Fundraiser well attended
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
About 100 hungry area residents helped themselves to tacos, company, and raffle tickets by about the midway point of the Ellendale area food shelf annual donation drive on Sunday, April 23 at Ellendale United Methodist Church.
Event workers included some of the nearly two dozen food shelf volunteers, who help with the food shelf throughout the year. Also helping were Ellendale area Boy Scouts from Troop 7 out of Albert Lea.
They were NRHEG freshmen: Wyatt Larson, Jordan Brouwers, Jacob Karl and Devon Nelton.
Hit Parade
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
For the NRHEG High School softball team, it was the exact opposite of the season opener.
The Panthers, who were soundly subdued by the state's top-ranked team earlier in the week, bounced back with a one-sided 19-1, five-inning victory over Triton at Dodge Center Friday, April 14.
"This was a great team win," said NRHEG coach Wendy Schultz.
The Panthers were proficient both pitching and hitting the ball.
Introducing Vern Russell Root
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For the next five weeks leading up to Memorial Day, the Star Eagle will present an article a week attempting to reconstruct the military history of five brothers from a farm near New Richland, Minnesota. Each article will focus on one brother and their service as can be determined based on incomplete research, conjecture, and the fading memories of surviving siblings. Those who know more about the boys and their military history are welcome to share their insight with the Star Eagle.
By COLBY ROOT
Contributing writer
Introduction
Between January 1942 and December 1972, five of Burchard Bailey Root, born 1889 and Esther (Gehring) Root, born 1900, five of seven sons served in the US military. Of the two who didn’t serve, one died shortly after birth and the other sacrificed his wishes of fighting in Korea to the responsibility of maintaining the home farm during a time of family crisis. In order of age, the brothers are: Vern Russell Root born in 1921, US Navy WWII; Marvin “Hans” “Tiger” Curtis Root, born 1923, US Navy, WWII, Korea, Vietnam; William “Bill” Burchard Root, born 1927, US Navy WWII, US Army Occupation of Germany and Vietnam War; Donald Jack Root, born and died 1928; Orville “Buck” Keith Root, 1931 farmer; Gene “Buzz” Harlan Root born 1933, US Marines, Korean Conflict; and David Wayne Root born 1938, US Navy 1956 to 1959.
Home on the diamond
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Reese returns as assistant, battles cancer
Editorial note: Part 1 of 2. A portion of this article was taken from a 2016 article written by Jim Lutgens when Legion Field was renamed Jeff and Carol Reese Field.
By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
Baseball, God, family.
But not always in that order.
Those three pillars have guided the life of legendary NRHEG baseball coach Jeff Reese for more than 40 years.
Fans attending the Panthers' home opener last Tuesday were welcomed to a surprise as Reese's name was announced as an “assistant coach.”
“I still get goosebumps and butterflies,” Reese said. “I guess when I lose that it’s time to stay home… I always wanted to finish up here. I’m always a Cardinal or Panther in the heart.”
Bently, Weegman retire, Schmidt resigns
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As of April 17, Dan Schmidt is no longer a member of the NRHEG school board, but has instead become the district’s Transportation Site Manager. The position, which, like the district-wide management positions for food services and buildings and grounds, is new this year, will have Schmidt in charge of matters to do with bus drivers and routes, bus safety and maintenance, and bus garage operation and organization.
The board voted both to accept Schmidt’s resignation and to instate him in the transportation position during the meeting. Other resignations accepted April 17 were those of secondary-level math teacher Susan Schaub and the retirements of business teacher Lise Weegman and language arts teacher Deb Bently.
A report shared by district food services manager Sara Meihak revealed that the department is apparently having a successful year. Meihak described “farm to table” practices which, she said, have been among the factors which have resulted in increased popularity for school meals. Locally grown foods have been purchased from rural Janesville’s RCR farms, and have been raised by students in the school greenhouse. In addition to providing fresher, better-tasting food, Meihak said, the programs have allowed the food services program to receive more than $55,000 in grants to cover the costs for acquiring it.
This change and others have led to an increase of more than 10,000 meals (breakfasts and lunches) over last year’s numbers, even though all student meals were free last year thanks to federal Covid support.