School board meeting

Here's an important update in the superintendent search process at B-B-E:

B-B-E schools has a tentative agreement with Patrick Walsh for the vacant Superintendent of Schools position. The Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, May 3 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at B-B-E Elementary School for the purpose of approving Mr. Walsh's contract. His first day of work at the B-B-E school district would be July 1.

By the way, the Chuckwagon drive-inn in Brooten is open for the season! Today (Monday) was their first day of the 2018 season.

Their printed ad appeared on page two of the April 26 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

##ConquerEveryDay 

Monday's schedule

Saints Field in Elrosa will see its first action of 2018 on Monday, April 30, when the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team hosts Paynesville Area in a big border battle and Central Minnesota Conference rematch with a 4:30 p.m. start time.

In other varsity action on Monday, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team travels to Paynesville for a CMC doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m.

The junior high track team is at Paynesville for a 4:30 p.m. meet, while the junior high baseball team is also at Paynesville with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.

...looking ahead to Tuesday: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team has their third CMC meet of the season when they head to Maple Lake with a 4:15 p.m. start. Back at home, the high school athletic complex will host the annual Belgrade Lions track and field invitational with a 4 p.m. start.

*Also, here's video from Sunburg on Friday night:


A busy week ahead! I'll be at varsity events all five days, Monday to Friday! Wowza!!! Also, on Wednesday night, the KMGK radio sports banquet will take place at the Lakeside Ballroom.

Saints!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Spring Hill 15-9 today in the season opener for both teams.

Here's two more video clips of the B-B-E prom grand march held yesterday afternoon. Another longer clip is shown at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

Clip No. 2:


And Clip No. 3:


THANK YOU to all the local businesses, parents and other family members who helped make B-B-E's prom a huge, overwhelming success.

Prom in Jaguar Country

Today is the annual Prom for the 11th and 12th grade students at B-B-E plus guests...information on this year's Prom was published on page 7 in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, as well as page 7 of the April 19 issue of the Voice! I hope you are a subscriber.

*Update: B-B-E's prom was GREAT! The weather was simply magnificent! You can read more about it and see scores of photos in the upcoming May 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Radio! Friday

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team's game in Sunburg against K-M-S will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (on the radio and streamed via the Internet). The game starts at 5 p.m.!

Update: the game is in the ninth inning with a 1-1 tie score.

Final score: KMS 2, B-B-E 1 after 11 innings. Dylan Rudningen earned the win.

A big day in Jaguar Country

What a crazy day. More sports than I thought possible in one day. Actually it was the busiest spring sports day EVER in the history of our schools at B-B-E! More on that later...

At tonight's special school board work session, directors voted 7-0 to enter into contract negotiations with Mr. Patrick Walsh of Hutchinson to become our next superintendent at B-B-E. Walsh was interviewed for roughly 80 minutes during the work session. The entire meeting lasted exactly two hours. You can read more in the upcoming May 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In the home Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader for our B-B-E fastpitch team, the Jaguars earned a split with Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted to move to 1-2 overall. They lost 4-2 in the first game and won 8-5 in the second game while finishing the night with no errors compared to three by HL-W-W. Up next: the Jaguars travel to Paynesville next Monday (April 30) for a CMC doubleheader with the Bulldogs.

At Regal, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team improved to 2-1 overall and in the Central Minnesota Conference with 14-4 (five innings) and 10-9 wins over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. Cool! Up next: the Jaguars travel the short trip to Sunburg tomorrow (Friday) to compete against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, just a hop outside the district boundaries, at Willie Reigstad field. The game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood, and Brady's pregame coverage starts at 4:45 p.m., with first pitch coming at 5 p.m. (*Also, JV parents will want to know and remember that the JV game against K-M-S will be played at the B-B-E high school!) K-M-S is 1-0 after beating Canby 5-0 in their season opener tonight.

