PEOPLE in Enniskillen have been trying to come to terms with the revelation by social services that a convicted sex offender is living in their midst. "I've been here for four months and done nothing wrong, the man told the Impartial Reporter.
"I have put it all behind me. I am living my life. I am not a danger to anybody. I am doing nothing wrong," he said.
A warning letter circulated by, school principals to parents of Enniskillen schoolchildren describes the man as "a high risk offender with every likelihood that he will reoffend".
The man told the Impartial Reporter he had been found guilty in England of "about three offences related to the same thing" for which he had served six years in prison.
"This is not a series of offences against a series of people," he added.
He believed that people in Enniskillen would have to judge him us they found him. "I have a lot of good friends in town. A lot of them know about my past. They have not held it against me. Quite a few believe I have got a rather raw deal," he told the newspaper.
The punishment did not end, he believed. "Whether I committed the offence or not, I paid for it," he said. "I say I was innocent," he added.
Social services said a broad based assessment procedure was carried out on the convicted sex offender before he was referred to in the letter to parents. The letter advised them to make suitable arrangements for the safe journey of children to and from school.
Cross party outrage greeted the disclosure. A DUP councillor described the man as "an undesirable import", an SDLP councillor was critical of the way matter had been dealt with, sending "shockwaves through the community" and placing the onus on schoolteachers to inform parents. A Sinn Fein councillor claimed the sex offender should not have been allowed to live in an area with a high population of schoolchildren.
Adi Roche demurred when the Tipperary Star asked her about the prospect of becoming a candidate for the Presidency, although she "did not rule it out". She said that "anybody would love to think themselves as being capable and worthy of the office. I would love to be in that position but that is something for others to judge."
She preferred to focus on her latest convoy to Belarus, which will include five 38 ton trucks of aid and 30 ambulances. She added that for the past three years she has been lobbied by two major parties in relation to general elections and Seanad nominations but had turned them all down.
The Derry journal said Buncrana UDC was "buck in business" following a two week adjournment caused by the disclosure that gardai were investigating an allegation of bribery concerning the UDC. Heated exchanges among council members did nothing to resolve the controversy over the investigation, which some claim relates to gaming.
A test revealing ecstasy on clothing and in bodily fluids is being developed by scientists at University College Galway with funding from Forbairt's £1 million Science and Technology Initiative Against Drugs, said the Connacht Tribune. The portable test "could prove invaluable to doctors treating patients who are suspected of having taken ecstasy and who may benefit from a speedy response," it said.
A "heart broken" mother who has seen three of her six children die due to illness appealed to thieves to return photographs which they stole from her house. The Meath Chronicle said Ms Sandra Kane, of Navan, "could do anything" to retrieve a locket which contained a picture of her daughter, Christina, who died aged five months of a viral infection in 1987, eight month old Niamh who died of cot death in 1989 and Andrew, who died of a brain tumour one week from his 11th birthday in 1994.
The expression "waiting for spring" has taken on new meaning, now a general election is in the air. The Tanaiste is the only party leader yet to visit Longford, the Longford News said.
Mr Spring visited Tuam last week as the Government searched "desperate" for a solution to the TV deflector service crisis, said the Connacht Tribune. It also reported that the Taoiseach will personally lead Fine Gael's bid for a second seat in the new East Galway constituency.
Commenting on "the false war" being waged before the election, the Connacht Tribune said that wellie clad politicians making "thinly-disguised sallies into constituencies" were close to "making the jaded electorate even more cynical". Their "posing and posturing" were "verging on the intolerable". If any good came of it, maybe it would at last ensure justice and truth for the hepatitis C victims, who had suffered the greatest health scandal in the history of this State.
