By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian wrestling team opened the 2002-03 season by winning five matches during three outings since last Thursday.

The Dragons rolled to a 51-point victory over Pipestone Area during their home opener Thursday and nipped Wabasso by two points in a road dual meet Monday. Adrian went 3-0 to win the Fulda-Murray County Central Tournament in Slayton Saturday.

AHS wrestles at the Jackson County Central Tournament Saturday before facing BOLD in Olivia Tuesday.

Adrian 30, Wabasso 28
A late pin by heavyweight Josh Winselman clinched Adrian’s two-point win in Wabasso Monday.

Trailing 28-24 after Wabasso’s Tyler Maertens pinned Cody Lutmer in 4:30 at 215 pounds, Adrian needed a big effort from Winselman and got it when the Dragon pinned Clayton Rudenick in 5:00 to keep his team undefeated.

The teams exchanged pins to start the match (Adrian’s Joey Bullerman covering A.J. Jenniges in 3:10, and Wabasso’s Brandon Schunk sticking Brandon Croat in 2:48) before Adrian moved in front 12-6 with Brandon Bullerman’s 8-5 win over Mitch Altermatt and Pete Jensen’s 4-2 overtime victory over Derek Guetter at 125.

Wabasso’s Justin Irlbeck (8-2 over Clint Metz at 130), Chad Altermatt (9-3 over Dusty Bullerman at 135) and Derrick Jenniges (6-4 over Cody Reverts at 140) posted decision wins to give the Rabbits their first lead of the night at 15-12, but Dragon Adam Voss knotted the team score with a 9-2 decision victory over Jesse Schroepfer at 145.

The teams exchanged wins between 152 and 189 pounds, which set up Maertens’ pin of Lutmer at 215.
Adrian’s Tony Sauer topped Dan Mathiowetz at 152, and Dragon Brandon Schettler pinned Tyler Kremer in 4:30 at 189.

Wabasso’s Cory Schunk handed Tom Slater a 16-5 major decision setback at 152, and Rabbit John Frericks bested Tyler Wolf 13-9 at 171.

Match wrap-up
103 (A) J.Bullerman pins Jenniges.
112 (W) Schunk pins Croat.
119 (A) B.Bullerman dec. Altermatt.
125 (A) Jensen dec. Guetter.
130 (W) Irlbeck dec. Metz.
135 (W) Altermatt dec. D.Bullerman.
140 (W) Jenniges dec. Reverts.
145 (A) Voss dec. Schroepfer.
152 (W) Schunk m.d. Slater.
160 (A) Sauer dec. Mathiowetz.
171 (W) Frericks dec. Wolf.
189 (A) Schettler pins Kremer.
215 (W) Maertens pins Lutmer.
275 (A) Winselman pins Rudenick.

F-MCC tourney
The Dragons dominated competition while going 3-0 to win the team championship at Saturday’s tournament in Slayton.

Adrian posted a 46-21 win over Harrisburg, S.D., in the first round, and that proved to be the closest match the Dragons would be in. AHS bested Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove 52-19 in the second round before pounding Fulda-Murray County Central 62-18 in the finale.

Six Dragons went 3-0 during the event, and two of them recorded three straight pins.

Brandon Bullerman recorded falls over Harrisburg’s Chism Fink (43 seconds), RRC-W-WG’s Wally Stern (44 seconds) and F-MCC’s Luke Giese (58 seconds) at 119. Cody Lutmer pinned Harrisburg’s Brice Hamberg (5:24), RRC-W-WG’s Al Bouman (2:23) and F-MCC’s Jeff Horne (37 seconds).

Dragon Dusty Bullerman had pins against RRC-W-WG’s Donavon Walz (5:41) and F-MCC’s Eric Zins (3:56) to go along with a forfeit from Harrisburg at 140. Heavyweight Josh Winselman pinned Harrisburg’s Pat Aleck (5:24) and RRC-W-WG’s Tobin Richards (5:45) before drawing a forfeit against F-MCC.

Adrian’s Tony Sauer posted a 10-2 major decision win over Harrisburg’s Scott Gackle before pinning RRC-W-WG’s Nick Coulter (2:31) and F-MCC’s Mike Einck (1:50) at 160.

Dragon Pete Jensen recorded consecutive major decision victories over Harrisburg’s Tyler Wright (14-2), RRC-W-WG’s Cory Schroeder (9-0) and F-MCC’s Mitch Clark (16-3) at 130 pounds.

