Colbert County home invasion: Sign of the times?

Early last Tuesday morning, a man was murdered in his own home by three thugs looking for money.

41 year-old, Harry James Ricks Sr. was murdered in cold blood because he attempted to run away from his captors. This in front of his tied up family. In a house not too far from yours. The murder occurred on Gate Six Road in Muscle Shoals, just passed Wise Alloys.

Mr. Ricks leaves, through no fault of his own, a son that looked up to his father, a wife, friends, and co-workers.

Some have suggested this is just a sign of the times. I don't know, but, I do know the Shoals has suffered great loss this year, tragic losses.

Jennifer Lee Hampton, of Lauderdale County, was taken from us by a monster that just so happened to be an illegal alien.

Mason Scott, a young boy from Russellville, was allegedly burned alive by his mother in a house fire.

A man beaten to death in Florence.

A Sheffield man shot by his sister in a drunken brawl.

Colbert County District Attorney, Bryce U. Graham Jr., has made it clear that he aims to get the thugs that killed Ricks off of the street. Anyone that has talked to or seen Colbert Sheriff Ronnie May lately, know he is dead serious about apprehending these thugs too. We are lucky to have dedicated public officials in Colbert County that will pursue this.

Some people have suggested these deaths are just part of living in cities this size or sign of modern times or, amazingly, the economy. I have actually heard people say the economy is to blame for the sharp increase in crime. I think not. Shoplifting, yes, but not murder.

The Shoals is our home , for better or worse, and we would like to think all of these deaths are anything but ordinary. This is not D.C. This is not Birmingham or Memphis. This is our home.

We must show these people that this will not be tolerated.

When the murderers are caught and sitting in a Tuscumbia courtroom, I hope they are made to see the faces of Mr. Rick's family. I hope they see the hurt. The whole community is feeling it right now.

Sheffield mayoral campaign finally over

The citizens of Sheffield have spoken and Ian Sanford will be the next mayor. We were the first in the Shoals to report the victory. I can't say that I remember a local mayors race getting this heated. Emotions have run high. One could probably argue that is a good thing, but, I can't say that. At the end of this whole election fiasco, it seems a lot of people got their feelings hurt. While we at Shoals Insider never endorsed anyone, we did try to bring fair coverage to you, our readers. We at Shoals Insider get up early in the morning scanning news feeds and the news wire to bring you a broad spectrum of coverage as it effects us here in the Shoals.

I feel all of the coverage of this mayors race has raised the public's awareness of the issues in Sheffield. All of the newly elected officials would do well to remember the people are watching them now, more than ever. We hope to keep you informed on the issues that effect your lives. Some say what is the big deal about all of these little city races. We say they are big because the decisions that they make will have an impact on your lives. As one Fox News television host says "We're looking out for you" Shoals Insider

Word of "the foot" travels around the world

One only has to look at any internet news service to see word of "the foot" has spread all over the globe. It is being reported in Australia, Canada, all fifty states by the Associated Press, Great Britain, etc. We have heard people say that it is Andrea Gonzalez's foot. We have heard that it is from a body in an unvaulted grave that dogs dug up. We hope the UAB doctors and law enforcement personnel do find out it origins. Those that remember the Andrea Gonzalez case, know it was a very heart-breaking story about the death of a precious little child. We pray the mystery is solved. It would bring closure to one of the Shoals Area's greatest heart-breaks.

Jennifer Lee Hampton

Early last Sunday, we broke the Jennifer Lee Hampton story to the Shoals Area. Since then, we have been in daily contact with the Knoxville Police Department seeking answers for you our readers. We are very proud to see Shoals Area citizens coming together for this very special cause.

We talked to a few members of the news media in Knoxville. One reporter told us "You guys must be a tight knit community over there in Florence, Alabama. It seems your whole community has come together behind this with support and concern. It's not that often we see that here in Knoxville."

At times, we seem to hear a lot of negatives about the Shoals. It's good to hear positives, even from out of towners.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer's family in this difficult time.

Steve Price endorses Mayor Anderson

We reported yesterday that, former Sheffield mayoral candidate, Steve Price has endorsed Mayor Billy Don Anderson. We at Shoals Insider are the first in the Shoals Area to announce this endorsement. Mayor Anderson has worked tirelessly the past four years. He has been a mayor that all of the citizens of Sheffield can be proud of. Mayor Anderson has made some tough decisions that no person would want to make.

Steve Price who ran for Mayor of Sheffield was viewed by many as an outsider. It seems this was his drawing card. Several Sheffield citizens have told the Insider this is a good thing. Price says Anderson brings years of knowledge to the office. He has a very keen insight into the inner workings of government and industry. As a bank President, Anderson oversaw millions of dollars. He had to deal very directly with business owners. He knows how to make something work. Anderson also serves on the UNA Board of Trustees. He has held that position for some time and the University has seen exponential growth. We at the Shoals Insider feel that the mere fact that the City of Sheffield is still open for business is testimony to someone. Councilwoman Verna Brennan tells the Insider that Sheffield was a "hair away from going under, we worked hard collectively to keep the City afloat."

We at Shoals Insider are not endorsing either candidate. Unlike other local newspapers, we believe the voters should decide who they vote for. Voters should weigh the facts and decide for themselves. Like Dick Biddle of WOWL used to say, "Be a good American, be an informed American." We believe the citizens of Sheffield are very capable of deciding who the next mayor will be.

Some of our staff members at Shoals Insider have known the two candidates all of their lives. They feel that each candidate has merit. We try to bring a real "fair & balanced" approach
to our news coverage. We consider it a great honor and a privilege to bring news and information to 40,000+ Shoals Area residents per month.

Please feel free to comment on this or anything else, by clicking on the comment icon.

We have a new readers forum on the Shoals Insider

We would like to thank all of our readers for the tremendous response we have received on our Reader Forum. 1,400 people have already given it a test as of this morning at 7:00AM, 9/11/08.
We have several forums within our Reader's Forum, News, Politics, Sports, Food, Article Suggestion, and a Legal forum that is monitored by three lawyers throughout the week. Our forum is ad free and dedicated to our Shoals Insider readers. You can go to our forum by clicking on the icon in the left-hand side of our front page or on the left-hand side list of links on this page.

Once again, thank you for your support and tremendous response to Shoals Insider and our Reader's Forum. We are certain that you will not find our discussions anywhere else in the Shoals Area.

We will continue to provide you with exclusive news and topics. Also, we would love to hear from you about any suggestions that you might have.

Evacuees stress some in Shoals Area

Evacuees in altercation with Helen Keller Hospital

In the spirit of community and helping others, we think it is so awesome how the Shoals rose to the occasion to help so many of the evacuees from New Orleans recently.

All in all, we continue to believe the Shoals Area is one of the best places to live and work. Some of us get ill when we see some being taken advantage of(nurses, hospital staff, students, etc..) We at the Shoals Insider wrote an article about the incident at HKM hospital, not to stir hatred or discord, but to inform our readers of news they are not receiving elsewhere. We want to provide another lens for our readers, another point of view. We feel we are doing just that.

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Shoals Insider now has a news blog

We at Shoals Insider now have a News Blog for our readers to suggest topics and to leave news tips. Shoals Insider has experienced tremendous growth in the past few months. shoalsinsider.com provides the Shoals Area with late-breaking news. We offer news that is not found everywhere else. We try to provide insight and a close-up look at what is going on in the Shoals Area. We hope this blog will provide an exchange for our readers.

Thank You our readers,

Shoals Insider