Fatal accident

A two-car accident four miles south of Brooten resulted in one fatality on Wednesday afternoon, June  28. The Bonanza Valley Voice reported on the accident later in the evening while withholding information such as what type of vehicles were involved and identities of the drivers and one passenger.

Here is that web article with updates: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2017/06/22/news/lifelink-called-in-for-two-car-accident/463.html

Here's a GoFundMe link that the family of the deceased person has set up to take donations for a memorial: https://www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-for-kassie-lyn-dillon

News organizations are continuing to withhold names of those involved in the accident until law enforcement sends out a press release with that information. Please pray for the three individuals involved in the accident as well as our local first responders. It was a very dark, dark day for all of them, especially of the family of the teenager who was killed.

Saints sweep

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Spring Hill 2-1 on Sunday afternoon to raise their record in the Stearns County League North division to 7-1.

On Saturday night in an exhibition game at Minnewaska Area high school, the Saints lost 10-3 to the Starbuck Stars.

Elrosa is 13-6 overall heading into an exhibition game at home on Wednesday, June 28 against New London-Spicer at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, June 30, the Saints host the annual Stearns County League vs. County Line League All-Star game at 8 p.m. Elrosa hosts Long Prairie in an exhibition game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and they resume SCL action on Friday, July 7 when Greenwald comes to town.

Stearns County League & area amateur baseball scores on June 25:
Meire Grove 3, New Munich 2 (14 innings! played at Meire Grove)
Richmond 11, Lake Henry 8
Roscoe 3, Greenwald 1
Regal 7, New London-Spicer 3

It's time to ramp up promotion of upcoming area town celebrations! Beginning, of course, with the upcoming Bonanza Valley Days on July 7, 8, 9 in Brooten. Also, the Terrace Mill Foundation is excited to host their annual July 4th Family Picnic and Games night on Tuesday next week, July 4. The picnic in Terrace will begin at 5 p.m., and the kid-friendly games for all ages are schedule to start at 6:30 p.m. Coffee, lemonade and prizes are provided. Old-fashioned games and contests will be on tap, including turtle races, an egg toss, potato sack races and more.

This week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper will have information on the upcoming New London Water Days, July 10-16, with the schedule of events to be printed in the July 6 issue. See more at http://newlondonwaterdays.com.

SHAME!

I just read that at Swanville public schools, if a student's lunch account debt is greater than $50 in the hole, the student will receive an "alternative" lunch until the account is made current. From the Morrison County Record coverage of a recent Swanville school board meeting, their school board approved changing the lunch policy so that individual students will not receive a regular meal if his or her lunch account shows a negative $50 for individual students and a negative $150 for families.

I am proud to say that at B-B-E, students are never denied a hot lunch due to the status of their lunch account. That is how it should be! A kid should not be punished or singled out because of whatever situation their parents are dealing with. (Forgetting to pay up, not enough funds to pay up or whatever)

In fact, at a recent school board meeting, the B-B-E school board reaffirmed that policy.

I know that Swanville is not the only school who has that shameful school lunch policy. The one other who I know has it is Morris Area, based on school board newspaper coverage from Morris this past spring.

(Video) Gary Breitbach golf memorial

Here's a little video taken after the Gary Breitbach Memorial golf tournament today at Prairie View Golf Course in Brooten:


Fun was had by all! See more coverage in next week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Battle for the Keg

In this summer's first meeting of the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team and Spring Hill, fans were not disappointed as the top two teams in the Stearns County League North slugged it out for an extra-innings contest. After 10 innings, the Saints came out on top by a 6-5 score to improve to 6-1 in the division. Spring Hill falls to 7-3.

Spring Hill took a 1-0 lead before Elrosa scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. James Kuefler hit a three-RBI home run, and Matt Schmitz followed with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. Trailing 5-1, Spring Hill stormed back to force a 10th inning with the score tied 5-5 after nine innings.

Below, video taken in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Elrosa scored three runs:
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The rivalry resumes this Sunday, when Elrosa travels to Spring Hill.

By the way, I just read that the Monday night game between our B-B-E Jaguars Legion baseball team and Sauk Centre will be live streamed on MidMnSports.com. The link is http://www.midmnsports.com...action begins at 7:30 p.m. from Elrosa's Saints Field. B-B-E's Legion team is 3-2, while Sauk Centre is 5-0.