At the Lynx National golf course in Sauk Centre, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team shot a 188 to tie Maple Lake for third place. Pierz shot a 185 to take second, while Kimball/Eden Valley-Watkins shot a 181. B-B-E's Jayden Miller shot a 41 to take second place individually. This was the first Central Minnesota Conference meet of the season, and on paper it was the Pierz meet played at Sauk Centre. The Jaguars then competed on the back nine for the second CMC meet of the year, a meet on paper hosted by HL-W-W. In the second round of nine, the Jaguars did not fare quite as well and shot a 207, but it was good enough to tie Osakis for third place. The top team was again K/EV-W, who shot a 188. In second place was Pierz with a 193. Next: the Jaguars travel to Willmar to Eagle Creek golf course for a 1 p.m. invitational tomorrow (Friday).

Also at the Lynx National course today, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team opened up CMC action with two meets that were also hosted by Pierz and HL-W-W. In the first meet, the Jaguars were paced by Jacqueline Gossen's stellar 38 to take first place as a team with a 178. Osakis shot a 179 to come in second. The tables turned in a dramatic way in the second meet, however, when the Silverstreaks shot a 182 to beat the Jaguars by a full 20 strokes. So with two meets in the book, the three-time defending champion Jaguars sit in second place with a 19-stroke deficit behind Osakis.

More to come.

Radio!

The home doubleheader outing today between our B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (also streamed online via their website and the TuneIn app.)

Pre-game at 15:45, with the action to begin at 16:00!

Superintendent finalist

I have been gathering more background information on the candidate our B-B-E school board selected for a final interview, Patrick Walsh of Hutchinson. All good!

When I first started digging for information on the three non-local candidates, one question that came up in my mind was, "Why would an administrator in a large school such as Hutchinson be interested in B-B-E?" I'll offer a couple responses to that valid question. First, he is an Osakis native, and obviously someone who grew up in Osakis would have a pretty good idea about what growing up in B-B-E Jaguar Country is like.

Mr. Walsh graduated from Osakis in 1983. His late father, Jim, played football for North Dakota Agricultural School (known today as NDSU), and also was a teacher, coach and A.D. at Osakis "way back when" - if he is selected as our superintendent, I look forward to hearing any stories he may have of his dad from "way back when" at Osakis.

I've also learned his family owns property in Pope County. His wife's line of profession is as a nurse practitioner, and she is a native of Long Prairie.

Also, his younger sister is the head girls' and boys' tennis coach at Minnewaska Area (and a good coaching friend of mine, coincidentally)

Another fun fact: his late mother, Dianne, grew up in a town of just 70 people in rural North Dakota. One of her greatest skills was the ability to play piano by ear. She ultimately double-majored at NDSU in Choral Music and English.

Here's my first attempt at embedding a Facebook post into this sports blog. It is from the Hutchinson's Economic Development Authority page, and it was posted on Monday this week. It gives an example of what the Hutchinson community feels about his work in their senior high school. Note: to properly view this, you should log into Facebook and then click on the graphics to move over to the Facebook platform and see what is posted.

...........but I may be putting the cart before the horse here! 

Before diving too far into Mr. Walsh's life, family and background, we have to get through the final interview session on Thursday night. If the board ultimately votes to offer Mr. Walsh a contract, a negotiation period has to take place. So as I said in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice page one article, we still have a ways to go. The only thing I DO know is that we have to have a new superintendent under contract before July 1.

It is exciting to see the genuine interest in this matter by members of the public. It shows that the public body of parents, grandparents, former school employees and general citizens of Jaguar Country really care about the future of the B-B-E school district.

##ConquerEveryDay

Baseball opener

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team dropped their season opener at Paynesville tonight by a 4-1 score. They will look to get in the win column on Thursday when they host Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted with a 4 p.m. start time of a conference doubleheader at the Regal diamond (JV at the high school).

At tonight's school board meeting, Patrick Walsh of Hutchinson was selected for a final interview in the superintendent selection process. The board will resume the process at 7 p.m. on Thursday night at the high school library.

Fastpitch season begins

In a home doubleheader against Pierz in Central Minnesota Conference action, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team lost two games by scores of 7-1 and 4-2.

