Sex Offender, Mental Illness Drugs and a Crime Ring: Feedback Friday

Each week, Patch users contribute numerous insights, opinions and observations. The following is a collection of the most thoughtful, moving, controversial or just plain funny comments that appeared on Patch sites in Edina, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Richfield, Shakopee, Plymouth, St. Louis Park and St. Michael. Click on the headline to read the full story and join in the conversation.

(The comments below are not meant to reflect the opinions of Patch or its staff.)

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A few weeks ago we watched again in horror at the aftermath of a mass shooting in Colorado. And we asked, as we always do, how we can stop this kind of thing from happening again. Dr. Hal Pickett, who is the clinical director at Headway Emotional Health Services, writes about getting involved with a person who is visibly deteriorating and getting them to use appropriate services.

Dr. Tom Spicer had a comment to share:

I wonder what prescribed medications this person was on. This always get's left out of the media due to patient confidentiality issues, however, it has been documented that it is a common side effect for patients to loose touch with reality when on the drugs their therapists hand out like candy. Columbine comes to mind. Food for thought!

And Dr. Hal Pickett responded:

Yes, Dr. Spicer, it is difficult to monitor and manage the side effects that may come with medication prescribed by the Psychiatrist. It can also be very dangerous when these medications get mixed with recreational drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately Psychopharmacology relies on the intuition of a well trained Psychiatrist mixed with a little trial and error.

Josh D. Ondich lost the primary race Tuesday for Senate District 35, which covers Shakopee. Ondich posted a concession statement, saying in part, "I thank her (Kathy Busch) for running a campaign based on the issues. I am honored to have the opportunity to run not against her, but with her in this primary."

Patricia H. Fabricius was impressed with Ondich's response.

Nice to read a clean, well written from the heart statement such as this one by Josh Ondich.

A St. Michael Patch user was disappointed with low voter participation in the Minnesota Primary held Tuesday. 

Looking at the District 4 result from Wright County, Rick commented: 

This is the real disgrace. As much as people scream and yell about "judicial activism" the turnout for the primary was a joke. If people were truly concerned, the polls would have been packed just for the fact of voting the judicial candidates for the November election.

The Richfield City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would clarify how garbage containers are to be stored. The need for change came after a district court waived a citation being disputed by a resident since the language of the existing ordinance didn't properly define the policies.

Before the second reading the council asked for maps and diagrams to help those who enforce the laws and residents know what is acceptable.

However, when it comes to homes that butt up to alley ways, Deb C believes no map will give enough direction:

Alleys.... alleys..... Diagrams or maps won't give a visual of what alleys look like in the winter when the snow banks from the alleys are piled up next to the garages higher than the garbage cans. City Council needs to consider the lack of space most properties with garages & driveways off the alley have, especially after the plow pickup trucks come through and dump the alley snow against garages and into afore mentioned driveways. For those that have your driveway off an actual street, la-de-da, lucky you. Maybe the council should take a tour via car/suv/pickup/ whatever down alleys with garages and driveways off the alley and visualize what it looks like in the winter. It would be interesting to find out the percentage of driveways/garages off streets versus driveways/garages off alleys..... alleys... in Richfield. Maps and diagrams are cool to look at but don't provide an accurate visual from ground level.

Two kingpins at the center of a $50 million identity theft ring first discovered by  were sentenced Monday, Aug. 13, to lengthy stays in prison.

The identity theft ring was discovered three years ago, when  flagged a voided transaction at . The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force then worked backward from arrests at Southdale to connect cases in Wisconsin, Iowa and beyond.

Edina Detective Dave Lindman was also integral to the ongoing investigation. Lindman served on the task force, working behind the scenes to uncover a substantial number of fraud cases.

Reader Barbara praised Officer Moore's work within the Edina community:

Joel Moore is an outstanding police officer! Too bad he can't be given a performance raise because he certainly deserves one!

Hopkins Police announced Monday that a registered sex offender is moving into the community. Kenneth Edward Dean, sexually assaulted a woman who did not know him, according to police. The contact involved penetration and a weapon that was brandished during the assault. He’s been categorized as a “Level III” offender, which means a committee believes there is a high risk he will commit another sex crime.

Amber Connors wasn’t happy to hear the news:

This is outrageous! The system is messed up! He should be in jail forever. Especially if he is considered likely to offend again, hello!!

Exercise v. Diet: Which One Wins?

When it comes to weight management, there’s a healthy competition of exercise versus diet. But in the end, both take gold.

rob_h78 gave some his tips on the subject and was glad to see it brought up on Patch:

This article is the type of information that needs to be posted in public for everyone to see so we can get away from the Diet vs Exercise - as if they do the same thing...

A few tips I can share:

- You cannot out-exercise a bad eating plan.

- If you want to lose weight - throw out or donate everything in the house that is not on your eating plan (e.g. everything that is processed, probably packaged, etc...) because if it is in the house you will eventually eat it - so why tempt fate.

- Eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours - lean protein and veggies - never let yourself get overly hungry otherwise the urge to binge can be too much.

- No matter how much weight you have to lose - remember it's a marathon not a sprint.

- And exercise because after you lose the fat you don't want to just look "skinny" you want to look toned.

Paul Scofield—who said he would have dropped out of the race had he not missed the deadline to withdraw—won the Senate District 46 Republican primary on Tuesday night and will face Democratic incumbent Sen. Ron Latz in November's general election.

Andrew McClusky was not impressed:

Scofield is a dope, he has run for everything from school board to Senate and now that he finally gets the chance he's been begging for, he turns it down. Weak!