Adrian’s Joey Bullerman (103), Brandon Croat (112), Cody Reverts (135) and Brandon Schettler (189) all went 2-1. Adam Voss (145), Nate Engelkes (152) and Tyler Wolf (171) went 1-2. Josh Croat was 0-3 at 125.

Match wrap-ups
Adrian 46, Harrisburg 21
103 (H) Fink dec. J.Bullerman.
112 (H) Harris dec. B.Croat.
119 (A) B.Bullerman pins Fink.
125 (H) Cawthorne pins J.Croat.
130 (A) Jensen pins Wright.
135 (A) Reverts pins Ballard.
140 (A) D.Bullerman by forfeit.
145 (A) Voss pins Hudson.
152 (H) Johnson pins Engelkes.
160 (A) Sauer m.d. Gackle.
171 (H) Cawthorne pins Wolf.
189 (A) Schettler dec. Enger.
215 (A) Lutmer pins Hamberg.
275 (A) Winselman pins Aleck.

Adrian 52, RRC-W-WG 19
103 (A) J.Bullerman pins Hubert.
112 (A) B.Croat pins Schroeder.
119 (A) B.Bullerman pins Stern.
125 (R) Berrie m.d J.Croat.
130 (A) Jensen pins Schroeder.
135 (R) Cooley dec. Reverts.
140 (A) D.Bullerman pins Walz.
145 (R) Altermatt pins Voss.
152 (A) Engelkes pins Harrington.
160 (A) Sauer pins Coulter.
171 (R) Goettig dec. Wolf.
189 (R) Nelson dec. Schettler.
215 (A) Lutmer pins Bouman.
275 (A) Winselman pins Richards.

Adrian 62, F-MCC 18
103 (A) J.Bullerman pins Kramer.
112 (A) B.Croat by forfeit.
119 (A) B.Bullerman pins Giese.
125 (F) Clarke pins J.Croat.
130 (A) Jensen m.d. Clarke.
135 (A) Reverts pins Anderson.
140 (A) D.Bullerman pins Zins.
145 (F) Olsem pins Voss.
152 (F) Henning pins Engelkes.
160 (A) Sauer pins Einck.
171 (A) Wolf dec. Meyeraan.
189 (A) Schettler pins Einck.
215 (A) Lutmer pins Horne.
275 (A) Winselman by forfeit.

Adrian 60, Pipestone 9
The Dragons opened the season by coasting to a 51-point home victory over the Arrows Thursday.

Adrian won the first three matches to take a 15-0 lead and closed the match by winning the final seven bouts.

Joey Bullerman pinned Taylor Evans in 40 seconds at 103, Brandon Croat drew a forfeit at 112 and Brandon Bullerman edged Zack Morgan 5-2 to give AHS a 15-0 lead.

Pins by Adam Voss (1:05 over Jesse Evans at 145), Tom Slater (1:44 over Mike Luftfield at 152), Tyler Wolf (51 seconds over Paul Peterson at 171), Levi Bullerman (25 seconds over Ryan Alfson at 189), Brandon Schettler (1:33 over Josh Olberding at 215) and Josh Winselman (Blake Klinsing at heavyweight) highlighted Adrian’s seven-match winning streak to end the duel. Tony Sauer added a 10-6 decision win over David Darveaux at 160 to the late run.

Adrian’s Cody Reverts pinned Travis Manderscheid in 2:22 at 135.

Pipestone’s wins came from Kyle Evans (5-0 over Josh Croat at 125), Steve Evans (4-3 over Pete Jensen at 130) and Justin Fruechte (9-2 over Dusty Bullerman at 140).

Match wrap-up
103 (A) J.Bullerman pins T.Evans.
112 (A) B.Croat by forfeit.
119 (A) B.Bullerman dec. Morgan.
125 (P) K.Evans dec. J.Croat.
130 (P) S.Evans dec. Jensen.
135 (A) Reverts pins Manderscheid.
140 (P) Fruechte dec. D.Bullerman.
145 (A) Voss pins J.Evans.
152 (A) Slater pins Luftfield.
160 (A) Sauer dec. Darveaux.
171 (A) Wolf pins Peterson.
189 (A) L.Bullerman pins Alfson.
215 (A) Schettler pins Olberding.
275 (A) Winselman pins Klinsing.

