WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 42 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola soccer remains at top of Middle Border Conference. PAGE 12
Racetrack proposal withdrawn in Town of St. Croix Falls BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
A landowner in the Town of St. Croix Falls withdrew his application for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) motoplex and racetrack in the face of opposition led by a neighbor to the south, Dancing Dragonfly Winery. The landowner, Rob Carlson, had initially applied last year for a zoning exception to allow the motoplex and racetrack. The matter received a public hearing May 11. In a petition to the town that circulated prior to the hearing, Dancing Dragonfly argued that an ATV racetrack would degrade the pastoral setting of its vineyard and would seriously harm the business’s financial viability. The petition garnered both support and criticism. Supporters expressed concern about noise and the likelihood of reduced property values for neighbors, saying
there must be other sites for the racetrack. Racetrack defenders pointed out that the business would draw people and revenue to St. Croix Falls. Others argued that, on principle, the landowner should be allowed to do what he wished with his property. Roughly 75 people signed in to speak at the May 11 hearing, said town clerk Janet Krueger. But many didn’t get the chance. After Carlson presented his plan, an attorney for Dancing Dragonfly spoke against the exception, citing the Town of St. Croix Falls’ comprehensive plan and the winery’s concern about a racetrack’s effect on their existing business. Carlson then announced that he would withdraw his application, cutting off the need for further comment from the public. Carlson did not immediately respond to a request for information about whether he plans to site the racetrack elsewhere.
ATVIST | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A landowner in the Town of St. Croix Falls withdrew his application for an ATV-UTV motoplex and racetrack last week.
DigniCare site plan approved BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Volunteers from Hope Evangelical Free Church built and delivered raised garden beds for the Christian Community Home of Osceola. From left: volunteers Clarence Ahlstrand and Phil Points, resident Emily Klapsce, therapeutic recreation manager Tia Lisa Erickson and volunteer John Stelter (not pictured: volunteer Brian McKenzie).
Digging in the dirt – for fun BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Residents of the Christian Community Home of Osceola (CCHO) watched, seemingly pleased, last Saturday as a team of men from Hope Evangelical Free Church carried raised garden beds into their courtyards. Although many raised beds sit atop the ground, these were raised even higher, sitting atop legs to allow residents to garden without kneeling or bending. Two were placed in each courtyard – one for vegetables, the other for flowers – with enough room between them for a wheelchair or walker. “They’re beautiful cedar-lined boxes for the neighborhood courtyards so the residents can dig in the dirt again,” explained Tia Lisa Erickson, CCHO’s
therapeutic recreation manager. “A lot of the people here are rural and like working in the garden.” One resident, Emily Klapsce, who described herself as “an old farm girl,” braved the unusually cool morning temperatures to check out the beds built by Hope’s volunteer crew – Clarence Ahlstrand, Phil Points, John Stelter and Brian McKenzie – with wood donated by Fullerton Lumber. She approved. J&S General Contracting has promised soil to fill the beds and Dennis Tomfordhe at The Shed will donate plants. Installation of the boxes served as a finale to Long-Term Care Week at CCHO, said Erickson, during which residents had enjoyed everything from music to root beer floats donated by the local Dairy Queen.
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Osceola’s village board approved May 10 the site plan for a DigniCare senior living facility to be built in “Osceola Heights,” south of Ridge Road on Wisconsin State Highway 35. DigniCare operates several facilities, including Traditions of Frederic Assisted Living in Frederic, Wis. The company offers services designed for “aging in place” such as memory care, assisted living, respite care and hospice. Care plans evolve according to res-
idents’ changing needs. The building – an 18,000 square foot, 32unit site – is expected to employ about 20. Approval of the site plan will allow the company to wrap up financing and move toward construction, said Brian Winges of St. Croix Holding Two, the company proposing the development. He estimated that the building would take about seven months to complete, once ground is broken. St. Croix Holding Two will buy the 1.89-acre site for $264,600. After the village has completed infrastructure im-
provements to the site, the property is expected to be worth an estimated $678,000. As part of the deal, the village will buy the developer’s former trailer park property near the Mill Pond for $245,000, which is less than the estimated fair market value. The village plans to convert the site into a park. Both the park and the development of Osceola Heights fit with the village’s long-term goals and comprehensive plan, Village Administrator Joel West said last fall when the initial land sale was approved.
SUBMITTED
A drawing of the planned DigniCare senior living facility in Osceola. The village approved a site plan for the building and grounds May 10.
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