2010 Sub-Section 5A-North champions - the West Central Area Knights' boys golf team

Team members were Left to Right: Coach Kraig Hunter, Matt Wagner, Carson Hunter, Calvin Anderson, Logan Pfingsten, Luke LaValley, and Mike Engler.

The West Central Area Knights' boys golf team traveled to Minnewaska Area on Friday and put together their best round of the year, winning the sub-section championship in Section 5A-North. They shot a 343 edging out Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, who shot a 345.

Read more in the June 3 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Big news for West Central Area schools - the Knights' athletic program is accepted into the Prairie Conference beginning in 2011

The West Central Area Knights' athletic program was recently accepted into the Prairie Conference beginning in the fall of 2011.

The following sports will switch to the Prairie from the Heart O' Lakes Conference: football, volleyball, girls tennis, boys/girls basketball, baseball, fastpitch softball, and track and field.

Beginning in the fall of 2011, the closest trip for the Knights to play a conference game is Osakis, approximately 37 miles from the high school in Barrett. Currently, the nearest conference competitor is Breckenridge, which is 48 miles from Barrett.

The furthest drive for WCA in the Prairie Conference will be Royalton, which is about 85 miles from Barrett.

Other Prairie Conference teams, including distance from Barrett:
1 - Browerville is about a one-hour drive from Barrett, 60 miles.
2 - Upsala (70 miles)
3 - Swanville (66 miles)
4 - St.John's Prep in Collegeville (82 miles)
5 - Eagle Valley (high school in Eagle Bend, 56 miles)

I'll explain more over the weekend.

WCA Knights' boys and girls golf team advance to Section 5A!

The WCA Knights' boys golf team finished as champions of Sub-Section 5A-North today.

The girls are sub-section runners-up.

Both teams play at Benson on June 4 for the right to go to the Class A state tournament. More updates to follow on Saturday morning.

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors' baseball is the #1 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South

The WHN Warriors, who are the 2010 Pheasant Conference champions, earned the #1 playoff seed this week in Sub-Section 6A-South. They take a 15-3 overall record into the playoffs, beginning next Tuesday, June 1.

At 3pm in Wheaton, the West Central Area Knights (#8-seed) take on #9-seeded Ashby in a play-in game for the sub-section. The winner of that games faces the host WHN Warriors at 5:00pm at the same site.

Complete Sub-Section 6A-South seedings:
1 - Wheaton/Herman-Norcross
2 - Hancock
3 - Chokio-Alberta
4 - Brandon/Evansville
5 - Hillcrest Lutheran Academy
6 - Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley
7 - Parkers Prairie
8 - West Central Area
9 - Ashby

Also in area playoff action...

Sub-Section 6A track and field action is at the University of Minnesota-Morris campus today, beginning at 4:00pm. From Herman-Norcross school, Evan Ellison, Katlyn Hilbrand, and Amber Sperr will be competing. West Central Area has a number of athletes competing as well. Hope to see some of you there cheering them on!

More information will follow as I get it.

Tribune office in Hoffman will be closed on Friday morning

Due to the editor being at the Sub-Section 5A-North golf meet on Friday morning at Minnewaska, the Tribune office will be closed until Noon.

Please submit anything you want in the June 3 issue of the Tribune on Friday if possible (we have a drop box) and by Monday morning for sure. We will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day, so if you have any questions about submitting ads, etc... please e-mail the Tribune at hofftrib@runestone.net.

Both local prep fastpitch softball teams fall out of playoffs

The Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Spartans' fastpitch team lost in the quarterfinal round of the Sub-Section 3A-North tournament today at Dawson. Ranked fifth in the sub-section, the Spartans faced #4-seeded Yellow Medicine East, who defeated them 5-0.

YME went on to defeat the #1-seeded Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks 4-3.

CAHN finishes the season 9-5 overall and 9-3 in the Pheasant Conference, good for second place.

Up at Ashby, the West Central Area Knights' girls fastpitch team won the play-in round of Sub-Section 6A-South, defeating #10-seeded Hillcrest Lutheran Academy by a 6-1 score. Senior Caitlin Peterson was the winning pitcher for the Knights.

