The Sun 05.20.2020

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020

Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897

VOL. 122 NO. 42 www.osceolasun.com $1.00

SPORTS: St. Croix Falls honors student athletes. PAGE 8

Presentation raises concerns about mine expansion

BY C.L. SILL EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM

A group of local residents and experts gave a presentation to the Osceola Village Board concerning the proposed expansion of the North 40 Resources mine at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on May 13.

The proposed expansion would add an additional 200 acres to the mine’s current 80 acre operation. The East Farmington town board is currently working on an ordinance to regulate the expansion should it be approved, and a moraSEE MINE, PAGE 2

CC.L. L SILL | THE SUN

Pomp and circumstance - Seniors celebrate despite COVID-19 SUBMITTED

North 40 Resources mine south of Osceola.

Osceola seniors Makena Hollman (L) and Ella Salewski (R) take part in a parade that was held to celebrate the class of 2020 on May 15. See page 16 for more photos.

Tiffany wins in special election as Republicans hold on to 7th District

‘Stuck in limbo’ College seniors miss graduation and enter uncertain job market

BY C.L. SILL EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM

BY C.L. SILL EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM

Spring semester 2020 was made for procrastinators.

Work from home, passfail, distance learning — these words are music to the ears of those in the ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ fraternity. The apex of this sanctioned laziness is being able to attend your own graduation in pajamas by flipping open a laptop on your coffee table, which is exactly what thousands of college seniors are doing across the country this month.

Online graduation ceremonies have taken the place of in-person gatherings as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to tear through social norms and milestone events worldwide. The

Wisconsin state senator Tom Tiffany won a special election on May 12 to fill the vacancy in the state’s 7th congressional district.

The seat was left empty when Rep. Sean Duffy resigned last fall. Tiffany, a Republican, defeated Democratic rival Tricia Zunker with 57 percent of the vote. Polk County mirrored the district wide results with 58 percent of the vote going to Tiffany. But the village of Osceola went narrowly for Zunker, who received 260 votes to Tiffany’s 251.

Many of these votes came by absentee ballots, which left the polls fairly empty in Osceola on Tuesday.

“We issued around 300

SUBMITTED

Emily Smith and her family watch actor Will Ferrell give a commencement address during the University of Southern California’s live-streamed graduation ceremony.

change may be a dream come true for college slackers too lazy to iron their graduation robes, but for ambitious seniors trying to put a NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com

cherry on top of their education and jumpstart a career, it’s much more like a nightmare.

“It’s just bizarre, I keep thinking this

can’t actually be happening,” said Osceola native Emily Smith, who graduated from

ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 ads@osceolasun.com

PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com

SEE GRADUATES, PAGE 2

SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com

absentee ballots and we did get back around 250,” said Osceola village clerk Fran Duncanson. “It is definitely slower than it was in April.”

The April 7 Wisconsin primary election left the village scrambling to gather protective equipment and sanitation products before the vote that was temporarily postponed by Gov. Evers, before the state’s Republican controlled Supreme Court rejected his order.

This time around the village was better prepared, and with fewer voters in attendance, it made for a fairly smooth day at the polls.

“It’s a lighter election and a smaller turnout with only one issue on the ballot,” Duncanson SEE ELECTION, PAGE 6

BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are!

Scan me with your smartphone

2

THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020

www.osceolasun.com

MINE: Presentation raises concerns to Village Board about North 40 Resources mine expansion FROM PAGE 1

torium on new mining permits has been put in place until June 30 to allow time to finalize that ordinance.

“As of today we don’t really know what that ordinance is going to look like,” said local resident Mike Forecki, who spearheaded the presentation to the Osceola board.

One of Forecki’s largest concerns about the expansion is whether or not the operation should be allowed to mine below the water table. This concern is shared by the East Farmington board, which has discussed that topic at length in recent months. Forecki said should the mine’s permit for expansion be approved, there’s little action the village could take to restrict something like mining depth.

“If that happens, there will really be nothing the village can do legally at

that point,” he said. “You will have a 280 acre mine on the south end of this community.”

Forecki said any operation that large should be given adequate time for discussion before being rushed to approval.

“We think this kind of change in land use, especially because it’s going to be used for mining, deserves a really hard, close, look,” he said. “We think anything of this size will change the nature of the villages growth, will place demands on the village and we think you need time to evaluate what you want to happen.”

Forecki’s presentation included testimony from three experts. The first to speak was Paul Wotzka, a hydrologist with Land and Water Consulting.

He spoke at length about the water quantity and quality concerns that come with an operation like the mine. The

current operation mines both aggregates for local use and sand for industrial use. The deposits of industrial sand are deeper than other deposits the mine is interested in, so in order to reach the resources, they have to mine into the ground water table.

“Mining and processing sand within the water table raises concerns about the impacts these activities may have on polluting ground water,” Wotzka said. “The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has stated that it has reasonable concern that, for example, heavy metals in holding ponds from industrial sand mining operations could impact ground water.”

North 40 Resources is required to routinely test their ground water to ensure such pollution is not occurring, but Wotzka said the monitoring wells the mine uses to

test ground water are not adequate.

“The monitoring wells are used for sampling, but they were not constructed for that purpose,” Wotzka said.

“Simply they are too deep to measure the impacts and they’re located up gradient from potential polluting mining activities. These two wells, because of their construction and location, should not be used to determine if the existing mine is polluting groundwater.”

Other limited testing and sampling of settling ponds done by the mine show elevated concentrations of aluminum, arsenic, copper, lead and zinc. The gradient, or directional flow of ground water, is of particular concern to residents who live in and around the St. Croix River, according to Wotzka.

“Those residents and their drinking water wells are down gradient of the mine,” he said. “So it’s important to understand that the mine can potentially pollute those residential drinking wells, given this general-

ized flow direction.”

Should the village wish to take regulatory action in regard to the mine, they would need to enact extraterritorial zoning.

Forecki brought on Sarah Korte, an attorney from the La Crosse area to speak about this possibility.

“Extraterritorial zoning would allow the village to exercise their zoning authority 1.5 miles outside of the village,” she said. “Villages often use this at times when they’re trying to think about the future of their village, their growth and what they want the extending community to look like.”

Current state regulations allow a village to enact extraterritorial zoning with only a resolution.

“So you wouldn’t have to jump into an intensive zoning process,” Korte said. “The village could put together a resolution saying it’s their intent to exercise zoning over this area and that would be adopted, we’d publish it 15 days later and send a copy to the town clerk.”

The board took no action following the presentation, but discussed future options.

Village trustee Deb Rose said the mine expansion will impact both Osceola and East Farmington significantly, and that the villages should work together to figure out what’s best for both communities.

“We might have a different view of what we see up in that area where the mine is, compared to the township of East Farmington,” she said.

“I think we need to be good neighbors and work together and have a discussion so we can come to a better resolution on this.”

Forecki said regardless of what action the board takes, it should be done quickly.

“Unfortunately there’s a clock that continues to tick on this thing,” he said. “The minute the town approves an ordinance and once the (mining) application is approved, the door is closed.”

GRADUATES: College students stuck in limbo FROM PAGE 1

We are grateful for those who have our back in this important time. The list is long, but we want to thank our first responders and front-line workers.

Especially in critical times, newspapers have your back.

COVID-19 is a national story that is impacting you at home and at work.

Your local newspaper is keeping you informed with current events in your neighborhood and is bringing communities together in these challenging times.

From the actions your local government is taking, to lists of local stores that are delivering and tips on what to do while you’re at home, your local newspaper is committed to bringing you the news you need, when you need it.

WE ARE IN THIS

TOGETHER Support your local newspaper.

Subscribe in print or online.

P.O. Box 248 • Osceola, WI 54020 • 715-294-2314 www.osceolasun.com • office@osceolasun.com $PHULFD¶V 1HZVSDSHUV LV D QDWLRQDO DVVRFLDWLRQ VXSSRUWLQJ MRXUQDOLVP DQG KHDOWK\ QHZVSDSHUV LQ RXU ORFDO FRPPXQLWLHV )LQG RXW PRUH DW ZZZ QHZVSDSHUV RUJ RU IROORZ XV RQ 7ZLWWHU #QHZVSDSHUVRUJ RU RQ )DFHERRN #DPHULFDVQHZVSDSHUV

the University of Southern California last weekend. “We worked so hard for four years.”

Smith was drawn to California in the way so many Midwestern kids are. It represented a chance to get away, to see someplace different and experience a whole new kind of existence.

She spent four years there studying communication, all the while looking forward to graduation. She watched the ceremony online with her family last Friday, 2,000 miles away from USC’s campus. She wasn’t even able to share the experience with the friends she’s made over the last four years.

“Graduation is the one thing everybody looks forward to,” she said. “It would’ve been a lot easier to handle if you could take all of these punches while you were surrounded by your friends.

But suddenly we all had to return to the corners of the world where we’re from.”

Virtual graduation punctuated a spring of disappointment for Smith, who said learning from home has been less than ideal and has raised questions about the high pricetag on credit hours she’s now had to complete on her own.

“USC is one of the most expensive schools in the country,” she said. “And you don’t really pay to teach yourself your final semester of collage.”

The changing landscape will follow Smith

into her post college world. Job markets are collapsing as the pandemic fueled recession looks as if it will be here for some time to come.

Smith focused much of her studies on sports and music journalism — photography in particular.

She was interning at Live Nation Entertainment in Los Angelos prior to COVID-19. When the pandemic hit she not only lost the internship, but the possibility of a fulltime job there after graduation.

“They were very upfront with us that our internships were essentially cancelled midway through the semester and that we shouldn’t be expecting to be hired,” she said.

Smith has applied for over 100 jobs this spring and has been given the chance to interview for one.

“As soon as this all started happening I started getting a lot of email responses to my applications saying ‘sorry we’re no longer hiring for this role, or sorry we’re on a hiring freeze.’ So that’s where I’ve been at so far,” she said. “At one point this semester I just wanted to apply within the music industry. But now I’ve turned to applying for a lot of jobs I hadn’t been thinking about before. I’m looking for essentially anything that has the word communication in the title.”

Other seniors are experiencing much of the same, regardless of their area of expertise. Macie Steffen is about to grad-

uate from the University of Wisconsin-Superior with a degree in elementary education. She’s been student teaching third graders from home this semester (an entirely different kind of challenge) and applying for jobs when they come up. Opportunities are limited however, as schools tighten budgets and competition for open positions increase.

“School districts are losing some of their budgets so there’s been a lot of teachers being laid off for things they can’t control,” she said.

“So searching for a job is hard because there’s a lot of experienced and skilled teachers also looking for jobs.”

Steffen has interviewed for several positions so far, but has had to rely on virtual interviews.

“It’s hard to not be able to shake people’s hand and really get to know them,” she said. “It’s so much harder to get your personality across a computer screen.”

Steffen said the deflated end of her senior year has left feeling a little lost. UW-Superior is giving current graduating seniors who missed out on a ceremony the chance to walk this coming December. Steffen said she’ll probably do that, but that she doesn’t know if it will feel the same.

“I feel like I’m stuck in limbo,” she said. “I did graduate, I did the four years, but I don’t feel like I got anything at the end of it.”

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

3

www.osceolasun.com

& Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, all gatherings of 10 or more are being curtailed. If there is an event you were attending, please call to see if it is occurring. The Out & About page will return when this restriction is lifted, hopefully soon.

Post 143 to celebrate Memorial Day Post 143 American Legion in St. Croix Falls will celebrate as usual by putting flags and flowers on the graves of veterans. All veteran organizations nationwide are encouraged to do the same.

Memorial Day is an important date in American history. It is a day to honor all past veterans for their service to our nation. The Legion will also be thanking first responders for their service to Americans during the pandemic.

On May 25, Post 143 American Legion will be at Pleasant Hill Cemetery at 9 a.m. and St. Croix Falls Cemetery at 10 a.m. Proper flag disposal will be held at the Legion at 11 a.m. A lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and will include brats, hotdogs, salads and deserts. Social distancing will be practiced and take outs will be available.

Annual Poppy Day will be held in June. Money raised goes to helping veterans and their families.

ARNELL MEMORIAL HUMANE SOCIETY

A

ll over the country, from New York to Wisconsin, North Carolina to Colorado and New Mexico, animal shelters are reporting massive upswings in the numbers of animals they’ve been able to adopt out or place in foster homes. Just as in the case of Arnell Humane Society, a fair number of shelters have completely emptied their kennels.

It’s not a mystery why this is happening. As people are practicing social distancing to curb the spread of Covid-19, many have come to the conclusion that now is the perfect time to bring a pet into their homes.

Of course, the pandemic has also brought its share of challenges to the pet-adoption world. Limited staffing, a decrease in income and the adoption process are all cramping our ability to carry on as before.

The big, open house style, animal-human meet-andgreets that are a shelter staple, simply are not possible during a viral outbreak. The bonding that takes place during those visits is essential to a connection between potential adopter and a pet.

Adoptions at Arnell are by appointment only and so that means that the “Meet and Greet” procedure begins online through adoptable pet photos and descriptions on the website. Email conversations and Pre-Adoption Inquiries will introduce you and let us know which animal you are interested in adopting.

The adoption transaction requires appropriate social distancing and safety practices. Dogs can be introduced to adopters in an outdoor arena, allowing for the distancing needed. Adoption of a cat is an indoor affair that has inherent limitations during a pandemic. Each is possible with new limitations for the shelter and for the adopter.

Increased adoptions are not the only win for animals and the planet during Covid-19. For centuries, humans have pushed wildlife into smaller and smaller corners of the planet. But now, with city streets emptied, nature is pushing back. Humans in lockdown have watched from afar as nature has come creeping out of the shadows.

Wild boar descended onto the streets of Barcelona.

Mountain goats have overtaken a town in Wales. In Israel, red foxes were seen wandering city streets; a herd of Fallow deer casually wandered and grazed in an English neighborhood. Whales are chugging into Mediterranean shipping lanes. And hundreds of baby turtles made their way toward the water along Brazil’s northeast coast, unmolested by people or pets.

For all who cheer for the underdog, it is a great day for animals.

With more of us staying inside and off the roads, SEE ARNELL, PAGE 15

OHS scholarship winners Osceola High School scholarship recipients included: Amery Farmer’s Union Cooperative: Savanna Grant.

AnnMarie Foundation: Jedidiah Durand.

Bertha Green - Business: Ethan Robinson and David Olson.

Bertha Green - Math/ Science: Sean Rogers.

Bethesda Lutheran Church: Addi Anderson.

Burnett Dairy: Grace Haase.

CAP - WI Skills Standards Certificate of Occupational Proficieny in Youth Leadership: Kirsten Dusick, Caroline Gearin, Makena Hollman, Logan Johnson, Makayla Quigley, Ella Salewski, Aaron Schmidt, Laura Swanson, Eric Vater and Drew Willeman.

Countryside Cooperative: Grace Haase.

Cynthia Frohnauer Scholarship: Sydney Regan.

DAR (Daughters of American Revolution): Hahns Huebsch.

David & Gladys Ruhsam Scholarship: Ella Salewski.

Diane Isaacson Memorial Scholarship: Adam Orton, Todd Hall, Coby Heimbach, and Abbigail Stener.

Dick’s Fresh Market: Ariana Backlund.

Donovan Rasmussen: Hanna Andersen.