Thursday night action

In a Melrose Sub-District game, the B-B-E Jaguars Legion baseball team lost 13-1 to Albany in a home game played at Elrosa.

Also at home, at the elementary school diamond, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch 17-U team earned a split with Long Prairie-Grey Eagle tonight in a league contest. In game one, the Jaguars won 8-2, and in game two, the Thunder won 9-7. B-B-E is 2-2 overall this summer, while LP-GE is 3-3.

Below is video from the first inning of game two of the 17-U fastpitch doubleheader:


B-B-E's 17-U fastpitch team is in action again next Thursday in another league doubleheader when the Jaguars travel to Brandon to face Brandon/Evansville.

Here's a 20-minute video from the Friday night game a week ago between Elrosa and Regal:


Coming up in amateur baseball action: the Elrosa Saints resume their rivalry with Spring Hill when the Chargers come to town tomorrow night (Friday) for a Stearns County League North show down between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the standings. Elrosa is 5-1 in the SCL-North, while Spring Hill is 7-2. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.

Elite State 8 updates

Here's updates from the tournament in Elrosa on Sunday:
In the seventh-place game, Foley beat Cold Spring 11-1 in five innings.

The Elrosa Saints are facing Beaudreau in the fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m. today.

*Afternoon updates:
Hutchinson defeated Raymond for third place by a 10-8 score. Elrosa lost 6-5 to Beaudreau in the fifth-place game.

*Regal won the championship game 6-3 over Delano.

Walk-off winners

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team trailed 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning against Foley today when Ethan Vogt hit a three-run home run to end the game. Final score: Elrosa 5, Foley 4. The Saints trailed 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh.

In a semifinal of the winner's bracket of the Elrosa Elite State 8 tournament, Regal defeated Hutchinson 4-3 and advances to the championship game. Their opponent will be Delano, who beat Raymond 4-3 in the other semifinal game.

On Sunday: Elrosa plays at 11:30 a.m. in the fifth-place game. Regal's game against Delano will start at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Saints vs. Eagles

Matt Middendorf scored for Elrosa in the bottom of the second inning.

The Elite State 8 amateur baseball tournament is underway in Elrosa! This is the first such event held at Saints Field, and it will bring some outstanding games to town.

In the opener tonight, the Elrosa Saints and Regal Eagles resumed their rivalry with an extra-innings battle that went down to the wire. After the Saints posted an early 6-0 lead through six innings, the Eagles came back to tie it at 6-6 with a grand slam home run in the top of the fourth. With tournament games lasting seven innings, this one went past that, with the game-winning run coming in the top of the ninth for Regal. Final score: Regal 7, Elrosa 6 (nine innings).

The Saints play next at 4 o'clock on Saturday against the loser of the Foley vs. Hutchinson game. That contest takes place at noon on Saturday.

Here's action from the bottom of the third inning:


In the night cap in Elrosa tonight, Raymond defeated Beaudreau 4-0. Raymond plays at 6 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of the Cold Spring vs. Delano game. Beaudreau plays at 2 p.m. against the loser of the Cold Spring vs. Delano game.

Cold Spring vs. Delano kicks off action on Saturday, with that game starting at 10 a.m.

State baseball updates

Parkers Prairie, Section 6A champions for the second straight year, won their state quarterfinal game this morning by an 8-0 score over Section 5A champion Pillager (15-11). The Panthers are 23-2 heading into the Class 1A state semifinals, which begin at noon tomorrow at the Mini Met in Jordan.

State golf results

The Class 1A state golf meet wrapped up yesterday afternoon, and two members of the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team had a strong showing. In her first trip to state, Jacqueline Gossen shot a 174 to finish in tie for 21st place with Makayla Snow of BOLD, while Jaden Gossen, in her second state trip, shot a 178 to tie for 30th place with Amy Jacobson of Park Christian.

A total of 84 golfers competed in the Class 1A state golf meet this year.

BOLD won the state title with a two-day score of 693, edging runner-up Fillmore Central's 697. Minneota, champions of Section 5A for the second year in a row, finished in fifth place with a 745.

On the boys' side, Section 5A champion Lac qui Parle Valley shot a 671 (334/337) to finish in second place behind Mahnomen/Waubun's state champion score of 653.

