WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 25 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: OHS girls basketball team splits games. PAGE 10
Osceola school district will ask voters for increased funding
‘That is the will of a kid to survive’: Sheriff celebrates Jayme Closs’ escape
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The Osceola School Board on Jan. 9 approved a resolution to ask voters for increased operations funding in the spring election. If approved, the first increase would go into effect next school year. The district is requesting a non-recurring, stepped increase as follows: $1.5 million for the 2019-2020 school year. $1.75 million for 20202021. $2.25 million for 20212022. $2.75 million for 20222023. In its final year, the increase is about $1 million less than the district asked for in 2017, a
In the three months that 13-year-old Jayme Closs was missing, Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald of Barron County never g gave up hope t that she was a alive. Closs, who d disappeared i October in a after her p parents Patterson P were shot and killed in their Barron home, was found Jan. 10. Closs reportedly escaped from a home in Gordon, Wisconsin, and approached a woman out walking her dog. The woman brought Closs to a nearby home, where the residents called 911. Douglas County Sheriff Thomas Dalbec reported that officers responded immediately, putting Closs in safekeeping and getting a description of a suspect’s vehicle. Based on the vehicle description from Closs, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson of Gordon, was arrested a short time later. Closs was hospitalized overnight. The suspect, Jake Thomas Patterson, 21 of Gordon, is being held on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. He does not have a previous criminal history. Sheriff Fitzgerald said few details were known about how Closs escaped or what she experienced while missing. Interviews Jan. 11 were expected to reveal more information.
THE SUN
The 2019 referendum request is non-recurring, meaning the school board would have to return to voters in the future if the district hopes to keep the levy at the increased rate.
request voters rejected. The 2017 request started at $950,000 in fall 2017, increasing over the course of four years to reach $3.8 million.
That increase would have been recurring, or permanent. The 2019 request is non-recurring, allowing voters to reassess their position
in a future election. School district residents will vote to approve or reject the increase in April 2.
ATV routes OK’d for downtown Osceola BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
All-terrain and utility-task vehicles will be allowed to drive through downtown Osceola beginning this spring. The village board approved routes through town at its Tuesday, Jan. 8, meeting. Based on safety concerns, the board removed the Third Avenue route from Chieftain Street to County Highway M. Approved routes: 63rd Avenue from 267th Street to State Highway 35 Simmon Drive from 256th Street to County SEE ROUTES, PAGE 20
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Osceola Village Board members removed Third Avenue from County Highway M to Chieftain Street. Some voiced concern about making the left from Highway 35 to M.
Jayme Closs “I just know that she did escape from the home, and did find help,” Fitzgerald said. “That is the will of a kid to survive, and that is unthinkable. … That comes from the hope and the prayers of this community. She was recognized immediately by the woman walking the dog and the people at the house, and that’s because of the work of law enforcement, the media and the public.” Patterson was also interviewed Jan. 11, and the home was searched. According to Fitzgerald, it appears the suspect went to the Closs home in October with the intent of abducting the teen, though little is certain at this time. “That’s the key question,” Fitzgerald said in an afternoon press briefing, “why and how he did this for 88 days.” Law enforcement does not believe the suspect had contact with the family prior to the October incident. There is evidence that he planned the action and took proactive steps to hide his identity from law enforcement SEE CLOSS, PAGE 6
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