She was born in England Aug. 3 1961, to Kenneth and Hazel Gilmer.

She is survived by her parents Kenneth and Hazel Gilmer of Coon Rapids, Minn.; three brothers, Steve (Cyndi) Gilmer, Coon Rapids; Kenny (Nadine) Gilmer, Andover, Minn.; Mark (Laurie) Gilmer, Andover; her four children Derek (Amie) Adamson, Jacquie (Dustin) Byrnes, Danielle (Matt) Sauer, Jinette Adamson; five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her special friend Rick Overby.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents.

Diana enjoyed the outdoors, especially mushroom and ginseng hunting, crossword puzzles, reading, animals and cooking for her family.

A memorial gathering for friends and family will be held on Friday, May 25 at the Blaschke & Schneider Funeral Home, 1501 West Ave. South, La Crosse, Wis., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Online condolences may be made at www.blaschkeschneider.com

Donald Jorde Runningen, 85, of Houston, died on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the Caledonia Care and Rehab Center in Caledonia, Minn.

       Donald was born on November 20, 1926, in Caledonia, Minn. to Martin and Alma (Jorde) Runningen. He grew up on the family farm at Fort Ridgley. Donald was a dairy, beef, hog and crop farmer on Fort Ridgley for 50 years. He married Virginia Lassig in La Crosse, Wis. on October 4^th, 1947. He served as a Fire Warden in Houston County for 40 years. He was a lifelong member of Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Houston where he served on the church council. Donald was a great steward of the land who understood the importance of land conservation.  He was a good Norwegian who loved lefse, lutefisk and oyster stew. He also enjoyed his travels around the world, especially his trip to Norway with his brother, Wallace. Donald was a very kind hearted, soft spoken man with a wonderful big grin. More than anything, he enjoyed being with his family or riding his John Deere tractor.

Donald is survived by four children: Kathleen Runningen of La Crosse, Wis., Karen (Merlin) Kneisler of Seymour, Wis., David (Nancy) Runningen of Houston, Minn. and Kristi Runningen of Bloomington, Minn.; eight grandchildren: Brandon, Grete, Angie, Dan, Chad, Katie and Astri; five great grandchildren: Tyson, Elsa, Aiden, Elin and Blake; one brother Wallace Runningen of Springfield, Missouri; and by three sisters-in-law: Violet Runningen, Sue Lassig and Jeanne Blanchard.

       He was preceded in death by his loving wife Virginia, his parents; two brothers: Maynard and Dale; sister, Cleone; granddaughter, Kelsey and brother-in-laws Gary Lassig and Kenneth Blanchard.

       The funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 26, at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Houston with the Rev. Lane Zaffke officiating.. Burial will be at the Stone Church Cemetery in Houston. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday at Hoff Funeral and Cremation Service in Houston, and one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the church. 

       The family prefers memorials to be directed to the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church.  

       Leave a memory of Donald, sign his online guestbook and view his tribute video when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com

Warrior golfer Devin Schiltz, shown in recent action, was the medalist at the Three Rivers Conference Championships last week. Photo by Zach Thomas

By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor

The Caledonia/Spring Grove boys golf team won the regular season Three Rivers Conference title last week when they topped Fillmore Central on their home course in Harmony by three strokes.

“We went to Harmony and shot really well,” coach Jeremy Leis said.  “We had a 162 to FC’s 165.

The Warriors got a pair of 40s from Hunter Rud and David Guth and 41’s from Joey Ehlers and Devin Schiltz for the top four scores. Derek Johnson had a 42 and Sean Conner had a 51.

Peter Rislov of Fillmore was the match medalist at 38.

On Thursday the Warriors  went to The Bridges Golf Country Club in Winona for the annual TRC tournament.

The Warriors tied for third out of 11 teams. Schiltz had the low round of the day, taking TRC Championship medalist honors with an 82. Rud had an 87 and placed 10th, Ehlers shot a 90, Johnson had a 95, Guth had a 103 and Connor had a 114 for the Warriors.