State golf update

The two members of the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team who are competing at the Class 1A state golf tournament had a solid day on the links at Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker. Jacqueline Gossen shot a 90 (45-45) to sit in a tie for 18th place, while Jaden Gossen shot a 94 (49-45) to sit in 40th place heading into the final day.

How about that!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team wrapped up an undefeated weekend by defeating a very good Richmond squad this afternoon by a 2-1 score. Ethan Vogt got the win with eight innings of work on the mound in this Stearns County League win.

Elrosa improves to 5-1 in the SCL-North division and remains alone in first place.

Look for updates to follow in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice regarding next weekend's busy weekend of amateur baseball in Elrosa!

Amateur baseball update

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 7-2 over Eden Valley in the Stearns County League vs. Central Valley League Challenge on Saturday in Spring Hill. Elrosa banged out 10 hits compared to just three for the Hawks. Austen Hadley started for Elrosa and got the win in four innings of work. The Saints led 2-0 after one inning and 6-0 after four. Eden Valley got their two runs in the sixth inning.

The eight-game event took place in both Spring Hill and Farming, with four games held at each location.

Other scores from the SCL vs. CVL Challenge were:
Greenwald 9, St. Nicholas 1
St. Augusta 9, Spring Hill 5 (the Chargers had a 5-3 lead before St. Augusta scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning)
St. Martin 6, Luxemburg 5
Lake Henry 14, Pearl Lake 4 (five innings)

On Friday night, St. Martin beat New Munich 16-7.

In the championship game

B-B-E's 5th/6th grade Jaguars baseball team is in the championship game of the Elrosa Wood Bats tournament today. The Jaguars beat Spring Hill 1-0 and then Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 2-1 to gain the finals.

Here's video from the end of the first B-B-E vs. K-M-S game today:

K-M-S later met B-B-E in the championship game, and the Jaguars won that game by a 4-1 score.

Elrosa Saints win

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Cannon Falls on the home diamond by a 12-3 score tonight. Their next game is on Saturday, June 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Spring Hill when they take on the Eden Valley Hawks out of the Central Valley League.

Area playoff updates

Parkers Prairie's baseball team repeated as champions of Section 6A by defeating Ortonville 6-1 today in game two of the section championship series. The section title series was a battle between the champions of the Pheasant Conference and the Park Region Conference.

On Thursday, Parkers Prairie beat Ortonville 9-6 in the first game of the section championship series. The Panthers take a 23-2 record into the Class 1A state tournament.

In state fastpitch news...
Maple Lake (26-1) fell short in their quest for a state championship, as the Irish lost 4-1 in today's Class 2A state title game to Zumbrota-Mazeppa (24-6).

New York Mills, champions of Section 6A, won the Class 1A state title with an impressive 8-4 win over Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian.

Kimball Area won the Class 1A consolation championship with a 9-3 win over Pillager.

Baseball in Elrosa

Tonight (Friday, June 9) the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team hosts Cannon Falls at 8 o'clock.

On Saturday, Saints Field will be in use all day! It's youth baseball during the day (grades 5-6 tournament). Meanwhile, the Saints amateur team faces Eden Valley at the CVL-SCL tournament in Spring Hill at 3:30 p.m.

On Sunday, Elrosa resumes Stearns County League action with a home game against Richmond at 1:30 p.m.

Live streaming

The Bonanza Valley Voice will live stream the Vacation Bible School program tonight at 7:30 p.m. from Belgrade. It features the children of he Big Grove/Crow River/Grace Lutheran church parish.

Here's the link = http://citylinktv.com/channel/brooten-bonanza-valley-voice

Coming to a close

The spring sports season at B-B-E is soon coming to a close. Now all that's left is the Class 1A state golf meet, with two members of our B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team heading to Becker next week (June 13-14). It was a fun spring in the Bonanza Valley Voice sports department!

While I have your attention, I'd like you to click on over to the Central Square and Civic Center's website. They have one heck of an organization in Glenwood! You can see a full slate of upcoming events at their homepage: http://centralsquare.org/.

Baseball update

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Hancock 3-2 in an elimination game today. They are facing Parkers Prairie right now trying to keep their season alive.

Here's video from the end of the Hancock game:


Parkers Prairie (19-3) defeated Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in another elimination game today at Minnewaska Area.

