WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 119 NO. 44 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
RHUBARB DAYS 2017: Events and Schedule. PAGES 13-16
Serenity Home lease renewed
Art Bench Trail launches pop-up program Junior rangers wanted BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Art and nature will converge along the Art Bench Trail this summer with pop-up programming scheduled at art bench sites, including those in Osceola and St. Croix Falls. The Art Bench Trail consists of eight benches dispersed throughout the St. Croix Valley, from St. Croix Falls in the north to Prescott in the south. The benches were made in their respective communities and linked conceptually as a trail in 2014. Osceola’s bench overlooks the Mill Pond and St. Croix Falls’ sits
Amidst applause from supporters in red t-shirts, the Polk County Board approved a new lease for Serenity Home last week. The lease was accompanied by a resolution to address causes of homelessness in Polk County and find an appropriate place for a permanent shelter, something of a reconciliation agreement for Balsam Lake critics who say they’ve seen crime rise since the shelter opened in the village eight years ago. The proposal won the vote of one of the shelter’s most vocal critics on the board, Chris Nelson. The Balsam Lake board representative pointed out that, although he agreed with Serenity Home proponents who say the shelter serves a need in the county, those proponents had not spoken to critics’ specific concerns. “There’s not one person who really addressed the village’s issues,” he said. “Local concerns raised were never about the Backpack Program or the good work the Salvation Army does in the community. They are to do with Serenity Home leadership,
SEE TRAIL, PAGE 6
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Osceola’s art bench sits near the Mill Pond and celebrates Cascade Falls. Pop-up programs are scheduled this summer at the art benches in Osceola and St. Croix Falls.
SEE SERENITY HOME, PAGE 2
Teens give back to community
CHRISTINE ELMQUIST
Give Back students teamed up with Community Homestead’s Forestry Team and visiting students from Chicago Waldorf School to clear prickly ash out of a trail. Pictured: Adeline Methvin, Preston McManamy, Sam Link, Mikayla Fennern, Christian Foss and Madison Ogren with their teacher Rick Stewart. Chicago students are Charlie Gelman and Sakhile MaKana with their teacher Rob Welcher. Community Homestead folks are Richard Elmquist, Terra Corpuz and Alex Hansen. BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Unleash 125 teenagers on a village and the energy is palpable. Osceola High School students made a big difference on Give Back
Day, pulling garlic mustard at Standing Cedars, clearing a path at Community Homestead and trimming brush along a village bike trail. They picked up used ammunition SUBMITTED
SEE GIVE BACK, PAGE 6
OHS students made play dough at the Osceola Public Library as part of the school’s Give Back Day.
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