1  0

Backstrom added that he suspects the teens didn’t know felony charges could ensue from the activities they are accused of, and that it’s possible they could be eligible for a court-diversion program for first offenders. Participating in the program would spare them from criminal records if they accept responsibility and the consequences.

From lefty:

I think the kid that told the police, “You got nothing on me.” needs to change his tune.

1  1

bb

2  0

2  0

And we had a police officer at school at all times. And we had a need for it. This was 15 years ago and I imagine the need is even greater now. Gangs, fights, drugs, child abuse, and theft were just some of the things going on in my suburban school on a regular basis. For a while car stereos were being stolen every day, so they gave the parking lot attendant a video camera to help catch the thieves. Within two days she was assaulted and the video camera stolen too.

0  0

My tank in HS was 12 gallons (still is) and back then I could easily get 3 months of driving two and from school on one tank.

0  0

I agree the dollar amount is inflated, but that’s the way it always is with such things. Record companies still feel they were loosing millions of dollars to people using per-to-per systems to pull their songs down. The legal system doesn’t recognize that just because you have it for free, doesn’t mean you would have paid money for it had free not been an option.

There is always an alternative to parking some where you are not legally allowed to be. With the clearest alternative that you simply don’t drive to school, i know, shocking.

I think that charging for parking permits is ridiculous, but I can see the point. If you can afford to drive a car, you need to be able to afford the costs that go along with the car. $125 seems steep, I’d set it more to about 2 tanks of gas, figure a 17 gallon tank at $3.50/gal. Well, that’s about $120, so maybe it isn’t so steep.

When I started attending Rosemount high School in 1984 there were no fees. By the time I graduated in 1986 there were fees. You would think school systems would promote a car pool system, but they don’t.

0  0

That being said, I never had trouble finding a spot, but then again, I wasn’t running in the door at 8:14 either…

As far as ‘overfow’ or ‘offsite’ parking–I’m not sure if parking is still allowed on both sides of Warrior Drive now that there’s housing there.

0  0

I suppose there is a case for seniority to award free parking passes, but I suspect the revenue is so ingrained to the school budget by now it will never happen.

0  0

Students are mandated by law to go to secondary school and many do not provide transportation for students in certain areas, especially at the HS level. I think if they are going to mandate you be there and not provide transportation they should allow free parking.

1  1

1  0

Sometimes I feel bad for teens these days. Maybe this is part of why people don’t grow up until they’re at least 30 now…they are so over-policed that they can’t get the stupid out of their systems in time to behave like adults when they’re supposed to! Too much threat to their “futures” to step out of line at all. Ah, fond memories of screeching out of the BHS parking lot with the parking lot monitor (not a cop) yelling at us out of his car window…those were the days.

I’m a law-abiding citizen now, and pay for the things I’m supposed to pay for, but I still think that this is totally ridiculous and just another case of freelance tax-collecting (it seems we use law enforcement for that a lot these days!). This kid deserves a slap on the wrist, a congrats for his business ingenuity, and a little constructive redirection; not a ruined future.

2  2

I wasn’t aware there was a lot / parking alternative. Still, my point was more that the $1500 school loss is hypothetical (I agree with what Bill says in the post… it is unlikely they would have purchased a pass at all). In the same way, the fact that they would have taken the bus is not necessarily true, but it could have been. Just doing my part to fight bad logic with more bad logic.

Closet Carnivore

1  0

Why couldn’t they just drive their cars and park elsewhere?

lefty

0  0

0  0

The Ritter guy is the guy they want. His story is almost credible with the exception that he is alleged to have personally sold two of the passes. Oliver is the fall guy in this grand scheme. The patsy as it were.

Years from now, after the West St. Paul government has invested millions of dollars to uncover the multiple tentacles of Ritter’s criminal endeavors, finally identifying him as the mastermind behind the West St. Paul crime wave of 2021, the police will stumble upon this parking pass situation and figure out it could have been prevented ten years ago if they just had interrogated Oliver a bit more.

Free Oliver!
Free the WSP1!

0  1

Although what the kid did was pretty stupid, the charge seems pretty ridiculous.
Even impersonating an officer is considered a misdemeanor.

2  1

5  2

Who could call that justice?

A high school resource officer.

1  1

2  0