Doug Wright Memorial Scholarship: Caroline Gearin, Ezekiel Lowney and Emily Fox. Dr. Peggy Weber Education Scholarship: Ella Salewski.

Dresser Lions Club: Laura Swanson.

Dwight and Thelma Kinne Education Scholarship: Ella Salewski.

Dwight Kinne Osceola Rouser Award: Hahns Huebsch.

Federated Co-op: Matthew Germain.

First National Community Bank: Blake Slater and Hahns Huebsch.

Friends of Karl Ludvigson Scholarship: Parker Roemhild.

Gabrielle Memorial Scholarship: Hannah Ebert.

Global Scholars: Sydney Bents, Emily

Fox, Caroline Gearin, Makena Hollman, Logan Johnson, Nicholas Kremer, Logan Maxon, Makayla Quigley, Ella Salewski and Aaron Schmidt.

Hamline University Wisconsin Scholar Award: Mercedes Duncanson.

Hamline University Hamline Award: Mercedes Duncanson.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Ezekiel Lowney.

Herb Kohl Education Scholarship: Sean Rogers and Tyler Dye. James D. Neidermire Memorial Scholarship: Grace Haase & Matthew Germain.

Jon Quist Memorial: Nicholas Kremer, Matthew Germain and Grace Haase.

Karl Ludvigson Memorial: Ella Salewski.

Leroy Schwan Arts Scholarship: Connor Eid. Merritt J. Dubrow Memorial Art Scholarship: Abbigail Stener and Vicki Wei. Michael Seversen Scholarship: Makayla Quigley and Aaron Schmidt.

MidWestOne Bank Honor Athlete: Blake Slater.

Minnesota State University - Mankato: Makayla Quigley.

Muske Community Support Foundation Scholarship: Kayla Rondeau.

National DHIA Scholarship: Grace Haase.

NHS - American Red Cross: Hahns Huebsch and Sean Rogers.

Northstar Lodge 187/ Masonic: Caroline Gearin.

Northwire, Inc.: Jacob Schaefer.

Partners of OMC: Makena Hollman and Blake Slater.

OMC Physician’s Scholarship: Mikayla Johnson.

Osceola Community Fair - 2018-2019 Osceola Princess: Megan Olson.

Osceola Community Health Foundation: Abigail Michel.

Osceola High School Staff Educator’s Scholarship: Connor Eid, Sydney Regan, Ella Salewski and Abbigail Stener.

FOR SALE BY OWNER

Completely updated 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom rambler in the village of Osceola.

Pre-approved buyers only please!

Call 715-755-4695 for more information and pictures.

Osceola Rod & Gun Club: Hahns Huebsch.

Osceola Service For Life Day: Emily Fox, Matthew Germain, Mikayla Johnson, Madison Link, Ezekiel Lowney, Logan Maxon, Aaron Schmidt and Blake Slater Osceola Valley Sno-Goers: Makayla Quigley and Hahns Huebsch.

Osceola Youth Girls Basketball: Emily Fox. Perfect Attendance: Morgan Vetter.

Polk Burnett Electric Co-op: Emily Fox, Grace Haase, Logan Johnson, John Klugow, Nicholas Kremer, Madison Link, Logan Maxon, Makayla Quigley, Zachary Solsrud, Eric Vater and Matthew Ward.

Midland College - Powerlifting Scholarship: Sydney Regan.

St. Croix Falls Rotary Club Student of the Month: Makena Hollman.

SF Insurance Group Honor Athlete: Caroline Gearin.

Western Wisconsin Automotive Trades Scholarship Fund: Coby Heimbach and Adam Orton.

St. Cloud State University - Presidential and Athletic: Makena Hollman.

St. Croix ArtBarn: Connor Eid. St. Croix Regional Medical Center Volunteer Partners Scholarship: Nicholas Kremer and

Laura Swanson.

St. Croix Valley Health Care Foundation: Nicholas Kremer.

Sue’s Bar and Grill: Joshua Mork.

USBC Bowling Scholarship: Logan Maxon.

University of St. Thomas - St. Thomas Scholarship: Madison Link.

UW-Whitewater The Foundation Freshman Academic: Joshua Mork.

UW-Whitewater Chancellor’s Scholar: Joshua Mork.

United Mutual Insurance Company: Emily Fox. Vesperman Memorial Scholarship: Hahns Huebsch.

Wayne Gustafson Memorial: Sean Rogers.

WIAA Scholar Athlete: Blake Slater.

WIAA Scholar Athlete: Caroline Gearin.

Wisconsin Sheriff’s and Deputy Sheriff’s Association Criminal Justice Scholarship: Aaron Schmidt.

Wilke Award - Ag: Grace Haase.

Wilke Award - Business: Sydney Bents.

Wilke Award - FACE: Jasmine Carlson.

Wilke Award - Tech Ed.: Dan Nelson.

Youth Apprenticeship Awards: Grace Haase, Kasidy Gehrke, Savanna Grant, Jasmine Carlson, Coby Heimbach, Nolan Claassen and Kirsten Dusick.

Scrap Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Friday

WE BUY CAT. CONVERTERS Get paid for your • junk vehicles • aluminum cans • scrap metal Call in for current pricing

Call 715-643-4211 N9919 130th St, Downing, WI 54734

Dr. Thomas Hauge

Dr. Casey Chantelois

Dr. Carla Hauge

Dr. Jordan Dittberner

• Ceramic Crowns (1 day crowns) • Oral Surgery (implants) • Cosmetic • Orthodontics (SureSmile) • Family Dentistry • Sleep Apnea Testing and Appliances • In-house Insurance Benefit Program • Now offering Botox

108 Chieftain St. • P.O. Box 159 • Osceola, WI

715-294-2202 • Fax: 715-294-9995 www.haugedentalcare.com

4 THE SUN

www.osceolasun.com

MAY 20, 2020

To the Class of COVID-19

I

t’s graduation season. The school year is coming to a formal close and even though this year has been far from normal, the rites of passage are once again upon us.

There are very few moments in our lives that clearly delineate moving from one season to another. Graduation is clearly one of these moments and it is all together fitting and proper we pause to celebrate the accomplishments of our loved ones.

I used to joke that without passages of life like graduation, many renovation and home improvement projects would never get done. In our deepest selves, we understand the importance of these moments to the point that we are even willing to go through the added stress of replacing carpet in the living room. Think about that.

It’s really a pain to tear up and put down carpet. It’s such a pain that only want to do it a precious Publisher you few times in your life.

I was thinking this past week Tom Stangl about the extra special life lessons learned by the Class of COVID-19.

There are many, but I wanted to talk about a few here.

Nothing in life is certain. At some level, we all know this but until we are faced with the cold, hard reality of the situation, it’s easy to brush this law of the universe aside. I doubt anyone would have guessed school buildings would have effectively closed in March for the school year.

In an average year, making that bet would have been even more insane than Powerball.

You can overcome many things in life. This fact is used many times in addresses to graduates. The Class of 2020 has learned this lesson over the past two months. From cancelled sports seasons to the loss of prom and even a formal graduation ceremony, seniors and their families have had to overcome a great deal of disappointment. Time will eventually ease these traumas, but that is cold comfort today.

In the end, family is there for you. If we have learned nothing else from the past two months of quarantine, we have learned that even if they drive you mad, your family will do what is needed to ensure you succeed.

From extended help with everything from math to physics to finding creative ways to learn, your parents walk the walk of loving care. You have to love someone to do trigonometry voluntarily.

And if you think they would have gone nuts at your graduation, you can only imagine the ends they are going to now to try to compensate for what COVID-19 has taken from you.

Cut them some slack, we are all in unimagined, yet unchartered waters.

To parents, do what you feel is right. Take solace in the fact you have brought your children through a pandemic to the cusp of adulthood. You persevered over Snapchat, peer pressure, vaping and the internet, you can get though the next few weeks.

Your extended family, the community, is celebrating with you, even if they can’t be with you.

The community loves these passages. A speaker at my oldest daughter’s graduation said commencement was like the launching of a ship. Many people played a role in the construction and wanted to be there for the christening. We all hold our breath as the ship rolls into the sea, bobbing until it finds its equilibrium.

Even if we can’t see the ceremony, we are still very proud of you.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@theameryfreepress. com, telephone 715-268-8101 or write me at P.O. Box 424, Amery, WI, 54001.

Thanks for reading I’ll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.

Active member of

HOW TO REACH US: Our office is located at 108 Cascade Street, Osceola, WI 54020. We are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday - Friday. Call: (715) 294-2314, (715) 755-3316, or fax at (715) 7553314.

TO SUBSCRIBE: office@osceolasun.com The Sun is mailed to the homes of subscribers for delivery every

Illusion of wildness

W

e always wish we were somewhere wilder than we are.

I think that’s almost universally true for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. I often wonder if even guys who live in Alaska wish they lived in a wilder part of Alaska. I think they probably do.

When I was a kid I had to settle for the illusion of wildness, with my imagination doing most of the heavy lifting.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a town where you could still walk down the streets with a shotgun over your shoulder, but it was nowhere near the untouched wilderness I read about and Editor watched in movies.

C.L. Sill Fort Calhoun was rural, but in an eastern sense of the word. We were less than 20 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart, which made us city kids by default. It was some weird zone where rich families sat in their multi-million dollar homes in the hills outside town and watched hillbillies with Confederate flag stickers on their bumpers drive by.

People from Wyoming or North Dakota would laugh if I described my upbringing as country, but someone from Chicago might scoff at the dirt roads and tailgates aesthetic.

Luckily it was still rural enough to hold a few pockets of timber that were up for grabs for any kid with some .22 shells in his pocket and the guts to ask permission.

I didn’t have the guts of course, but Dad helped out in that department and I spent most of my childhood exploring a small piece of ground on the south side of town owned by an old woman named Francis Shepard.

Most of the property was a corn or bean field, depending on the year. There was one good stretch of timber on the east side and an old railroad right of way on the west that had become a sort of overgrown hedgerow.

Butting up against the timber on the east was a fairly decent size pasture of native grass and another tiny piece of swampy timber where I once flushed what I now know was a woodcock. At the time I had no clue what it was, only that it’d scared me half to death.

In this tiny patch of land I was able to escape. I hunted rabbits and squirrels, made forts and dug foxholes.

Things got really serious when I discovered that a good size flock of turkeys was frequenting the east side timber and I shot my first two toms there when I was 14 and 15.

The entire piece of property totaled maybe 40 acres, a little more if I decided to trespass. Once in a while I’d sneak down to Stratbucker’s pond south of Shepard’s to fish for bluegill or shoot bullfrogs with a shotgun (that one I’m not super proud of).

I learned how to be alone with myself there. How to occupy my mind with passion and curiosity rather than a darkness I found I was naturally inclined to. It was all the timber and wildness I needed, and I was probably never more than 500 yards from someone’s house. (The entire place has since been completely destroyed by a large scale farming operation that bought the property around a decade ago, something I’ve never quite been able to come to terms with.)

As an adult I’ve been able to hunt in what I consider truly wild places. Huge tracts of national forest filled with bear and wolves and the kind of unknown I’ve SEE SILL, PAGE 6

LETTER GUIDELINES Letters to the Editor are published with priority given to letters that are concise (400 words or less) and exclusive to our newspaper, from readers in our general distribution area.

All letters are subject to editing for grammar and clarity and must contain the undersigned’s full name and their address and daytime telephone number for verification. (Addresses and phone numbers will not be printed.)

Letter writers must live, work or have another connection to The Sun’s coverage

Wednesday. One year subscription in Polk County is available for $29, two years is $51. A subscription outside Polk County is $34 for one year, $61 for 2 years.

NEWS ITEMS: editor@osceolasun.com News releases of general interest must be at our office by Friday noon to be considered for publication.

area. One letter per author may be submitted every 30 days.

Due to space limitations, letters that don’t address local issues are not guaranteed publication.

Staff reserves the right to refrain from printing a letter.

Anonymous letters will not be printed.

Letters may be emailed to: editor@osceolasun.com no later than noon Friday the week preceding publication.

Election endorsements

PLACING AN AD: ads@osceolasun.com Display advertising must be in The Sun office by noon Friday. An advertising representative will gladly assist you in preparing your message.

Classified ads must be in the office by noon Friday also.

EVENTS/PUBLIC NOTICES: office@osceolasun.com Deadline is noon Friday. Submissions

The Sun accepts election letters endorsing or advocating for or against a ballot measure, party or candidate as paid advertising announcements. The fee is $25 minimum for up to 250 words and 10¢ each additional word. Like other letters to the editor, the writer’s name, address and phone number are required. Phone numbers are not published. The Sun has the right to reject letters which don’t meet publishing standards and will determine if the letter qualifies as a paid endorsement. Paid letters will be identified with a label and may or may not appear on the opinion/letters page.

subject to editing and are not guaranteed publication.

The Sun (USPS 412-760) is published weekly by Sentinel Publications, 108 Cascade Street, P.O. Box 248, Osceola, WI 54020. Periodicals postage paid at Osceola, WI 54020. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Sun, P.O. Box 248, Osceola, WI 54020.

Tom Stangl, Publisher C.L. Sill, Editor Carrie Larson, Production Manager Eric Buelow, Graphic Design Elise Bourne, Advertising Barb Wetzel, Office Assistant Rick Brandt, Delivery COPYRIGHT ©2020 BY SENTINEL PUBLICATIONS

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

5

www.osceolasun.com

This too shall pass

O

ver the year I would rag on different issues over and over like keeping the countertops clean at home. These days it’s how to stay clear of the virus and how to keep our newspapers running with this fear and businesses closed.

Small business is really facing challenges these days with the required stay-athome policies.

Some of the larger Gene box stores that Johnson handle multiple lines of goods have been able to stay open while many of the mom and pop stores have been forced to stay closed.

The question that is going around politically is whether people should be left to make up their own minds for their own safety rather than have government make that decision for them. Wisconsin’s governor, Tony Evers, was overruled by the Supreme Court in Wisconsin.

I recently visited Mayo Clinic,

which I do every four months to keep my PSA in control. It’s affected by some cancer cells in lymph nodes that resulted in a prostatectomy more than a decade ago.

I am fortunate to have Dr. Eugene Kwon, immunologist at Mayo, who is also credited with the development of the Choline pet scan, a nuclear medicine used to detect live cancer cells in the body.

In my visit with Dr. Kwon on May 14th we discussed the COVID-19 at some length. He said we had two choices. Number one, we need to develop a vaccine very quickly and distribute 350 million vials across the nation.

When the swine flu occurred, vaccine was developed and it was wiped out in six months.

Dr. Kwon feels that we are putting too much emphasis and money on testing when we need to get a vaccine developed and distributed.

The other solution is to let natural immunity take over. The older population is more vulnerable than the younger population. Some who get it will survive. Others would die. The best solution would be to get the vaccine developed.

YEARS AGO

We have had the Corona viruses before. The swine flu was a type of corona virus.

We will need to continue to practice good hygiene and wear a mask whenever we are around other people. This means whether we are shopping, at restaurants, or wherever we go we need to keep the six feet distance between us and other people. This is also true for the workplace wherever it is possible.

By the way, my tests at Mayo came in favorable. The PSA was 1.4, down from 1.7 in December.

Scans showed that my cancer cells that were in the lymph nodes did not change in size.

