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Young actors tackle a tale as old as time. See Thisweekend Page 12A
NEWS OPINION SPORTS
Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville AUGUST 5, 2011
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VOLUME 32, NO. 23
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Lakeville Senior Center Complimentary demo project to move forward Vote has mixed support, comes at a time of toxic moods by Aaron Vehling
arts center. “Seniors are a vibrant and important part of the community,� Rieb said. She sees the senior center as a way for people to spend their entire lives in Lakeville – raising children and then staying to be near grandchildren, she
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Many seniors in Lakeville have cause for celebration. The City Council voted Monday night to approve repurposing the former police station into a senior center- Bellows historical society-Yellow Ribadded. bon building. Swecker said she was voting for the The 3-2 vote was anything but a universal consensus, sparking deri- project because it serves needs in the sion among some council members near term. Earlier this year she supand generally ensuring that subse- ported selling the former police staquent votes on the project will main- tion. Mayor Mark Bellows and Countain the contentious nature of the incil Member Colleen Ratzlaff LaBeau augural one. Council members Laurie Rieb, opposed the project. “I think seniors deserve better,� Kerrin Swecker and Matt Little voted in favor of the $1.12 million project, Bellows said at the meeting. “I am which will not require a tax increase ashamed by the process (to get the but will instead rely on city fund re- project started and garner support). Some seniors felt bullied. serves and fundraising efforts. “If this was such a stellar project, Rieb said at the meeting that she had heard from both business owners why did we resort to those tactics?� In a phone interview on Wednesand residents who opposed and supday, Bellows said the bullying was ported the project. “I just think it’s a quality of life paired with rampant misinformaissue,� she said, likening Lakeville’s tion. “There are some seniors who senior center to amenities offered to other demographics in the city, in- thought if we didn’t approve this we cluding baseball fields, trails and the See Center, 5A
Photo by Laura Adelmann
Farmington Police Officer Tom Strese was happy to oblige citizens’ requests for a demonstration of handcuffs during a National Night Out party Aug. 2 in northern Farmington. Farmington resident of four years, Joel Enger, proved a good sport as the mock criminal. Strese also demonstrated his squad sirens and showed residents police equipment in his car.
Garofalo considers running for Harris’ seat as Dakota County commissioner Pledges to announce his decision by early 2012 by Laura Adelmann
Checking in at the fair
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
State Rep. Patrick Garofalo, R-Farmington, said Tuesday he is considering running for Joe Harris’ open seat on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners in 2012. Harris, who was first elected to the County Board in 1981, recently announced he will not seek re-election next year. He said he made the an-
nouncement now so potential candidates could have a chance to consider whether to seek the open seat. Garofalo, who was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2006 and this year was chair of the Education Finance Committee, said several people have encouraged him to run for the office, but declined to name names. He said working as an elected official at the county level ap-
peals to him for several reasons. An advocate of local control, Garofalo said he likes the idea of maintaining a “laser-like focus� on the community where he lives. “At the state, you’re dictating policy for 87 counties and hundreds of school districts,� Garofalo said, referring to some state legislative actions as “top-down control.� In addition, he said he likes See Garofalo, 10A
City likely to increase 2012 levy by $1.3 million Money to be used for Farmington road, maintenance costs by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo by Laura Adelmann
Patty Smith, left, enters a drawing in the Dakota County Fair. The Rosemount resident has been entering artwork at the County Fair since 1984 and has earned “tons of ribbons.� The Dakota County Fair, located at 4008 220th St. W. in Farmington and runs Aug. 8-14.
In an effort to save money in the long run, the city of Farmington may raise its levy by $1.3 million in 2012. Farmington City Council members discussed the proposed increase at a July 27 budget workshop. With money raised, a fund would be established to pay
for routine road maintenance projects and capital expenditures, avoiding future tax spikes or adding to the city’s debt burden. “Right now, we have to bond for all that stuff and it’s costing us a fortune,� Farmington Mayor Todd Larson said on Tuesday. If approved, in 2012 the levy increase would boost property
taxes by $164 for an average property valued at $199,800, according to the city. By establishing the fund, the city would end its decadesold process of assessing property owners for street sealcoating projects, and the schedule of keeping them in good repair would continue uninterrupted. In addition, the city would See Levy, 11A
Local author recounts battle with postpartum anxiety She hopes ‘Supermom: A Postpartum Anxiety Survival Story’ will be a resource for women, health care practitioners THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
I have always wanted to write a book. If you asked me a few years ago what would be on my bucket list, writing a book was definitely u p there. I just didn’t have the motivation or a really compelling story. That all changed after the birth of my third child. I was hospitalized for 12 days with a diagnosis of severe depression postpartum, anxiety disorder and panic disorder with psychotic features followed by post traumatic stress disorder. Yes, a sprinkling of every General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
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postpartum mood disorder, yet it went unrecognized and untreated until it was almost too late. I decided to write my memoir, “Supermom: A Postpartum Anxiety Survival Storyâ€? six months after my release from the behavioral health unit in an effort to better understand what made me, an overachieving mom, lose my mind. In the year it took to write my story, I discovered many things. It was the best journey in self-discovery I could have ever made. I discovered that panic ��
by Stacey Ackerman
attacks had happened to me before, many years ago, and I didn’t know what they were. I also learned that the unexplained paralysis of my legs that I had after the birth of my second child was actually a form of anxiety, a psychological condition called Conversion Disorder, in which someone’s anxiety transpires into a physical ailment. Through my book-writing journey, I began to realize that there wasn’t a lot of information out there about postpartum anxiety, making it difficult for numerous health practitioners to recognize my condition. My focus in my memoir began to take on a new form – to bring light to new moms and clinicians that postpartum mood disorders don’t always transpire like the widely-recognized sad, crying
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Lakeville resident Stacey Ackerman battled postpartum anxiety after the birth of her third child, Emily. mother. I want to spread awareness of postpartum anxiety so other new moms don’t have to hit rock bottom before finding effective treatment. Here is an excerpt from my
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book: What should have been the happiest days of my life turned out to be the darkest days. I had always longed for a daughter, and now that
I had one I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to raise her. I hadn’t seen my newborn in more than a week, but it felt like a lifetime. As I sat in the windowsill of my hospital room in the behavioral health unit, I looked outside at the world around me. I saw familiar streets, ordinary people going to visit loved ones, cars driving by, even the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the background. These were all familiar sights that I’d seen a million times before, but life from inside these four walls looked very different. Most of the time I couldn’t remember the simplest things – like how to brush my teeth, take a shower, or comb my hair. The outside world seemed foreign now. I had to think about it really hard to even remember that I had a baby. My engorged and infected breasts were the only hint of reality – the reSee Author, 3A
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