Luverne junior Callen Bosshart helped the Cardinal gymnastics team beat Pipestone Area in a Southwest Conference meet staged in Luverne Tuesday. Bosshart won the all-around, bars, vault and floor titles during the contest.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek gymnastics squad opened Southwest Conference competition by splitting a pair of home matches.

Marshall bested the Cardinals by 7.5 points Thursday, but L-H-BC bounced back to best Pipestone Area by 11.75 points Tuesday.

The 2-1 Cards compete in Redwood Falls Friday before hosting Worthington Tuesday.

Pipestone 110.75
Host L-H-BC dominated the Arrows during Tuesday’s meet at the Luverne Armory.

Cardinal athletes won all four individual events and the overall title while toppling Pipestone by 11.75 points.

Callen Bosshart, the overall champion with 32.65 points, led L-H-BC to victory by winning three individual crowns. Bosshart took top honors on the bars (7.9), floor (8.5) and vault (8.95).

Bosshart also placed second on the beam with a 7.55, an event which was won by L-H-BC’s Amanda Dooyema with a 7.8. Dooyema placed second on the bars with a 7.7.

Danielle Cook had a good night for the Cards which featured placing second on the vault (8.85) and floor (7.95) and third on the bars (7.1).

Brittany Mulder, who finished second all around with 28.65 points, placed fourth on the beam (6.9) and bars (6.6).

Cardinal Brittany Mulder placed fourth on the vault with a 6.9.

Individual scores
Bars: Bosshart, 7.9; Dooyema, 7.7; Cook, 7.1; Mulder, 6.6; Victoria Arends, 4.2.
Beam: Dooyema, 7.8; Bosshart, 7.55; Mulder, 6.9; Boeve, 5.85.
Floor: Bosshart, 8.25; Cook, 7.95; Dooyema, 7.5; Mulder, 6.8; Boeve, 6.55.
Vault: Bosshart, 8.95; Cook, 8.85; Boeve, 8.45; Mulder, 8.35; Arends, 8.0.

Marshall 126.15,
L-H-BC 119.15
The Cardinals dropped their first match of the season Thursday when they hosted the Tigers for a dual meet.

Bosshart had a great night individually for L-H-BC, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Cards from taking a 7.5-point setback.

Bosshart, who was third all around with 32.9 points, tied with Marshall’s Jessica Dolan for first place on the beam with identical 8.25 tallies. Bosshart also finished second on the vault with an 8.9, and was third on the bars and floor with respective 7.5 and 8.25 tallies.

L-H-BC’s Cook picked up a place by finishing third on the vault with an 8.7.

Marshall’s Greta Blom won the all-around (34.55), vault (9.1) and bar (8.8) competitions. Along with sharing the title with Bosshart on the beam, Dolan won the floor with a 9.0.

Individual scores
Bars: Bosshart, 7.5; Cook, 7.25, Amanda Dooyema, 7.25; Brittany Mulder, 6.1; Victoria Arends, 4.55.
Beam: Bosshart, 8.25; Mulder, 6.3; Dooyema, 5.9; Brittany Boeve, 5.5.
Floor: Bosshart, 8.25; Dooyema, 7.95; Cook, 7.4; Mulder, 7.4; Boeve, 7.2.
Vault: Bosshart, 8.9; Cook, 8.7; Boeve, 8.35; Mulder, 8.15; Arends, 7.65.

Ellsworth senior post Brant Deutsch attacks the basket during Thursday’s 57-49 home win over Southwest Christian. Deutsch pulled down 12 rebounds, scored eight points and passed for four assists to help EHS knock off the four-time defending state champions.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys came away with a big victory during an early-season clash against a pair of Southwest Minnesota basketball heavyweights Thursday in Ellsworth.

In a rematch of last March’s South Section 3A championship game, EHS entertained Southwest Christian in tilt between two state-ranked teams.

Ellsworth, ranked No. 2 in the latest Class A poll, defended its perception of being one of the state’s top teams by besting No. 10 SWC 57-49.

The game was played in an EHS gym packed with excited fans, and the teams didn’t disappoint their respective followers with their play.

It was Ellsworth, however, which made an early-season statement by beating the four-time defending state champions by eight points.

SWC got off to a fast start by scoring the game’s first four points before Ellsworth countered with a 9-2 run capped by Dylan Kvaale’s field goal with 3:32 remaining in the first period to take a 9-6 lead.

