OST-5-4-17 by Shaw Media

DRAKE:

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Aaron and Gina Sickels recognized for the pride they show in maintaining their property.

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UNI’s Sarah Pate makes finals at Drake Relays

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•Spring Farmer’s Market Bazaar

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Taylors have big plans for Honey Hill Carson trial begins in Clarke County By HILARY FERRAND

OST news editor hferrand@osceolaiowa.com

What would possess two professionals from West Des Moines to open a distillery in southern Iowa? Family. Rob Taylor’s grandfather, Clarence Scholl, still lives on the family farm he frequented as a boy. Rob, his wife Christi, and their sons, Ben and Will, started the Iowa Honey Company to preserve those rural ties. “For a number of years we’ve really worked to do something more. We thought that someday we would go down the road of truly having a local distillery,” said Christ Taylor during the Honey Hills Events Center ribbon cut-

OST photo by HILARY FERRAND

Guests being served at Honey Hills Events Center open house.

ting Friday, April 28. “The Jim Beams... of the world all started as small family businesses, too.” Because it is such a capital-intensive industry, distilleries take awhile to put in motion. They’re also not as common, at least here Iowa.

“It’s a $5 million project in the end,” said Rob Taylor, and it started with the refurbishment of a prominent property in Osceola, located at 1400 W. Clay St. Once a winery, then a fitness center and eventually an abandoned space,

the building has more than a fresh coat of paint. The basement, which presently houses Rob Taylor’s growing collecting of classic tractors, will one day be home to stills, doublers, fermenting tanks, bottling station and bonding room. Windows from the upper-level event center will allow guests to look down on product once the operation is up and running. The Taylors said it could take 18 to 24 months to get started. In the meantime, the Taylors have partnered with local caterers and entertainment to provide a elegant space for gatherings requiring that special touch.

Clarke Solar Farm unveiled By HILARY FERRAND

OST news editor hferrand@osceolaiowa.com

Overcast skies, wind, rain. Conditions for the Clarke Solar Farm unveiling 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, were less-than-ideal, but staff kept their chins up. “We should have brought our monitors and shown the production for today,” said Michelle Dirks, communications coordinator for the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO). The plant is one of five sites in a utility-scale solar power deployment by CIPCO. Development went quickly for the project. “Once the coops picked which of the five would get the ground, it was live by the end of the year,” said Dirks. Why was Osceola chosen? According to Clarke Electric Cooperative Manager of Member Services, Jason Gibbs, it came down to practicalities. “We had land available,” he said.

OST photo by HILARY FERRAND

Pictured is Clarke Electric Cooperative CEO Dave Opie.

Four to six acres is needed to generate 1 megawatt of electricity. One of the benefits to solar installations, however, is their ability to be placed in areas undesirable for other uses. No farm land is lost or forest cleared. The Clarke Solar Farm is compromised of 44 racking tables, supporting 1,548 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The system is capable of producing 636,780 kWh of energy a year. According

to Clarke Electric Cooperative General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Dave Opie, that’s enough to completely power 63 homes a year. “Clarke Electric Cooperative is honored to work with CIPCO on this and be involved in Iowa’s largest utility-scale solar farm project,” said Opie. “This solar installation has been a great educational experience for Clark Electric Cooperative. We were able to, with CIP-

CO’s help, we were able to take advantage of their expertise.” The Clarke site is just one piece of the puzzle in CIPCO’s plans for generating affordable, Earth-friendly energy. “About 60 percent of our energy supplied to our member systems is carbon-free and emission-free,” said CIPCO CEO Dennis Murdock. “We support continued development of diverse and environmentally-friendly energy sources.” The five-site project is capable of powering 700 homes a year, and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3500 tonnes. “Clarke Electric is always concerned about spending our resources wisely and the utility-scale solar supports that goal. It’s a really great fit for Clarke Electric,” said Opie. Readers can check output based on daily, weekly, yearly or total generation by the solar site at the Clarke Electric Cooperative (CEC) or CIPCO websites.

Proceedings expected to go quickly By HILARY FERRAND

Carson’s mother’s house, where Carson and Elbin scrubbed themselves with bleach, showered and disposed of the clothes they had been wearing, down to their boots. On the stand Tuesday, Johnson said she saw Carson cleaning his gun with bleach and heard him talking to Elbin about shooting someone in the head. She also said Carson asked her about a possible storm d r a i n Lloyd at her apartment building, and that after hearing its location, he left with his gun. After alerting the authorities to this, they were able to retrieve the gun used in the shootings from the drain. On cross examination, defense attorney Jill Ann Eimermann stressed the inconsistencies in Johnson’s testimony at the trial versus a statement she’d given under oath earlier to police as part of a plea deal. In particular, Eimermann didn’t believe comments on using bleach to clean his gun. Adriana Reyna, 27, of Osceola took the stand next. Erick Reyna was her younger brother and a long-time member of the community. At the time of his death, he worked at Valley Under the Moon, where he worked to support his three-year-old son. Noe, married to Reyna’s cousin, Alicia Flores, had three children — a twin boy and girl and a three-yearold daughter. Reyna said the family had not seen her brother in days when they heard the police were looking for

OST news editor hferrand@osceolaiowa.com

Tuesday, May 2, was the first day for statements and witness testimony at Clarke County Courthouse in the trial of Richard Ryan Lamb Carson, 38, of Osceola. Carson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder Jan. 26, 2015 and pleaded not guilty. District Court Judge John D. Lloyd is presiding. Whether Carson killed Noe Flores, 27, and Erick Reyna, 22, is not up for debate. The defense maintains shots were fired at Carson as he approached a car, causing him to react in self-defense. The prosecution tells a different story. “On Jan. 23 of 2015, two men were executed by the defendant,” said Assistant Attorney General Susan Krisko in opening statements. “We’re never, ever going to know exactly why he decided to end those two mens’ lives.” From the stand, Tracy Kay Johnson, 45, of Osceola said she and her then-boyfriend Carson visited his friends, Christopher Martin Elben, 44, and Lynn Ranean Sutton, 49, at their residence at 624 S. Filmore St., on the night of Jan. 23, 2015. Flores and Reyna arrived a few minutes later to pick up their friend Tori Byers, who was also living there. The men were waiting outside while she finished getting ready. According to Johnson, Carson went outside alone unexpectedly, and when he came back, he said he’d beaten someone up. Carson and Elbin left for several hours, then called Sutton needing a ride home from a farm out near Jamison. Johnson said she and Sutton drove out to Jamison in Carson’s truck to get them and brought them back to

TRIAL | 4

Skin Kitchen Tattoo hosts shelter fundraiser

By HILARY FERRAND OST news editor hferrand@osceolaiowa.com

OST photo by HILARY FERRAND

Bluegrass Conference Art Fair 2017: Murray art teacher and organizer Kayti 5/1/2017

Jeter said160 students took part in the fair April 27 and 28. Hundreds of works were judge by artists Mary Ellen Kimball of Osceola and Deb Jurshak of Murray.“We’re amazed at the depth of the content. They’re giving messages,” said Kimball. “We feel the high school students are exposed to more artforms than we were. We felt that several students were creating at college level.” Latest

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Skin Kitchen Tattoo, 130 S. Fillmore St., raised $755 and a generous amount of supplies for the Clarke County Animal Shelter during their April fundraiser. “I have a beautiful female Great Dane named Piper. I also have two incredible boxers that are three years old named Maverick and Goose,” said Jack Lowe, shop owner, who moved to Osceola three years ago. With a furry family of his own, he tries to do something for the shelter every year. In April, the shop re-