Fastpitch State Champs.  The Southwest Patriots Red Team took first place in the MMFL Fall Ball State Championships Tournament for softball girls 16 and under on Sunday, September 23^rd.  The girls did a fantastic job!  The Patriots team is made up of girls from Chaska, Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver, and Eden Prairie.  MMFL stands for Minnesota Metro Fastpitch League.
Front (l-r):  Ellyn Daniel, Brooke Schooler, Emily Marshall, Cady Nielsen of Victoria, Aimee Craighead.  Second row:  Kayla Krause of Victoria, Ellen Dregler.  Third row:  Ashley Liddell, Maddie Parcells, Kat Passe of Victoria, Morgan Schultz.  Back:  Coach Gayle Degler, Coach Paul Nielsen, Coach Jeff Schultz, Coach Dan Marshall.
Kim Nielsen
Victoria, Minnesota

Conservationist of the Year.  Vernon Heutmaker, center, formerly of Victoria, has received the 2007 Conservationist of the Year Award from the Minnesota Conservation Federation at their annual meeting on September 8^th, 2007, held at Cabella's in Owatonna, Minnesota.
Vern lives between Jordan and Belle Plaine and has planted trees and wild-life habitat on about 25 acres of his land.  The balance of his land is used to grow corn and beans.  There are black walnut trees, maple, black ash, green ash, birch, oak, basswood, pine, spruce, plumb, crab apple, and wildlife plots.
Besides the trees that Vern has planted over the years, there are quite a few big trees, some of which are over 150 years old.  When one of those big trees dies, he cuts them down and makes lumber out of them.  Some trees were over 48 inches in diameter and too big for the sawmill to handle.
He makes furniture and craft items from the wood and uses the balance for firewood.  He mows between the rows of trees with a Ford tractor and between the trees with a zero turn mower.  He also has dug five ponds in this wildlife area.
Verna has 30 bluebird and 20 wren houses scattered around the area.  These are mounted on pipes that slide into larger diameter pipes that are set permanently in the ground.  The purpose of the wren houses is to help ensure the wrens do not fill the bluebird houses with nesting materials.  He takes the birdhouses in every winter, cleans, and repairs them.
Vern put a lot of time and effort into creating a very nice wooded and wild-life area, which is why he received the 2007 Conservationist of the Year Award.  Vern was nominated for this award by Conrad Botz of the Fish Lake Sportsman Club.
Left to right:  Steven Maurice of Fairmont, MN, Federation President;  Vern Heutmaker, 2007 Conservationist of the Year; Conrad Botz of Chaska, member of Nominating Committee.

We had a lot of fun at the wedding visiting with Nick, his family, and many of our neighbors from the old neighborhood in Victoria.  Staci and I even got to see Paul Bunyan and take a few pictures of the brilliant autumn leaves as well.  What a great weekend.  If you'd like to see some of the pictures, just click on my link.
Rob Raiche
Mound, Minnesota

EDITOR'S NOTE:  I enjoyed your photos, Rob, especially this one of Matt and Michelle Shaw's boys, Tom and Matt Jr.  Thanks much.