Next is a home doubleheader on Thursday against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.

Below is video from early in game one:


The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team finally gets into action this week also. We've had a very challenging spring so far!

Additional information on superintendent finalists

I spent about two hours on Monday night putting this information together. They are listed in no particular order! I found it important to add some website links that lead to more information and background on the finalists.

Additional information on Michael Pagel, Fulda elementary principal at their preschool-through-grade six facility:

Mr. Pagel is the high school agriculture teacher at Fulda and also their FFA advisor. He is also co-head coach of the Fulda Raiders football team.

In July 2011, Pagel’s agriculture program earned the Minnesota Outstanding Middle-Secondary Agriculture Education program award from the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators.

You can read more about what went into that award at the Worthington Globe’s newspaper website: http://www.dglobe.com/news/1383487-top-class.

Pagel is past president of the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators in 2002-2003.

In March 2017, Pagel was named one of four finalists for the superintendent position at St. Charles schools. In June 2017, Pagel was one of four finalists for the superintendent position at Royalton. He has held his superintendent license since at least the time of his interview with Royalton.

Additional information on Jeffrey Keil, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg elementary principal in Murdock, their preschool-through-grade six facility; he has a K-12 license. 

The K-M-S elementary school serves approximately 455 students, according to Keil’s principal website, a figure that includes their K-6 grades plus preschool students.

You can find that website here: http://jeffkeil.weebly.com.

K-M-S recently underwent grand renovations at both the high school and elementary buildings. In Murdock, the elementary school has three new kindergarten rooms, new offices and media center and an elevator to the second floor.

Additional information on Patrick Walsh, Hutchinson high school (grades 9-12) principal, a position he has held since July 2011. 

Mr. Walsh graduated from Osakis high school and earned a B.S. degree in physical education and mathematics in 1988. He earned his M.A. degree in Educational Administration in 1999, and he earned an Education Specialist degree from the U of M-Twin Cities in 2009.

In April 2015, Walsh was named Principal of the Year for the Southwest Division of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School principals. 

Over the past four years, Hutchinson High School has been working to build career “academies” that integrate career pathways into all curricular areas. Hutchinson has been working on balancing this premise by offering hands-on opportunities for all students. This initiative is called TigerPath Academies, and you can read more about it here: http://www.isd423.org/hs/tpa.

Hutchinson high school’s enrollment (grades 9-12) is 840 according to the latest figures provided by the MSHSL. The school district recently has undergone major renovations to the high school campus and school facilities.

Additional information on Josie Dingmann, who has worked in the B-B-E school district in some capacity since 2003; she is a 1999 graduate of B-B-E. Dingmann was director of Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. from June 2003 to August 2008. (During that time, the TVOC oversaw and operated the Brooten migrant Head Start program at the elementary school but was not a direct program of B-B-E.) Since 2008, Dingmann has taught high school math at B-B-E, and in July 2009, Dingmann was named director of the B-B-E Community Education. She earned her M.A. degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from St. Cloud State University in 2012.

As director of B-B-E Community Ed, Dingmann oversees Operation Backpack Attack, which provides about 50 students each week with bags of extra food. Dingmann also serves as adviser for the B-B-E National Honor Society.

Click here to see the April 24 interview schedule: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/04/05/bbe/superintendent-finalist-interviews-are-tuesday/611.html.

Golf course opens!

Prairie View Community golf course in Brooten will officially open for the 2018 season tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24. Manager Mickie Braun says that they will be open all day.

Spread the word!!

Their website is http://prairieviewgolfcourse.com ...and they can also be found on Facebook.

Today we hit 70 degrees in Brooten. Spring is here!!!

Season openers!

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team saw their season get underway today with a home doubleheader against Pierz. The outing began at 4 p.m., and it will consist of one seven-inning game and one five-inning game.

Tomorrow the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team will get into action with their season opener at Paynesville at 4:30 p.m.

Also tomorrow, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team will start their season with a meet at the Lynx National golf course in Sauk Centre at 1 p.m.