At all the entrances at Mayo there were people checking your temperature, asking questions on health issues, and issuing a sticker that gave you access to their medical services for that day. Everyone was wearing masks and the chairs in the waiting room were marked with papers on every other seat with a message to leave a seat open. As soon as someone left the SEE JOHNSON, PAGE 6

THE POSTSCRIPT Chatting h i with i h a tree

E

very day I look down the trail in either direction, checking to see if anyone is coming. I’d just as soon no one knew I was talking to a tree.

I take the same hike every day.

There are a lot of trails and most folks try different trails on different days. I don’t. I do my best thinking on my daily walk.

I am not seeking variety. Some days I am seeking inspiration. Some Columnist days I’m looking for answers. Some Carrie Classon days I just want a little escape. More and more lately, I’ve been looking for comfort.

I visit a particular tree. I walk by a lot of trees, but this pine is special. It may not be the oldest, but it’s awfully old. It has survived at least a couple of major fires and still wears the blackened scars around its base. It has obviously had some close calls, but it is doing well now and it is not an exaggeration to say that this tree cheers me every single day I see it.

Every day, I risk a little embarrassment and have a word with my favorite tree.

I lean in close. “How’re you

Bath Makeover Event!

doing?� I ask.

A few weeks ago, the potential embarrassment of being caught chatting with a tree carried a lot more weight. Right now, I’m happy to get some comfort—and perspective—wherever I can.

I don’t really expect to hear anything back. (I tilt toward the edge at times but I haven’t quite toppled over.) Still, I figure this tree has seen it all: fires and droughts, woodpeckers and chainsaws, lightning and windstorms. All around my tree are the remains of dead trees—some that died within my lifetime, some that died long before I was born. This tree has beaten the odds and is standing here today, letting me know it can be done.

Every morning I read the news and every day I realize with greater certainty that nothing is certain. I have friends and family who rely on theaters and churches and concert halls and ballrooms to make a living and right now, the only thing they know for sure is that they will not know for a very long time when or if they will get their livelihoods back.

My cousin who tours with an a cappella singing group and my brother-in-law who stage manages corporate events and my other cousin who is a minister—they’re all wondering what their lives will

look like in a month or a year’s time. They are depressed and angry and confused and anxious in turn, but mostly they are uncertain because the times are uncertain.

In these times, my tree has become a lot more important to me.

This tree has seen it all.

And, although the tree doesn’t actually speak to me, it has a story to tell. Because somehow, this old tree managed to make it.

It had some luck. It sits in a low spot, where there has been more water over the eons and where fires have been more likely to hop over. Misfortune is never equally shared and this tree has survived, not simply because it is strong, but because it is lucky.

I feel very lucky these days. I feel lucky that I can get out of my house and take these walks in nature, but luckier yet to be like this tree—in a place where there is enough water and the worst of the fire has passed over.

And no, I’m not embarrassed anymore to be chatting with a tree.

Till next time, Carrie Carrie Classon’s memoir is called, “Blue Yarn.� Learn more at CarrieClasson.com.

FACTORY DIRECT Get a new Bath or Shower system

for only $4,995!

Ë“

Window Blowout SALE!

$2,995!

President Donald Trump

328 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20515 • (202) 224-5323 www.ronjohnson.senate.gov

Buy 7 or More Premium Windows

Walmart or Amazon Git Card 3 with your FREE in-home estimate!

GOVERNMENT NUMBERS WHO TO CALL...

1208 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515 • (202) 225-3365

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin 709 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 • (202) 224-5653 • (715) 832-8424 www.baldwin.senate.gov/contact

BONUS!

$100

50 years ago May 21, 1970 • Karen Wulf and Paul Kremser have been chosen as the Badger girls and boys state representatives for Osceola High School. • Ronald Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Johnson, was admitted as a pledge to Timia Society, the Augsburg Honor Society, at the annual honors banquet held at Augsburg College. • On May 17, Kevin Carl Tomfohrde, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Tomfohrde, received the sacrament of Baptism within the fellowship of the United Methodist Church, Osceola. • Showing at the Auditorium Theatre in St. Croix Falls, “Jenny,â€? starring Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda. • Mrs. Lunde and Mrs. Lindstrom attended the showing of Christmas, fall and winter merchandise at Clara City, Supply Warehouse, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

U.S. Senator Ronald H. Johnson

Ë“

2

2

30 years ago May 16, 1990 • The Red Cross Bloodmobile came up 15 units short of their 130 unit goal on May 14. First times donors including Dale Boyer, Elaine Chock, John Diel, Frances Langer, Carol Greiner, Tarah Colaizy, Jeremy Hill, Robb Thompson, Adele Kneeland, Marlon Rodriguezz, Cara Greiner and Marty Raska. • Eldon Sanders of Osceola received the Lake Wanochi District Award of Merit from the Lake Wanochi District of the Cub and Boy Scouts of America. • Debra Hawley of Osceola has accepted a Passenger Service Agent position with Midway Airlines in Chicago, Ill. • New officers for Osceola High School Future Business Leaders of America included Sean Faulk, vice president; Michelle Schneider, parliamentarian; Shawn Kelly, historian; Zach Johnson, reporter; Jeff Demulling, treasurer; Mike Anderson, secretary and Kathy Diel, president.

Congressman Tom Tiffany 7th Congressional District

Get a Houseful of Windows for

Payments, & Interest FOR 18 MONTHS! Senior & Previous Customer Discounts!

Payments, & Interest FOR 18 MONTHS! Senior & Previous Customer Discounts!

20 years ago May 17, 2000 • Louisa Abbassi from France is currently spending fourth quarter at Osceola High School assisting Virginia Delaney in her French classes. • Geraldine Anderson was showered with gifts during “Geraldine Anderson Dayâ€? at Osceola Elementary School.

Anderson planned to retire at the end of the school year. • Osceola’s warning siren has been silenced due to renovations at the ďŹ re hall. Osceola police will use the sirens on squad cards and their public address system to warn residents in case of impending emergencies. • Steven Kromrey of Osceola received a College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Scholarship from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. • Osceola High School boys track ďŹ nished behind Hudson in the last open meet of the season. Preston Pettis led the Chieftains to a sweep of the jumping events by claiming the

top spot in the long and triple jumps.

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.• Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: (202) 456-1111 or http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ Switchboard: (202) 456-1414 • Fax: (202) 456-2461

ZERO Down,

ZERO Down,

10 years ago May 19, 2010 • Osceola High School’s racing bus driven by tech ed teacher Brian Meyer won the featured event at the Cedar LAke Speedway. • About 37 St. Croix Falls High School students spent their community service day helping build a new segment of the Ice Age Trail through Straight Lake State Park. • Chieftain golfer Charlie Danielson was medalist in two conference meets and co-medalist in aother last week as he led the Chieftains back to the top of the conference standings. • The Osceola Braves kicked off their season with a win against Elmwood, 4-1. • Jennifer Benoy, a 2009 St. Croix Flls graduate, will compete in the 2010 NCAA Div. 11 Women’s golf National Championship in Mesa, Ariz. • Osceola snowboarder Colin Wilson earned fourth place at the Volcom Stone’s Global Peanut Butter and Rail Jam snowboarding championships in California.

Get a Patio Door installed for Free!

Governor Tony Evers 3

115 East, State Capitol Bldg. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7863, Madison, WI 53707 • (608) 266-1212 EversInfo@wisconsin.gov • www.evers.wis.gov

Rep. Gae Magnafici 28th Assembly District

(715)-941-4210 www.madcitybaths.com

CALL TODAY!

1. New orders only. Minimum purchase required. Price based on purchase of bath or shower system in white. Walls and base only. Includes basic installation. Does QRW LQFOXGH WHDU RXW 1RW YDOLG ZLWK DQ\ RWKHU R௺HU RU SUHYLRXV MRE 6HH UHSUHVHQWDWLYH IRU GHWDLOV 2௺HU EDVHG RQ EDWK RU VKRZHU V\VWHP LQ ZKLWH :DOOV DQG EDVH RQO\ )LQDQFLQJ DYDLODEOH ZLWK PLQLPXP SXUFKDVH DQG DSSURYHG FUHGLW 0DG &LW\ :LQGRZV %DWKV ,QF LV QHLWKHU D EURNHU QRU D OHQGHU )LQDQFLQJ LV SURYLGHG E\ WKLUG SDUW\ OHQGHUV XQD௝OLDWHG ZLWK 0DG &LW\ :LQGRZV %DWKV ,QF XQGHU WHUPV DQG FRQGLWLRQV DUUDQJHG GLUHFWO\ EHWZHHQ WKH FXVWRPHU DQG VXFK OHQGHU DOO VXEMHFW WR FUHGLW UHTXLUHPHQWV DQG VDWLVIDFWRU\ FRPSOHWLRQ RI ¿QDQFH GRFXPHQWV $Q\ ¿QDQFH WHUPV DGYHUWLVHG DUH HVWLPDWH RQO\ $VN IRU GHWDLOV 1HZ RUGHUV RQO\ 1RW YDOLG ZLWK DQ\ RWKHU R௺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௺HU QRW VSRQVRUHG RU SURPRWHG E\ :DOPDUW RU $PD]RQ DQG LV VXEMHFW WR FKDQJH ZLWKRXW QRWLFH SULRU WR UHVHUYDWLRQ $OORZ ZHHNV DIWHU GHPRQVWUDWLRQ WR UHFHLYH H JLIW FDUG ( JLIW FDUG YDOXHG DW

(715)-941-4210 www.madcitywindows.com

CALL TODAY!

1. New orders only. Price based on purchase of seven (7) Double-Hung white-on-white windows, or seven (7) 2 Lite Sliders, up to 101 united inches. Includes basic LQVWDOODWLRQ 'RHV QRW LQFOXGH H[WHULRU FODGGLQJ RU OHDG VDIH LQVWDOODWLRQ RQ KRPHV EXLOW EHIRUH ([FOXGHV WD[ 1RW YDOLG ZLWK DQ\ RWKHU R௺HU RU SUHYLRXV MRE 6HH UHSUHVHQWDWLYH IRU GHWDLOV 2௺HU EDVHG RQ SUHPLXP ZLQGRZV RQO\ )LQDQFLQJ DYDLODEOH ZLWK PLQLPXP SXUFKDVH DQG DSSURYHG FUHGLW 0DG &LW\ :LQGRZV %DWKV ,QF LV QHLWKHU D EURNHU QRU D OHQGHU )LQDQFLQJ LV SURYLGHG E\ WKLUG SDUW\ OHQGHUV XQD௝OLDWHG ZLWK 0DG &LW\ :LQGRZV %DWKV ,QF XQGHU WHUPV DQG FRQGLWLRQV DUUDQJHG GLUHFWO\ EHWZHHQ WKH FXVWRPHU DQG VXFK OHQGHU DOO VXEMHFW WR FUHGLW UHTXLUHPHQWV DQG VDWLVIDFWRU\ FRPSOHWLRQ RI ¿QDQFH GRFXPHQWV $Q\ ¿QDQFH WHUPV DGYHUWLVHG DUH HVWLPDWH RQO\ $VN IRU GHWDLOV 1HZ RUGHUV RQO\ 1RW YDOLG ZLWK DQ\ RWKHU R௺HU RU SUHYLRXV MRE ,QWHUHVW ZLOO EH FKDUJHG WR \RXU DFFRXQW IURP WKH SXUFKDVH GDWH LI WKH SXUFKDVH EDODQFH LV QRW SDLG LQ IXOO ZLWKLQ WKH E\ WKH HQG RI WKH PRQWK SHULRG RU LI \RX PDNH D ODWH SD\PHQW ,QVWDOODWLRQ RQO\ 2௺HU DSSOLHV WR QHZ RUGHUV ZLWK PLQLPXP SXUFKDVH UHTXLUHG 1RW YDOLG ZLWK DQ\ RWKHU R௺HU RU SUHYLRXV MRE 'LVFRXQW LVVXHG XSRQ FRPSOHWLRQ RI LQVWDOODWLRQ DQG GHGXFWHG IURP ¿QDO LQYRLFH 'LVFRXQW QRW LVVXHG LI FXVWRPHU FDQFHOV RUGHU RU LI FUHGLW LV GHFOLQHG $SSOLFDEOH WR LQVWDOOHG FXVWRPHUV RQO\

P.O. Box 8952 • Madison, WI 53708 (608) 267-2365 or 1-888-534-0028 • Fax (608) 282-3628 Rep.Magnafici@legis.wisconsin.gov

Senator Patty Schachtner 10th Senate District State Capitol, P.O. Box 7882 • Madison, WI 53707 (608) 266-7745 Sen.Schachtner@legis.wisconsin.gov

NO CALL LIST 1-888-382-1222 or website: datcp.wi.gov

6

THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

28TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

TO THE EDITOR Express your concerns

Last December I found the house of my dreams, on Osceola’s Ridge Road. I’d come to know and love the Osceola and East Farmington area, especially the St. Croix River bluffs and the Standing Cedars Land Conservancy trails, since buying a small farm in Osceola Township in 1987. The proximity to Watershed Café, my favorite restaurant in the world, and the many organic CSA’s and dairy farms nearby, added to the allure.

But then, after having the house inspected, just when I was about to make an offer, a friend in Franconia, Minnesota asked me if I’d heard about the “frac sand controversy in Osceola.“ No, I hadn’t.

“They’ve turned the Rybak gravel pit into a frac sand mine,” he said. I couldn’t believe my ears. After a few inquiries, I backed out of the purchase.

I believe the North 40 frac sand mine should never have been permitted. The area’s groundwater, property values and quality of life are being destroyed by the mine. It’s too close to more than 20 nearby homes and the Osceola Medical Center (Ladd Memorial Hospital).

It’s too close to Cascade Falls and the historic center of Osceola (less than a mile). It’s too close to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (just a quarter mile).

The mine is an ugly, noisy, open pit, blasting, churning and digging (“wet-mining”) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The miners dig below the area’s groundwater, the source of drinking water for all the homes on Ridge Road. The mine is a desecration of the Standing Cedars Land Conservancy, which is a sacred and historic

meeting ground of the Ojibway and Dakota people. The frac sand mine is completely out of place in its present location. That the town is considering permitting North 40 to expand into the adjacent 200 acres, right next to the hospital, is an outrage. The mine should be shut down.

We are living through a global pandemic that some are saying may be worse than the Great Depression. We have no idea what kind of world there will be after this crisis, or what role, if any, oil and gas fracturing and frac sand mining will play in the future. It may not have any role at all. Half the frac sand mines in Minnesota and Wisconsin had gone bankrupt, or shuttered their operations, in the last two years, even before the Covid-19 pandemic destroyed the global oil and fracked gas business. The North 40 miners would be foolhardy to expand the mine, and the Farmington town board would be irresponsible to allow them to do so.

Please help your neighbors on Ridge Road protect their groundwater, their property values and the scenic beauty of the greater Osceola and Farmington area.

If you are a Town of Farmington resident, call your supervisors and express your concerns about having a frac sand mine in the Township. If you live in the Village of Osceola, participate (remotely) in their village board meetings. Ask your Village Trustees to implement Extra-Territorial zoning to shut the mine down. And please join the St. Croix River Communities Against Frac Sand Mining on Facebook to learn more.

Eric Utne (formerly of Osceola Township) now of Saint Paul, Minn.

