WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 24 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola wrestling fortunes improve. PAGE 10
Osceola grad plans Mount Kilimanjaro ascent BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Although she’s moved away to college, Osceola graduate and 2014-15 Miss Osceola Casey Sajna continues to work in service to others. In addition to her studies, two jobs and volunteer work, Sajna plans to hike Mount Kilimanjaro in May as a fundraiser for the B+ Foundation (pronounced “be positive”). The nonprofit organization offers financial assistance to families with kids who have cancer. The organization also funds research for cancer treatment and cures. Sajna’s goal is to raise $6,000. It’s a lot of money, she acknowledges, but she’s motivated by the desire to help families fight cancer, citing a statistic that 46 American children are diagnosed with cancer every day. “B+ is such a great organization that it made the idea of raising money for them less scary, I guess, in the sense that I want to help them,” she
Osceola ends police K-9 program County K-9 receives armor BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
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Casey Sajna is now a sophomore at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a way to raise awareness and funds for B+, an organization offering financial assistance to families with children who have cancer.
explained. “If it had been a fundraising effort that didn’t speak to me as much, the idea of raising $6,000 would have been less appealing.” Sajna says she’s enjoying life as a college student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
She’s majoring in international relations and affairs with a concentration in global public health, and pursuing a second major in anthropology. She calls D.C. a very comfortable city, where there’s always something to do, no matter one’s interests, and the
people are kind and helpful. She is able to walk or take the Metro to most destinations. Although the school is academically competitive, students are supportive of each other, she reports. The campus is very diverse, SEE SAJNA, PAGE 15
Special Senate election approaches Voters in Wisconsin’s 10th Senate District will choose a new representative Tuesday, Jan. 16. The special election was called by Governor Scott Walker after he appointed then-senator Sheila Harsdorf to secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Republican Adam Jarchow, Democrat Patty Schachtner and Libertarian Brian Corriea are competing for the seat.
rapidly to the detriment of northwestern Wisconsin. He describes himself as a pro-life advocate, defender of the Second Amendment and supporter of individual property rights. Jarchow says he has delivered on campaign promises with legislation such as the Right to Hunt Act and the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights, and would continue pushing for reforms in the state Senate. However, some of his tactics for getting legislation passed have been controversial with elected officials in Polk County.
Adam Jarchow Republican — Balsam Lake Adam Jarchow is t current District the 2 Assembly repre28 s sentative, an attorn small business ney, o owner and volunteer firefighter. His p priorities include addressing the size and scope of government, which he has said is growing too
Patty Schachtner Democrat — Somerset Patty Schachtner i currently the is S Croix County St. m medical examiner, a Somerset school b board member, and v volunteer on the b boards of her local food shelf and a sexual and domestic violence recovery center. Her
BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ AND SUZANNE LINDGREN
NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
priorities include addressing drug addiction and mental health problems. Schachtner, who describes herself as a biker and bear hunter, has pointed to her history working across party lines to combat the abuse of prescription painkillers. If elected she says she would bring common sense solutions to the Senate and has vowed to improve economic opportunity through expanded skills training, investment in roads, K-12 schools and broadband infrastructure. Brian Corriea Libertarian — Wilson Brian Corriea is a Navy vetera currently workan i in the insurance ing field. His campaign p platform includes add dressing the opioid a amphetamine and e epidemic, with an e emphasis of shifting efforts from punish-
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The Village of Osceola ended its police K-9 program at the end of 2017, after funding from an anonymous donor ceased. Osceola Police Chief Ron Pedrys emphasized that the decision was strictly budgetary and not a reflection of the K-9 team, which he described as “excellent.” “We were fortunate to have a K-9 program for so long,” Pedrys said. “In a community of our size that’s extremely rare.” Pedrys said he learned last month that the program, which had started in 2008, would end Jan. 1. “Administrator (Joel) West advised me in mid
December that the village board had decided to end the K-9 program based on funding,” he said. “Since 2008 it had been solely funded by an anonymous donor. … We’d reached out to other potential donors but nothing came to fruition by the end of the year.” Riko, who was Osceola’s second police dog, served Osceola with his handler, Officer Josh Morgel, for about five years. Based on averages, he would have likely served for another two years before retiring, according to Pedrys. Riko and Officer Morgel won’t be separated. Morgel was allowed to purchase the German shepherd from the department for $1. “He’s part of Josh’s SEE K-9, PAGE 20
State approves Dresser-Osceola boundary agreement SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) has approved the Dresser-Osceola cooperative boundary plan. Under the agreement, landowners in rural Osceola with property adjacent to certain parts of Dresser may opt to become part of Dresser without opposition from the Town of Osceola. Landowners outside the growth area can also request annexation into Dresser, but those requests would be subject to approval by the Town of Osceola. With the plan, representatives of the Village of Dresser and Town of Osceola professed hopes of preventing future disputes over boundaries while encouraging development within designated areas. Whether the boundary SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
agreement, now official, brings resolution to the stewing issue of the Blue Rock Quarry proposal remains to be seen. The collective of three families who in 2015 voiced interest in becoming part of Dresser and founding a trap rock quarry have expressed frustration with the boundary agreement and its approval Dec. 11 by the DOA. An earlier proposal to quarry on the same land was rejected in the Town of Osceola. In a statement to the Sun last week, the Blue Rock Quarry group called the agreement “a tactic advanced by a few Town of Osceola residents and their elected officials to prevent our quarry project from entering into an easement agreement with the Village of Dresser,” and said the people hurt SEE AGREEMENT, PAGE 20
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