The Beaver Creek Holiday Tour of Homes begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in Beaver Creek.

Homes featured on the tour are the Jeff and Cammie Dysthe residence, the Rick and Lila Tatge residence, the Chad and Tami Rauk residence, the Chris and Jodi Harnack residence and the Carmen and Amy Christensen residence.

The Beaver Creek Fireman's Auxiliary and the Hills-Beaver Creek Education Association will serve lunch at the elementary school. A freewill donation will be accepted.

Tickets for the tour are $5 in advance or $7 the day of the tour. Advance tickets are available at Rauk's Hilltop Stop, Orv's Service, the banks in Beaver Creek, Hills and Steen and the Hills-Beaver Creek schools. Tickets the day of the tour are available at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School.

Hills-Beaver Creek school staff members are sponsoring the tour. All proceeds will be donated to the Ron Rauk Benefit Fund.

Slippery roads Tuesday morning contributed to this truck rollover by the Beaver Creek and Hills exit along Interstate I-90. Hills-Beaver Creek, Luverne and other area schools canceled classes.Ha

By Sara Quam
Welfare to Work has become a necessary phrase that defines the transition of clients who will stop receiving benefits after 60 months.

Brian Sietsema, Luverne, is helping local people make that transition by starting full-time work at Rock County Family Services this week.

Job counselor for the Private Industry Council, Sietsema contracts with Family Services to work with those receiving cash assistance.

"People who apply for the cash assistance are referred to an employment services provider, and our goal is to figure out a way to get them off it quickly," Sietsema said.

Sietsema deals only with clients who are able to work in some capacity. He tries to help them develop job skills and identify suitable work.

Cash assistance isn't what it used to be. It now comes in the form of the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which expects, supports and rewards work.

Unlike former systems in which benefits were more-readily handed out and receivers had little monitoring, MFIP has strict requirements and makes it easier to work than to remain on welfare.

The Minnesota Legislature set the lifetime limit of cash benefits at 60 months in 1997. So those who were in the program at that time can expect to have benefits stopped in June 2002.

Sietsema is trying to get Rock County clients to be self-sufficient, especially those who were in the program when the state set the limit.

"Most of my folks don't want to be on assistance," Sietsema said. Of the almost 25 that he works with, 15 are employed and most of those are full time.

The state's call
Agencies across the state are starting to worry about the effects of cutting off cash benefits to clients after their 60-month limit. Those who started with benefits before programs like Sietsema’s may have the hardest time making do.

In a December legislative forum that Sietsema will attend, state officials will hear from different agencies concerned about the program.

Sietsema said he isn't in favor of unlimited benefits, but he is concerned about families with children who can't make ends meet.

"I hate to see kids taken away from their parents if they're good parents, and that's going to be one of the repercussions," Sietsema said.

The cost of taking children out of homes that can't provide for basic needs is more costly than helping to meet those needs, Sietsema said.

"The state is going to have to balance whether we’re better off letting people stay in the program if they have children," he said, "or if it's better taking them off the program and ending up taking children out of the home."

Some in the industry think that the state will decide to take a middle-ground approach and allow some discretion with the 60-month limit. Others fear that any leeway will send a mixed message to clients who were initially told they had a strict time limit.

Hitting the 60-month lifetime cut-off is a concern for Sietsema, but not as much as it is in other counties with similar populations. "A lot of people need it, and they're not on it really long," Sietsema said.

Sietsema said Rock County employers and clients have had good attitudes and moved forward more quickly than other counties have.

Motivation is a key part of Sietsema’s job. "You have to think this person will make it," he said. "You get your hopes dashed a lot because you think 'this person's got a great job and it's going to work out.' And sometimes it doesn't, but you have to think they'll make it."

By Lori Ehde
The home of Tim and Julie Burns at 513 N. Freeman is one of four local homes featured in the Christmas Parade of Homes Sunday. The stately home is noted for its high ceilings and generous windows, restored woodwork and original cabinetry. Tim and Julie, both artists, have decorated their home with their talents. Walls and ceilings are tastefully etched by Julie's stencil creations, and cabinets, countertops and walls are graced by Tim's pottery and Julie’s dried floral arrangements.

Other homes featured on the tour include the A.D. LaDue Resident Suites at 515 N. Estey, owned by Mike and Wanda Jarchow; the rural home of Bruce and Harveen Gluf just south of Luverne on Highway 75; and the home of Steve and Mary Jo Graphenteen east of Luverne near the radio station.

Decorating assistance for the homes is provided by Final Touch, Jubilee floral department, Diane Jauert, Glen's Food Center floral department and Luverne Flowers.