WINDOW SALE!!! $

299

ANY SIZE INSTALLED*

• Free Installation • Lifetime Warranty • Financing Available: 12 MONTHS SAME AS CASH *White vinyl, double hung, double pane windows; four windows minimum; up to 101 ui. Standard installation includes removal of wood windows without capping or Low E.

Family Owned and Operated CUSTOM WINDOWS • 715-288-6567

Moving forward after the Supreme Court decision

L

ast week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Governor Evers’ stay at home order, holding that the Governor’s health secretary had illegally promulgated the order without the approval of the Legislature.

In the coming days and weeks, the Legislature and the Governor will be drafting a new statewide plan to address Covid-19. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said this week that he had no interest in a new order that would “micromanage” businesses. I completely agree with the Senator’s statement. Small businesses have been decimated, and some will never 28th reopen. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs through no District fault of their own, and many have reGae Magnafici ceived no benefits because of issues at the Department of Workforce Develt Another A th complete shutdown of our economy opment. would continue to ruin lives.

Wisconsin has flattened its curve, sparing hospitals and patients from an overflow of cases. It is not the state’s role to determine how much risk its citizens choose to take in their daily lives. County health

departments have broad powers at their disposal to address localized outbreaks of coronavirus. Milwaukee and Dane counties’ restrictions will obviously be much different than those of rural counties. The state’s new plan should prioritize increased testing, regional guidelines, and an initial plan for how we will reopen our schools in the fall.

But a lack of government-imposed restrictions does not mean that businesses are without guidance.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has published safety guidelines for every industry in the state. These guidelines are available on WEDC’s website. I encourage every business owner to review these guidelines and to implement measures that they can incorporate into their daily operation.

It’s also important to remember that as businesses begin to reopen, there will be a spectrum of measures in place. Many businesses will implement some form of safety measures. Some businesses may not open at all. Please respect the choices business owners make as they begin to get their livelihoods back. Businesses that implement social distancing measures are doing so for the safety of their customers and employees, and their decisions to do so should be respected by their customers. If you are able to do so, please continue to support the small business owners in our area that have been affected by the shutdown.

Rep. Gae Magnafici represents portions of Polk, Burnett, and St. Croix counties.

JOHNSON: This too shall pass FROM PAGE 5

seat it was wiped down with a disinfectant. The elevators were marked on the floor with six blocks for people to stand in. The hand sanitizer stations were readily available throughout the facility.

At one entrance I asked about how many had any symptom of the virus. The person monitoring the station said they had one in 500 with a fever.

The bottom line to me is that we are all going to be wearing masks at our work and in public for an indefinite period of time. The best

prevention also seems to be washing hands frequently.

There is a lot of ingenuity and creativity at work during this pandemic.

The other evening I was driving by the Acqua restaurant on Lake Avenue in White Bear Lake and I noticed a pickup truck with a table and two people sitting in it having their takeout dinner. They had a tablecloth and dishes to make for a beautiful dinner setting. The temperature was not much over 60, but that wasn’t going to deter this couple from enjoying dinner overlooking the lake.

The Zoom app on our personal computer is getting used more and more for regular contacts with family, friends and even business conference calls and meetings. We have planned to meet with family once a week and every other week with a group of newspaper friends.

A great way to stay in touch.

So this, too, will pass. We will slowly come back to a new normal and wearing masks may be a way of life.

Gene Johnson is the Publisher Emeritus at Press Publications in White Bear Lake, Minn.

ELECTION: Tiffany wins special election and Republicans keep 7th FROM PAGE 1

said. “People are also able to vote more quickly now than in April because the ballot is so much shorter.”

Duncanson said voters are still treating the safety precautions seriously and following social distancing guidelines.

“A lot of the voters are wearing masks and everyone has been using the sanitizer and the gloves,” Duncanson said. “We haven’t had any pushback on any of that. People are being respectful and nice, which is the best we can hope for.”

Getting enough volunteers to man the polls was a major issue

for the village in April, so this time around two members of the Wisconsin National Guard were dispatched to assist voting.

“Polk County was allocated 30 National Guard members to be available to help out the municipalities,” Duncanson said. “I knew we’d have a lighter turnout today but I was still a little concerned with whether or not we’d have enough staff so I asked to have two.”

Michael Conde of River Falls, Wisc. and Chyna Briggs of Spooner, Wisc. worked in plain clothes throughout the day, organizing absentee ballots and running voting machines. Briggs worked the polls in Barnes, Wisc. during

the primary election in April. She said more voters in Barnes were wearing masks, but that Barnes is also an older and more vulnerable population.

“It seemed everyone in Barnes was wearing a mask,” she said.

“But they have a higher age range.

They’re more of an older population so it’s a little bit more understandable that everyone was wearing a mask.”

Duncanson said the assistance of Briggs and Conde was invaluable throughout the day.

“They’ve been a pleasure to have here,” she said. “And I want to thank them for their citizenship and for helping us out.”

SILL: Illusions of wildness FROM PAGE 4

been searching for all my life. It’s a dream for me to be able to hunt and explore places like that once in a while, but I still spend most of my time outdoors in places I wouldn’t consider wild in the traditional sense.

I’ve been hunting turkey this spring on a piece of public property less than 20 minutes from my house. It looks oddly out of place for Wisconsin and almost reminds me of the western Nebraska sandhills. There’s a kind of sagebrush look to the place and the hillsides

are cut with small ravines that were almost certainly made from running cattle on the property at some point in the past.

It’s flanked on either side by a housing subdivision and some kind of concrete manufacturing

operation, but if you sit down in just the right spot you can see a great distance without running across any kind of manmade structure.

You can see a creek to the west and a stand of hilly timber far off in the distance that reminds you that you are in fact in Western Wisconsin.

I haven’t even come close to shooting a turkey this spring, but I like to spend my time at this spot.

It makes me think about sitting up against a tree looking over Francis Shepard’s pasture, pretending I was someplace wilder than I was.

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

7

www.osceolasun.com

OBITUARIES

WEEKLY MEDITATION

Judy Ann Luehmann Judith Ann (Hurda) Luehmann died at her Star Prairie home on May 10, 2020. She was 79.

She was born Dec. 1, 1940, during a snow storm in Amery to John and Harriet (Jensen) H Hurda. She grew up iin various homes iin the Roberts area w while her mother w was hospitalized.

S She had very fond m memories of the time sspent with neighbors a and friends.

Judy held many jjobs over the years, J Jor-gas, Pine Lake, L Little Falls and Star P Prairie stores, CRA, a and sold Avon. We often joked that she was her best customer.

Judy loved her Lord and was a very faithful servant to West Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Judy dedicated her life to volunteering and was involved with many organizations, 4-H, Cedar Lake Homemakers, Community Club, and reading programs, AMI, West Immanuel groups and many others.

Judy had a very giving heart. She was willing to give second chances and helped those who needed assistance to the right path.

She enjoyed reading, NASCAR races after church on Sunday, and music of all kinds.

Judy was also known for sending birthday and greeting cards to brighten your day.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Harriet Hurda; son, Randy; in-laws, Edgar and Gladys Luehmann; brother-in-law, John Denucci; and niece, Anna Marie Denucci.

She is survived by her husband, Arlen; daughters, Shelley (Roger) Lehman, Renee (Al) Fehlen, Shari (Mike) Erdman; grandchildren, Dustin, Jessica, Amanda, Nick, Joe, Brandon, Brett and Raeann; great-grandchildren, Zane, Wren, and Soren; sister, Janet Denucci; nephews, Chuck Denucci, Chad Denucci, Mick Luehmann; niece, Wendy Bartlett; and many other relatives and friends. She will be remembered as “Gramma Judy” to many.

A family funeral was held May 15 at the Luehmann farm in Star Prairie. Interment will be in West Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery.

Arrangements with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.

BY TONY MINELL NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

How’s it going? To every reader, I genuinely wish I could hear the answer to that question. In the small pool of people with whom I have been able to remain in contact, the answer to that question varies drastically.

For the introverts among us, these days of Safe at Home have been a welcome rest. For the extroverts, this has been an exercise is patience. For everyone in between, our answers will vary depending upon the day. Marriages are either being strengthened or being stressed to the proverbial breaking point.

Circumstances vary for each of us and so do our opinions. Buisness owners disagree, Pastors differ, voters disagree, government officials are engaged in a public debate.

Even within our own homes, there are strong differing opinions. Social media, articles, emails, flickering screens etc. are all noisy gongs filling our lives with a cacophony of opinionated noise.

Emotions are high, so much so, you likely are enticed to continue reading this article merely because you want to know if I am going to make a political statement. Is this pastor going to give his “opinion” about the decisions that are being made? Your emotion is harkening you along…keep reading…

How ought we have handled this from the beginning? What should have been done differently?

The reason I am writing this article is not to increase the number of questions. I want to simplify our thinking. What would be a clarifying thought for all of us? With every

“should” and “should not” and for every “if only we had…” or “I’m really glad we…” how can we respond?

During the years following Jesus’ ascension there were several pastoral voices that led the church of Jesus Christ through very tumultuous times. They wrote letters and preached sermons harkening the church to hold on to certain truths.

Among those early pastoral voices were pastoral giants like the Apostle Paul. Paul brought a stability and singlemindedness to the church of Jesus Christ that continues even to this day.

So, as a pastor, seeking to write something worth a few minutes of your day (not wishing to add to the aforementioned orchestral noise), I would be wise to draw on Paul’s wisdom as presented in God’s Word.

In Philippians 4 Paul seeks to encourage the Philippian church.

They were “concerned” for him having been imprisoned and having gone through various other circumstances (for a partial list of what Paul went through, please read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28).

To alleviate their concern for him, in Philippians 4, Paul writes, “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

How content are you today? Does your contentment depend upon what happens? Or can you actually say with Paul, “in whatever situation” I am content. It does not matter on which side of the debate you find yourself, if your emotions are triggered by “continuing this order…” or “not continuing this order…” you are certainly not content in every circumstance.

So, Christian, are you content?

Sadly, many Christians have lost sight of contentment – we secretly

BIRTHS OSCEOLA MEDICAL CENTER Osceola, Wisconsin May 9, 2020: A boy, Sean Harlan

harbor contempt for the idea of contentment. We look no different than the society in which we live.

We have engaged in impassioned opinions because things “ought” to be this way or that way.

Paul goes on, “I know how to be brought low, I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

Christian, if the circumstances do not change, or if the circumstances do change, do you know the secret of facing either scenario? If the governing officials no longer enforce certain protocols or if they continue to enforce certain protocols, do you know the secret of contentment?

What is the key? The key is found in Paul’s next statement, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul is not saying he can do anything. He is explaining that he can “endure” (he can even be “content” in) any circumstance (as he has been explaining).

In other words, no matter what the situation is, we, as followers of Jesus Christ, can be content in all circumstances through Christ who strengthens us.

So, the question is, where are you being strengthened? If you are strengthened by Christ, pleasant conversations will flow from your lips in any and every circumstance.

That doesn’t mean we will not have opinions.

We will, however, like a boat cutting through a storm, remain captivated by the one who strengthens us. Don’t get distracted. Look upon Jesus Christ, the one who is our strength and let your heart rest in Him rather than what could, should or ought to be.

Delivering Your Community Koutek, weighing 8 pounds 1 ounce, to Lindsay Bartholmy and Nicholas Koutek, Somerset.

<www.osceolasun.com>

CHURCH LISTINGS Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, all gatherings of 10 or more are being curtailed.

Please call to see if church services are being held in some capacity.

ALLIANCE CHURCH OF THE VALLEY 1259 Hwy. 35 South, St. Croix Falls 715-483-1100 www.stcroixalliance.com Lead Pastor Jeff Naegelen Co-Lead Pastor Chris Folkestad ———————— ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH East Farmington Rev. Joseph Madanu ———————— BETHANY LUTHERAN Star Prairie Pastor Dan Pennington (715) 248-3730 blcsp@frontiernet.net ———————— BETHESDA LUTHERAN LCMC 1947 110th Ave. Dresser Sand Lake 715-755-2562 www.bethesdalutheran.ws Pastor Peter Rimmereid Associate Pastor Scott Adkins ———————— CEDARBEND CHURCH P.O. BOX 414, Osceola Matt Hayton connect@cedarbendchurch.com SUNDAY: Worship, 10:30 a.m. at Osceola High School Auditorium.

CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH 150 Fifth Street Marine on St. Croix, Minn.

Pastor Joel Martin 651-433-3222 ———————— EL SALEM/TWIN FALLS CHRISTIAN CENTER Six miles east of Dresser on Co. Rd. F, 1751 100th Ave. Pastor Darryl R. Olson 715-755-3113 ———————— EUREKA BAPTIST CHURCH 2393 210th Ave., St. Croix Falls Pastor Seth Brickley 715-483-9464 ———————— FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 661A West Street Taylors Falls, MN 55084 651-465-6792 www.firstbaptisttaylorsfalls.com Dr. Kevin Schumann, Pastor ———————— FIRST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN 561 Chestnut St. Taylors Falls, Minn.

———————— FIRST PRESBYTERIAN 719 Nevada St. St. Croix Falls Reverend David Maghakian 715-483-3550 (office) ———————— GRACE CHURCH – OSCEOLA Pastor Mark Barlow 722 Seminole Ave. Osceola 715-417-0752 ———————— GRACE BEREAN FELLOWSHIP 421 4th Street, Centuria Duane Gallentine, Pastor 715-755-2523

FRIDAY and SUNDAY KJV Bible Study/Fellowship ———————— GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH Nye Area/Wisconsin Synod 2098 70th Avenue Pastor Nile Merseth ———————— HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH Meeting at Zion Lutheran Church 28005 Old Towne Road Chisago Lakes, Minn.

651-260-5100 www.holyx.net Fr. Bill Neumann, pastor ———————— HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX CHURCH 523 First Street, Clayton 715-948-2203 Father Christopher Wojcik ———————— HOPE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH 933 248th Street, one mile north of Osceola on Highway 35 Pastor Nate Roschen 715-294-2112 • www.hefc.org ———————— JOURNEY CHURCH 131 Broadway, Amery www.journeychurch.city office@journeychurch.city 715-268-2223 ———————— NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY Non-denominational 201 State Hwy. 35, Dresser Pastor Tony Minell, 715-417-1982 galatiansii20@yahoo.com Church office: 715-417-0945 ———————— NEW WINE COMMUNITY CHURCH

309 5th Street, Centuria Pastor Scott Petznick (715) 338-8912 ———————— OSCEOLA COMMUNITY CHURCH 2492 Education Drive, Osceola Larry Mederich www.osceolacommunitychurch.org ———————— OSCEOLA MEDICAL CENTER SPIRITUAL CARE 2600 65th Avenue, Osceola https: myomc.org/wellness/ spiritual-care 715-294-2111 Chapel open daily for meditation.

