Four Way Facts - Part I

Over the next few days and weeks, we'll be bringing you some facts about the new half-way house located in the old Four-Way Motel on Highway 43 in Tuscumbia. Arguments on both sides of this issue have become heated, and for now we're merely looking at some statements about the endeavor that should be verified.

First, there has been criticism of the amount of time it took the Colbert County Sheriff's office to post the names and locations of the first two residents, obviously both sex offenders. These two men have been convicted of possession of child pornography and are not violent offenders. The last names of these two men have been posted on Facebook, so we'll go with that only. 

While we're sure the people opposing this half-way house have many valid points, we want to be sure they are not mistaken in any of them. There are numerous reasons to oppose this social experiment without stating any falsehoods.

Let's look at the claims concerning the delay in posting to the Colbert County site:

Claim - They were both finally added on the 13th of March. So Mathis was 25 days of (without) the public knowing and Story was 15 days of (without) the public knowing.

1. Mathis was released from custody on February 22 and registered with the State on February 27. That would mean Colbert County added Mathis 14 days after it became known he was living in the area, not 25, assuming the add date of March 13th is correct.

2. Story was registered with the State on February 16. Colbert County added him 25 days later.

It would appear the names and dates may have been reversed in these claims and that one was a day off. We also have to ask how long it took the State probation office to inform the Sheriff's office. You'll notice they were both added on the same day, suggesting the person responsible for this task updates the site at intervals. Is this a good policy? We have inquired, and it appears the person responsible for the county site has been ill and not working a 40 hour week. 

We suggest those interested in local sex offenders always check the State site and group the offenders by zip code in order to have the most complete information. This site also lists the actual offense so that you'll know the type of offender living in your neighborhood.

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Ah, today was the big day in Florence. Any fatalities or lesser casualties? Let's hope the pub crawl didn't turn out to be too literal.