WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 119 NO. 12 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola football, volleyball and boys cross country win conference. PAGE 14
Ambulance service could use some support BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Working for an ambulance service is not a career people go into in order to become rich, according to Bob Schmidt, a board member and EMT for the Osceola Area Ambulance Service. “It’s a small community and let me tell you it’s hard to keep these small community ambulances afloat with bigger ambulances coming in, trying to buy them out. And I know I’m prejudiced, but you just don’t get the same service.” The Osceola Area Ambulance Service recently reviewed their budget and decided to ask the Village of Osceola board for an increase. “We’re trying what we can do to not impact the tax payers, but it’s getting
harder and harder” stated Schmidt. Their budget for this year is $216,710. Estimated revenue is $199,233, so this year deficit spending started at $17,477. Last year the service started out with a deficit of $30,870; Schmidt said “we’re trying to get back to the point where we’re breaking even again.” The service collects revenue from both public service charges (~$500 per run) and per capita spending from municipalities. The latter has been at a rate of $9 since 2013. At the Village of Osceola board meeting Schmidt stated that they are asking for a dollar increase to this rate. This increase would allow them to collect an additional $7,753 from the five SEE AMBULANCE, PAGE 2
JESSICA ANDERSON |THE SUN
Dave and Clare Steffen, representing Zion Lutheran Church, have donated the proceeds from the church’s Pie and Ice Cream booth at the Osceola Community Fair to the Osceola Ambulance Service and Christian Community Homes. Robyn Foster, Service Director for the Ambulance Service, with Amanda Potting, Assistant Director, joined Natalie Rivard, of Christian Community Homes, in accepting the donations. The proceeds totaled over $4,000, split equally between the organizations.
Is voucher legislation harming our public schools?
Teal is the new orange BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Trick-or-treating should be an activity that all kids can look forward to. However, for those who have food allergies it’s either restricted or dangerous. It’s heartbreaking to think that a child might miss out on the fun of Halloween because of an allergy. This is where the Teal Pumpkin Project comes in. The project originated in Tennessee with the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee, becoming a national campaign in 2014. The concept is pretty simple: place a teal pumpkin outside your home if you will be handing out non-food treats to trick-or-treaters. Stickers, bubbles, glow sticks, and crayons are all options to give instead of, or along with, candy and foodallergy.org has many other great ideas. Some supporters are even hosting
BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
TEAL PUMPKIN PROJECT
Painting pumpkins teal in support of the Teal Pumpkin Project has become a fun activity and event for some families.
Teal Pumpkin painting parties. Bridget Young, a Florida resident, wrote “[l]ast year my sons and I hosted a Teal Pumpkin Painting Party at our house
and we had a great time. We had family and friends come over to paint their pumpkins and we SEE TEAL, PAGE 2
On the Osceola school district website everyone can view the budget document showing where funding and costs come from and go. The document compares the past three years side-byside and looking at the “total revenues and other finances” it actually shows that the total has increased by $247,308 since 2013. However, if you look into the break
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down of this income it shows that both the state and federal sources have decreased by a combined $328,572 ($228,249 state and $100,323 federal) since 2013. So where has this increase come from? The only categories that have increased are inter-district payments (by $170,245) and local sources (by $417,429). This decrease in government funding may be a direct effect of finanSEE VOUCHER, PAGE 2
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During the month of October you can help make a difference in the Dresser Community! Open a Checking Account with monthly Direct Deposit (Wise Rewards excluded), and First National Community Bank will donate $25 to People Loving People on your behalf!
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Open a Little Nesters Savings Account for the child in your life (0-12), and First National Community Bank will donate $10 to People Loving People AND we’ll put the first $5 in your child’s account!
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