WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 36 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Softball season begins. PAGE 10
Owl’s tale latest in raptor recovery series BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Hunting can be dangerous for predator and prey alike. Take it from Greta, a great horned owl. Focused o capturing on a meal one n night, Greta d not see or did h hear a train s speeding i into her path Gove-Berg of flight. She was hit, but in a recovery that children’s book author Christie Gove-Berg called “miraculous,” Greta survived the crash and was eventually released back into the wild. Now the owl is the subject of Gove-Berg’s third raptor recovery book. Stories in the series are based on true tales of injury and rehabilitation. The first, “Esther the Eaglet,” featured a young eagle found near Osceola by Gove-Berg’s parents, Peter and Mary Gove. The second, “Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon,” told the story of a Virginia peregrine. After an injury left her with only one eye, Maggie became an educational bird at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. Upon finishing Maggie’s tale, Gove-Berg found her next story through newfound contacts at the wildlife center. “I was talking with the director of education at the Wildlife Center of Virginia,” she recalled. “I said, ‘We need to do one more,’ and we both agreed owl. There’s something mystical or mysterious about owls. Kids seem to love them and they’re a little bit of a different kind of raptor.” They settled on the great horned owl, well known for its iconic hoot, plumicorns (earlike feathered tufts), and wide distribution. “They’re found all over the United States,” GoveBerg said. “It’s an owl you could actually see in your back yard or locally at your raptor center.” When closing in on prey, owls are vulnerable SEE BOOK, PAGE 13
New planning team sets date for Rhubarb Fest CONTRIBUTED FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS
Rhubarb Fest is coming Saturday June 8. Now in its ninth year, the village festival and has grown to be a fun-filled, locally rooted, family-centered celebration of the start of summer. Where else can you eat ten different kinds of rhubarb pie, pose with someone dressed up as a stick of rhubarb, and cheer on a flock of rubber ducks as they swim over a waterfall? Complete with a rhubarb-themed bake off, it has earned its reputation as a sweet celebration. This year, the event is headed by a new committee of local people, including some major players of past Rhubarb Days: The Osceola Lions, Community Homestead and Hiawatha Bank. With an injection of energy from new resident Ruth Sattler, the festival is shaping up with everything rhubarb. When
this group heard that the library, which had created and managed the event so far, needed to step aside, they converted collective disappointment into action. “After all, such a
‘The festival is shaping up with everything rhubarb.’ gloriously quirky and wonderfully built event surely could not end!” said Christine Elmquist of Community Homestead. On Friday, the Hiawatha Bank will kick things off with Sir Smokes a Lot BBQ. The farmers market will open for the first Friday of the season. On Saturday, Community Homestead arrives with the huge, everything rhubarb, bake sale, along with craft and food vendors at Millpond Park.
“The bake-off competition is on, and so is the bouncy castle and the 5k race, so we can all justify some calories,” joked Elmquist. Summer arrives on main street with sidewalk sales and rhubarb offerings, and the book sale is open again at the library. And of course, the rubber ducks are flying in for the Osceola Lions Duck Race. Osceola’s Rhubarb Festival has always been a fundraiser. “Raising fun and funds is a win-win for everyone,” said Elmquist. “As we look to build this event, we invite local non-profits, school clubs, church groups to come join us. Bring your idea for rhubarb themed fun and add to the entertainment while you raise money for your mission!” For more information email Ruth Sattler at rsattler.bcg58@gmail. com.
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At its Rhubarb Days booth, Community Homestead offers a selection of fresh picked rhubarb and treats made with the tart spring vegetable. Rhubarb Days is now Rhubarb Fest.
Students report successes, failures, lessons of Why Wait? BY MARA MARTINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Concluding a year of community-based projects, the Why Wait? club participants presented successes, failures and lessons learned on the evening of March 27 to family and friends. Advisors Amanda Wicklund and Peg Medcraft organized Why Wait? for this school year as an alternative program for students interested in becoming mindful and making concrete impacts in areas that interest them right now. At the beginning of the school year, Wicklund and Medcraft asked the 36 participating students, “Why wait to change the world?” With that in mind, students chose a problem in the world that they are passionate about and developed plausible solutions, NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
with the help of peers and local mentors. And since failure is a possibility, as it is in anything, Wicklund noted, “It was failures that made them succeed in the end.” On the night of “Change-Maker Chats,” family, friends and mentors were treated to five-minute presentations from nine participating group projects where the importance of their topics in our community were discussed, how well they achieved their goals and what they will take from this experience. Building wren habitat The first to present was Sean Rogers. Sean explained in depth his love of nature, especially at a young age, attending numerous community events centered on wildlife and nature. SEE WHY WAIT, PAGE 13
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The Yellow Bench Project teammates get cozy on their newest creation, a bench built to inspire residents and visitors to recycle.
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