WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 119 NO. 15 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Athletes, coaches honored. PAGE 16
Osceola applies to become Bird City of Wisconsin BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
JESSICA ANDERSON | THE SUN
Bluff loop ribbon cutting
On Nov. 3 the Falls Bluff Loop Trail was officially opened after the addition of a bridge, new path, and deocrative items. A lot of effort was put into this project by many people including the Osceola Chamber of Commerce, Eagle Scout Troop 131, several private residents and financial supporters. The project was led by Riley Koosman and Nicholas Kremer, members of troop 131. Donations for the project were made by the Wis. Association of Realtors, Osceola Area Chamber Save the Bluff Fund, Osceola Lions Club, Polk Burnett Operation Round Up, X-Press Signs, Standing Cedars Land Conservancy, St. Croix Valley Landscaping, Fullerton Lumber, Northwire, J & S Contracting Abrahamsons, Village of Osceola, and Dresser Trap Rock. Over 700 hours of volunteer work went into the project.
This year Osceola’s Chamber of Commerce, along with the Village, applied to the state to allow Osceola to become a Bird City of Wisconsin. This concept came along to help cities of Wisconsin support and benefit from the extensive birding community of the state. Wisconsin has the second largest community of bird watchers in the country. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service one third of state residents over the age of 16 actively participate in bird watching. Because of where Osceola is situated in the St. Croix Valley it is an ideal place to bird watch, specifically for waterfowl and birds of prey, which, according to the Chamber’s application, are “the first and second most popular types of birds respectively for Wisconsin birders.” The application also states that “[a]long the Osceola portion of the St. Croix
Ri h b t 45 River, we have about pairs of Bald Eagles and one of the largest heron rookeries which holds 300 nests. The larger Osceola area is home to more than 150 trumpeter swans whose population has made a come back after having to be reintroduced to the area.” If the application is approved Osceola will receive recognition as a Bird City through various signs and plaques and a “special page on Bird City Wisconsin’s website devoted to our community’s bird conservation achievements.” This recognition will likely bring in birding tourists and help inform locals about the wildlife
in their own community. The village will also recognize an International Migratory Bird Day every year, the first of which would be May 13, 2017. Germaine Ross, chamber member who has been spearheading this process, stated “We that live here are truly blessed with the St. Croix River flyway, the Standing Cedars Land Conservancy and areas in the village that, all combined, create amazingly diverse habitat for a wide variety of birds. We already had all the components for the application process. Bird City WI designation will be a good incentive to continue to protect bird habitat, choose plantings wisely around the village and encourage us to get out and enjoy our natural areas. Bird watching just adds another attractive reason to visit Osceola, money will be spent here when people visit and that’s good for our local businesses, too.”
Animal ordinance procedures in Town of Osceola BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Recently the Town of Osceola has been working to enforce the ordinance involving barking dogs. In order to solve a dispute over one of these situations the board has looked to other authorities on this subject. Because the District Attorney (DA) has stated that
they do not prosecute the owners of barking dogs, they have recommended that the town board hire their own attorney. Clerk and treasurer Lorraine Rugroden recommended a specific attorney the board should consult. The board then debated the merits of contacting the complainant to determine if there
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have been any new incidents, because the board has not heard anything from them in the time that they have been working to solve the previously reported issues. However, the concern of stirring up more problems caused the board to proceed with the issues that have already been reported. Because the way of dealing
explained, the board has followed the procedure of asking the animal’s owner to pay the set fine for the issue and if this request is denied they simply add it to the owner’s tax bill. The Osceola town board agreed to follow this procedure in the future as well.
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with complaints of animal nuisances is something the town does not have a set rule on, which is to be determined by each municipality to a certain extent, board chairman Doug Schmidt suggested at the Nov. 1 meeting that the Town follow in the footsteps of its neighbor, East Farmington. In Farmington, Schmidt
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