With the win over HLA, the Knights were matched up in the quarterfinals against #2-seed Ashby. The Arrows dominated WCA and cruised to a 10-0 win, ending the Knights' fastpitch season.

The WCA Knights' baseball team lost its bid for their second win of the season by a 6-3 outcome against Hancock.

More will follow later.

Area sports fans - don't miss out on the chance to see sub-section track and field competition at the University of Minnesota-Morris on Thursday

West Central Area and Herman-Norcross sports fans - don't miss out on the Section 6A, Sub-Section track and field meet coming to Morris this week Thurday May 27.

Field events begin at 4:00pm, with running events coming at 4:45pm. Both schools have a number of student athletes competing that day. The site is the UM-Morris campus athletic fields, east of Big Cat Stadium.

The Section 6A championships are 10 a.m. June 3 at Minnesota State-Moorhead.

At stake are berths into the state championships June 11-12 at Hamline University in St. Paul.

Your Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors' baseball team is the 2010 Pheasant Conference champions

The Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors' baseball team finished 12-2 in the Pheasant Conference after posting a sweep over last-place Ashby on the road Monday night. They won the Pheasant Conference outright in the process, ahead of second-place Hancock and Brandon/Evansville.

The Warriors were tagged with their second loss in conference play on May 20 when they lost to Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 8-1 in Graceville.

More will follow later.

West Central Area Knights' fastpitch softball team receives #7 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South

The West Central Area Knights' girls faspitch team was seeded number seven in the 10-team south half of Section 6A.

They face #10-seed Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday, May 25, at 3:00pm at the Ashby high school diamond. If they win, they would take on the #2-seed Ashby Arrows at the same field at 5:00pm the same day.

Bertha-Hewitt is the number one seed.

The championship round of Sub-Section 6A-South takes place on Thursday, May 25, at the Brandon ball diamond. More on that will follow next week.

Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Spartans' fastpitch softball gets #5 seed in Sub-Section 3A-North

The CAHN Spartans' fastpitch team will travel to the Dawson-Boyd softball complex on the east side of Dawson on Tuesday, May 25, for the opening round of the Section 3A, sub-section tournament.

Their first-round opponent will be #4-seed Yellow Medicine East, beginning at 4:30. If they win, they will play right away that same night, at about 6:00pm, against (most likely) the number-one seeded Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks. At 3:00 that day, the Blackjacks will play the winner of the #8 Ortonville/#9 Wheaton pigtail game, which takes place on Friday, May 21.

YME is 8-9 overall and 6-8 in the West Central South Conference. This is the first season they are competing in Class A for playoffs, since the 3-class fastpitch system was enacted in 1999-2000.

CAHN is 8-4 overall and 7-3 in the Pheasant Conference. They defeated Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 8-5 today at Graceville. The final regular season game for the Spartans is tomorrow (Thursday May 20) at 5:00pm in Chokio against neighboring rival Wheaton.

It will probably be the last time those two teams ever play, as the CAHN pairing is dissolving after this season is completed. Next year, Chokio-Alberta pairs all sports except football with Morris Area. Herman-Norcross students will be paired up with Wheaton, again in all sports except football.

Look for more on the playoffs in the May 27 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

West Central Area Knights' track and field performers earn Heart O' Lakes Conference championships

On the girls' side: 400-meter Dash - Tee Rudnitski was champion (1:01.47). 1600-meter Run - Kylee Fernholz was champion (5:28.21). 4x400-meter Relay team were champions (4:17.65) consisting of Kylee Fernholz, Holly Vankempen, Jen Froemming, and Tee Rudnitski.

On the boys' side: High Jump - Beau Kashmark was champion (6-02.00)

They now gear up for the Section 6A, South Sub-Section championships, to be held on Thursday, May 27, at Big Cat Stadium on the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota.

Look for all the results for WCA athletes at the HOL conference meet in the May 27 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Both Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross fastpitch and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross baseball teams win on the diamonds today

The Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors' baseball team recovered from loss to Chokio-Alberta last Friday to defeat Brandon/Evansville for the second time this season, as they won 13-7 in a home game against the Chargers in a Pheasant Conference game today.