“It was a really difficult day of golf,” Leis said. “The wind and course conditions made it a good challenge for the kids.”

We ended up tied for third behind Fillmore and Wabasha..

TRC Champion results on the par 71 course included:

• Wabasha-Kellogg (340): Fletcher Blashko 84, Bryan Pierce 84, Nic Schmit 85, Michael Flicek 87.

• Fillmore Central (348): Ryan Mayer 83, Trevor Wangen 86, Matt Guttormson 88, Peter Rislove 91.

• Caledonia (354): Devin Schiltz 82, Hunter Rud 87, Joey Ehlers 90, Derek Johnson 95.

• Plainview-Elgin-Millville (354): Hunter Rau 85, Christian Schad 88, Tanner Rinker 90, Corey Hofschulte 91.

• Rushford-Peterson (367): Zach Boehmke 84, Charlie Krambeer 92, Hudson Stensgard 92, Phil O’Shaughnessy 99.

• Dover-Eyota (373): Jon Sorenson 90, Brady Miller 92, Dalton Nelson 93, Ricky Alexander 98.

• Lewiston-Altura (382): Brady Borkowski 90, Thomas Hennessy 94, Graham Sullivan 97, John Prudoehl 101.

• St. Charles (406): Taylor Johnston 90, Brady Fisher 99, Quinn Roessler 108, Austin Hawk 109.

• Kingsland (407): Nick Niemeyer 95, Josh Thompson 96, Spencer Klevan 102, Alek Kohn 114.

• Southland (409): Marcus Johnson 92, Ben Wolterman 99, Brandon Bergene 105, Tyler Westrich 113.

• Chatfield (Inc.): John Hanson 112.

You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com

Warrior golfer Katie Meyer, watched as her ball flew towards the green following a chip shot in a recent match. Meyer and her teammates won the Three Rivers Conference championship last week. Photo by Charlie Warner

By Diana Hammell
Argus Sports Writer

The Caledonia-Spring Grove women’s golf team took first in the Three Rivers Conference tournament held at The Bridges Golf Course in Winona on Thursday, May 17.

Coach Jacquelin Hauser said that her girls did a great job winning the conference tournament and beating out a tough Lewiston team.

“A team score of 367 is very acceptable and having four scores under 100 is great,” said Hauser.  “There was still room for improvement, however, as all of the girls had some large numbers on their cards.

“Our top four girls placed in the top seven individually which is fantastic.  Katie McCarthy put together an excellent round of 87, shooting a 41 after her opening 46 and taking second place individually. I think all of the girls started out a little slow but kept it together and came back with great second nines.

“I would also like to congratulate Ken Van Den Boom on an incredible 25 years in a row of not only winning the conference, but being undefeated in conference play.  That is truly an amazing feat!”

Scoring for the Warriors were Katie McCarthy with a 46-41 87, Paige Langen 49-42 91, Jennifer Ely 48-45 93 and Katie Meyer 47-49 96. Ashley Gavin carded a 55-52 107 and Hannah Hendel a 62-49 111.

The teams and their placements are: 1) Caledonia-Spring Grove 367, 2) Lewiston-Altura 374, 3) Wabasha-Kellogg 406, 4) Fillmore Central 439, 5) Kingsland 460, 6) Plainview-Elgin-Millville 477 and 7) Southland 507. Chatfield, St. Charles and Dover-Eyota didn’t field complete teams.

Next: On Monday the team traveled to The Jewel in Lake City to participate in a tournament.The Jewel is also the location for the Section tournament coming up. This Friday, May 25 the girls go back to The Bridges to compete in the Sub-Section tournament.

You can contact Diana Hammell at diana.hammell@ecm-inc.com

Warrior second baseman Josh Lampert moved for the throw, as a Southland runner attempted to take second. Matt Petersen is backing up the throw. The Warriors lost to the Rebels 3-2 last week. Photo by Zach Thomas

By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor

The Caledonia/Spring Grove baseball team played in two cliffhangers last week. One of the games they won, 4-3 over Rushford-Peterson, the other they lost, 3-2 to Southland. The split last week brought the Warriors’ season record to 11-6 and currently in fourth place in a very competitive Three Rivers Conference.

