Belgrade's August Fest

Click to enlarge the poster graphic.

The two-day Belgrade August Fest community celebration is today and tomorrow. Click on the following link to read about it at the Sauk Centre Herald website:
http://saukherald.com/articles/2014/08/08/august-fest-2014

(Photo gallery) Bonanza Valley Days grand parade

Click:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2014-Events/2014-BelgradeBrootenElrosa-are/Bonanza-Valley-Days-grand-para/

Bonanza Valley Days is about to begin!

Bonanza Valley Days kicks off Friday with three full days of activities coming to Brooten. Organizers put together a schedule that includes fun for all ages whether it's sporting events, dancing, singing, eating a wide variety of food or visiting with friends and neighbors around classic cars and tractors.

To kick things off, city-wide garage sales start at 7 a.m. both Friday and Saturday.

Friday's events also include an elementary baseball tournament for grades three through six at the city park and Quisberg Park beginning at 9 a.m.

The Brooten Firemen's Chicken barbecue runs from 5 p.m to 8 p.m. with the Brooten Community Band performing during the chicken feed.

The Steffl Sisters perform at the Pavilion from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and at the Classic Company Bar and Grill a variety show will be held at 7 p.m. The night wraps up with a free street dance starting at 8:30 p.m.

A staple of Bonanza Valley Days, the men's slowpitch softball tournament, starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday night and continues at 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Saturday's events begin with a car and tractor show on main street runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. plus a National Guard climbing wall and jungle gym.

Other main street activities on Saturday include a dunking tank operated as a fundraiser for the B-B-E Dazzlers dance team, inflatable jumping rooms, a kids' waterball fight and a kids' tractor pull.

Sporting events for everyone run throughout Saturday including sand volleyball, three-on-three basketball, a walk and run plus the Gary Fauskee Old Times softball tournament, which is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Quisberg Park. The softball tournament is a fundraiser for the Gary Fauskee Memorial Scholarship now going into its third year.

A kiddie parade is at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and those who go to that can venture to the pavilion between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to have free milk and cookies served by Stearns County Dairy princesses.

Also at the pavilion on Saturday is a craft and vendor show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other activities near the pavilion at the city park on Saturday include pony rides and a petting zoo.

At 1:30 p.m. at Classic Co. is the Miss Brooten and Little Miss Brooten Pageant.

Saturday evening activities include a street dance with music by "The Coolers", food stands and fireworks at dusk at Prairie View Community Golf Course.

Sunday starts off with Dad's Belgian Waffles at the city park from 8 a.m. to noon, sponsored by the B-B-E Boy Scout Troop 66.

The grand day parade is at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, and following that is an ice cream social at the city park, sponsored by the Bonanza Valley State Bank.

A church service led by Pastor Bryant Kaden is at 5 p.m. at the city park wraps up the weekend schedule for Bonanza Valley Days.

B-B-E Homecoming tailgating tonight!

The Homecoming tailgating party is tonight, an annual event since 2010.

Don't miss out on tonight's B-B-E Homecoming tailgating/grilling party hosted by North American State Bank. It begins at 5:30pm and ends at 7:00pm at the high school stadium and is hosted by the B-B-E Student Council and NASB. The meal includes hot dogs, chips and a beverage, and the student council is asking for a free will donation in support of their Community Initiatives Fund.

Kickoff for the big Homecoming game is at 7:00. The B-B-E Band Boosters will be serving food during the game, with concessions provided by the B-B-E FCCLA group..

**Parents: here's a few friendly tips from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office regarding Homecoming.

Homecoming season is a fun time for many students, parents and the community - but it can also be a risky time.  Parties, events and “the big game” mean more people out, more drugs and alcohol, and more potential hazards. 

Make this homecoming enjoyable and worry-free with a little preparation:

• Parents, talk with your student about plans for the night, a curfew, and how they would handle potential problems.
• Review driving basics like - stay alert, use seat belts, stay sober and no texting.
• Find out about parties your student may attend.  Will there be an adult present?  What about drugs and alcohol?

And here's a neat photo I just saw in my junior high football album from the Holdingford game.

Seventh-grader Dylan Meyer made a great open-field tackle to thwart a run by the Huskers in the 4th quarter.

By the way, the Jr. High football pizza orders are in from Harry's Pizza as of last night. Now THAT is some good eating! Mmm Mmm!