The Warriors are now 12-2 overall and 9-1 in the Pheasant Conference.

Just as awesome!...The Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Spartans' fastpitch softball team knocked off Pheasant Conference leader Ashby by a 4-3 score earlier today. The game was re-scheduled from May 13. Arrows' head coach Joey Andreasen (a 1980s Hoffman-Kensington Patriot) said following the game, "The Spartans played a great defensive game that kept us from capitalizing on our hits."

CAHN is now 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Pheasant Conference, in a virtual tie for first place with Ashby and Brandon/Evansville.

Read more on the games in this week's issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Hoffman City-wide/Country and Rural Block Party set for this Wednesday night, May 19

by HEDA office

The first Summer Block Party in Hoffman is set for Wednesday, May 19, at 6:30pm. The whole town and rural residents will gather at the city park for one combined party.

The offical starting date for the Farmer's Market is Wednesday, June 30.
The Health Care Mall is now open and boasts four providers. They are Dr. Holsinger (podiatrist), Dr. Chamberlin (chiropractor), Jennifer Jopp (massage therapist), and Robert Froke (clinical audiologist). The Health Care Mall has a new telephone number is (320) 986-CARE, or 320-986-2273. It will give you the numbers for each of the providers.

Please consider using our local businesses before going out of town.

West Central Area South elementary hosts its spring choir concert

Here's a couple video clips from the concert, held Friday afternoon at the school gymnasium.

Having foot problems? Schedule an appointment with Dr. Holsinger, Podiatrist, as he will be in Hoffman on Friday May 14

Dr. Holsinger of Broadway Medical Center will be in Hoffman at the Health Care Mall this Friday, May 14.

Call (320) 762-0399 and request an appointment for the Hoffman site.

Below is a view of his podiatrist office at the Hoffman Health Care Mall.

U.S. House Ag Committee to hold farm bill hearing in Sioux Falls

The House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Rep. Collin Peterson is holding 2012 farm bill hearings around the country this spring and MFU President Doug Peterson is likely to attend the upcoming one is Sioux Falls, S.D. on May 18th.

Checkout these details:

Tuesday, May 18th - 8:00 a.m. CDT

2nd Floor Theater
Edith Mortenson Center, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing

To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.
The House Agriculture Committee web site: http://agriculture.house.gov

Health care reform and small business - myths and realities

by John Crabtree johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs

Unfortunately, rural small businesses find it increasingly difficult to provide their employees health insurance. Entrepreneurs' hesitancy to leave employment with insurance for their business start-up creates a barrier for rural America's most effective development tool.

Small business has been used as a foil for opponents of health care reform. Considering the impact of reform and of skyrocketing health insurance costs on small business should be an important consideration in this debate. It's crucial, however, that those who reference small business get the facts straight.

A new Center for Rural Affairs report - Health Care Reform: What's in It for Small Business? - challenges four major myths about the impact of health care reform on small business. The health care reform law will not force small business to provide health insurance for their employees because most small businesses (50 or fewer employees) are exempt from the mandate and freed from any penalties related to the mandate. Moreover, the law establishes a Small Business Tax Credit for providing health insurance for employees. The tax credits, available in tax years 2010 through 2013, provide some immediate relief in making health care more affordable and offer an incentive for small businesses to provide insurance.

As the features of health care reform are implemented, small, rural businesses will reap the benefit of larger group coverage providing comprehensive, affordable and continuous health care coverage for their business and their employees. In the meantime, find out more about health care reform and small business at (http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Small-Business-Health-Care.pdf).

West Central Area Middle School hosts spring choir concert

A video clip from the Monday afternoon concert, held earlier today at the WCA High School auditorium.

You can find a photo album with 28 pictures from the concert by visiting the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website and clicking on "Dotphoto" and looking under the "West Central Area school events" folder.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

The WCA South elementary spring choir concert is this Friday, May 14, beginning at 2pm in the gymnasium.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hoffman city park gets a new playset!

The new playset equipment came in on May 6th at the Hoffman City Park.

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Warriors baseball is 10-1, knocks off Hancock 6-3 for a series sweep over conference rival Owls

The WHN Warriors are 10-1 and 7-0 in the Pheasant Conference after a home win over Hancock on Thursday night.

