NORTH BEND – The city’s mathematical chances of not being selected as a site for a sex-offender halfway house improved last week when state officials announced a fourth site had been added to the list of finalists.

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) announced July 15 that an industrial site location in the SoDo district of Seattle south of Safeco Field was the fourth finalist for a facility that will be used to transition convicted sex-offenders, who have already served their term, back into the community. The site joins three other locations – Grouse Ridge east of North Bend, Peasley Canyon between Auburn and Federal Way and Orillia Road between Kent and SeaTac – for the dubious honor.

“There has been a push to place this facility in a location that lacks the basic infrastructure to ensure the safety and welfare of citizens living nearby,” said King County Councilman Rob McKenna. “The site that has been added to the list avoids such deficiencies because of its proximity to both law enforcement and emergency services.”

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record