The event, sponsored by the Luverne Optimist Hockey Club and the Blue Mound Ice Arena, will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets, which cost $6, are available from 12:30 to 4:40 p.m. at the Luverne Country Club on the day of the parade. Admission includes refreshments and transportation to and from the Graphenteen home.

The fourth annual Winterfest celebration in Luverne is shaping up to be as good or better than those in previous years.

For one thing, the parade keeps growing. With 38 float entries in Saturday night’s Parade of Lights, it's the biggest ever. "There’s a lot of support," said Chamber Director Dave Smith. "People are excited about it."

The theme for this year’s parade, which starts at 7 p.m., is "A Musical Christmas." The Green Earth Players will again lead Christmas caroling before and after the parade.

New at the parade this year will be hot chili to warm cold spectators. The Lions Club will sponsor a chili feed from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the former Smith Furniture building on Main Street.

During the parade, Lions Club vendors will serve chili up and down Main Street. After the parade, if there's any left over, chili will also be served at the Carnegie Cultural Center.

Another Winterfest activity that keeps growing is the craft show. This year, more than 85 vendors will set up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the new Cardinal Gym and elementary commons area.

"The lighting is so much better in the new gym," Smith said. "The crafters and the people attending will appreciate that."

New at the craft show this year will be Santa’s Workshop, sponsored by 4-H in the Community Education wing of the elementary school.

Set up for children in kindergarten through fourth grade, Santa's little helpers will create Christmas presents while their parents take in the craft show.

Aside from the parade and craft show, other Winterfest activities include the "Angel Inn" dinner theatre, performed and served by the American Reformed Church.

Performances are at 6 p.m. Friday and Sunday nights, and after the parade on Saturday night at the church.

Other Friday events include Story Hour at 10 a.m. at the library, featuring puppets and special visitors. A cribbage tournament begins at 5 p .m. at the Eagles Club, and a Middle School Dance will be from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the Middle School gym.

The Festival of Trees will continue at the Carnegie Cultural Center, which features more than 30 Christmas trees, creatively decorated by local organizations and businesses. The Carnegie will be open from 12:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Other Saturday events include the National Guard winter training starting 9 a.m. at the fairgrounds; Holiday Bake Sale at 10:30 a.m. and soup and dessert luncheon at 11 a.m. at the Senior Center; SnoMasters Swap Meet from noon to 3 p.m. at Sharkee’s; and a Senior High School Dance will be from 8 to 11 p.m. in the middle school gym.

The Hinkly House, Rock County Museum and Holy Trinity Church will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Luverne Optimist Hockey Club and Blue Mound Ice Arena, will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available from 12:30 to 4:40 p.m. that day at the Luverne Country Club.
Featured homes this year: Tim and Julie Burns at 513 N. Freeman, Mike and Wanda Jarchow at 515 N. Estey, Bruce and Harveen Gluf south of Luverne across from Pamida, and Steve and Mary Jo Graphenteen east of Luverne near the radio station.

Also on Sunday, Blue Mounds State Park will host a dedication ceremony for its all-season shelter at 1 p.m. The park will also offer a snowshoe workshop from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Throughout the weekend, motorists can view local neighborhood Lighted Lanes. Maps are available at the Chamber office at local convenience stores.

"We've got everything lined up," Smith said. "We just hope the weather cooperates and everyone shows up."

"The kids were not fighting with each other when we fell behind 14-0, and that was nice to see. Once the opportunities started to present themselves, we took advantage of them. We're a young offensive team with nine new starters. As the game went on, the frequency of the mistakes we made grew fewer," Swanson offered.

The Cards will need to display even more improvement when they host Windom for the Southwest Conference opener tomorrow. Windom beat St. James 31-13 Friday.

"You can win or lose any game in conference play. Windom is very similar to us experience-wise. They have a new head coach and a couple of really good running backs," Swanson concluded.

Team statistics

Luverne: 177 rushing yards, 104 passing yards, 281 total yards, 11 first downs, seven penalties for 45 yards, one turnover.

New Ulm: 165 rushing yards, 80 passing yards, 245 total yards, nine penalties for 75 yards, five turnovers, 10 first downs.

Individual statistics

Rushing: Walgrave 19-115, Sandbulte 7-26, Skattum 4-28, Fisher 3-0, Papik 1-3.

Passing: Fisher 5-17 for 104 yards.
"I think I'm going to lose my hair," Swanson said, right before LHS closed out a 22-14 victory at Cardinal Field.

Winning the game wasn't on Swanson's mind when he made the comment. The way Luverne won it was.

After being unable to produce any points with their first 10 offensive possessions of the game, the Cardinals scored 22 points in the final 5:32 of play to secure a remarkable come-from-behind win.