Warriors 4, R-P 3

The Warriors traveled to Rushford on May 14 and returned home with a one-run win.

“It was an ugly game,” coach Dave Konz said. “We left a ton of runners on the bases. Even though we didn’t play our best game we were able to get ourselves out of a number of sticky situations that helped us win the game.”

The visiting Warriors scored two runs in the top of the first, but the Trojans countered with one in the bottom of the inning.

C/SG scored two more in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead, But the Trojans plated one runner in the bottom of the frame to pull within two runs, 4-2.

R-P made it interesting as they scored once more in the bottom of the fifth, but Warrior pitcher Ryan Frank shut them down in the final two innings for the win.

Houston Halverson pitched the first four innings and gave up all three runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out one. Ryan Frank pitched the final three innings, held R-P scoreless, gave up two hits and struck out one.

The Warriors had 11 hits in the game. Halverson was 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI and scored once. Matt Petersen was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Josh Lampert was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Blaine Storlie was 2 for 3 with a run scored; Travis Frank was 1 for 4 with an RBI; Austin Goergen was 1 for 3 and Ryan Frank was 1 for 3.

Southland 3, Warriors 2

The Warriors lost a 3-2 contest to the Rebels of Southland on May 15 in Adams. The host team scored all three of their runs in their bottom of the second on several Warrior errors.

“We had one rough inning with a combination of errors, walks and hit batters that resulted in three runs and that was just enough to earn us the loss,” Konz explained.

Trailing 3-0, the Warriors got one run back in the top of the fourth and another in the top of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough as they lost 3-2.

Brandon Vonderohe was on the mound for the Warriors and gave up three unearned runs on three Rebel hits. He walked two, hit two batters and struck out two.

The Warriors managed just six hits in the game. Travis Frank led the way going 2 for 2 with two doubles and two runs scored. Ryan Eppen was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Also getting hits were Petersen and Vonderohe.

You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com

Warrior high jumper West Spier cleared 6 foot 3 inches at St. Charles to place first and break the Warrior high jump record. Photo by Beck Fruechte

By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor

Two school records were broken during the Dover-Eyota/St. Charles Triangular held May 17 in St. Charles.

Caledonia/Spring Grove sprinter Adam Drenckhahn broke the school record in the 200 meters with a time of 22.54.

Warrior jumper West Spier broke the school record in the high jump with a leap of six foot three inches.

The Warriors finished third in the meet with 37 points. Host team DE/SC placed first with 76 points and Rushford-Peterson/Houston was second with 52 points.

The following are the top six individual place finishers  and relay teams earning points for C/SG.

Warrior sprinter Adam Drenckhahn broke the school record in the 200 meters last week during a meet at St. Charles. Photo by Zach Thomas

• 100 meters- Adam Drenckhahn- first place (11.19).

• 200 meters- Drenckhahn- first place (22.54), Connor McCormick- third place (25.13) and Mitchell Anderson- sixth place (25.83).

• 400 meters- Sean Kearney- second place (58.60).

• 110 meter hurdles- Ben Pieper- third place (20.86) and Phillip Paulson- fourth place (20.96).

• 300 meter hurdles- Peiper- fourth place (51.61).

• High jump- West Spier- first place (6-03) and Adam Buttell- third place (5-00).

• Long jump- Aric Elmore- first place (20-08.50), Spier- third place (18-09) and Anderson- fifth place (18-01).

• Shot put- Bryan Barthel- first place (40-03.5) and Cornelius Dunningen- fifth place (36-10).

• Discus throw- Mason Ashbacher- sixth place (98-00).