———————— OSCEOLA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 306 River Street, Osceola P.O. Box 447 Pastor Jack Starr 715-755-2275 osceolaunitedmethodistchurch@gmail.com ———————— PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA), 2355 Clark Rd., Dresser 715-755-2515• plcdresser.org Pastor Melissa Carmack Find us on Facebook! peace@centurytel.net ———————— PRAIRIEVIEW COVENANT CHURCH OF NEW RICHMOND 1396 210th Ave. 2 miles north of New Richmond on Hwy. 65 Pastor Rudy King 715-248-0600 ———————— REDEEMER EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH Wisconsin Synod Corner of Adams & Louisiana

St. Croix Falls Rev. Timothy Blauert 715-483-3401 ———————— RIVER VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIGHTHOUSE 1289 160th Street St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin 715-483-5378 Pastor Jonah Fetzer ———————— ST. ANNE PARISH 139 Church Hill Road Somerset, WI 54025 715-247-3310 Rev. Joseph Madanu ———————— ST. CROIX FALLS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Upper St. Croix Parish 300 North Adams Street St. Croix Falls 715-483-9494 churches@centurytel.net umstcroixfallswolfcreek.org Pastor Ran Yoo Pastor Kooko Kim ———————— ST. CROIX UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP 201 N. Adams, St. Croix Falls www.scuuf.org Rev. Kelli Clement ———————— ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CATHOLIC CHURCH Franconia, MN 651-465-7345 www.stfrancisfranconia.org Fr. John Drees ———————— ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC Osceola Rev. Joseph Madanu 715-294-2243

———————— ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC 490 Bench Street Taylors Falls, Minnesota 651-465-7345 www.stjosephtaylorsfalls.org Fr. John Drees ———————— SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD 140 Madison Street St. Croix Falls Pastor Mark Schoen 715-483-1186 ———————— TRINITY EV. LUTHERAN CHURCH (WELS) 300 Seminole Ave., (Ct H M) Osceola 715-294-2828 • www.trinityosceola.com Pastor David Rosenow (920-645-7526) ———————— TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH OF GARFIELD 1578 85th Ave., Amery Pastor Lori Peper 715-268-9577 ———————— WEST IMMANUEL LUTHERAN (ELCA), 447 180th St., Osceola www.westimmanuel.org Interim Pastor Matt Saarem SUNDAY: ———————— WORD OF LIFE FELLOWSHIP Cliff Bjork, (651) 465-7373 366 Bench St., Taylors Falls, Minn.

———————— ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH (Wisconsin Synod) East Farmington Pastor William Brassow (715) 294-3489

These Church listings are sponsored by the following concerned and responsible businesses and industries. They deserve your continued support and patronage!

108 Cascade Osceola www osceolasun com www.osceolasun.com

715-294-2314

304 Cascade St • Osceola, WI

715.294.2183 MidWestOne.com

GRANDSTRAND FUNERAL HOME Osceola 294-3111

Osceola, WI 294-2158

8

AND OUTDOORS THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

Saints softball team denied last hurrah in West Lakeland conference

BY RON JASPERSON SPORTS WRITER

Last season the St. Croix Falls Saints softball team finished fifth in the West Lakeland conference.

SCF lost in the first round of the WIAA playoffs to Cumberland. St. Croix Falls lost some key players from last season. Their infield, except for their pitcher, was especially hard hit.

Still, head coach Clayton Hanson had a very good feeling for his 2020 Saints team.

“This would have been our last year in the West Lakeland conference and we were poised to make a push this year,” Hanson said. “We have a lot of young SHARON WAMPFLER | THE SUN talent that could St. Croix Falls softball player Hanhave made a run nah Cross. this year. I was really thinking this could be the year we do well in conference.”

Next season St. Croix Falls will join the Heart O’North conference and will be playing against a different slate of teams. This year was one last chance for the Saints to leave their mark on the West Lakeland conference.

Hanson was looking at great numbers out for softball this season. It looked like about 30 athletes were ready to fill the varsity and junior varsity teams SHARON WAMPFLER | THE SUN with hopes that St. Croix Falls softball playerAryn there may have been enough to fill Rode. a ‘C’ team roster as well. There were six seniors including Hannah Cross, Izzy Langer, Mara Riley, Lexi Backes, Julie Haasnoot and Aryn Rode ready to take the leadership role both on and off of the field.

“I certainly loved playing softball for SCF,” Langer said. “The coaches, players, and parents made it all worthwhile. I will never forget the hard work, determination, and faith that the coaches had in every individual. They always pushed us to be stronger and better not only on the field but also off the field. They treated us as one big family. No matter if you were on the field, in the dugout, on the bus or outside of softball, we always showed our support for one another.

With being out for injury my junior season, I was anxious to get back on the field.”

St. Croix Falls would have returned seven letter winners from last season including Cross, Rode, Kaylee Miron, Olivia Miron, Payden Bainbridge, Alise Wiehl and Jordan Lee. No doubt they would have SEE SOFTBALL, PAGE 9

Excitement for 2020 tennis team squelched by COVID-19

BY RON JASPERSON SPORTS WRITER

Last season was a tough one for the Osceola Chieftain tennis team.

They certainly had some talent but they just did not have the depth on the roster that would have helped everyone be better. This season looked to be different with basically the entire roster returning from last year along with some quality additions to the squad.

“If I had a dollar for every time I have said, ‘I get to coach the best sport in the world and the best kids,’ I would be able to retire, but I would not want to because then I would not be able to coach the best kids playing the best sport,” Osceola tennis coach Beth Friedrichsen began as she sorted out her feelings about the lost season. “Tennis is unique in that it is an individual yet a team sport. This year we all had worked hard to get more guys out to play and those guys that were

JO JASPERSON | THE SUN

Osceola High School tennis player Colin Krentz.

SEE TENNIS, PAGE 9

SHARON WAMPFLER | THE SUN

St. Croix Falls Honors student athletes include Trevor LaMirande, Azalea Edwards, Riley Henk and Luke Theamert.

St. Croix Falls honors student-athletes

BY RON JASPERSON SPORTS WRITER

St. Croix Falls has had an abundance of wonderful students and great athletes over the years. This does not just happen. Those individuals who have been honored, of course, are very talented but they are also driven to do well.

They practice and study hard and receive great direction from their respective families, teachers, teammates and coaches.

St. Croix Falls recently named their top scholar-athletes as well as their most outstanding athletes. Azalea Edwards and Luke Thaemert were picked as the top WIAA Scholar-Athletes at SCF and Riley Henk and Trevor LaMirande earned the Most Outstanding Athlete awards.

While maintaining her excellence in the classroom Edwards found time to also excel in vol-

leyball, basketball and track and field, earning three varsity letters in each sport. She was able to find time to excel in both academics and sports but couldn’t have done it by herself.

“Throughout my schooling, my teachers and coaches have always taught that academics come before athletics,” Edwards noted. “This message has allowed me to be the student I am today.

My teachers were supportive and helpful throughout my time at Saint Croix Falls. They taught me the importance of balance along with important life lessons.”

Thaemert was a two sport star earning varsity letters in each of his four seasons in wrestling and baseball. He excelled in both sports and earned the runner-up spot in the 2020 State wrestling tournament. He won over 140 matches in his stellar Saints’ career. In addition to his athletic

prowess, Thaemert still found time to be a top-notch student.

“It is quite an honor to receive such an award,” Thaemert said about his student-athlete recognition. “While a lot of the work leading up to this award came from an inner self-drive, my parents actually helped me more than anyone else possibly could have.

From driving me to the Twin Cities for extra wrestling practices to pushing me to do my best in the classroom, it all adds up. In the end I couldn’t be more grateful for all that they have done for me to set me up for a successful future.”

Henk also excelled, lettering all four years in volleyball and track and field. She helped the SCF volleyball team go undefeated in the West Lakeland conference this past season and earn the top seed in the WIAA Sectional tourSEE ATHLETES, PAGE 14

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

9

www.osceolasun.com

TENNIS: Excitement for 2020 Osceola High School tennis team squealched by COVID-19 FROM PAGE 8

playing had worked hard in the off-season to get better. We were all ready and super excited for a fun season and since there has hardly been a drop of rain it was a perfect spring, a heartbreakingly perfect spring.”

Osceola had a quintet of seniors to build their 2020 season around.

Hahns Huebsch and Jed Durand were two of the seniors preparing to make a lasting impression on the Middle Border conference.

“Huebsch and Durand have been a doubles team for four years and I clearly remember them as freshmen wanting to get better and to better understand the game and this was going to be their year,” Friedrichsen said.

“They both had been working to get physically stronger and faster and they were ready to have a memorable senior tennis year. These two are also two of the smartest kids in the school. You put smarts together with their athletic ability and they were going to have a capstone season.”

“Osceola tennis has always been about the formation of a community around a sport that we all enjoy,” Huebsch said.

“For some reason, the combination of spring’s newfound sunshine, a fun-loving group of kids, Prof’s (coach Friedrichsen) sarcasm, and a whole lot of tennis

culminates into inescapable good vibes. I am sure that the season this year would have continued to foster a supportive and good-natured team, ready to compete, and ready to have a great time.”

Last year the tennis team got a shot in the arm when Zeke Lowney and Colin Krentz decided to give tennis a try after competing in other spring sports.

“Zeke Lowney and Colin Krentz came to us last year and I know that they both wish they would have made the shift from track about two years earlier, but at least they figured it out,” Friedrichsen said. “Zeke had a bummer of a year with his knee injury (in football) and he was very conscientious about his rehabilitation so that he would be able to play tennis. I was so looking forward to taking Colin’s excitement and new found passion and letting him just have a great spring. I really am grateful for the time I did have with Colin, he is an intense young man who is enjoyable to spend time with.”

“I was really looking forward to this tennis season,” Krentz said.

“Oscar (De Roeck), our foreign exchange student, was really good and it would have been fun to see what he could do.

Jed and Hahns have been amazing leaders and I am sad that the fresh-

JO JASPERSON | THE SUN

Osceola High School tennis player Zeke Lowney.

men will not have tennis memories with them to learn, grow, and have fun playing tennis. Zeke and I were finally coming into our own with tennis after joining halfway through last season and it would have been fun to compete at the high level that our conference offers.”

De Roeck came to Osceola as an exchange student for his senior

year. He is very athletic and helped the Chieftain basketball team during the winter sports season.

“Oscar came to us from Belgium and when he came all he wanted to do was play basketball, we did not know the tennis skills that he had,” Friedrichsen said. “It is a real bummer that he was not able to compete against other players in the Middle Border. It

It’s now or never

T

he two big Tom turkeys were gobbling up a storm. Big Gobbler One from the hill behind me south a hundred yards gobbled when another gobbler suddenly answered back 100 yards to my north with a challenging call. It was like I was in the middle of a YouTube video. They were hot and I was excited and nervous. It was the last day of my last season. I had gotten blanked in my first season, something that never happens, and now I was down to the wire on the last day of my last season.

My day started at 4 a.m. Car was already loaded so after a quick breakfast and a short drive I was at my spot at 5:00. I had a three quarters of a mile walk down a just planted Wild River cornfield along huge woods posted NO TRESPASSING. My foot hadn’t Trails even reached the ground when a big gobbler sounded off from a tree perch Jim Bennett 50 yards away. That gobble triggered a half dozen gobbler responses in a straight line across the posted woods. Suddenly, my plan to hike in and set up on the alfalfa field didn’t look so good.

It’s hard to stick to a plan when you know you are walking away from the goal line. It was like a 15 yard

Newspaper Office Supply 108 Cascade • Osceola

715-294-2314 715-755-3316

ers on the team feel the same. I hope that Osceola tennis continues to be a team for anyone and everyone. What would have been goes so much deeper than just how many wins we would have racked up this season, and I don’t feel as though just a few sentences could accurately portray what Osceola boys tennis stands for and what it means to its players and coaches.”

With so much sadness of losing tennis and all of the other spring sports we have to eventually turn the page. Yes, we can dwell on what could have been for a while yet but eventually we need to look at next season.

“Having a positive attitude is the next step,” Friedrichsen said.

“There is a great group of junior boys that we have coming up next year. Jackson Dvorak and Travis Jennings have always been a super fun doubles team to work with and watch. Brayden Thomas is also a really hard worker that is intelligent and “gets” the game. They are also some of the nicest kids in the school. Now we just need the courts to open up so we can safely play tennis.

We are also excited about all the freshmen guys that were excited about playing. I hope that everyone stays safe and we don’t rush into making mistakes. This has been a very painful spring and I would hate for the pain to continue.”

SOFTBALL: SCF team denied

holding penalty on a TD or their outfielder making a diving catch on a sure hit up the gap. I was walking away from what I had come after and the gobbling continued with every step away. Trespassing was not an option nor was there any cover in a dirt field. I hate hunting blinds! It was back to my plan of walking to the other end of the woods and set up on the alfalfa field where we had been seeing all the birds this spring. Sun up was still 45 minutes away.

I got to the big rock blind, dropped off my vest with calls and walked into the alfalfa to set up 5 decoys-Two full-bodied hens and three Jenny Vane wind assist silhouette decoys, two hens and a jake. After getting settled in the fence line I pulled out my H.S. Strutt Grand National double slate over glass turkey call that I had picked up a couple weeks ago from a guy over on Lake Wissota. This call was a secondary purchase that came with the Lynch’s World Champion box call I’ve always wanted, made in 1958.

Through field and woods trials, the Strutt slate call had been my best performer. I was hoping to make a little magic happen with it now.

Shortly after sunrise I heard hens yelping south and gobblers greeting the sunrise. Crows, pheasants, ducks, geese, swans and a loon called from a WPA. SEE BENNETT, PAGE 11

The Outdoorsman’s Journal is brought to you by:

THE SUN

was something that we all were looking forward to. Oscar played tennis beautifully and he also was so kind and friendly to everyone. He spent a great deal of time shoveling off court one because he was so excited to play tennis.”

The tennis season that might have been will only show up in the record book as an asterisk with the note ‘canceled due to the coronavirus’ as the explanation. It will take the tennis coaches and athletes a long time to get over their lost season.

“We were looking forward to one of our best seasons in a long time,” Durand noted.

“This year our preseason meetings were promising; we had an exciting number of new freshmen and sophomores show up along with a healthy amount of returning upperclassmen, some of whom had committed to individual indoor practices over the winter and all of whom were excited and ready to hit the courts. I am absolutely gutted that we missed out on this year (and the chance) to show other teams what we’ve got, and to demonstrate to the freshmen what Osceola tennis is all about — family. The last three spring seasons have held some of the best moments, experiences, and friendships of my life, and I’ve grown so much as a result of my membership.

I know for a fact that oth-

715-294-2165 Fax: 715-294-2892 401 South Cascade Osceola, Wisconsin osceolaautobody@centurytel.net

FROM PAGE 8

been the foundation of the team.

Many experts feel that the game of softball is built around the pitching staff. Last season St. Croix Falls got several quality innings from then freshman Wiehl. She had several impressive performances including a 7-inning 3-hitter that she threw against Luck/Frederic on May 9. No doubt Wiehl would have had been a huge part of the 2020 pitching staff.

With the sudden change to the spring sports season due to Covid-19 we will now never know how the Saints’ softball team would have done. We can only wonder what might have been.

“I feel for my seniors and all of the girls,” Hanson said. “It seems like spring sports get the short end of the stick constantly, be it weather or other unforeseen circumstances. My seniors are a great group of young women who have worked hard and deserved a chance to be honored in their last year of softball.

I have coached many of these girls since they were in grade school, so it breaks my heart that I don’t get to be with them one last time. I know they will all go on to do great things in their lives and I know they will continue to be a part of my program for years to come.”

Sports brings out the best in athletes. It isn’t just about the wins and losses but also the memories made on and off the field.

“Missing my senior year of softball has been very sad,” Cross said. “I miss my team, my coaches, and I miss the game. But, I am very grateful for the memories and friendships made over the last three years.”

