WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 34 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Local athletes named to all-conference teams. PAGE 10
Meet the Spring Election candidates BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Spring Elections will be held April 3. Voters in the villages of Osceola and Dresser will choose representatives to their local governing bodies, and voters countywide can cast ballots for county representatives. This edition of the Sun has several “meet the candidates” articles. SEE CANDIDATES, PAGE 8
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Osceola students join walk out
Students at Osceola High School joined a nationwide walk out March 14 to honor victims of school shootings. The walkout was 17 minutes long, one minute for each victim in the Parkland, Fla. shooting last month. OHS students stood in silence for several minutes outside the school. Many then joined hands in a circle to pray for students who were killed or hurt, and for their families and friends. One prayed aloud for the country and Congress to come together to act to protect students. Another prayed aloud that those with mental instability might find help before harming others.
Add it up: Grant allocation debated at public hearing BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Osceola woman’s story featured in latest ‘Chicken Soup’ collection
As Judy Fleming combed through books at New Richmond’s Heritage Center flea market, a volume covered in brown paper caught her eye and sparked memories. With fondness, Fleming recalled covering her schoolbooks in brown paper bags each fall. The book had a cross drawn on the spine, and Fleming slipped the cover off to find a Bible just like the one she’d had as a parochial student at St. Mary’s School in New Richmond. She flipped to the first page and there, in child’s handwriting, was her maiden name. The story of what Fleming’s family now calls the “Boomerang Bible” is one of 101 true stories in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles and
More.” The new addition to the well-known Chicken Soup series brings together stories of miracles that happen every day to people from all walks of life. From miraculous connections to answered prayers, divine intervention, inexplicable healing, angel encounters, and messages from heaven, the book tells the stories of ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences. Fleming is a retired home health aide who lives in Osceola with her husband of 30 years, Dan. Although the story is Fleming’s, her daughter, Cassandra Kyser, put it to paper. Kyser, who lives in Boyceville, is a regular contributor to Volume One, a culture and entertainment magazine in
Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley (volumeone.org). Chicken Soup for the Soul, the world’s favorite and most recognized storyteller, publishes the famous book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the
U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, “chicken soup for the soul” is one of the world’s best-known phrases and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 25 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this socially conscious company publishes a new title a month, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore with super premium pet food, television shows through its subsidiary, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, podcasts, positive journalism from aplus.com, education programs, and licensed products, all revolving around true stories, as the company continues “changing the world one story at a time®.”
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Are Osceola senior citizens getting the full benefits of a grant awarded for construction of a senior center inside the planned Discovery Center? The question received some debate at a public hearing last week. The Village of Osceola received a $488,610 federal grant to build the senior center. One resident expressed concern that the space was rumored to have shrunk in the blueprint phase. “I’m hearing some rumblings around town that the space has been reduced from the original plan,” said Mark Peacock. “I hope that’s not so.” Village Administrator Joel West addressed the concern. “When this started three years ago, the overall building was about 3,000 square feet larger,” he said “About two years ago it was downsized to about 30,000 square feet. Since our main discussions started with the senior group it hasn’t changed.” The response did not seem to satisfy resident Mike Sine, who said according to his calculations, the space should be larger. By Sine’s count, plans allot 1,031 square feet for the space. Paid for with a $488,610 grant, the cost per square foot was nearly twice that of the rest of the project. “It seems there’s an awful lot of money going to a space like this,” Sine said. Then, addressing Peacock, “I think your concerns about what you’re getting for your grant are warranted.” Administrator West pointed out that the grant paid for more than construction of a room. “There are a lot of prorated costs for other facets of the building,” he said. “The heating, electrical, SEE VILLAGE, PAGE 14
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