 You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com

Defending state high jump champ Emma Lange showed great form as she cleared the bar for a first place finish at the DE/SC meeting last week. Photo by Becky Fruechte

By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor

The Caledonia/Spring Grove girls track team placed third in a triangular meet held May 17 at St. Charles. Host team Dover-Eyota/St. Charles placed first with 91.50, Rushford-Peterson/Houston was second with 49 points and the Warriors were third with 44.50.

The following are the top six individual place finishers  and relay teams earning points for C/SG.

• 100 meters- Maria Fruechte- first place (13.30) and Josie Wagner- third place (13.92).

• 200 meters- Remi Sonsalla- first place (28.14), Tracey Felten- fifth place (30.88) and Alexis King- sixth place (31.53).

• 400 meters- Richelle Mehus- fifth place (1:06.26).

• 800 meters- Laura Jergenson- second place (2:43.47).

• 1600 meters- Abbey Schnell- fourth place (6:51.71), Liz Johnson- fifth place (6:52.61) and Carrie Hagen- sixth place (7:07).

Caledonia seventh grader Madison Zehnder placed in both the 100 and 300 meters at the DESC meet last week. Photo by Zach Thomas

• 100 meter hurdles- Madison Zehnder- fifth place (22.49).

• 300 meter hurdles- Hannah Russert- fifth place (51.71) and Zehnder- sixth place (59.65).

• 4 by 200 meter relay- (Wagner, Alyssa Albert, Samantha Colleran and Sonsalla)- first place (1:55.73) and (Lydia DeMorett, Hannah Felten, Taylor Schulte and Ella Pieper)- third place (21:04.20).

• 4 by 800 meter relay- (Richelle Mehus, Randi Mehus, Brenna Werner and Michaela Neuzil)- second place (10:33.46).

• High jump- Emma Lange- first place (5-05), Wagner- fourth place (4-04.50) and Alexis King- fifth place (4-04).

• Triple jump- Russert- fourth place (30-10).

• Shot put- Aly Folz- first place (32-01) and Trece Frank- fourth place (29-04.50).

• Discus throw- Folz- third place (94-11).

 You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com

The Section 1AA East Sub-section 1AA softball playoffs start Thursday, May 24, when Spring Grove/Caledonia hosts La Crescent at 5 p.m. in Caledonia.  The Lions are seeded first in the division while La Crescent is seeded eighth.

The winner of that game advances to St. Charles where the East Sub-section champion will be determined on Saturday.

On Saturday,  the winner of the SG/C-La Crescent game will face the winner of the Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland (GMLOK) versus-Plainview-Elgin-Millville (PEM) game at 11 a.m.  The finals are at 1 p.m. with the finalists advancing to the section tournament the following week.

After Spring Grove/Caledonia, St. Charles is seeded second and Winona Cotter is seeded third.  GMLOK is seeded  fourth.

JV wins doubleheader

Spring Grove/Caledonia won both ends of a doubleheader with La Crescent last Thursday.  The SG/C junior varsity won the first game in a 10 run game and won the second game 11-8.

Next Monday, May 28 is Memorial Day. This is a day dedicated to honoring the many men and women who have served their country and given the ultimate sacrifice.

Like most communities across the United States, Caledonia will be holding a community observance on Memorial Day. The American Legion Loveless Eikens Post 191, its Women’s Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion Squadron 191, VFW Post 3833 and its Women’s Auxiliary have organized a program that will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Caledonia Area Middle/High School.

Dr. Abe Hammell

Why We Do It

One of the keynote speakers will be Dr. Abe Hammell, U.S. Navy Medical Corp., Retired. Hammell’s speech is entitled, “Why We Do It.”

“I want to explain to people why military personnel serve their country,” Hammell began. “We serve to protect the freedoms of our families, our neighbors, our friends and our country.

“There are so many people out there who want to take those freedoms away from us and change our way of life. There are many out there who’s main goal in life is killing Americans. It is the goal of our military men and women to keep those people from achieving the goals of our country’s enemies.

“This is something that is very important for everyone, especially our young people to understand. I am excited about sharing my thoughts and being part of Caledonia’s Memorial Day service.”