“Missing my senior season of softball is something that I will never forget,” Langer added. “I will miss all of the fun van or bus rides, hard work on the field, cheers in the dugouts, supportive teammates, and amazing coaches. Even though our season was cut away, I know we will all be back on the field again sometime this summer. With that being said I would like to thank all of my teammates, coaches, parents, and fans that made SCF softball a team and sport that I will never forget.”

10

THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

Minutes of Osceola

Village Board Proceedings 1. Call to Order The Village of Osceola met for a regular meeting on April 14, 2020 via remote video. President Jeromy Buberl called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm Present: Buberl, Deb Rose, Travis Murphy, Van Burch, Tim Anderson, Bob Schmidt, and Bruce Gilliland Staff present: Benjamin Krumenauer and Frances Duncanson Others present: Beth Hanson, Germaine Ross, Steven Vold, Lisa Erickson, and Jordan Mederich 2. Approval of the Agenda Motion by Burch and seconded by Gilliland to approve the agenda.

Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried.

3. Approval of the Minutes Motion by Schmidt and seconded by Anderson to approve of the minutes of: Regular meeting dated March 10, 2020 with the correction of the spelling of Dunham, Special meeting dated March 18, 2020, and Special meeting dated March 19, 2020 Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried.

4. Public Input and Ideas Public input and ideas (Limit 5 minutes per speaker): There were no public input or comments.

5. Reports a) Staff Reports i. Library-Rose-Reported the staff doing was doing well and morale was good. They are making plans for when things do reopen and have had such heavy ebook use it was unable to register it all. ii. Fire-Tim Anderson-Nothing was received and there were no updates at this time. iii. Building permits-Krumenauer- Eight permits have been issued year to date with four of those new homes. iv. Administration-Krumenauer- Reported he is still working with potential buyers of Village properties for sale. There has not been much success in resolving the Learning Center issues with the Mill Pond Foundation and he will continue to keep working on this. Buberl thanked all who helped with elections. v. Police-Schmidt-Reported it has been quiet with school and businesses shut down. The Dept. is looking for part time officers and there was a much appreciated local donation of PPE. vi. Public Works-Van Burch-Reported the Dept. has been doing seasonal maintenance programs and training. Social distancing has let them do things like revamping storage and doing some street patching and sweeping. Equipment is being changed over from winter to summer. By state and local regulations playgrounds, parks and restrooms are closed. They are still doing park spring cleaning to be ready for when they can open. Public Works has been provided with cleaning agents for virus control and has no issues with shortages. In the Utility Dept. 9.3 million gallons of wastewater was treated. One of the pumps failed, a spare was used and a new one ordered. Valve and hydrant maintenance is underway and sewer maps have been updated to add manholes. b) Chamber of Commerce/Mainstreet-Germaine Ross-Reported they are using Zoom for meetings. There was a survey for all local businesses COVID is affecting them. There were 51 responses and 50% stated they may have to close permanently within six months if this continues. 21 businesses reported they have not been affected. The main concern is loss of revenue, with many reporting by more than 75%. This data was supplied to State officials and decision makers.

Burch asks about businesses receiving financial help and asked how can we save small businesses. Ross is helping to walk them through the application process for federal monies.

Curbside for restaurants is working well. Buberl asks if large or small businesses are considering closing permanently. Ross replied would have to look at surveys. Anderson asked about purchasing gift cards.

6. Other business – discussion and possible action re: a) Detachment request by Village properties on Jared Road (Parcels 165-00342-0000,165-00458-0000,165-004580100, 165-00458-0001,165-00459-0000,165-00342-0200) Buberl stated there were six properties in question and asked the conversation open from the property owners requesting to detach. Buberl asked them to state their case and facts, and to work through them slowly. Then Krumenauer will comment on the Village position and allow for further discussion.

Christopher and Martha Zant formerly of 2526 Jared Road stated they recently sold their house and the new owners were now residing there and that they would have no comments.

Steven Vold of 2525 Jared Road stated he had been there a couple years. Vold went on to comment they lived on a private road that they maintained themselves with no access to public utilities, yet they paid the fire hydrant charge on their tax bill.

Vold expressed it seemed more logical to be in the township.

Jordan Mederich of 2531 Jared stated they had been here for three years and that it had been a journey on figuring out the rules. Mederich commented detachment was difficult for them to pitch as they need to give their reasoning on how it would benefit the Village to have them succeed. Mederich expressed that they get no benefits of maintenance, plowing, or utilities, that other Village residents receive. He feels this forces them to pay for something they don’t receive and understands they can’t use tax base as a reason to leave. He explained

they have to go through the township to access their property.

Their taxes are $6,000 a year although they can’t use that as an argument, they had no justification to stay. He felt it was accidental the road was left in the Village. They own their own sewer and septic and there is a $2,300 difference in tax cost between those down the road in township and what they pay and he was hoping to plead their case it was more appropriate for them to be in the township.

Beth Hansen of 2521 Jared Road stated they do not get the same amenities and services as others in the Village get.

She went on to say she hope they had drove out to view the property and their reasoning was stated nicely in the paperwork and examples.

Village Administrator Krumenauer stated in fairness and openness they could speak about the different pieces of their argument including taxes and asked Mederich if he wanted to comment on taxes. Village President Buberl concurred.

Mederich stated they were on two lots and that they own a business in Osceola and loves the area with no desire to cause harm. They are paying almost $6,000 a year in taxes causing them a tremendous hardship. Mederich again stated taxes were not enough reason to succeed. Mederich expressed the lack of benefits from the Village amounts to $200 a month in additional costs and feels that as Town residents they would get the same benefits for less money. His taxes $2,300 a year more in the Village than in the Town. He stated neither the Town or Village will fix the road issue for them and they will never get the same services as other Village residents and he was pleading with the Board to allow them to go to the township.

Village Administrator Krumenauer gave a synopsis from the Village’s side. The initial conversation regarding detachment occurred late in 2019. The first calls about tax increases came from this area. Earlier in 2020 the official petition came in. The Village Board is allowing the petition to be reviewed. A decision may be made later, and if no decision is made it counts as a no.

Krumenauer highlighted current and future land use plans pertaining to this area and noted it is consistent with future use and current use. There is a forested area on a gravel road that is not up to village code. It is near a creek running through a rural portion of the Village. Other properties that straddle the line are like Jared Road. Removing these properties would put Village in tough spot in regards to future growth. Town parcels need to be contiguous with other town properties. If detached, there is the potential of slivers of land that would be islands within the Town or Village. From a services perspective utility laterals are not funded through taxes. The properties in question are on private well and sewer as several other properties in the Village are. The tax bill charge called fire hydrant fee is for critical infrastructure for public fire protection for all residents and is proportional to value similar to taxes. If there is a fire, our Department taps in to the municipal system if possible as it is consistent and cleaner. Krumenauer reviews where the utilities currently are; they are not in that area but due to future growth or demand the Village may provide them. Utilities are not part of tax bill with the exception of hydrant rent.

Vold asked about further expansion of the Village border.

Krumenauer stated the Village has sanded road in the past even if it is not in our jurisdiction but as a public safety issue for our police and fire. Vold asked for a structured approach, they could leave now, and come back in later when the Village grows and expands. Krumenauer spoke about boundary agreements with adjoining municipalities as a larger discussion with the Town, and cannot be rolled in to the detachment request now. Buberl asked if they had a homeowners type association for maintenance of the private road town they share.

Vold responded there was not any interest in that and they had an informal agreement. Vold claimed they are double and triple paying more by remaining in the Village than the Town and paying for the roads maintenance themselves. Vold also claimed the School owns a small part of the road and has never paid for maintenance.

Krumenauer state the Village does provide police and fire protection. All taxes go to all services, that are sometimes forgotten like parks, public roadways, library, and other things and there were still some benefits out there for them. Krumenauer stated we were not going to debate if our services were better than the Towns and if detachment took place we would have to find revenues somewhere else. Town taxes are lower and Town services are less. This could lead to a slippery slope of detachment requests creating concern of about how we would move forward.

There were a number of questions from Board members.

Anderson asked about bringing the road up to Village standards and who would bear the costs. Krumenauer responded that would be a discussion point for the Planning Commission and Board. Burch stated he doesn’t want the Village of lose smart growth planning and access to the east. Schmidt agreed with Krumenauer about smart growth and any road would need to be built to Village standards to consider acceptance.

Schmidt stated he is not is favor of detachment. Buberl comments on claims of no services received and responded the Village does provide police and fire protection with a much quicker response than if they were under County and Town jurisdiction.

Public Safety is the largest part of the Village budget and although you may not have had a need for them yet they will be there when needed. Buberl stated you knew the property was in the Village when you bought it and although he appreciates the questioning he does not agree with the statement the border is an arbitrary line.

Several resident spoke again. Mederich stated the detachment laws were there for a purpose for them to use and that there is no better case than theirs. One hundred feet down the down the road in the Town they get to keep $2,300 more of their personal income. Mederich implores Board to consider their case on a subjective and rational basis. Hansen claimed

until recently she didn’t know she was in the Village and was told she was in the Township when she purchased the property.

Hansen also commented on the disparity in taxes and said they would have a good case on appeal and the Village would not want to spend money on this.

Board member Gillilannd commented when homeowners bought the property they knew it was a private road and they can’t expect the public to take care of it. Differences in tax rates have been there from the beginning. Gilliland state the rest of the taxpayers would have to make up for the loss of tax revenue.

Board member Murphy stated the bigger cost of service would be maintaining the roads and they not getting that service. Beth Hansen stated future development and growth to that area is ridiculous. Rose disagreed. President Buberl stated taxes affect all of the board members too. Buberl stated the discussion had went on for over an hour. Gilliland asks for options. Krumenauer stated they could accept or not accept the petition to detach and that no action or motion is the same a no.

Motion by Burch to take no action on the petition tonight.

The motion died for lack of a second.Motion by Schmidt seconded by Gilliland to reject the detachment request by the property owners on Jared Road and identified as (Parcels 16500342-0000,165-00458-0000,165-00458-0100, 165-004580001,165-00459-0000,165-00342-0200) Roll call vote: Ayes: Schmidt, Buberl, Gilliland, Anderson Nays: Rose, Burch, Murphy Motion carried.

Rose stated she did not support detachment but would have preferred the Village take no action letting the petition die.

Burch stated he agreed. b) Resolution #20-07 Authorizing the Issuance and Establishing Parameters for the Sale of Not to Exceed $1,500,000 General Obligation Promissory Notes BK per Village financial plan and to authorize Village staff to work with Baird to refinance the remaining debt.

Motion by Gilliland and seconded by Burch to approve Resolution #20-07 Authorizing the Issuance and Establishing Parameters for the Sale of Not to Exceed $1,500,000 General Obligation Promissory Notes Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried. c) Resolution #20-08 Authorizing the Issuance of Not to Exceed $2,400,000 General Obligation Promissory Notes and Authorizing the Issuance and Establishing Parameters for the Sale of Not to Exceed $2,400,000 Note Anticipation Notes in Anticipation Thereof Motion by Anderson and seconded by Rose to approve Resolution #20-08 Authorizing the Issuance of Not to Exceed $2,400,000 General Obligation Promissory Notes and Authorizing the Issuance and Establishing Parameters for the Sale of Not to Exceed $2,400,000 Note Anticipation Notes in Anticipation Thereof Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried. d) Tax Increment District One and Two update and Resolution #20-09 Tax Incremental District 1 Termination Motion by Rose and seconded by Gilliland to approve Tax Increment District One and Two updates including Resolution #20-09 “Tax Incremental District One Termination”.

Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried. e) Updates on COVID-19 and Village response/impact Krumenauer gave an update on the Library and Village Hall closure as well as Park. The Board consensus was to continue these practices.

7. Permits and Licenses a) Licenses i. Approving Change of Agent for Class “B” Beer and Class “C” Wine License Pizza Cellar – 102 Second Avenue, Osceola, WI 54020 Motion by Schmidt and seconded by Anderson to approve the Change of Agent to Robert Brace for the Class “B” Beer and Class “C” Wine License at Pizza Cellar – 102 Second Avenue.

Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried.

8. Board, Committee, Commission and Agency Reports Motion by Rose and seconded Burch by to accept the following reports from Board, Committee, Commission and Agencies Reports: a. July 24, 2019 Historical Preservation Committee b. December 16, 2019 Police & Fire Committee c. January 30, 2020 Admin & Finance Committee d. February 4, 2020 Planning Commission e. February 6, 2020 Osceola Library Board Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried.

9. Financial update-Krumenauer Krumenauer reviewed revenues and expenses and noted not all tax revenue was recorded. The Summary is a work in progress.

10. Approval of vouchers payable Motion by Rose and seconded by Burch to approve the vouchers payable as listed.

Ayes-7 Nays-0 Motion carried.

11. Discussion of and action on any other appropriate items Burch thanked Krumenauer and Duncanson for their work and coordination on elections. The Board thanked Travis Murphy for his service as Trustee and wished him the best. The Board then welcomed Joel West as Trustee. Buberl thanked the staff and all those helping to make things work in this crazy time.

12. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned by Buberl at 8:33 p.m.

Frances Duncanson, MMC-WCPC Village Clerk WNAXlP

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

11

www.osceolasun.com

BENNETT: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now or never FROM PAGE 9

Red squirrels and chipmunks were rattling up the leaves making me think a turkey was walking by, but no such luck. I was being coy, calling infrequently hoping a gobbler might be near the hens I heard a quarter mile beyond where I sat sipping on a hot coffee.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the gobblers behind me sounded off making me happy that I had gotten that slate call in the deal. Every cute purr or light yelp was greeted by gobbling as

they cut the distance between us in half. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure which way to face. Making a slight move I noticed movement 70 yards out. A flock of 16 or so jakes were cutting across the alfalfa. Their path was going to take them out of range. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice time--do I continue to seductively try to bring in the gobblers or take an easier route and call in a jake or 2 or ten? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that old adage about one in the hand is better than two in the bush?

Going into jake mode, I immediately start a loud series of yelps

that usually drive jakes crazy.

Sure enough, one comes walking right in while the entire troop stops at attention. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s over in a moment. The promise I made my wife for a fresh turkey dinner was now paid in full. I got that base hit; we scored that final TD as the clock ran out.

Jim Bennett is an outdoorsman who lives and worked in the St. Croix River Valley and can be reached at jamesbennett24@gmail. com

HOROSCOPES

ARIES â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mar 21/Apr 20 After a misunderstanding with someone close, you may be licking your wounds, Aries.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let one or two arguments derail your friendship. Find a way to remedy things.

TAURUS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Apr 21/May 21 If you are tired of taking one for the team, you may need to be more assertive in your work and social circles, Taurus. Set your limits and then stick with them.

GEMINI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; May 22/Jun 21 Try not to commit to anything out of a sense of guilt, Gemini. Rather, commit to things for the right reasons, which might make you more likely to see them through to completion.

CANCER â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, as you step out of your comfort zone, think about

CLUES ACROSS 1. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now called Experian 4. You can draw it 7. Very fast aircraft 10. Go quickly 11. Fifth note of a major scale 12. Biochemical abbreviation 13. Make somebody laugh 15. Returned material authorization (abbr.)