They host a Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah (6-2, 3-1 Heart O'Lakes Conference) today at 4:30 in Wheaton in a non-conference game. (If the weather allows it.)

How truly awful - two Benson teenagers are dead after a 4:30pm crash on Wednesday

Photo by Reed Anfinson of Benson.










Here's a link to the story at the West Central Tribune, with photos provided courtesy of Reed Anfinson, Benson Swift County Monitor newspaper. (Link: http://www.swiftcountymonitor.com/

http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/67153/

Pray for the families.

West Central Area Knights' baseball team picks up first win of the season, taking first game of an HOL double-header at Breckenridge 7-2

The West Central Area Knights' baseball team earned its first win of the season today at Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah, defeating the Cowboys 7-2 in the first game of a Heart O' Lakes Conference double-header. They won despite having only four hits in the game.

In the nightcap, they did not fare as well, however, losing 13-0 in five innings.

Up next for the WCA Knights' baseball team: a home double-header at the WCA High School in Barrett on Thursday (May 6) beginning at 4:00pm against state-ranked Hawley.

Here's a summary of the WCA Knights' track and field team's trip to Osakis on Monday this week...
Track and Field athletes from West Central Area high school competed at the Osakis Invitational on Monday. The Knights' girls team scored 45 points, placing fourth in the team competition, which was won by Ashby/Brandon/Evansville. The WCA boys took third place, scoring 72.50 points. Osakis won the boys' event with Ottertail Central placing second.

Kylee Fernholz led the lady Knight with a first place finish in the 1600 meter run (5:45) and a runner-up finish in the 800 meter run (2:38.70). She also ran on the third place 4 x 400 meter relay team (4:28.47) with Abby Peterson, Jen Froemming and Tee Rudnitski. Froemming, Peterson and Rudnitski were joined by Holly VanKempen on the first place 4 x 800 meter relay team (10:50.40). Rudnitski was runner-up in the 400 meter dash (1:02.20) and placed fifth in the long jump (14-01). Froemming was second in the triple jump (30-06) and fourth in the long jump (14-05).

The boys had four individuals win a total of five championships with John Olhoft winning the 800 (2:12.30), Kyle Toms the 1600 (4:48), Beau Kashmark the triple jump (38-11.50) and the high jump (5-08) and Brian Oachs the discus (120-00). Kashmark also placed second in the long jump (18-10) and Dakota Kashmark was third in the long jump (17-08.25) and the triple jump (33-09.50), while Bryan Barrera placed third in the shot put (38-00). The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Tyler Schill, Kyle Toms, Brandon Quick and John Olhoft was third (4:00) and the 4 x 800 meter relay team of Toms, Olhoft, Royal Crow and Schill was also third (9:35.40). Denny Schack was fourth in the high jump (4-00) and fifth in both the long jump (17-04) and the triple jump (33-03). Quick was fifth in the discus (102-05) and the 4 x 100 meter relay team of Schack, Schill, Oachs and Dakota Kashmark placed sixth (53.40).

West Central Area track and field will compete at the Pelican Rapids meet on Thursday.

Hope to see some of you at West Central Area's prom tonight! Grand March begins at 8pm at the High School

Look for photos and video from the event on Sunday.

Here's a link to the Herman-Hoffman Tribune's photo album from the WCA Prom: http://freescout.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=6144155

Added on Tuesday night...Here's a video clip from part of the grand march.

Prairie Lakes Coop donates a huge grant to our new local youth baseball league

Click below to enlarge the press release.

A friend e-mailed me this comment, regarding the Gulf of Mexico environmental disaster caused by British Petroleum's crude oil

"As a friend pointed out, have you ever heard of a major disaster with wind farms or solar panels? I refuse to watch clips of animals covered in oil this time around. It will just make me cry, then really, really mad. I always have to tell myself that I don't hate Republicans, I hate their politics, but things like this make me forget that too often. When people put profits before people and the earth, I get mad."

Here's a story about the corporate malfeasance of British Petroleum: http://www.startribune.com/business/92493159.html