Thursday this week includes the following: the varsity track and field team has their third meet of the season with a trip to Sauk Centre and a 4 p.m. start time. They also had a meet at Maple Lake on Monday. The girls' fastpitch team hosts Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted on Thursday at 4 p.m. for a doubleheader. The baseball team hosts HL-W-W with a game at the Regal diamond starting at 4 p.m. The JV team plays at the same time at the high school field.

Also Thursday, the boys' and girls' golf teams travel to the Lynx National golf course. They will each compete in two, nine-hole Central Minnesota Conference meets. The first meet begins at 1 p.m., and these two meets will replace trips to CMC meets normally hosted by HL-W-W and Pierz. Due to wet and poor outdoor conditions at their regular courses, the Lynx course will fill in as a substitute. Also Thursday, the junior high baseball team hosts Benson at the high school diamond at 4:30 p.m.

On Friday this week, the varsity baseball team travels to Sunburg for a non-conference game with a 5 p.m. start; the JV team plays at the K-M-S high school in Kerkhoven.

By next week, the schedule smoothens out with regularly-scheduled contests, although it will remain busy through the month of May.

Superintendent interviews tomorrow

Here's a second web article posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website on the superintendent search process at B-B-E schools:
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/04/05/bbe/superintendent-finalist-interviews-are-tuesday/611.html.

...and a shortened link: https://bit.ly/2FaipD3.

I found this web article interesting and informative. It also provides starting salaries for the superintendents who are profiled in the story (southern Minnesota) dated September 1, 2017 in the Rochester Post-Bulletin: http://www.postbulletin.com/news/education/superintendent-shuffle-area-school-leadership-in-flux/article_fe9f876e-b6ec-59e7-913d-b962d32cb075.html.

Elrosa Saints! Season opener

It appears that the season opener for the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team will be Sunday, April 29 at Spring Hill. That is all dependent on field conditions, of course, and as of now things don't look terrific for area baseball fields.

They had an exhibition game at Clear Lake lined up for today, but that was cancelled.

Keep that sunshine coming!

In other news...a late Sunday night update...33 members of B-B-E's FFA chapter departed for the Twin Cities for the 2018 FFA state convention on Sunday afternoon. We wish them best of luck and look forward to reporting on the convention in the April 26 and May 3 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. More than 3,500 FFA members gathered tonight (Sunday) for the 89th Minnesota FFA Convention at the University of Minnesota that takes place over the next two days.

Success at UMM

The B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams found success at the University of Minnesota-Morris athletic complex on Friday. It marked the first outdoor meet of the season. B-B-E's girls' squad placed fifth out of 10 teams with 51 points. B-B-E's boys' team took fourth place out of 11 teams with 55.33 points. Minnewaska Area won the girls' title, while Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta won the boys' title.

On the girls' side:
Brooke Kaiser took fourth place (1:09.02) in the 400 dash; Tori Reed took third (53.78) in the 300 hurdles; Tayjah Marthaler tied for second place (6'6") in the pole vault with Ashby/Brandon-Evansville's Cailey Schlosser; Claire Reed of Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta won the pole vault with a jump of 7-06; Allisa Knight was champion in the long jump (15-04), while Tori Reed took fourth (14-05.5).
The girls' 4x100 relay squad won their event with a time of 55.75 seconds. They beat out second-place Minnewaska in that event by 21-hundredths of a second!
The girls' 4x200 relay team took second place (2:00.35), also edging out Minnewaska in that event. Sauk Centre won the 4x200 with a time of 1:58.81.

On the boys' side:

Kyle Felling won the 100 dash with a time of 11.84 seconds; he won the 200 dash with a time of 24.11 seconds; he won the 400 dash with a time of 51.9 seconds. Blake Goodall took third in the 300 hurdles (48.10).
In the long jump, Felling was also champion and had a best jump of 19 feet, one inch.

Next for the track and field teams is a meet at Maple Lake on Monday, April 23 starting at 4 p.m.

State speech

The Class 1A state speech meet is underway right now at Apple Valley high school. B-B-E's Billy Tensen is competing, and his first round begins at 10:15 a.m.

