COUNTRY
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2018 VOL. 34 NO. 46 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
SCHOOL PROPERTY: Marine council, school district discuss potential sale. PAGE 6
City endorses entryway landscaping projects BY KYLE WEAVER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY OF FILMMAKER
Attendees at Marine’s pre-Oscar screening chose “The Silent Child” as the best of the nominees in the Live Action Short Film category. The film subsequently won the Oscar. The film tells the story of a young, profoundly deaf girl whose world opens when a social worker teaches her sign language.
Marine crowd knows a winner For the fifth straight year the audience attending the Marine Community Library’s annual Oscar Party Fundraiser voted for the Live Action Short Film that went on to subsequently win the Oscar. The fundraiser is held to support Marine Documentary Night, a monthly film series that screens at the Marine Village Hall from October through February. Magnolia Pictures provides
the five nominees in Live Action Short Film that are screened at the event. This year’s winning short film, “The Silent Child,” was selected by a large margin over the other four nominees by the audience. The British short tells the story of Libby, a profoundly deaf four-year-old girl who lives a silent life until a social worker teaches her to communicate with sign language. The screenplay was written by Rachel Shenton,
who also acted the role of the social worker, Joanne. The film was directed by Chris Overton and released in 2017 by Slick Films. Previous Oscar Winners in Live Action Short that were also winners with the audience: 2017 — “Sing;” 2016 — “Stutterer;” 2015 — “The Phone Call;” 2014 — “Helium.” These films can be viewed online for free or for a nominal fee.
No public access to creek, May Town Board concludes BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Calling the issue of public access to Carnelian Creek via 155th Street “moot,” the May Town Board has concluded that the roadway does not reach the creek. Therefore, no public access to the creek exists. In other words, anyone currently accessing the creek from the road is trespassing, according to the findings of township representa-
tives. The conclusion was the result of a visit to the crossing by the town’s board chair, attorney and engineer. The three established that the road right-ofway did not extend to the water. “It seems to me the point of the [request to limit access] is now moot,” said Board Chair Bill Voedisch. “[…] The property owners should do what they need to do to address trespass.” The finding brought NEWS 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
resolution, likely unsatisfying to some, to the issue of whether the township should limit access to the creek from the road for public safety or liability reasons. Jerry Cusick, a Scandia resident and retired commander with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, warned that the distinction between private and public property at the site might be too subtle. “Unless you find a clear and obvious violation, you don’t write ADVERTISING 651-433-3845 sales@osceolasun.com
tickets,” he said. “You need something a little more black and white.” The board discussed posting signage to signal the end of the township right-of-way. “I can’t imagine how you could get a boat down there and not trespass,” said the town’s attorney, Dave Snyder. If a boater did legally access the creek, an upstream weir would seem to make it impossible to reach Turtle Lake
With spring right around the corner, Scandia is adding a pair of beautification projects to two of the city’s downtown entryways. Scandia residents Lisa Schlingerman and Cristina de Sobrino, representing the Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails group, obtained permission last week from the Scandia City Council to install a quarter-acre prairie planting on a city-owned lot near 205th Street and Olinda Trail. The group hopes to create a prairie planting that will mark the south entrance to downtown Scandia with perennial flowers and possibly a sign. “It would just add a brightness of color as you turn the corner into Scandia,” Schlingerman said. City Administrator Neil Soltis said the cityowned lot, which is the site of the former Rasmussen home, is earmarked for use as an expansion of the Uptown sewer system drainfield. Soltis said the prairie planting likely wouldn’t interfere with the drainfield expansion. The estimated $2,630 cost of the planting would be covered by the Friends group, with some of the pollinator plants being relocated from a planting area that is struggling in Lilleskogen Park. Between site prep, planting and initial landscaping and maintenance, the prairie planting will take about three years to install and come to fruition. During the March 7 meeting, the council also endorsed a set of landscaping plantings at the intersection of Highway 97 and Olinda Trail—another visual entryway to the downtown area. After the city’s Economic Development Authority requested the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s assistance last year, the department agreed to provide around $7,000 worth of design work and native plantings to all four corners of the intersection. The plantings would likely be installed this spring and would include year-round features— not just seasonal flowers. Ongoing maintenance of the plantings would eventually fall to the city—a small point of contention for Councilman Jim Schneider. “I’m all for making these corners look good,” Schneider said, “but I’m worried about (the cost of) the upkeep.”
Tourism consultant The city will spend $7,000 to engage with the University of Minnesota Tourism Center to assess the city’s tourism offerings and potential opportunities. Scandia’s Economic Development Authority recently sought out and endorsed the idea. The Tourism Assessment Plan will take 12-18 months to develop and will include an evaluation of the city’s existing tourism assets, an assessment of outside visitors’ “first impressions” of the city, and a set of ideas and recommendations for improvement. Councilman Bob Hegland, who chairs the EDA, noted that a similar assessment done in nearby Lindstrom gave that city a lot of positive feedback and ideas for improvement. “It takes it out of long-term speculation and puts
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