The Eagles regained the lead at 10-9, but a field goal by Ellsworth’s Curt Schilling gave the Panthers an 11-10 edge at period’s end.

After Ellsworth scored the first four points of the second quarter, SWC countered with five consecutive points to tie the game at 15.

The Eagles led 21-20 when Schilling, who led the Panthers with 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, drained a three-point shot to reach the 1,000-point barrier for his career (see related story elsewhere in the sports section) and give the Panthers a 23-21 lead with 2:45 left to play in the first half.

SWC battled back to knot the score at 25, but a three-point play by Schilling with 57 seconds left followed by a field goal from Travis Jenniges with 15 seconds remaining gave the Panthers a 30-25 halftime cushion.

Ellsworth dominated the play in the third quarter, building a 45-33 advantage when Brant Deutsch scored with 1:02 remaining in the stanza.

The Eagles, however, trimmed the difference to nine points (45-36) at period’s end.

Schilling scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the night (49-36) before SWC put together a 13-4 run to pull within four points (53-49) with 1:51 remaining.

That proved to be as close as the Eagles would come to catching EHS as the Panthers received field goals from Schilling and Blake Brommer in final two minutes to win by eight.

Jenniges scored 10 first-half points and finished the game with 12 counters. Deutsch snared 12 rebounds and passed for four assists. Kvaale finished with 10 rebounds and four assists.

Box score
Schilling 8 1 3-4 22, Jenniges 6 0 0-0 12, Janssen 1 0 0-0 2, Kvaale 3 1 0-0 9, Deutsch 4 0 0-2 8, Brommer 2 0 0-0 4.

Individual statistics
Ellsworth: 26 of 50 field goals (52 percent), six of 11 free throws (55 percent), 45 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

By Lori Ehde
Only three days after appearing on drug charges, Luverne’s Oliver Crawford was back in Rock County District Court last week to stand trial for his role in the burglary of Harvey’s Trading Post nearly a year ago.

In a verdict read Thursday, Dec. 5, Crawford was found guilty of aiding and abetting burglary and of receiving stolen property.

Crawford and 19-year-old Scott Wentler, Luverne, were arrested Dec. 21, 2001, on South Highway 75 near Taco John’s after stolen guns were found in the trunk of Crawford’s car.

Rock County Deputy Evan Verbrugge stopped the vehicle, driven by Crawford, for speeding 42 mph in a 30-mph speed zone. It was 1:15 a.m.

When Crawford consented to a search of the car, 22 handguns and a weapon described as an "Uzi" were found in the trunk. The items were later found to have been stolen from Harvey's Trading Post.

According to store owner Kevin Kramer, the stolen items are estimated to be worth nearly $15,000. Included in that figure is the Uzi, a semi-automatic rifle, which costs $1,300 to $1,400 by itself.

The guns were reportedly registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, but that likely wouldn’t have mattered, according to Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt.

"Stolen guns are not typically sold to people who run registration checks," he said at the time of the arrests. "They’re sold to people who want stolen guns, and they’re used to commit crimes."

Entry was gained through a broken storefront window, and little damage was done inside, except to locks on display cases.

Kramer's security system reportedly had not been turned on at the time of the break-in, and it was coincidence that the Crawford vehicle was pulled over for speeding.

Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of 48 months in prison for Crawford’s crime, with criminal history taken into consideration. If he is found to have prior felony convictions, the prison term can be extended.

Crawford’s sentence hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13.

He was charged last week in a separate matter for his role in selling meth and marijuana to an undercover officer in November. He is currently in custody of the Nobles County Jail.

Wentler was ordered in a Dec. 2 sentence hearing to serve 58 months in prison for the Trading Post burglary.

Vajgrt said these were important trials for both law enforcement and the County Attorney’s Office.
"(Deputy) Evan Verbrugge deserves credit for recovering the guns," Vajgrt said.

"(Investigator) Clyde Menning deserves credit as well for conducting good quality interviews of Wentler and Crawford following the arrests.

The case stalled this summer when the attorneys for Crawford and Wentler challenged the legality of the search. They argued that Crawford never consented to a search of his vehicle.

This argument was dismissed when the court ruled the state provided enough evidence to show Crawford consented to the search.

George W. Hartog, 71, Rochester, formerly of Luverne, died Sunday, Dec. 8, 2002, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

Services were Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rochester. The Rev. John Schleicher officiated. Burial was in Oakwood East Cemetery.