Later this afternoon I have some light track and field notes to report on from yesterday's Morris meet.

##ConquerEveryDay

Track meet

The B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams will compete at Morris tomorrow to open the outdoor season. It begins at 4 o'clock.

Superintendent interviews

Members of the B-B-E student section are shown cheering at the March 2014 Class 1A state tournament at the Target Center. What an exciting week that was!

I encourage the public to share this web article that I just posted this morning. I received it yesterday, and I apologize for not getting it out right away.
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/04/12/bbe/superintendent-finalist-interviews-set-for-april-24/604.html. Additional information is being posted regarding the schedule today.

Here is a shortened link that can be used more easily on social media such as Facebook and Twitter: https://bit.ly/2HbWUrk.

The date of these interviews was published in the April 19 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice in the school board story that starts on page one and concludes on page 4. I just looked over my notes from the March 19 school board meeting, and the April 24 date was announced then as well. However, I was remiss at getting the date published in print, which I apologize for.

Here's the initial notice to the public on when Mr. Bullard accepted Paynesville's offer to become their next superintendent: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2018/02/job-opening-at-b-b-e.html. That was reported in the March 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Crossing fingers

All precipitation has been taken out of the forecast for the coming days. After looking at what's coming, with "58 and sunny" on Sunday, and then a high of 64 degrees next Monday, I am hopeful that we'll have the start of the fastpitch season and outdoor track and field season next Monday.

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team would host Pierz on Monday at 4:30 p.m., while the B-B-E Jaguars track and field team would compete at Maple Lake on Monday. That Monday track meet has a 4 o'clock start time (*Bus times: 14:15 from the elementary and 14:30 departure from the high school.)

In amateur baseball news, I heard that the Elrosa Saints may get their season going with an exhibition game on Sunday over near St. Cloud. That would be great, too! They've been practicing indoors at the B-B-E high school gymnasiums since March 1.

On an unrelated note, but a very important one nonetheless, I want to share this web link to give followers here a chance to read a recent update posted on April 16 about the 26-year old Ashby woman who I blogged about on April 8. https://www.youcaring.com/kellyfalk-1154096.

##ConquerEveryDay

Viking Coca-Cola nomination: Adam Jaeger

This is really neat!

Viking Coca-Cola Bottling Company is proud to present the Powerade Athlete of the Year Award. The award, along with $1000, will be given to 10 student finalist who have been recognized within their schools for their community and extracurricular involvement.

Please vote for B-B-E's Adam Jaeger and help him win! You can vote once per day. We appreciate you taking the time to vote. Click here:

http://vikingcocacola.com/community/powerade-athletes-voting.

Jaeger recently became just the second wrestler in B-B-E school history to win a state championship. He won the 152-pound title on March 3 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Section speech

Update from Section 5A speech!

Jesse Westaby, Jayden Miller and Billy Tensen have all advanced to the section finals.

RESULTS from the section finals: Billy Tensen has advanced to the Class 1A state speech meet! He placed third in Informative Speaking to earn a spot at the big show. Jayden Miller just missed out on state, taking fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking. Jesse Westaby placed fifth in Humorous.

Read more coverage in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

##ConquerEveryDay

Support the arts!

Check it out!
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/04/12/opinion/support-the-arts/603.html.

Speaking of the arts, good luck today to the B-B-E speech team as eight members of the squad compete at the Section 5A meet in Albany!

Church announcements

*Updated at 08:50.

Church services at West Lake Johanna, Trinity Lutheran in Brooten and Crow River Lutheran churches have been cancelled for today, April 15.

Here's video from Trinity Lutheran church at Easter morning sunrise service. The Trinity Lutheran youth handbell choir is performing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today"


Another announcement, this was actually from Friday and never got posted here. The Section 5A state-qualifying meet was postponed from Saturday to Monday. Tomorrow, Monday, April 16, Albany high school will host the Section 5A meet. Eight members of the B-B-E speech team will compete there.

(VIDEO) Are you kidding me!