Here's the Sauk Centre Herald photo album from the 7th/8th grade Holdingford games:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2013SPORTS/B-B-E-fall-varsity-sports/BBE-Jr-High-football-at-Holdin

And then a car accident that could have been much worse

Right as it appeared that the downed power line in Brooten was being buttoned up, a bad, bad accident took place at the intersection of Highway 55 and Highway 71 in Belgrade.

I'm not going to report the makes/models of the cars (pending notification of families affected by the accident)...I will report this:

* two ambulances carried victims in the accident west out of Belgrade on Highway 55, which leads me to believe they were heading to Glenwood. The two left Belgrade within 5 minutes of one another, and the second one left Belgrade at about 10:35pm.

* I counted two cars in the accident - it looks like a broadside or head-on type of accident.

* the damaged cars are being towed away at 11:00pm.

* it appeared to me that one car pulled out off of Highway 71 (heading northwest) while an east-bound car on Highway 55 met them in the accident at that intersection. (With the split of Highway 71 as it meets Highway 55, it's not easy to explain.)

That's all I know as of 11:00pm, and it's bed time. Big day tomorrow with the Elrosa Saints opening up the state tournamet!! (See more on the fan bus below)

*UPDATE: the two cars involved in the crash that happened at about 10:00pm were a Pontiac G6 4-door and a 4-door Nissan Altima. The G6 was driven by 2012 B-B-E graduate Alysa Leedahl of Brooten, who was alone in her car at the time. The Nissan had 3 teenagers in it from Fargo/Moorhead.

All four were transported to Glacial Ridge Health Systems in Glenwood.

A view of the accident scene in Belgrade from the south...the Nissan Altima is facing sideways across Highway 55. It appeared that it pulled out in front of the G6 at that intersection (of Hwy 71). The G6 is sitting on Highway 71 facing eastbound, perpendicular to the Altima.

The father of the B-B-E girl driving the Pontiac posted this to Facebook:
"Last night was one of those that every parent dreads...Alysa was in a car accident and spent the night in the hospital. Thankfully she is ok, as are the passengers in the other vehicle. She has a pretty nasty gash on her head and lots of bruises but will come home today. Thanks for the prayers and please go hug your kids."

After seeing the accident scene first hand I have to say, air bags and seat belts saved four lives in this case.

Downed power line in Brooten

VIDEO:

**Note: officially by 10:00 the "all clear" hadn't been issued to the Brooten Fire Department. It could have been a bad situation if a walker/jogger/biker happened along in that area and had an encounter with the line. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

For the time being, please avoid that part of town.

Bonanza Valley Days is this weekend

It will be a fun-filled weekend in Brooten this weekend: three days of action!

While I won't be adding sports-related items here until after Jocelyn's funeral, I can't forget to mention that the annual Bonanza Valley Days celebration starts on Friday and runs through Sunday.

Some time later today I'll add a full list of activities.

We are incredibly fortunate to have so many 3-sport athletes at B-B-E

Check out the following comments posted with an article in the West Central Tribune that talk about their youth hockey numbers (which are way down from years past even though overall K-12 school enrollment is higher than it was then)...

Cards, I too remember the days of higher numbers and strong teams, however back then things were much different. There were far more 3 sport athletes and far less specializing in one sport like today. Sport seasons were pretty well set, in the Fall we played Football or Cross Country if you were a boy, but now there is the addition of a quality Soccer program. In the Winter it was Hockey/Basketball/Wrestling/Swimming and now you add to that Cross Country Skiing. In the Spring it wqs Baseball/Track/Tennis/Golf. More offerings with fewer students to be involved will mean smaller participation.
We played and focused on the sports for each season and we didn’t have traveling sports for Winter season taking place in the Fall, Spring and Summer like we have today. Seriously how long is a J.O. Volleyball Season?!!
We didn’t have so many parent led “special teams” that excludes young athletes if they are not some how connected to the right person or if they lack the money to pay for the additional costs to travel to extra tournaments. Young athletes are getting shafted today because too many people think they are the next great coach of the year!
What I really see happening is that there are fewer “pick-up games” happening in our parks and outdoor rinks. Man I can remember playing ball until it got so dark we couldn’t see the ball coming at us! Or playing Hockey on an outdoor rink for so long that our feet hurt from being so cold! Young athletes today are being so conditioned to focus on one sport that they don’t get to enjoy sports!

It's tough

Thinking about the Vos and Lieser families are going through is tough. It's just hellish to think about Coach Vos's two children growing up without him. It's almost too much to think about.