Hammell, the son of Joe and Diana Hammell, was a 1993 graduate of Caledonia Area High School.  He received his undergraduate degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa and earned his medical degree from the University of Des Moines.

Hammell served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2007. He was a general medical officer on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier that was deployed to the Persian Gulf during the Afghan and Iraq wars. Fighter planes from the Lincoln were deployed to Afghanistan twice and were part of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom during the Iraqi War.

Hammell resides in Caledonia with his wife Heather and their three children, Joey, Theron and Hadley. He works for LexisNexis as a medical review officer.

His Name Is There

Caledonia Middle School Teacher Barb Rollins will be making a presentation on a historical research conducted by her sister Angela Murphy about Ralph Freiberg, a resident from Eitzen who lost his life when his plane crashed into the English Channel during World War II.

Freiberg, who was 31 years old when he was killed, was the son of Edmund and Malinda Deters Freiberg.

Freiberg joined the British Royal Air Force and was killed shortly before the United States entered the war in December of 1941.

He was a close friend of Barb and Angela’s father, Ray Ryan, who was the editor/publisher of The Caledonia Argus for many years.

Rollins’ reading will include a letter that Freiberg sent to Ryan shortly before he died.

You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com

Tom and Manon Hoscheit of Caledonia served as guardians during the most recent Freedom Flight to Washington, D.C. Photo by Charlie Warner

By Clay Schuldt
Special for the Argus

On Saturday May 12 a Freedom Honor Flight left from La Crosse to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.  Freedom Honor Flight is a La Crosse-based organization founded in April of 2008.  Their goal is to fly veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials that stand in their honor.   This was the ninth Freedom Flight since the program began in 2008.

All veterans on a flight are accompanied by trained volunteer guardians, who assist veterans for the day.  On this particular flight, area residents Tom and Manon Hoscheit volunteered their time and money to go along as guardians, assisting elderly World War II veterans as they toured the various War Memorials of Washington D.C.  Tom and Manon paid $500 each to be on the flight.

The day trip left at 7 a.m. and returned home at 11 p.m.  “It’s hard to believe you can fly that far and be back in your own bed in one day,” said Tom.

The Hoscheits praised those who organized and planned the Freedom Honor Flight, commenting how it is a huge undertaking. Everything is planned out for a single day, with six stops at the various memorials. In addition to guardians like the Hoscheits, the flight has a number of nurses and paramedics. Once in Washington D.C. the veterans’ bus is given a police escort all day long, allowing them to breeze through traffic. The police escorting the veterans are off duty and are simply donating their time.

On this particular trip the Hoscheits guided veterans through the Lincoln Memorial, witnessed the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetery and visited the Vietnam Wall, Korea Memorial, and the highlight of the trip, the newly completed WWII Memorial which only opened to the public eight years ago.

The WWII Memorial is made up of a series of columns, one for each state and arranged in the order the state joined the Union. Veterans from the Freedom Flight presented flags for their home states. Because the World War II Memorial was completed recently, many of the veterans have never seen it. The memorial is located between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument near the reflecting pool.

“I don’t think they could have placed it in a better location,” said Tom. For the Hoscheits the trip has personal meaning, as Manon’s father, Ellsworth Klug, was a WWII veteran.

“My dad was a Pearl Harbor survivor,” explained Manon. “He died six years ago and we thought it would be a nice way to honor him.”

Ellsworth Klug remained at Pearl Harbor following the attack on Dec. 7, 1941 to help fix the runways and planes damaged. He was then deployed to the Solomon Islands to end his tour.

For the Hoscheits, it is stories like this that made the trip worth it.

“You’re encouraged to listen to the stories of the veterans,” explained Tom, “We liked hearing the stories.” Tom was particularly impressed by the story from an Eau Clair veteran who enlisted immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I had heard stories of men doing that, but I had never met anyone who had actually signed up.”

