WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 5 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola volleyball competes at Menomonie Sprawl. PAGE 12
Meth cripples Polk County courts as Attorney General steps in to assist BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
When it comes to slaying the dragon that is methamphetamine, newly elected District Attorney Jeff Kemp is battling through an unprecedented statistic for Polk County, and perhaps for the State of Wisconsin. Methamphetamine-related charges now comprise a staggering 36 percent of Polk County’s felony caseload. As of mid-August, that’s 120 meth-specific cases that have been filed since District Attorney Kemp took office in January—statistically more than any neighboring county, and more meth cases than Polk County filed in all of last year. And that statistic only
paints part of the picture. Its larger impact is more difficult to quantify. Most everyone from law enforcement to judges agree that meth plays a role the majority of burglaries, thefts, batteries, bail jumping, and child neglect cases they see, even if meth is never directly charged. On the heels of a heavy year of courthouse turnover, undeniably, meth’s grip is crippling the calendars of a system that was already struggling to get on its feet. The injustice of it all Judge Jeffery Anderson says that a perfect storm of events has meant delay after delay in many court cases, some of which are now past the two-year mark as they await conclusion.
In 2016 Polk County scheduled its way through a tangled web
‘The effects of these delays? It’s the victims of sex assaults and other crimes, who keep coming to court, and there’s a new attorney every time.’ Judge Jeff Anderson Polk County Circuit Court JESSICA DE LA CRUZ | ANERY FREE PRESS
Judge Jeffery Anderson has said a perfect storm of events caused delays in many court cases, some of which are now past the two-year mark as they await conclusion.
of personnel issues—an outgoing and incoming District Attorney,
SEE METH, PAGE 8
50 years Wild and Scenic
Economic recovery continues in county But signs of poverty persist
Film, book, art to mark St. Croix Anniversary
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Employment is up and economic growth is strong in Polk County. But many residents are still struggling, according to a recent report from the county’s administrator, Dana Frey. “If you look at the growth in employment in the last year, it has really started to move up,” Frey told the county board earlier this month during his annual report on the county’s condition. “We got hit very hard by the recession. That was a couple thousand jobs just gone. They’ve come back,
several outgoing public defenders, an outgoing and incoming judge, and countless personal conflicts created by the new judge being a former prosecutor, and the DA being related to two public defenders. In the course of all that rescheduling, speedy trials that should take 60-90 days have become a rarity. And cramped calendars have had their own ripple effects, like a tendency toward signature bonds where they might not otherwise be used, putting accused offenders back on the streets, at risk to reoffend and be charged again. “If I was to put a cash bond on everybody, every attorney would ask for a
ients as one measure. In 2005 the county had about 3,000 receiving aid through the state-
The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, one of the region’s greatest natural treasures, celebrates its golden anniversary next year, and the St. Croix River Association (SCRA) announced last week it will honor this milestone with a special multi-faceted initiative. 1968 marked the passage of the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and with it the creation of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, which is a national park. The riverway, which includes both the St. Croix and its tributary, the Namekagon, was among the eight original rivers designated as Wild and Scenic by the 1968 act, and the first to be named a national park. SCRA’s mission is to protect, restore, and celebrate the St. Croix River and its watershed. It is also the Friends group for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and collaborates with the National Park Service to protect and enhance the park and offer quality
SEE COUNTY, PAGE 2
SEE RIVER, PAGE 10
POLK COUNTY
Employment in Polk County has increased beyond pre-recession levels.
and they’ve come back very rapidly in the last year.” Still, noted Frey, many of the county’s residents are not see-
ing the benefits of that recovery. “You can still see problems,” he said. Frey cited the number of FoodShare recip-
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