Seriously! This is as close as I can get to sports reporting right now! Shooting video of frozen, snow-covered athletic fields on April 14! Part of this video shoots the varsity fastpitch field, with the elementary school in the background. The bus garage is on the far left. Also shown is a shot of the 2014 B-B-E boys' basketball state championship billboard. (Video taken at about 18:33 on Saturday, April 14)



Enough!

Next week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice will have some sports coverage, previewing varsity spring sports. I plan on getting another installment of the Jaguar Spotlight also published. Stay tuned!

Track and field meet

Tonight's track and field meet at St. John's University has been cancelled.

Today I have officially re-opened my newspaper's sports department, and how ironic that this is my first announcement.

Winter can end any time now!!! 5-10+ inches of snow is coming our way over the next 48 hours.

Community Education dinner theater trip

SIGN UP NOW for May 9 event! B-B-E Community Education trip to DayTrippers Dinner Theatre in Bloomington SIGN UP NOW! DayTrippers Dinner Theatre presents… “Drinking Habits” - All heaven is about to break loose at the Sisters of Perpetual sewing. Just don’t tell that to their teetotalling Mother Superior. For years Sister Philamena and Sister Augusta have been making grape juice for the poor and also wine to earn money to keep the convent afloat. When the wine unexpectedly wins a $500,000 prize local reporters Paul and Sally go undercover as a nun and priest to investigate. Their presence spurs paranoia throughout the convent that spies have been sent from Rome to shut them down. The Sisters keep the audience in stitches as they run their secret wine-making industry. We will depart the Elementary School at 9:15 a.m. and the High School at 9:30 a.m. *Deadline to register is May 2, with a limit of 55.* Date: Wednesday, May 9 Time: Lunch at 12:15, Show at 1:15 Location: DayTrippers Dinner Theatre, Bloomington Fee: $68 (includes ticket, lunch, and coach bus)

You can learn more about what B-B-E Community Education is offering right now in their printed booklet that was mailed to all district households or by going online at http://www.bbejaguars.org/community-education, where you will be able to download and view their brochure on your computer or SmartPhone.

Beat the snow! Indoor garage sale

B-B-E Indoor Garage Sale 

An indoor event! Beat the snow and continued winter we're having! B-B-E schools are hosting a community-wide Indoor Garage Sale on Saturday, April 21 at the elementary school from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. *If you are interested in renting table space to use, contact Tessa at 320-346-2278, extension 1218. The cost is just $8. (The cost was reported incorrectly in the April 12 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.)

Speaking of the newspaper! This should have been included in our April 12 issue...and actually better yet, the April 5 issue: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/04/05/news/severe-weather-awareness-week/592.html.

Paying it Forward

I stumbled onto this tonight via the Interweb, and the gravity of the situation pinned my ears back.

Every parent worries about their child's or children's health - generally on a daily basis. And as an adult, I have learned that moms and dads continue worrying about their kids' health even after kids "leave the nest"!

For Joey and Marceia Andreasen of Ashby, both public school educators in central Minnesota, those random worries and fears became a full-blown nightmare as their daughter Kelly was stricken by Lyme disease in 2016. Making matters worse, detection and then diagnosis of the disease did not happen right away due to the nature of Lyme disease. Kelly Falk has Chronic or Late Stage Lyme, a debilitating disease that has taken away her ability to work and live independently. She is a 2010 graduate of Ashby high school and a former three-sport star for the Arrows athletic program.

Kelly Falk (11) and Alyssa Mickelson (8) attempting to block a West Central Area attack in Ashby's 2008 volleyball playoff opener. Falk was a junior that season. PHOTO BY ERIC MORKEN, ECHO PRESS

You can read more about Kelly Falk's story here:

https://www.youcaring.com/kellyfalk-1154096

Kelly Falk and her mom, Marceia Andreasen, are co-owners of Kindred People, a boutique style store located in Alexandria and Fargo that features women's clothing, accessories, shoes, beauty products and gifts. Their goal is to bring unique fashion at popular prices to the area. You can read more here: https://shopkindredpeople.com/pages/about.