Feeling joy right now is usually followed by a little guilt. It's like you wish you could somehow transfer some of the happiness in your own life to theirs, in the midst of a time where they're dealing with unimaginable grief.

I keep thinking to next Tuesday, the first day of school after Coach Vos's funeral. And the playoff football game later that night. I guess however the B-B-E student body (and staff) got through Tuesday and Wednesday of this week...that's how they'll get through next Tuesday...and days to come.

I think it's pretty accurate to say that next week won't be much easier for us than this past week was.

Pray for everyone I mention here.

This current tragedy makes me think of the B-B-E students who died either while in school or soon after their graduation. A short list that I know off of the top of my head are: Sarah Paulson (died in 1990 when a drunk driver killed her in California); Angie Oeltjenbruns (1993); Adam Hanson and Aaron Theis (2001); Trista Monson (2006); Dustin Terhaar (2011). 

Correction from an earlier post: the Jaguars wrestling team returns 3 of 3 state qualifiers from the 2011-12 season. I have no idea why I said earlier that it was only 2 of 3...all three of them are on this year's football team (Patrick Rooney, Ross Rath, Tyler Tensen). Needless to say Tuesday and Wednesday were major "blurs"...both being days where I cranked out a great deal of material via newspapers and blogs.

I'll also be adding a new e-mail account address to each post for the time being. I have to re-update the B-B-E Booster Club advertisement (at right) that doesn't include my rarely-used Hotmail account.

saukheraldreporter@gmail.com

Funeral for Coach Vos fills high school gym

Mass of Christian Burial for the late Rich Vos, former math teacher and coach at B-B-E, drew over a thousand friends and family members to the high school gymnasium today.

Fr. Mark Stang, who got to know Rich Vos and his family quite well in the past few months he's been working in the B-B-E-area Catholic churches, called on everyone to honor the memory of Vos by continually lifting up his family and the school district in their prayers. Also during the Homily, Fr. Stang called on school students and others who worked closely with him to carry on the positive spirit that Vos always displayed whether it's in the classroom or on the athletic field.

Amen!

Words can't describe...incredible turnout for Coach Vos's visitation

Over a hundred B-B-E graduates and current students signed special tributes to Coach Vos.

The crowd who filed through the commons area and auditorium of the B-B-E High School tonight is estimated to eclipse 1,200 people for the visitation of the late Coach Rich Vos, former math teacher and wrestling coach who was killed in an accident on Tuesday morning.

Get your rest, Jaguar Nation. Tomorrow will be a very, very difficult day to endure.

Coach Vos with Josey Tensen (an 8th grader at the time) during a wrestleback match of the Section 5A individual tournament in Feb. 2011 at the Minnewaska Area High School.

A couple photos I snapped yesterday

Part of a poster hanging in the B-B-E elementary school gymnasium.

The volleyball team had an outstanding response to their Dig Pink night and breast cancer awareness fundraiser on Wednesday for their final match of the regular season.

Here's the announcement on Coach Vos's funeral arrangements:
http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=49&ArticleID=14531 

While in spiritual terms, a funeral is a time to celebrate the life of a person who has passed from us, I see today and tomorrow as two dark, dark days for all of us.

Nice work, Jaguars

One of two paintings of Coach Vos's initials on the football field that were added on Wednesday afternoon.

Check this out: http://www.facebook.com/ClassOf2009MemorialForMrVosAndFamily

All B-B-E graduates are asked to donate to this fund.

Here's the link to the photo gallery from the football game:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1552065&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Here's the clip from the end of last night's game...

...and this is awesome...the following Facebook group just passed 4,000 "likes"!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Mrvos/296707133768996

More photos are going up later tonight that you won't want to miss.

Funeral arrangements have been confirmed for Coach Vos

Click on the link to read all the details...Coach Vos's funeral is on Saturday at the B-B-E High School.

http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=49&ArticleID=14531

Somehow...we have to get up for Volleyball and Football tonight

Two huge, huge events are on tap tonight in Jaguar Nation.

First, at 5:00pm is a home volleyball match against Eden Valley-Watkins. The Jaguars need to beat the Eagles in order to ensure they win the Central Minnesota Conference outright.

Two hours later, the Jaguars football team hosts Eden Valley-Watkins in a must-win situation in order to secure a first-round home playoff game. This is HUGE! I don't have time to get into it, but first-round home football playoff game have been incredibly rare at B-B-E.