16. City in NE Morocco 19. Colorless gas 21. NE football player 23. A snake is one 24. Small spot 25. Inform 26. Republic of Ireland 27. Large statues 30. Documents about an individual 34. Helps little ďŹ rms 35. Namibiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former name 36. Large insects 41. Thirsty 45. A well-deďŹ ned track or path 46. One who utilizes 47. Plant-eating mammals 50. Not in tip-top shape 54. Alternate names 55. A part of a broadcast serial 56. City in central Italy 57. LOTR actor McKellen 59. Trees provide it 60. Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion accessory 61. Type of screen 62. Snakelike ďŹ sh 63. Possesses 64. When you aim to get there 65. Tooth caregiver

CLUES DOWN 1. Hit heavily 2. Italian rice dish 3. Some are cocktail 4. A citizen of Israel 5. Read-only memory

ďŹ guring out some thrill-seeking ideas. Now is the time to push the envelope and really see the wild side.

LEO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jul 23/Aug 23 You are often a force to be reckoned with, Leo. This week will be no different. You can direct your focus in any direction.

So think clearly on what you want to do.

VIRGO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, are your aspirations in tune with your actions?

Long-term goals come into focus, and you now have to set the course to realize all of your goals.

LIBRA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sept 23/Oct 23 Honest and diplomatic communication may be needed at the office or your place of employment, Libra. Others may turn to you to be a mediator.

Put those skills to use.

SCORPIO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Oct 24/Nov 22 Scorpio, are you spreading yourself too thin? You probably have too many irons in the ďŹ re and will have to prioritize and pull back; otherwise, you may feel overwhelmed.

SAGITTARIUS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nov 23/Dec 21 Check all of the balances in your accounts, Sagittarius. You may have to make very important ďŹ nancial decisions as they pertain to your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.

CAPRICORN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, family dynamics may be a little strained lately. It may be time for family members to redeďŹ ne their roles and boundaries. Things may be sorted soon.

AQUARIUS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, you will support the people you feel closest to and be their ultimate champion.

However, sometimes you need

to step back and let others ďŹ ght their own battles.

PISCES â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Feb 19/Mar 20 Pisces, normally you are a relatively friendly, easygoing person who is apt to reconcile quickly. But this week you could be out of sorts.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS MAY 17 Derek Hough, Dancer (35) MAY 18 Tina Fey, Actress (50) MAY 19 Marshmello, DJ (28) MAY 20 Cher, Singer/Actress (74) MAY 21 Gotye, Singer (40) MAY 22 Daniel Bryan, Wrestler (39) MAY 23 Melissa McBride, Actress (55)

COVID-19 Lockdown Chronicles Volume 4: The great outdoors

S

ome good things have come out of COVID-19 lockdown. People are doing things differently.

Families are spending more time together, sidewalk art, and other works of art are flourishingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the great outdoors is topping the chart of fun safe things to do everywhere.

I am glad to see more people spending time outside. The state parks, hiking trails, and sidewalks are full of people. Spending time outside is one of the safest things people can still do long after the lockdown.

Picnics are fun and with a little planning, they can be memorable meals.

Keeping things fresh or cold is the challenge when eating outside. Bread dries out quickly and Wild Chow anything cold warms up fast in the sun. Planning a meal with food Lisa Erickson items that are okay at room temp and are less likely to dry out are great choices.

To make your picnic perfect add a dessert that is easy to make and will taste better if it is not cold.

In this dessert, the cookies are meant to get mushy and it tastes better at room temp. The flavors are subtle, but they come to life at room temperature.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave this dish out all dayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it will spoil. Make and serve it within a couple of hours or refrigerate it until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re packed up and ready to go.

Picnic Strawberry Tiramisu 16 store-bought sugar cookies 1/3 cup half & half from Crystal Ball Farms 3 cups strawberries 1 lb. cream cheese at room temperature 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced (plus more for garnish) In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer blend the cream cheese and sugar. Add the vanilla and the whipping cream and beat until fluffy; about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Line the bottom of 8 x 8 pan with the 8 of the cookies by breaking them to fit. Pour the half & half over the cookies, letting the cookies soak up the half and half. Top with a layer of strawberries (about half of them). Next, dollop half of the cream cheese mixture on the strawberries. Then, top with remaining cookies and repeat with the remaining strawberries and top with a final layer of cream cheese mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least an hour for the second layer of cookies to soften. You can also refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temp for 30-40 minutes. When ready to serve, garnish with fresh strawberries.

Lisa Erickson is a food columnist who loves adventure and food. You can find more recipes at www. wild-chow.com or email her at wildchowrecipes@ gmail.com.

6. Passed by 7. Northern diving ducks 8. References 9. Iranian language 13. Swiss river 14. Woman (French) 17. Govâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t department (abbr.)

18. Consumed 20. Ailments

22. Balkan Jewish appetizer 27. Reciprocal of a sine 28. Skywalker mentor __-Wan 29. Resinous secretion of insects 31. Similar 32. Female sheep 33. Cool!

37. Borders the Adriatic Sea 38. Flowers 39. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sometimes upped 40. Immobile 41. Female body parts

42. Common request 43. Made a second thrust 44. Fell into deep sleep 47. Subway resident 48. Brew 49. The event of being born 51. Aspirations 52. Doctor of Education 53. Punk musician __ Dee Ramone 58. A subdivision of a play

Subscribe to home delivery

and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll deliver it to your

mailbox for one year!

Three ways to order:

Â? <Zee [r iahg^% iZr [r \k^]bm \Zk]

Â? @h hgebg^%

iZr [r \k^]bm \Zk] Â? FZbe \a^\d _hk +2 !Ihed Lm'

<khbq <hngmb^l" hk ,- !^el^

pa^k^ bg ma^ Ngbm^] LmZm^l" mh3

!

The Sun I'H' ;hq +-1 Hl\^heZ% PB .-)+)

715-294-2314

44% OFF

Sun The

East Farmington Just 5 minutes South of Osceola on Hwy 35

715-294-4410

www.osceolasun.com

www.osceolasun.com

"

! "

! "

! "

!"

!

12 THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

To place an ad call: 715-294-2314

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Accounting

Auto Repair

Water

304 3rd Avenue. P.O. Box 516 Osceola, WI 54020 www.carsonsv.com

Fax: 715-294-4889 E-mail: todda@carlsonsv.com

Appliances & Hardware

Free pick -up and deliver y

Hardware & Appliance • Full Line of Hardware • Plumbing • Pipe Threading • Screen/Window Repair • Whirlpool • LG • Bosch • GE

We sell Airgas

Propane Fills (Grill & RV)

Military Discount Daily - 10% OFF

715-294-3301 • 202 Chieftain St. Osceola

Auto Body/Repair

Experts®

2200 Pioneer Ave, Rice Lake, WI 54858 715-234-8819 or Box 3, Milltown, WI 54858 715-825-3550 or Hayward, WI 54843 715-634-2019

136 270th, Osceola, WI

1-800-657-4754

715-294-4002

Call 1-800-Culligan or visit culligan.com

Chimney/Sweep

Bill’s

Optometrist Trust the Water

Custom wheels, Custom exhausts, computerized alignments, struts, brakes, tune-ups, AC work, Semi-tractor trailers: repair, brakes and tires, DOT inspections.

JOHNSON

Just say “Hey Culligan Man”

Place your ad

Cleaning All Types of Chimneys, Fireplaces & Stoves

HERE!

• Chimney Repair & Complete Rebuild • Video Inspections • Professional, Prompt Service

715-294-2314 715-755-3316

CHIMNEY SERVICE

Osceola, WI • 715-294-2422

Eye Care CHRISTOPHERSON EYE CLINIC

Car Repair Truck Repair Certified Public Accountants and Consultants

Visual Exam • Contact Lenses 341 Keller Ave, Amery • 715-268-2004

MWF 8-5, Tues. 10-7, TH. 8-noon

1

Your

t t t t

Home Loans ST

choice for Home Loans.

New Home Purchases First Time Home Buyers Investment Properties Home Refinancing

Auto Repair

Jim Campeau, Owner ASE CERTIFIED AUTO TECHNICIAN 2145 U.S. Highway 8 St. Croix Falls, WI 54024

PH. 715.483.3257 FAX 715.483.3270

Jon Germain

JGermain@midwestone.com

Building sites available Osceola area

Subject to credit approval.

Financial Services

Accounting • Taxes • Payroll • Business Consulting 433 3rd Ave, Clear Lake, WI • (715) 263-4111 338 S Washington St, St. Croix Falls, WI • (715) 483-3782 OverbyFinancial.com

Insurance

715-755-3377

We feature high-quality Andersen products

HOME • AUTO • BUSINESS • LIFE • FARM • AND MORE

Phone: 715-256-8286 • Text Line: 715-202-2873 Email: service@crexinsurance.com www.crexinsurance.com

Dry Cleaning

Investing Osceola leaners

ONE HOUR SERVICE AVAILABLE ALTERATIONS OF ALL KINDS • ZIPPER REPAIR/REPLACEMENT Drycleaning • Shirt Laundry • Leather Cleaned • Wedding Dresses

522 Northeast Avenue Dresser, WI 54009 715-755-2511

Eye Care

Financial Advisor .

206 Cascade Osceola, WI 54020 715-294-1614 www.edwardjones.com

Member SIPC

Roofing

Emergency Roof Repairs Free Estimates

304 3RD AVENUE OSCEOLA, WI

715-294-2500 715-755-2500

Thomas J Klugow, AAMS®

Shingling Houses & Barns

OSCEOLA FAMILY EYECARE, LLC

Clayton, WI www.stcroixeye.com

Power Company

Stocks.

Bonds. CDs. IRAs. Mutual funds.

Professional Dry Cleaning & Laundry. Full Service Cleaner!

715-294-3634 M-F 7:30-5:30 • Sat. 8:30-Noon

Bob Neuman

Equal Housing Lender

www.garybrunclikconstruction.com

Drop locations at Family Fresh in New Richmond, Balsam Lake Hardware in Balsam Lake, St. Croix Laundry in St. Croix Falls and Horse Creek Store.

Justin Taylor • ASE Certified Brakes • Tires • Batteries • Wheel Alignments • Shocks & Struts Engines • Transmissions • Diesel Repair

715.294.5958

304 Cascade Street s Osceola, WI

USE OUR DROP BOX 24 HOURS A DAY!

715-294-3323 • 345 220th St. • Star Prairie, WI

NMLS# 1634276

Osceola, Wisconsin

From plan to completion

ST. CROIX TIRE & AUTO SERVICES: TIRES, BRAKES ALIGNMENTS, STEERING & SUSPENSION, ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS

t Conventional Loans t Rural Development t FHA & VA Products t and More!

Learn more at: MidWestOne.com

CUSTOM HOME BUILDER

715-294-2165

Place an ad in the BUSINESS DIRECTORY 715-294-2314 715-755-3316

Certified Public Accountants

Construction

South of Osceola on Hwy. 35 www.osceolaautobody.com

Deadline: Fridays at noon

Stuivenga Roofing

715-641-2347

Powering Our Community During COVID-19 As our nation responds to COVID-19, we know the most important thing we can do to help, is to keep your power on.

Co-op lobbies are closed to keep employees and the community safe, but our drive-thru, phone lines and website are open.

We are here for you. #PowerOn

800-421-0283 polkburnett.com

PHONE: 715-294-2314 | FAX: 715-755-3314

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

13

www.osceolasun.com

23

102

454

Free Items

Services

Storage Rent

FREE: 5 ft. tall oak bookshelf w/glass doors. 715-294-2796.

Problems with your car insurance? Tickets? Accidents? Been canceled? Call Noah Insurance for help at 715-294-2017.

Farmington Mini Storage: For all your storage needs. Now offering climate controlled units. 10x10, 10x15, 10x20, 10x25. Now accommodating 5th wheelers, boats and campers.

715-2943078 or 1-800-2828103.

FREE: Rocking chair to rock in, recliner to recline in, kitten for companionship. 715294-3644.

HAVE SOMETHING TO give away? Run three weeks, nonbusiness related for FREE. Must be from the area. To place an ad call 715-294-2314.

102 Services Custom Furniture refinishing, stripping and repair. Do it right, reasonably. The Cellar Door, Taylors Falls, 651-465-5551.

Erickson piano service. Bryan Erickson Tuning-RegulationRepair 715-463-5958 \ 507-475-2584

RESUMES copied for free if you have been laid off and looking for work. Stop in at The Sun, 108 Cascade, Osceola.

300

150

For Sale

Help Wanted HELP WANTED: Age 55+ workers needed for part-time custodial/ groundskeeping at Interstate and William O'Brien State Parks in Minnesota.

Contact Green View, 651-6391913.

NEW BUILDING SITE For Sale - 1 and 105 acres. Country lots â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Osceola Dresser area.

715-755-3377

Delivering Your Community

Serving Polk Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Croix Valley since 1897

www.osceolasun.com

To place an ad call: 715-294-2314

<www.osceolasun.com>

GENERAC Standby Generators.

The weather is increasingly unpredictable. Be prepared for power outages.

FREE 7-year extended warranty ($695

HELP WANTED

value!) Schedule your FREE in-home assessment today.

Call 1-888-355-6955 Special financing for qualified customers.

DIRECTV Switch and Save! $39.99/month.

Select All-Includ-

ed Package. 155 Channels. 1000s of Shows/Movies On Demand. FREE Genie HD DVR Upgrade. Premium movie channels, FREE for 3 mos!

Call 1-866-252-8805

Quality Polymers Plastic recycling company is looking for a Day Shift Machine Operator who is reliable and can lift up to 75 pounds. Starting wage is $13/hour.

Unlimited overtime. We offer paid medical and dental insurance after 2 months, year-end bonus and paid vacation.

Subscribe to home delivery

and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll deliver it to your

mailbox for one year!

Three ways to order:

Â? <Zee [r iahg^% iZr [r \k^]bm \Zk]

Â? @h hgebg^%

iZr [r \k^]bm \Zk] Â? FZbe \a^\d _hk +2 !Ihed Lm'

<khbq <hngmb^l" hk ,- !^el^

pa^k^ bg ma^ Ngbm^] LmZm^l" mh3

!

The Sun I'H' ;hq +-1 Hl\^heZ% PB .-)+)

715-294-2314

44% OFF

Sun The

Apply at 814 Prospect Ct. P.O. Box 339 Osceola, or 715-294-2234

www.osceolasun.com

"

! "

! "

! "

!"

!

BUSINESS DIRECTORY RooďŹ ng

Landscaping

Deadline: Fridays at noon

Tax Services OPEN YEAR ROUND TO MEET YOUR TAX NEEDS

STUMP GRINDING & REMOVING

â&#x20AC;˘ Reliable Professionals â&#x20AC;˘ Insured â&#x20AC;˘ Free Estimates

NEUMANN ROOFING We clean gutters.

800-282-8103 715-417-0303

715-220-0053 â&#x20AC;˘ 715-294-1662

Real Estate

Septic

THE LUNDGRENS Cell: 651-308-2221 OfďŹ ce: 715-294-4373 jeanlundgren@gmail.com www.jeanlundgren.com

Sewer Service 715-755-4888

Licensed in Wisconsin WOWRA CERTIFIED POWTS EVALUATOR

Septic Pumping Roto Rooting Toilet Rental

Septic Tank Risers & Covers Pipe Camera Viewing, Locating, Jetting Luxury Restroom Trailer Rentals

GILLE SEPTIC PUMPING, LLC www.gilleexcavating.com

SAINT CROIX FALLS OR 715-483-9711

GRANTSBURG 715-463-2066

Trailers/Repair Home Sales Septic Inspections

Unlocking Doors to Your Future!