The group spent time at other War Memorials as well and each left an impact.  “Each war memorial was different, as they should be,” said Manon.

“You can’t realize what they gave up for our freedom,” said Tom.  Manon was quick to say the same was true of all soldiers currently serving in the military.

When asked about their favorite part of the trip, the Hoscheits agreed they enjoyed seeing these men come off the flight with smiles on their faces.

“I was in total awe on how the veterans were greeted,” Tom explained. “A lot of people of all ages were clapping for them when we got off the flight in Washington and others were thanking them for their service all day long. It didn’t matter which memorial we visited. There were families, and teenagers, all thanking them for their service, total strangers who were all completely sincere in their thanks.”  The Hoscheits estimated that the veterans from the flight must have shook 150 hands that day.

While the entire trip was tiring the Hoscheits are not opposed to someday serving as guardians again.

For others interested in serving as guardians there are two flights that leave from La Crosse every year. The next flight is scheduled for September.

The Caledonia City Council had a lot on their plates last week. After sifting through a mountain of price quotes and financing figures for 4.5 hours on May 14, they recessed the meeting and then spent three more hours the following night before they had navigated completely through the agenda.

The bulk of Monday night’s meeting was spent laboring over a number of sewer and water projects and purchases that will total $2,121,432.50.

Michael Davy of Davy Engineering walked the council through the projects, answered questions, made revisions in his original proposals and took a lot of notes.

Sanitary sewer improvements

The council has been preparing for a sanitary sewer improvement project for a number of years. They increased sewer rates to begin building up a fund for the project that will provide needed repairs to an aged system.

Several years ago the city had many of the sanitary lines “scoped,” where a TV camera was run down through the mains to inspect them. The inspection showed that much of the system was in dire need of repair.

After sifting through all the spot repairs on a colored map that had the top priority repairs in one color, the not so serious issues in another color and the “this can wait for a while” problem spots in another color, the council agreed to award six different repair projects to Griffin Construction of Chatfield at a cost of $821,695.30.

The council also awarded three “no dig” repair projects totalling $228,131 to Visu-Sewer, Inc. of Pequkee, Wis.

The council also awarded the North Pine Street lift station replacement project to Winona Mechanical, Inc. of Winona at a price of $180,490.

When all the contingency costs for engineering, consulting, legal and administrative fees were added in, the final price tag for the sanitary sewer improvements totaled $1,750,356.30.

Over $400,000 cut

Had the council gone along with all of the projects that were originally recommended, the cost would have been about $400,000 more.

The council took out a number of repair projects and decided to not conduct a “full blown” street improvement project on East Grant Street.

“It’s a dead end street, the property owners living along there aren’t in favor of it and we can cut about $200,000 by not widening the street and putting in curb and gutter,” Mayor Bob Burns said.

New water meters

The council approved the purchase of approximately 1,280 radio transmitted water meters to replace the vast majority of residential and commercial water meters. According to city staff, some of the meters are 50 years old.

It was explained that when water meters get older, they never turn faster (increasing the actual reading) but slow down. It is estimated that the city is currently losing close to $50,000 a year in lost revenues due to old meters in water sales and another $50,000 a year in sewer charges.

Another savings by purchasing the radio transmitted water meters would be a major decrease in labor costs to read the meters. Instead of having to physically enter into every home or building four times a year, city staff will be able to read the meters from the curb. And with the recent changeover with radio transmitted electric meters, both the electric and water meters will be read each month at the same time.

The majority of the current water meters are made with lead parts. According to state statute all meters must be lead-free by 2014.

The council approved the low bid for the new water meters from Dakota Supply Group of Burnsville for $280,431.05.

West side sewer project

The council unanimously approved a motion to move forward with the west side sewer project, which will provide sanitary sewer service to Bonanza Grain, Inc.

The council approved the bid of $29,475.15 to Winona Mechanical, Inc. of Winona to install the pressure sewer system.

The council has spent considerable time during the past six months trying to decide how to handle the handful of property owners located on the west side of Highways 44/76 who are not hooked up to the city’s sanitary sewer system.