A side note. Funeral announcements have yet to be released by the Vos family. I will post as I get that information confirmed.

"This week, we are all  JAGUARS!"

More will follow later.

B-B-E suffers an unimaginable loss

9:15 am.

For the past half hour, I've been staring at my computer, watching the Sauk Centre Herald Facebook news feed, getting nothing accomplished. As is the rest of the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa community is doing right now, I am reeling. We have suffered an unimaginable loss.

Long-time head wrestling coach, junior high track and field coach and high school math teacher Rich Vos was killed in a bicycle-semi accident at approximately 5:00am today this morning south of Belgrade.

Vos, an incredibly good-natured, friendly and hard-working teacher, coach and father, began teaching at B-B-E in 1998. He was an assistant varsity wrestling coach until 2001, when he took over the Varsity Wrestling program from former head coach Chuck Marks, who was head coach for B-B-E from 1989 to 2001. (In 1988-89, Marks was co-head coach with Joe Traen.) Vos was very passionate about the B-B-E wrestling program. He worked tirelessly to build up the Youth Wrestling program and get parents involved as volunteers in the system. He was also instrumental in leading the school to converting unused classroom space into a badly-needed Wrestling Practice facility.

Vos's passing leaves a huge hole to fill in both the teaching and coaching staffs of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. That pales in comparison to the loss his family is dealing with right now.

May the Angels watch over his family.

Coach Rich Vos, shaking hands with Tyler Tensen (current senior) after Tensen's state wrestling opener on March 2 at Xcel Energy Center.

From my recollection, this is the first staff-related death in the B-B-E area since November 1984, when then-Brooten Buccaneer head football coach and sixth grade teacher Tim Schaub was killed in a one-car accident following a Region 5A playoff seeding meeting. More recently, a former B-B-E school nurse, Sandy Lindahl, passed away due to cancer after she had retired from the school.

B-B-E has also dealt with the death of students and young (former) graduates, including Dustin Terhaar in 2010 and Trista Monson in 2006.

All after-school B-B-E events have been cancelled for today. The varsity football and volleyball teams will have practice, and Community Ed classes will still be held.

A report from the State Patrol is posted at the Sauk Centre Herald website: www.saukherald.com

**Update at 11:00am: The varsity volleyball match against Eden Valley-Watkins will be played at 5:00pm on Wednesday (tomorrow). There will be no JV or C-squad match.

Updates on this tragic event will follow as they are confirmed. 

 

Two big nights of action in store for Jaguar fans

Members of the B-B-E Jaguars football team cheering passionately during the Melrose volleyball match last Tuesday night.

Tuesday night: a home volleyball match against Eden Valley-Watkins; the Jaguars can sew up the number one playoff seed with a win over the Eagles.

Wednesday night: a home football game against Eden Valley-Watkins, where the Jaguars can sew up a home playoff game with a win over the dangerously talented 2-5 Eagles. **Special note: this game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM.

24th B-B-E Homecoming Coronation is held!

The beginning of the coronation program today...

Click on the link to read about who the new Homecoming Queen and King are at the Sauk Centre Herald website: http://saukherald.com/main.asp?ArticleID=14468&SectionID=12&SubSectionID=49

Here's the link to the photo gallery from Monday's big girls' tennis win over Sauk Centre:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1539173&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

This B-B-E Homecoming week update is brought to you by the proud support of:

 

B-B-E Homecoming is this week!

The annual PowderPuff football game between the 11th and 12th graders is tonight at 8:00 at the high school field.

At Sauk Centre, the Jaguars girls' tennis team faced the Mainstreeters in a 3:30pm match.
 

Travel and tread safely this week!

Desk clearing and some catching up

The new scoreboard, shown after the Jaguars won game three against Holdingford last week.

Whew, so much to keep up on.

Check out that scoreboard! North American State Bank and Bonanza Valley State Bank, two of my top three advertisers on this website, both plugged in large donations to fund new scoreboards at the high school and elementary gymnasiums.

I finally added my photos from the football game last week against Holdingford. The link is:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1535339&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Today or tomorrow I'll try getting a preview up on the B-B-E vs. HL-W-W football game for the Week 4 battle. It goes without saying that the Jaguars do not want to fall to 0-4!

...and here's my link to photos from the Youth Tackle football scrimmage at Paynesville last night:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1536394&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0&thisPage=3