In the final game of the night, the Panthers defeated the Jaguars 8-6 to advance to the Section 6A Final Four round. The Jaguars trailed 2-0 out of the gate and then 3-1. They trailed 8-2 going into the sixth inning, when they scored four runs to give Parkers Prairie a scare.

B-B-E finishes 13-11 overall. Read more in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In the winner's bracket final, Ortonville beat Brandon/Evansville 11-7 in nine innings to advance to the Section 6A championship series.

(Radio) Baseball playoffs

Today's playoff baseball game will be on Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood! Streaming at their website and on TuneIn....pregame at approximately 2:15 p.m. at Minnewaska Area high school. The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team takes on Hancock in an elimination bracket contest in the Section 6A tournament.

With a win over the Owls, the Jaguars would play another elimination game at about 5 o'clock.

Good luck Jaguars!!! Keep it rolling!!

Saints third in Morris

At Morris for the Mike Johnson Memorial tournament this weekend, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team went 2-1 and finished in third place. They beat Dumont 5-3 in the opener, lost 3-0 to host Morris in the semifinals and then beat Midway 7-4 in the third-place game.

Next for the Saints (7-3, 4-1 Stearns County League North) is a home game on Friday against Cannon Falls (8 p.m. start).

New Munich just beat Spring Hill 4-3 to pull the Chargers out of first place in the SCL-North standings. Read more in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, which will finally get amateur baseball coverage started.

(Video) Graduation speech

Here's English teacher Mr. Hinz speaking on B-B-E's graduation night on May 26:


I have the full speech archived, and I will post it at a later date.

Baseball playoffs

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team came back from a poor performance in their first game today and wiped out New York Mills in an 10-0, five-inning win to keep their season alive. The Jaguars (12-10) continue play in the elimination bracket next Tuesday at Minnewaska.  *Update: the opponent will be Hancock (12-9) at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6. If the Jaguars win, they have another elimination game that same day at Minnewaska against the winner of Parkers Prairie vs. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.

Brandon/Evansville pulled off a huge upset win by defeating top-ranked Parkers Prairie 5-4 in a winner's bracket game tonight. The Panthers were 18-2 going into the game.

I just saw that No. 2-ranked BOLD (19-3) was defeated by Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (15-8) by a 6-4 score in a winner's bracket game in the Section 2A tournament today.

Other scores from Section 6A baseball playoffs on June 1:
Hancock 5, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 0
Parkers Prairie 4, New York Mills 0
Ortonville 11, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 1 (5 innings)
Ortonville 14, Hancock 6
Brandon/Evansville 5, Parkers Prairie 4 (huge upset in the winner's bracket!)
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 12, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 0 (6 innings)

Eliminated from the Section 6A tournament: New York Mills, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley.

Area baseball playoff scores on June 1:
Foley 7, Sauk Centre 0
Pierz 1, St. Cloud Cathedral 0
Milaca 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 2    
Melrose Area 11, Wadena-Deer Creek 1 (5 innings)

Area fastpitch playoff scores on June 1:
Edgerton/Southwest MN Christian 7, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4 (Section 3A championship, E/SWC heads to state for the fourth year in a row, looking to defend their Class 1A state title earned in 2016)
Brandon/Evansville 8, West Central Area 2 (loser's bracket final in Section 6A, WCA finishes in third place)
New York Mills 12, Brandon/Evansville 3 (Section 6A championship game)
Maple Lake 7, Annandale 1 (Section 5AA championship game)

Track and field, baseball updates

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team lost 15-7 to Brandon/Evansville this afternoon in their second playoff game of the week. They are facing New York Mills now in an elimination game.
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Kyle Felling jumping during one of his tries in the Section 6A long jump event.

No members of the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams are heading to state after seven competed in the Section 6A meet today in Fergus Falls. Two earned medals, though, which is awesome!

Eighth grader Allisa Knight took fourth in the long jump (16 feet, one inch) to earn a medal, and she barely missed earning a medal in the triple jump (seventh place, 32-11.5). Kyle Felling, a junior, hauled in medals in the 100 (sixth place, 11.77 seconds) and 400 races. In the 400, he took third place and barely missed out on a trip to state. He broke his own personal record in that event while also breaking the 32-year old B-B-E school record. His time was 51.03 seconds, two-hundredths of a second better than Tim Wengler's record set in 1985, the year he graduated from Belgrade-Elrosa high school.

That's all for now!