"We talked about it after the game, and we couldn't remember coming back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter since I've been coach. We came back from a 10-0 deficit in the fourth quarter of a game during my first year as coach, but not from 14 points behind," Swanson said.

The rally was an impressive one, and even more improbable.

Counting Luverne's last possession of the first half and the first four of the second half, the Cards started or ended drives in New Ulm territory without scoring a single point.

Just when it looked like the Cards would run out of opportunities to score, three big plays (one on offense, one on defense and one on special teams) turned a 14-0 deficit into a thrilling, eight-point win.

The comeback started after the Cardinal defense forced New Ulm to punt, giving the ball to the LHS offense in good field position.

After a penalty on the first play of the possession, the second play turned into a 42-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field from quarterback James Fisher to receiver Luke Iveland.

When Fisher booted the extra point, the Cards cut New Ulm's lead in half with 5:32 remaining in the game.

Luverne's defense forced New Ulm to punt after three plays into its next possession, which set up a big play by the LHS punt return team.

Cardinal defender Ryan Goebel raced through New Ulm's line and blocked the attempted punt. New Ulm recovered the loose ball well behind the first-down maker, giving the LHS offense possession on the Eagle' 15-yard line.

Luverne fullback Tony Sandbulte picked up five yards with his run on first down, which was followed by a 10-yard touchdown scamper by Brad Walgrave on third down with 2:45 left to play.

The Cards then lined up for the potential game-tying extra point when another break fell in their favor.

Holder Jordan Papik was forced to stand up to make the catch from his center. When he tried to get the ball back on the tee for Fisher's kick, it was too late. Papik then picked up the ball and ran around the right side of Luverne's lineman for a successful two-point conversion that gave the Cards their first lead at 15-14.

"New Ulm was trying to block the extra point up the middle, which worked out great for us. If they would have tried to block it from the outside, we would have been in trouble," Swanson said.

New Ulm still had time to regain the lead with 2:45 remaining, but Fisher came up big four plays into the Eagles' next possession when he intercepted a pass and returned it to the New Ulm 37.

After four running plays advanced the ball 34 yards, Fisher scored on a three-yard keeper with 39 seconds remaining before adding the extra point.

New Ulm, which turned the ball over five times in the game, had any chances of a late comeback erased when Walgrave intercepted a pass in the final seconds.

"The big thing was we finally got the opportunities to do something and the kids made it happen. We hung in there and didn't quit, especially after a rough first 16 minutes," Swanson said.

New Ulm did control the game in the first half.

The Eagles turned their first offensive possession into an 11-play, 67-yard drive that ended with Matt Schmidt catching a 14-yard touchdown pass during a fourth-and-10 situation. Cardinal Zach Skattum blocked the extra point to keep the score at 6-0 at the 6:51 mark of the first quarter.

New Ulm's third possession of the game developed into a nine-play, 54-yard scoring drive capped by Micah Niedecker's 12-yard touchdown run at 7:47 of the second quarter. Schmidt ran in the conversion to make the difference 14-0.

Receiving: Iveland 2-54, Walgrave 2-20, Papik 1-30.

Defense: Walgrave one interception, Fisher one interception, Tom Frey one interception, Iveland one fumble recovery, Travis Moser one fumble recovery, Skattum one blocked kick, Goebel one blocked kick.

At 80 years old, Tuff Home resident Doris Sonntag has learned many lessons in life. When asked which lesson is the most valuable she didnÕt hesitate.

"The most valuable lesson to learn in life is contentment," said Doris. "Difficult at times, but very valuable."

Doris has fond memories of her childhood growing up on a farm near the Bavarian community of Frankenmuth, Mich.

She compares the community of Frankenmuth to Hills. Doris grew up during the Depression and began working right out of grade school. She said there are many older people in the Hills area with similar experiences.

Doris said Christmas is special for her every year. When she was growing up she remembers the Christmas tree was always decorated with candles.

"I never saw the tree brought in. We would sing two or three carols, then open the sliding door to the parlor where the tree was, lit up with presents under it," said Doris.

She later found out while they were singing carols her dad was setting up the tree and lighting the candles.

"One evening a neighborhood bachelor cousin came over dressed as Santa," Doris said. "I was supposed to sit on his lap and get candy. I ran to my mother's bed and crawled under. Santa chased me under the bed. I still do not like Santa."

Doris said her Christmas gifts were usually clothes. Her godmother gave her some special things, such as a silver baby cup or sometimes a couple of dollars which was a lot of money at the time, Doris states.

"We ate mostly home-raised ducks or geese for Christmas with dressing, cranberries and Mother's chicken croquets. We ate real good. My mother was a very good cook. We had hickory nut cookies and pecan cookies."

