserved the award this year. The extension committee then voted on the nominees.

The Sells were soon notified they were the recipients of the award. "It's a nice honor," Pam said. "It's nice to be selected."

Spencer added, "You write down all you are involved in, and it's surprising. Sometimes you don't see it all."

The program goals include: demonstrating appreciation of agricultural families living in Minnesota; fostering appreciation for local extension education programs and the land grant mission of teaching, research, and outreach; communicating the importance and role of agriculture to the citizens of Minnesota; and supporting the exchange, learning and challenge of information, ideas, resources and assumptions related to agriculture.

The selection of the Sells as Rock County Farm Family of the Year seems to fall in line with these goals. "They are top class. They richly deserve it," said extension educator Fraser Norton. "They were runners up last year. I was really pleased to see they got it this year."

Spencer, Pam and their two children, Lindsy and Lee, currently live on the farm north of Beaver Creek where Spencer grew up. They operate a corn and soybean farm and produce alfalfa. They feed out cattle and finish 6,000 hogs per year.

When asked about the future of farming, Spencer said, "It is pretty uncertain right now. The strong dollar doesn't help exports. With several years of excellent crop yields, a new president, and Starlink I am not sure how it will shake out."

"Most farms have tried to specialize and raise a few more of something. Right or wrong that is just the way it is," Spencer said.

Spencer and Pam are both directors of the Rock County Pork Producers Association, members of the Luverne Music Boosters and are active in church activities.

Spencer is a director of the Rock County Corn and Soybean Growers Association and a member of the Rock County Fair Board. He also serves on the Luverne Public School agriculture committee.

Pam is a family and consumer science teacher in Adrian, and serves as the secretary of the Rock County extension committee. The whole family is active in 4-H.

The Sells also participated in Communicating For Agriculture, a program that matches farmers from other countries with United States farmers. The farmers stay in the United States for six to nine months learning more about our farming operations.

The Sells and other honorees will be recognized at a banquet on March 1 at the University of Minnesota.

By Sara Quam
Tougher DWI laws could start this year and Rock County is bracing itself for the effects.

Local members of law enforcement, alcohol servers, prosecutors and, of course, drinkers are following developments for a lowered blood-alcohol limit.

A proposal to set the legal standard for drunken driving passed the Senate Crime Prevention Committee last week and now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. A similar measure is being considered by the house.

Under the bill, drivers with blood-alcohol content of .08 and higher would be charged with drunken driving.
Currently, Minnesota’s standard is .10. The new level would mean drivers should have 2 percent less blood-alcohol content than is allowed now and be considered drunk.

Last year, Rock County filed 32 misdemeanors and 16 gross misdemeanors for DWIs. That’s compared with Pipestone County’s 35 misdemeanors and 29 gross misdemeanors. Murray County had 40 misdemeanors and 21 gross misdemeanors filed.

Many of Rock County’s offenders ended up serving time in Nobles County Jail as a part of their sentences or as part of subsequent driving under suspension violations.

Of all crimes committed in the county, DWIs make up most of those who serve jail time.

Bottoms up
The beverage industry has come down on the proposed new law and local establishments seem to agree.

Amy Dispanet VerSteeg, Magnolia Steakhouse manager, said, "It doesn’t combat the problem drinkers. The ones it scares off are the social drinkers."

Dispanet fears that more people will drink at home or feel less easy about drinking with their meals. Having a full steakhouse menu helps her business, but others that rely mostly on beverage serving may be hit harder with a lower limit.

Kathy Johnson of KJ's Korner Bar, Hardwick, said, "It's a big concern for us and we know it's coming."

Johnson said she’s nervous that many of her rural customers will stay home rather than drive into town for a few drinks. "It's not fair to me and it's not fair to them," she said.

"There's a lot of people who can have a couple drinks and could be at .08 and still drive home," Johnson said.

Last call
Johnson said the federal law is in effect forcing Minnesota to change its standard.

"It's either we do it or lose our roads," Johnson said.

Time is a factor in the law. Even if Minnesota doesn’t pass the new .08 standard this year, it must do so by 2004.

In October, the national threshold for drunk driving was set at .08. States that don't adopt the standard by 2004 will lose a portion of their annual federal highway funding.

Minnesota could lose more than $6 million if it doesn't make the 2004 deadline and more than $25 million if the standard still isn’t met by the year 2007.

Rock County's portion of the state money wouldn't amount to much, but law makers are expected to look at the state's needs overall when considering the lost revenue.