Gary Kruckow, of Bonanza Grain, had approached the city last year after he had been contacted that the septic system his business was utilizing was not in compliance.

In December the council decided to prepare plans, obtain permits and bids and construct a pressure sewer main for Bonanza Grain at an estimated cost of $37,500.

With engineering, administrative and financing fees, the estimated cost of the project is $54,815.15.

In order for the project to proceed, the city must obtain sewer easements from Bonanza Grain and Wiebke Tire.

Obtaining the easement from Bonanza Grain won’t be a problem, but getting one from Joe Wiebke might be a challenge.

It was pointed out that current city ordinance states that if a piece of property can be served by a city-owned sanitary sewer system, the property owner has one year to connect.

Councilman Paul Fisch said he had a problem with forcing Wiebke to connect. If Wiebke does not wish to connect, the easement won’t be signed and the sewer line will have to be rerouted.

Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan (65), prepares to snap the football to Bret Favre during a game in 2009. Sullivan will be the keynote speaker at the Caledonia Touchdown Club's fundraiser June 2. Photo by Minnesota Vikings/Amos-Smith

By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor

By winning four state football championships during the past five seasons, the Caledonia Warriors football program is regarded as one of the best in the state.

Some of the reasons for this ongoing success are excellent and dedicated athletes, a top-notch coaching staff, the support of parents and the community and a very active youth football program. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the Caledonia Touchdown Club.

Started in 2005, the Touchdown Club has helped purchase equipment and advanced technology for the Warriors’ weight room, helped sponsor a flag football league for the younger kids, a football with pads program for fifth and sixth graders, organized fan buses for state tournament games and helped foster a better awareness of the sport in Caledonia.

To help pay for all this and much more that the Touchdown Club does, they will be holding their eighth annual TD Club Fundrasier/Golf Tournament on Saturday, June 2 at Ma Cal Grove Country Club.

The event will feature a four-person, 18-hole scramble, with 27 teams competing. The scramble begins at 10 a.m.

The event is much more than a golf tournament, however.

It also includes a steak dinner, guest speaker, door prizes, live and silent auctions and an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate past, present and future Warrior football teams.

This year’s guest speaker will be Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan.

Sullivan, who was a sixth round draft pick from Notre Dame in 2008, has proved to be one of the most consistent offensive linemen for the Vikings. He has started in all 45 regular season games and both playoff contests over the past three seasons. And he’ll be one of the cornerstones for the Vikings offensive line for years to come, as he signed a long-term contract extension late in 2011.

“We’re excited to have John Sullivan as our speaker this year,” TD Club President Greg Hoscheit said. “John has really jelled with the Vikings, but also does so much off the field.”

Sullivan has been active in the Twin Cities community with visits to the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. He is also an avid outdoorsman and has participated with youth outdoor mentoring activities through the Minnesota DNR.

“The Caledonia Touchdown Club does so much more than just support the varsity football program,” TD Club member Jim Hoscheit pointed out. “Helping to create the flag and youth football programs was so important. Those activities give the young kids positive exposure to the game of football. They are able to learn the basics of the game long before we did when we were their age.”

Jim pointed out that until recently, most kids didn’t play organized football with helmets and pads until seventh grade.

Greg added that the TD Club encourages the young athletes to do more than just play football. The athletes volunteer their services, cleaning up after the Eitzen Fourth of July celebration, area parades and the Houston County Fair.

“There will be plenty of them helping out with the fundraiser,” Greg stated.

There are still dinner tickets available for $25 a person at Ma Cal Grove Country Club or from any TD Club member.

“We’ve had a fantastic response again this year from area businesses and individuals who have signed up to be hole sponsors, donated auction items, entered teams in the tournament and purchased tickets for the fundraiser meal,” Greg said.

“We’re still accepting auction items,” Jim said. “Persons should call Donna Lampert at 724-2962 or Kari Rusert at 724-3924.”