The article written in last Tuesday's paper regarding the untimely death of a young man, Zachary England, was nothing more than slander, which by definition is a false and defamatory oral statement about a person. That pretty much sums up what David Slone chose to write about a wonderful young man whose life was tragically cut short.
What upsets me the most is that the article made it to the press. It should have never made it past your desk. Let me ask you guys, do you have children? As a mother of two, I couldn't even begin to imagine the loss of one of my kids, let alone having someone write an untrue horrible story about one of them and then put it on the front page of the newspaper for the entire community to read where I reside in.
Well, for the people who really knew Zach, we knew better than to believe was written. But what about the people who didn't know him? Think of the picture you painted in their minds. What they really need to know is how great he was, and what a wonderful father, son and friend he was. How Zach would have given you the shirt off his back or the last dollar to his name to make sure you were alright.
In the 15 years I was friends with Zach, I never found a person who didn't love him, yet in the few minutes it took you to write an article you portrayed a beautiful person to something that he never was. Shame on you. The England family did not deserve the disrespect. Don't you think they are suffering enough? They are some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet, and Zachary had the best of all of them in him.
I believe you owe the Englands and our community an apology. You're running a newspaper not a local tabloid.
I feel as if a piece of me is missing, but he will never be forgotten. Zachary Ronald England will remain in our hearts until we reunite again one day, in that big fishing lake in the sky.