Joey Andreasen is a second grade teacher at Osakis schools, while Marceia Andreasen is a high school social studies teacher in Alexandria.

I will admit that I never saw Kelly in action in any of her sports, but I remember hearing and reading about her athletic accomplishments in those years - especially in fastpitch, in which she was one of Ashby's best pitchers in the late 2000s. I don't have the full run-down of statistics, but when she was a senior in 2010, Ashby was fastpitch co-champions of the Pheasant Conference with Brandon/Evansville; they were runners-up in her junior season. Kelly Falk played varsity fastpitch for five years in Ashby. She is featured in online fastpitch articles going back to at least 2006, when she was just an eighth grader. In her freshmen season, Kelly's Ashby Arrows won the Pheasant Conference title, and they repeated the same feat in her sophomore year, 2008.

I have known her father for a long, long time, and have great respect for him and what he has done with his Osakis Silverstreaks wrestling program. Head coach Joey Andreasen is a Hoffman-Kensington high school graduate and has coached in Osakis for many years. He was head fastpitch coach in Ashby for a period of time and coached when his daughter Kelly played. Besides teaching in the elementary school and coaching wrestling, Coach Andreasen is also Osakis's JV baseball coach.

Joey, Marceia, Kelly and Kelly's sister, Taylor, are all Minnesota State University-Moorhead graduates, with Taylor being a former MSUM Dragons fastpitch player. Kelly graduated in 2014 with a B.A. in Public Relations. Here's a neat web article at the MSUM website that describes some family history at the college: https://www.mnstate.edu/Magazine/Fall2015/Generations.

Please consider donating! I cannot imagine this burden on any family! It is a miracle that her current treatments is helping restore a glimmer of hope for Kelly - but not without great financial cost. I am sure that any size of donation will be greatly appreciated!

##ConquerEveryDay

Youth wrestling at state

I know the B-B-E youth wrestling Jaguars have won two team duals at the NYWA state tournament. Yesterday they beat Deer River 37-33. Today they beat Perham on criteria with a 36-36 tie in points.

On Sunday, the Jaguars lost 41-36 to a stacked team from Albert Lea.

Lots of snow coming down now across the Bonanza Valley area!! Crazy.

(Video) Visiting Gausdal Lutheran church

We don't have sports to cover here in early April...but it was fun to take in this today!


We got down to three degrees above zero this morning in the Bonanza Valley area! Yikes! This is April 7.

Here's the Wikipedia page for Gausdal, Norway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gausdal.

Speech

The B-B-E speech team advanced eight members to next Saturday's Section 5A meet. They competed at the subsection meet at NLS tonight. The section meet will be held on April 14 in Albany. Additional coverage of the sub-section speech meet will be published in the next issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Late start again

B-B-E is two hours late today.

At 06:29, it's a balmy one degree above zero in the Bonanza Valley.

Late start (and early dismissal)

B-B-E is two hours late this morning.

LOTS of ice out there!! Be safe!!!!

**WELL! It was a nice effort, but school will now be released early, at 12:45 p.m., at B-B-E. All activities are cancelled.

*Due to the return of winter, the Bonanza Valley Voice sports department will be shuttered for the remainder of this week. That hasn't happened in April in my entire career that started back in 2003.

Blast from the past: baseball opener in 2007

"Josh Roelike, Jordan Beier, and Zach Gallagher split pitching duties, with Roelike taking the first five innings on the mound to earn his first win of the season." - from this Jaguar sports update on April 16, 2007! Read it all here:

http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2007/04/jaguars-baseball-wins-season-opener.html


I honestly have no idea when we will get spring sports underway this month.

(Video) Easter service

Here's video from Father Grundman's Homily during Easter morning worship at St. Donatus Catholic church in Brooten:


Also, are you ready for more snow? It's coming! (one to three inches)

Here's video from the Brooten Community Church worship on Easter Sunday:
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/03/22/news/the-christian-super-bowl-sunday/586.html