George Hartog was born on Jan. 2, 1931, in Kanaranzi Township, rural Luverne. He attended rural Luverne schools. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a carpenter.

He married Eleanor Jensen on Nov. 27, 1954, in Luverne. They moved to Rochester in 1957.

Mr. Hartog was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Eagles, VFW and the American Legion.

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor Hartog, Rochester, four sons, Dennis Hartog, Ft. Myers, Fla., Gary (Eileen) Hartog, Mt. Horeb, Wis., Steven Hartog and Roger Hartog, both of Rochester; four grandchildren; two brothers, Edward (Linda) Hartog, Sacramento, Calif., and Marvin (Nancy) Hoffenkamp, Adrian; and two sisters, Sue (Clifford) McMartin, Brandon, S.D., and Gladys (Henry) Siefkes, Worthington.

Mr. Hartog was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Macken Funeral Home, Rochester, was in charge of arrangements.

Gretchen (Papik) Jepperson and husband Ryan Jepperson stay warm on their tropical-themed float. This is the first year Papik Motors has sponsored a float.

By Sara Strong
The sixth annual Winterfest celebration brought lots of light to downtown Luverne Saturday and heavy traffic throughout the town.

Chairing the Winterfest Committee for the second year was April Gangestad. She said the weekend ran smoothly from an organizational point of view and the warm weather was nice for outdoor crowds.

"It was a very successful Winterfest," she said, "but I did wish for just a little snow."

The highlight of Winterfest is always the Parade of Lights, which had 33 entries this year.

There’s no true way to measure attendance at the Parade of Lights, but the sidewalks and curbs were filled with onlookers. The parade started at 7 p.m. and featured lighted floats traveling down a darkened Main Street.

Another crowd draw is the craft show, which had 87 booths and 1,200 shoppers this year.

Gangestad said the extra activities that businesses and organizations sponsor help make the Winterfest weekend complete. The SnoMasters swap meet, various church activities and the De-Light-Full 5K run keep the town full of activity.

"We’re looking for new things to do so everybody has something to fill the weekend," Gangestad said.

Winners in the 2002
Parade of Lights were:
Boy Scouts in the Civic Organizations category with the theme "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Bethany Lutheran in the Churches category with the theme "CHRISTmas Begins with Christ." Bethany Lutheran Church also won the People’s Choice Award.

Centerpoint Energy Minnegasco in the small business and industry category with the theme "Winter Wonderland."

Hills Stainless Steel in the large business and industry council with the theme "Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree."

Another part of Winterfest is the outdoor lighting contest among participating neighborhoods. Various parts of the city agree to a theme and are judged each year by KQAD. First place prize money of $100 is given to a charity of the winner’s choice, and all participants are given $10 reduction on their city utility bills.

Christmas Lane Winners
First Place in the neighborhood lighting contest was South Fairview Drive with "Star Spangled Cardinal Corners."

Second Place was Northview Drive with "View of the Trees of the North."

Third Place was Victory and Memorial Circles with "Frosty’s Families."

Other activities
About 250 people toured the Rock County homes of Terry and Michelle Vajgrt, Harvey and Cindy Crable, and Bruce and Vicki Baartman. This year, the tour started at the Carnegie Cultural Center, Luverne, for the first time.

Tour of Homes Co-Chair Chantel Connell said, "We had a nice mix of homes. We try to get a new home and an older, Victorian home on the tour."

Dawn Frankenhoff is the other chairman of the event, which is an annual fund-raiser for the Luverne Hockey Association.

Carnegie Director Tammy Makram said the extra traffic was welcome in the Carnegie, which gave tour participants cider and cookies while they waited for shuttles.

The Carnegie, decorated with the Festival of Trees, featured live music and has a gift shop of regional artists’ creations that kept people occupied.

This year the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center added a new feature to help celebrate Winterfest, too. It added open swim times to its regular day and estimates 80 to 90 people attended each day.

The Palace Theatre showed a movie for the first time since the Luverne Fire Department movie in October. It drew about 175 movie-goers.

Winterfest always takes place the first weekend in December. There is no chairman named yet for next year’s Winterfest.

Bob Jarchow and his helpers Thomas (left) and Logan whip up another batch of stickies.

By Lori Ehde
He makes no claim to culinary greatness, but Luverne’s Bob Jarchow admits he’s mastered one thing at the stove: homemade caramels.