By Lori Ehde
The Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne is wrapping up its mold abatement project, and the wheels of justice are already in motion to sue the parties responsible.

The problem was discovered in the summer of 1998 when staff noticed dark spots behind the wallpaper in residents' rooms.

The mold was blamed on a faulty heating and cooling system that allowed moisture to condense around windows between Sheetrock and wallpaper.

To rectify the problem, all exterior walls of the building had to be stripped to clear existing mold, and Sheetrock and wall covering were replaced. At the same time, ductwork was replaced with a higher capacity system, about twice the size of the original air handling system.

In the end, the project cost nearly $6 million for a structure that cost $7.2 million to build in 1992.

Adding to the expense of the project was the reduced number of residents. Having to limit occupancy to 75 residents instead of the capacity 85, added up to $344,000 in lost revenues for the home.

The lawsuit, litigated by the Attorney General's Office, names the architect designer, contractor and air system consultant as responsible parties.

Group II Architects and Carr Construction, both of Marshall, and Johnson Controls, Sioux Falls, S.D., are specifically named in the suit.

The suit is scheduled for trial in May of 2002 in Ramsey County.

"It's a complex piece of litigation, and there will be extensive discovery on the case," McGill said. "Three parties need to take depositions."

At the time the mold was discovered, State Engineer Patrick Ferrin reportedly blamed project engineers and architects who scaled back on the heating and cooling system in the home to spend more on a "fancy" exterior. Ferrin said he tried to call attention to the design defects as the home was under construction, but he wasnÕt taken seriously.

Mold abatement work began in March of 1999 and is nearly complete.

On a positive note, Luverne Vets Home Administrator Pam Barrows said the work was completed with little inconvenience to residents and staff.

"I think it went very well," she said Wednesday. "The workers on site (from Design Craft) were very good to work with and were very considerate of the residents. In fact, they made friends with the residents, and the residents enjoyed what they could watch."

By Sara Quam
Homeowners using gas heat may feel like they're better off burning money this year.

Some homes saw their bills double in a month, but local gas providers aren't the ones getting rich off this cold winter. Wholesale prices have increased more than 300 percent in the last 12 months and 58 percent just since December 2000.

Even though homeowners are feeling a financial crunch, not many have applied for fuel assistance. Southwestern Minnesota Opportunity Council can help pay some heating bills for qualified people.

Gerrie Adamson, local SMOC representative, said she thinks most people who may benefit from it, aren't aware of the program and just haven't applied.

Guidelines for qualifications are set up by gross wages for three months: one person can make $4,364; a family of two can make $5,707; a family of five can make $9,735.

Qualifying families cannot have more than $25,000 in assets, not counting the home and some transportation.

Adamson is in her SMOC office at 319 E. Lincoln from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays and can be reached at 283-2454.

The state also offers further information about the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program at 1-800-657-3805.

Customers who are having difficulties paying their heating bills can apply for assistance there. Financial assistance is paid in a lump sum directly to the utility.

Why so high?
Recent wholesale natural gas price increases can point to several factors including limited supplies, reduced storage, greater industrial usage and winters colder than in recent years.

Because natural gas prices were relatively low during the late 1980s and early '90s, a number of electric energy utilities built new generation facilities that use natural gas rather than coal to take advantage of those low prices.

The utilities have now increased the overall demand for natural gas, even though natural gas usage by residential customers has declined during the same period of time.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission generally prohibits energy companies from shutting off a customerÕs heat from October 15 through April 15 due to non-payment of bills.

The Senate Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities Committee will schedule another hearing on the issue. It's expected that legislation will be introduced to provide additional financial assistance to help consumers.

By Jolene Farley
The Hills, Beaver Creek and Steen area Cub Scout Pack 314 and the newly formed Boy Scout Pack 280 are looking for members.

The Cub Scout pack currently has nine members, and the Scoutmaster for both groups is Frank LaBadie, Beaver Creek.

The groups meet the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the Hills Legion Hall.

The pack is learning how to start campfires, and Scouts are working on badges and crafts.

The troops are also making posters for the Scout-O-Rama to be held in Luverne April 7. All troops in the Minnikota district gather at the Scout-O-Rama to show what they accomplished throughout the year.

Current Cub Scout Pack 314 members are Dallas Kroon, Tomas Jensen, Leland Jensen, Tyller Kracht, Kyle Harsma, Steven Harsma, Michael Hofer, Grant Hoogendorn and Justin LaBadie.

For more information, or to join call Frank LaBadie at 673-2496.