BOOKKEEPING, PAYROLL, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, RENTAL, BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT & PERSONAL TAX RETURNS

Septic Services RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Sewer Systems Installed Septic Inspections Excavating & Demolition We Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Drive on Lawns Over 200â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of Hose

Amery, WI â&#x20AC;˘ 715-268-6637 License #2433 â&#x20AC;˘ gille@amerytel.net

Bill Schifsky Custom Trailer Manufacturing Designing and Manufacturing Specialty Trailers Since 1972 â&#x20AC;˘ Aluminum Utility Trailers â&#x20AC;˘ Mobile Displays

â&#x20AC;˘ We build Tiny House Trailers TRAILER REPAIR Axles â&#x20AC;˘ Couplers â&#x20AC;˘ Wiring â&#x20AC;˘ Brakes â&#x20AC;˘ Aluminum & Steel Welding

651-257-5340 www.customtrailers.biz

Scandia, MN

Place your ad

HERE! 715-294-2314 715-755-3316

14 THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

Bloodmobile at Bethesda

ATHLETES: St. Croix Falls Honors Student Athletes FROM PAGE 8

Sectional tournament. Henk was also an important piece in helping the Saints win the conference title in track and field in each of her seasons.

“My teammates were the backbone to my success in all areas,” Henk proudly stated. “They understood what I was going through, pushed me to be better, and cracked jokes here and there to uplift my spirit.

The bond created in team sports is unlike any other, and it really pushed me to be better in all areas,

not just athletics.”

LaMirande was a three sport star earning letters each season in cross country, basketball and track and field for the Saints. He qualified for the State meet in cross county twice, played a huge role in the Saints’ 17-6 overall record in basketball this past season and placed second in the WIAA Regional track and field meet in the 1600m run last year.

“My coaches throughout the past four years have helped me earn this award by teaching me the value of hard work,” LaMirande said. “Anyone can have talent in athletics but

what makes a good athlete is sheer determination and hard work, and my coaches have taught me this ever since my first day of my freshman year.”

Fans will often forget what it takes for a student-athlete to achieve success. The successful performances that are measured in the classroom or at an athletic setting don’t just happen. Each of the top student-athletes is able to get the most out of their respective talents with the help of teachers, parents and other family members, teammates and coaches.

The American Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at Bethesda Lutheran Church, rural Dresser, on May 28, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Healthy individuals who are feeling well are asked to make an appointment to donate by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors are asked to schedule an appointment prior to arriving at the blood drive and are required to wear a face covering or mask while at the drive, in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public guidance.

...have a fun backyard barbecue.

We’re going to watch a parade, then...

Newspaper Fun! www.readingclubfun.com

Annimills LLC © 2020 V16-20

On Memorial Day . . .

Memorial Day is a time for us to remember and share memories of the people who have fought and given up their lives for our country. We remember them when we hold events in their honor, decorate their graves with flowers and watch military jets fly overhead. Memorial Day is also a good time to honor our living veterans.

We do this when we listen to them tell stories about their military service or we ask them to lead our parades. We also honor them when we raise funds to meet any special needs they may have when they come home after serving our country. Read the clues to fill in the holiday puzzle.

In Support...

Follow the dots to see the special flower. Color it in:

!

Wow

Kids: color stuff in!

1. people in ________ are marching to the cemetery for memorial events 2. ________ are decorating graves of soldiers and loved ones

4

soldiers

14

13

15

people

11

19

R

10

R

R

R

B

B

8

R

7

How We Remember...

6

There are many ways in which we honor people and keep memories alive!

Match the ways below. Then, find and circle the words in the puzzle: A. parades 1. displaying ________ B. flags 2. marching in ________ C. salutes 3. decorating service people’s ________ D. medals 4. flying ________ at half-mast E. graves 5. firing 21–gun ________ 1. reading a serviceperson’s ________ 2. listening to _________ 3. playing “Taps” on a ________ 4. watching a _________ explaining war events 5. praying for ________ everywhere

24

1

9

A. peace B. film C. bugle D. speeches E. letters

R

23

2 5

21 22 3 4

N L E T T E R S V P U

I am proud to flags decorate this brave soldier’s grave!

9. ________ are playing patriotic 10 songs 10. ________ are roaring overhead to honor service people who have died

20

R

R

12

bugler

18

R

Volunteers sell little artificial flowers to raise money to help veterans.

We wear these red poppies as a symbol of those who have fought and died for America.

6

7

17

16

boats

jets

8

B = Brown R = Red

s

band

1

es 3. ________ are being said for peace arad p 4. ________ are firing salutes 2 5. a ________ is being laid at the Tomb of the Unknowns (service people) in 3 Arlington National Cemetery 6. ________ are flying at half-mast rs praye 7. a ________ is sounding Taps 8. little ________ filled with flowers 5 are being set upon the waters to honor those who w have a died at sea wreath

I D P K I M M N S U Y

O F U G Y B K I E T T

K R H R H C G J V R R

N T G E N F T H A D W

V Y F S K I F U R F Q

G U R A C L E Y G H V

T P W L P M S G N K C

R O O U L V D V O L H

F L A T F H C T Y N G

V K D E R E F F S F I

R.I.P.

C M V S S G V C L K O

D J F K A E G A B H P

K H D H C Z G K U J K

P N C D V S K J T U M

O G S S F E J F R T L

K F J E W D U R E F N

M S P H B A Y G L D H

H L O C G R H B G

G A Y E J A B H U P

V D E E H P G T B L

C E G P U N T Y K A

S M K S M G R N V

Q A C D A E C A E P C

Help little mouse find the family picnic basket: Start

SEE ANSWERS, PAGE 16

MAY 20, 2020

THE SUN

15

www.osceolasun.com

Man dies at speedway after bus rollover On May 15 at 9:01 p.m., the St. Croix County Emergency Communication Center received a 911 call of a subject who had been injured at Cedar Lake Speedway, at 2275 CTHCC, in Star Prairie Township.

After a collision during a school bus race on the race track, safety crew personnel were tending to the

damaged buses. Edward A. Nicholson, 62, River Falls, a member of the safety crew, was assisting with clearing the track when one of the damaged buses rolled onto him. Nicholas was extricated and lifesaving efforts were attempted by emergency personnel.

Nicholson was pronounced dead

2018 Polk County Platbooks Available!

ARNELL: Practices changed

$40

demic over, the smog will undoubtedly return.

But in the meantime, air quality researchers have been granted the gift of a natural experiment, one that would be impossible to replicate.

These Corona virus skies should lead to a clearer understanding of our planet and our impact on it. Arnell Memorial Humane Society, 715-2687387, Online: ARNELLHUMANE.ORG and Facebook.

FROM PAGE 3

cities around the globe are reporting less air pollution. Washington, D.C., is experiencing its cleanest spring air in 25 years, while Los Angeles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; once ranked as having the worst air quality in the country â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is now boasting some of the best in the world. Delhi saw a 60 percent reduction in pollution over a three-week period while its stay-at-home order took effect. Seoul, South Korea, saw a 54 percent decrease. Last month, in the northeast, NASA observed a 30% drop in the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide compared to the same month in previous years.

Once the restrictions are lifted and the pan-

COLOR COPIES available at

The Sun 108 Cascade

Osceola

Notice is hereby given that the following have received applications for renewal of liquor licenses in the Town of Osceola: Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? Beer & Liquor Fiesta Loca: 967 State Road 35, Dresser, WI 54009 Krooked Kreek: 2448 75th Ave, Osceola, WI 54020 Woodhill Bar & Grill: 2394 State Road 35, Osceola, WI 54020 Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? Beer Osceola Rod & Gun Club: PO Box 35, Osceola, WI 54020 Skollhaugen: 2232 100th Ave, Dresser, WI 54009 Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;? Beer & Liquor Brothers Country Mart: 2061 75th Ave, Osceola, WI 54020 Dollar General Store #16020: 928 240th St, Osceola, WI 54020 The above stated liquor license renewals will be considered by the Town Board on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 at the regular monthly meeting held at the Town Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Tammy Wanchena, Clerk

NOTICE TOWN OF FARMINGTON Notice is hereby given that the following have applied for renewal of liquor licenses in the Township of Farmington: Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? Beer & Liquor Leonard E. Nelson - Kenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Keyboard 301 State Road 35 Osceola WI 54020

O F U G Y B K I E T T

K R H R H C G J V R R

N T G E N F T H A D W

V Y F S K I F U R F Q

G U R A C L E Y G H V

T P W L P M S G N K C

R O O U L V D V O L H

F L A T F H C T Y N G

V K D E R E F F S F I

C M V S S G V C L K O

D J F K A E G A B H P

K H D H C Z G K U J K

P N C D V S K J T U M

O G S S F E J F R T L

M S P H B A Y G L D H

H L O C G R H B G S Y

G A Y E J A B H U A T

V D E E H P G T B E B

C E G P U N T Y K O R

Q A C D A E C A E P C

Town of Farmington The Annual Meeting of the Town of Farmington will be held on Monday, June 1, 2020 at the Town Hall in Farmington beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Debbie Swanson, Clerk/Treasurer

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given the Village of Osceola, Polk County, Wisconsin will conduct a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 5:45 p.m. The meeting location and directions will be posted at our regular posting locations prior to the meeting.

This Public Hearing is in regards to formally vacating a portion of an unpaved alleyway located immediately east of the east property line of 808 Chieftain Street and is bounded by 9th Avenue to the north, 8th Avenue to the south and is wholly within a residential neighborhood. For more information regarding the proposed alley discontinuance please contact Village Administrator Benjamin Krumenauer at Village Hall or 715-294-3498.

NOTICE OF VILLAGE OF OSCEOLA ORDINANCE AMENDMENT

The above stated liquor license renewals will be considered by the Town Board on Monday, June 1, 2020 at the regular monthly Board meeting held at the Town Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Debbie Swanson, Clerk/Treasurer

1 2

P

E

O

P

L

P

R

A. parades B. flags C. salutes D. medals E. graves

5

A

Y

E

R

R

E

A. peace B. film 9 C. bugle D. speeches E. letters

B

J

E

U

G

H

B

6

I E

L

R.I.P.

E

R S

G A

O T

D

F A

S

Created by Annimills Š 2020

T

8

A

10

L A

S

7

S O

D W

E

4

A

S M K S M G R N G H F

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

Frances Duncanson, MMC-WCPC Village Clerk

Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;? Beer & Liquor Kathy Cottor, Agent - Petro Plus 253 State Road 35 Osceola WI 54020

1. reading a service personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ________ 2. listening to _________ 3. playing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tapsâ&#x20AC;? on a ________ 4. watching a _________ explaining war events 5. praying for ________ everywhere

K F J E W D U R E F N

Submit your local area photos for a chance to WIN a ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to The Sun or Country Messenger Newspapers!

Class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? Beer & Liquor Susan Olson, Agent - SO + JO Inc. (dba Sueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hometown Bar & Grill) 298 State Road 35 Osceola WI 54020

A

I D P K I M M N S U Y

you Brought to

Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township

NOTICE TOWN OF OSCEOLA

1. displaying ________ 2. marching in ________ 3. decorating service peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ________ 4. flying ________ at half-mast 5. firing 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;gun ________

Email us your photo for a chance to be featured on the front cover!

â&#x20AC;˘ Shopping od & Dining Lodging â&#x20AC;˘ Fo ure â&#x20AC;˘ History ent â&#x20AC;˘ Advent inm rta te En Newspaper

by The Sun

108 Cascade Street Osceola

3

N L E T T E R S V P U

Annual Area e Visitor Guid and Community Directory

COUNTRY

We Remember...

Volunteers sell little artificial flowers to raise money to help veterans.

We wear these red poppies as a symbol of those who have fought and died for America.

ey

Vall

Ser Serving erving ving Polk Polk Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s County County untyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. St Croix Croix i Valley Vallley since since 1897 si 1897 7

On Memorial Day . . .

!

Wow

roix J. C

graphics@osceolasun.com

Cash or check only

STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT POLK COUNTY NAME AND ORDER FOR NAME CHANGE HEARING Case No. 20CV122 IN THE MATTER OF THE NAME CHANGE OF Amanda Jean Schaub

by Amanda Jean Schaub NOTICE IS GIVEN: $ SHWLWLRQ ZDV ÂżOHG DVNLQJ WR FKDQJH WKH QDPH RI WKH SHUVRQ OLVWHG DERYH )URP $PDQGD -HDQ 6FKDXE 7R $QWKRQ\ 0LOHV 6FKDXE %LUWK &HUWLÂż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

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MANKATO Jacob Johnson of Osceola received a bachelor of science degree in sport management on May 9.

Now available at:

<e

full color

PUBLIC NOTICES

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

at the scene by the St. Croix County Medical Examiner.

Assisting at the scene were New Richmond EMS, New Richmond Fire & Rescue and Life Link III. This incident remains under investigation by the St. Croix County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, Medical Examinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office and OSHA.

S

N

D

S

I am proud to decorate this brave soldierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grave!

The following ordinance is hereby open for public review. The Village of Osceola hereby announces that a Village Ordinance change was approved on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. This notice serves as the formal announcement of a 30-day public review period of the ordinance.

Review period will end June 12, 2020. For more information contact Village staff at (715) 2943498 or visit Village Hall at 310 Chieftain Street Osceola, WI 54020

OSCEOLA CODE-ORDINANCE # 20-02 AN ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH CHAPTER 161 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FIREWORKS The Osceola Village Board of the Village of Osceola do ordain the creation of Chapter 161 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fireworks to include the following sections as follows: 161-1 161-2 161-3 161-4 161-5 161-6 161-7 161-8

Regulation of Fireworks DeďŹ nitions Use Possession and Transport of Fireworks Sale of Fireworks Storage and Handling Suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of permit; appeals Effective Date

Adopted the 13th day of May 2020.

OSCEOLA CODE-ORDINANCE # 20-03 AN ORDINANCE TO UPDATE CHAPTER A222 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FEES AND SALARIES The Osceola Village Board of the Village of Osceola do ordain a fee schedule update to Chapter A222 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fees and Salaries as follows: Chapter 47 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Records, Public Section 4(F)(3) Chapter 161 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fireworks Section 161-4 Section 161-5 Chapter 207 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vehicles and TrafďŹ c Section 207-8 Section 207-8(d) Section 207-8(g) Section 207-9 Section 207-11(a) Section 207-13(c) Adopted the 13th day of May 2020.

Section 4(F)(1) Section 161-3

Section 207-7

Frances Duncanson, MMC-WCPC Village Clerk

16

THE SUN

MAY 20, 2020 www.osceolasun.com

Celebrating Osceola’s senior class of 2020

C.L. SILL | THE SUN

Osceola High School held a senior parade May 15 to celebrate what would have been the class of 2020’s graduation weekend. The ceremony was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The class of 2020 drove through downtown Osceola as onlookers cheered on the soon-to-be graduates.

C.L. SILL | THE SUN ERIC BUELOW | THE SUN

ERIC BUELOW | THE SUN

C.L. SILL | THE SUN