He frets that some turn out too hard, and some too soft, but anyone who tastes the products of his labor assures him he’s got it figured out.

The key, Jarchow said, is bringing the ingredients to the right boiling temperature and using the right equipment.

"You need a good cooking thermometer and a heavy, non-stick kettle," he said.

"Anyone can do it, but they ruin the first five batches before they get a good cooking thermometer."

If experience counts for anything, his little hand-wrapped goodies should be perfect.

He’s been making homemade caramels for 25 years, since he took a Scandinavian cooking class in the Twin Cities.

So far this year, he’s made 12 batches, of roughly 120 individual caramels per batch.

By the time the holiday season is over, he’ll have churned out more than 20 batches, which adds up to 2,400 one-inch squares of buttery, caramelly goodness.

Why so many caramels?
"It didn’t start that way," he said. "It just sort of crept up to that point. I think this year I’ll hit an all-time record."

Any good chef knows the best part of a good recipe is sharing it with others. Jarchow just got carried away with that part.

His caramels have become a regular part of the holiday season for his fans who now look forward to the sweet, buttery morsels.

Jarchow’s recipe is entitled simply "Caramels." It calls for:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cups butter (or one quarter-pound stick)
3/4 cups corn syrup
2 cupswhipping cream

Bring sugar, butter, corn syrup and one cup of whipping cream to a rolling boil. Slowly add the second cup of cream so boiling doesn’t stop.

As the temperature increases, reduce heat and cook to 250 degrees for a very firm caramel, or 245 degrees for a softer caramel. Jarchow prefers the softer version.

"If the caramel gets too hot, when you break it out of the pan, it cracks, and it’s a mess all over," Jarchow said. "There’s an art to it."

At about 248 degrees, he stops the cooking process and pours the mixture into a 12-by-6 –inch buttered pan. The caramel in a pan that size is about three-quarters of an inch deep.

The pan cools overnight, and the next day he turns the pan over on a cutting board with a decisive "whack!" and a perfectly-formed rectangle of soft, sticky caramel awaits the next step.

That’s the point in the process when Jarchow calls in his little helpers, grandsons Logan and Thomas Norman, ages 6 and 4, respectively.

While Jarchow chops the rectangle into even rows and then squares, the little hands busily place them onto precut waxed paper squares, roll them and twist the ends.

Jarchow said his good friend Scott Beers, who often helped with the caramels, was going to invent a cutter and wrapper for the caramel process. "Scotty was an inventive-type guy," he said of Beers, who died last year.

The wrapping process is fun for the boys, but what they really enjoy is getting Grandpa’s "stickies" to their final destinations — friends and family.

"Know why we make stickies?" Thomas asks mischievously. "They put a smile on people’s faces."

He proceeds to illustrate his point with the McDonald’s restaurant jingle, "Everybody come on and put a smile on."

The caramels are presented in decorative holiday tins, some of which have been donated by his caramel fans, and delivered to homes and offices in and around Luverne.

And Thomas is right.

Everyone smiles when Jarchow and his helpers come through the door. … And the smart ones return Jarchow’s tins for refills next Christmas.

By Sara Strong
With 58 new legislators facing a $5 billion state budget shortfall, Sen. Jim Vickerman addressed state issues at the annual townships meeting Friday.

"I think we can work with Gov. Pawlenty," Vickerman said. "I think we’ll continue to move ahead."

Vickerman has had to be a part of budget cuts in the past, but never to the extent the state will have to cut this year. The state will try to rebound from this budget shortfall for years.

"Everything — and I mean everything — is on the table. … We’ll have to forget politics and just work on it," he said, adding that he is the lone Democrat in the southwest region.

"I couldn’t have been elected here without support from Republicans."

Nursing homes and environmental programs and employees are something Vickerman said he won’t support cutting.

"We lost all our environmentalists in the last election," he said. "… We’re not going to do something to people who need us. We’re going to take care of the poor and those who can’t take care of themselves."

Even though the state is well prepared to make cuts, Vickerman pointed out that there’s only so many numbers to be crunched before the state runs out of options. "If we wiped out all the state agencies, we’d only save $1.8 billion," Vickerman said.

The state shortfall will trickle down to the county and townships.

Vickerman said there’s been some talk of taking counties’ undesignated funds, which Rock County carries very little of.