Doris said she had to learn how to sew. She made almost all of her clothes. She learned to crochet when she was 5 years old and to quilt when she was 7.

Doris is concerned about young people today. "It is frightening to see the way the young people are growing up now. They don't have respect for their parents like we used to. They don't learn to work like we did." Doris said she is glad she was brought up the way she was.

Looking back, she said she can't believe she married a minister and took on the responsibilities of a minister's wife. She had to be responsible and never speak out of turn or pass on anything private.

Among other assignments, her husband, Martin, was a minister in a church in Conroy, Iowa, for 17 years before he died at the age of 59 from heart problems. They had three boys, Thomas, Jim and John.

Doris always loved music. Before she married, she sang at weddings and funerals. After she married, she taught herself to play the organ and became the church organist. She never took a lesson. Doris, very happily married, said she never played the organ again after her husband died.

When Martin died, Doris, then 53, was hired to work at the Ehrle Brothers Winery, Amana, Iowa. She said the only reason they hired her was because she could speak German, and the winery frequently had German tourists who visited. She retired after 18 years.

As Doris began to lose her sight, her sons began to look for a nursing home for her. They chose Tuff Memorial Home, Hills, to be closer to her son Jim's family.

"The Lord took care of me all the way. I had never stopped in Hills before,' Doris said. "We had always just driven through. Oh, how I wish I had. It is just beautiful." Doris raves about the care she receives at the Tuff Home.

Doris is fortunate. She has the gift many never find Ð contentment.

There was discussion among Hills-Beaver Creek school board members concerning Wednesday evening activities at the Monday meeting.

School board member Dave Roozenboom pointed out that the policy in the school handbook reads no school activities will be scheduled past 6 p.m. on Wednesday evenings.

The only exception should be if the school district has no control over the function, such as an activity sponsored by another school district. Current policy also states all extracurricular activities are to be cancelled if classes are cancelled.

Roozenboom said he was approached by a parent who complained their child did not have enough time to travel to Christmas program practice at church because of athletic practice.

"It hit my home last week," said Roozenboom. "My child did not arrive home until 6:50 p.m. and he had not showered. He had to be at church at 7 p.m. I just wanted to put it in for discussion."

The policy has been included in the student handbook for at least 15 years, according to Superintendent Tom Knoll, but it hasn't been enforced, according to Athletic Director Steve Wiertzema.

A 6 p.m. cutoff would eliminate late practice options for Hills-Beaver Creek athletes. Wiertzema stressed that coaches have always cooperated when students told them they needed to leave for any reason. He said all parents need to do is call.

"The school has been very cooperative to let kids out for church functions," said board member Alan Harnack. "Some churches moved up start time. I felt it was not very fair to schools with only one gym."

The board discussed the possibility of leaving the policy as it is but making it clear to students that they can leave school activities for church functions.

Harnack, board chair in Rollie Crawford's absence, said, "We have to cut it off at 6 p.m. or change the policy. We cannot violate our own policy."

Following more discussion, the board passed a motion to allow extracurricular activities no later than 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings.

In other action during MondayÕs meeting:

oThe 2000 audit was presented to the board. Revenues outnumbered expenditures for the year by $47,070, according to Turbes, Drealan, Kvilhaug & Co., Worthington, who performed the audit.

A trouble spot was the food service budget, which came in with a $20,932 deficit. Money was transferred from the general fund to cover the loss.

The board asked the auditors what other schools charge for school lunches. According to auditors, salaries and food costs were the culprits in the overrun. Some of the salary costs were due to severance pay and would not reoccur. Food costs can fluctuate and are a trouble spot for most districts.

The board commended Superintendent Knoll and his staff for cooperating with the audit team. A motion carried to unanimously accept the audit.

oThe board accepted the resignation of teacher Leon Pick, effective at the end of the school year. They acknowledged his 34 years of service to the district.

oSuperintendent Knoll and maintenance workers at the high school have re-evaluated the boiler system in light of the Plankinton, S.D., tragedy. There is no safety hazard in the H-BC district, according to Knoll.

oThe board will host a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, in the high school cafeteria concerning its current budget and the amount of property taxes it is proposing to collect to pay for the costs of the district for the 2001-02 school year.

All residents of the district are invited.

By Sara Quam

Guitarist Ethan James entertains a Coffey Haus crowd in Luverne Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, with original and previously-written pieces. James is the son of Pastor Maurice and Kathy Hagen and dropped his last name for his profession - just going by his first and middle names.

James also sold CDs at the gathering. He holds bachelor's degrees in classical guitar, the lute and Spanish from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He now lives in Minneapolis and is becoming known for his unique style.