Undesignated funds are sometimes held in case of unforeseen projects or funding needs that arise.

Much of Rock County’s levy is lightened by state aid: The county collects $3 million locally and spends $10 million. Hennepin County is another example of just how much state aid helps counties. There, its budget is made of 55 percent state aid.

Fire protection
Townships contract with cities for fire protection, and the disparity of cost has been an issue with the townships.

Different sections of Springwater Township, for example, contract at a difference of almost $300.

The city of Luverne also responds to many fires even though it may not be getting paid for its services in every township. The agreement to help with fires is called mutual aid, and all the county departments agree to it.

The townships asked the Rock County Board of Commissioners to look into equalizing the contract charges. The county, short of levying for the costs, doesn’t have much chance of involving itself in fire protection contracts.

If the county did a levy for fire protection, it couldn’t levy only township residents. A county levy would also impact city residents who are already paying for fire protection in city property taxes.

The townships and county plan to ask to be a part of a future Luverne City Council meeting to discuss fire protection.

Other business
Also on the township and county meeting agenda were rural address signs and the environment.

Rural address signs should be in place by June 2003. The individual property signs will be bid for installation. Homeowners will be notified when their new addresses are finalized, and the Post Office will honor both addresses up to a year.

Rock County Land Management Director Eric Hartman reported on the Livestock Friendly designation for the county.

He reminded townships that the Board of Commissioners asked the county Planning and Zoning Board to research what the designation would mean to the county.

Hartman said that the dairy industry in particular is struggling in other states, and being "Livestock Friendly" in the county’s regulations may draw more producers to Rock County.

Vickerman said the designation may come with hidden strings, so he urged the county to research carefully before changing regulations to meet livestock friendly requirements.

By Sara Strong
The lawsuit involving the community daycare issue was resolved Tuesday as the city of Luverne joined the Luverne School District and Rock County in signing an agreement.

Developer Donald Dunham Jr., Sioux Falls, filed the lawsuit May 7 alleging that the school, city and county didn’t honor the property tax abatement agreement which called for Dunham to provide space for a community daycare.

The school and county have already signed the settlement agreement which essentially means Dunham will have to pay property taxes from the year 2002 and beyond. The taxing entities will honor the abatement in the years 2000 and 2001.

The cost to the city of Luverne amounts to less than $2,000 of tax abatements.

Along with the city, county and school not honoring tax abatements over the years, Dunham won’t provide space for a community daycare.

The original agreement called for the city, county and school to abate Dunham’s taxes on the City Centre Apartments in exchange for a rent-free community daycare space.

The basement space wasn’t finished to the point where a daycare operation could start operating immediately. That’s where the local parties disagreed with Dunham on what was required to earn the abatement.

Dunham said he provided the square footage and the city, county and school said it wasn’t "finished" space for a daycare.

The original abatement agreement said in part "… renovation shall provide sufficient space and facilities, constructed in accordance with applicable codes, for a daycare facility, including infant care, of not less than 50 children. Further, that during the term of the abatement, the said daycare space shall be made available to a licensed daycare operator without rental charges. …"

The abatement would have ended in 2009, had it been carried out. Dunham purchased the former Luverne Elementary School building in 1998.

Gold’n Plump donation
Gold’n Plump executives delivered a check for $20,000 to the city of Luverne Wednesday, Dec. 4.

When the company first located in the city in 1998, it offered to be a good corporate citizen and donate $20,000 a year for 10 years to the city.

Those funds go to the Luverne Economic Development Authority and help to further economic development in the city.

Gold’n Plump employs about 200 people and plays an active role in community involvement, and encourages the same in its employees.

Kapperman clean-up
Clean-up of the Jerome Kapperman property on Southeast Park Street was back for discussion after being tabled at the Nov. 12 Luverne City Council meeting.

Kapperman said he would move the used grocery case and fixture equipment and get rid of the automobiles if he could have six months to do so. Attorney Doug Eisma represents Kapperman.

The sellable material from the Southeast Park property will probably be moved to the Edgehill salvage business.

The Kapperman property was damaged by a fire and the city has asked him to rid the neighborhood of the blight it created.

The Southeast Park site is in a low-density residential district and a salvage business cannot be operated there, by code.

Kapperman will ask the Luverne Economic Development Authority to grant him $2,500 to clean the property, as it has in other instances through a special program.

He will also return to the City Council this month to discuss specific plans for clearing the site.