(Re: Story Should Be Left Alone, Letters, Penticton Western News, Oct. 2, 2013)
On behalf of numerous and discerning readers, I would like to come to the defence of Mr. Joe Fries, this news reporter who wrote the article, Coroner links alcohol to woman’s death, on Sept. 25.
First off, my condolences to the family of Ms. Kyra Holt, who tumbled out of the back of a pickup truck while drunk, and fatally struck her head on the road.
Contrary to what some people might think, the writer of this article did not drag her reputation through the mud at all.
He just reported what happened to her. He reported the facts only, as any good, professional journalist would do, in this in-depth local story. He did not say — what most readers thought, by the way — that this 39-year-old mother’s behaviour was plain foolish and immature, that it was highly fortunate that she was not the driver who could have killed others instead, etc.
No, he wrote only about the facts, which makes his reporting seem insensitive to some people who knew her.
Truth hurts, but has to be told.
I was hurt too when my uncle was killed by an intoxicated female driver, when I was a teen. It grieved, angered and disappointed all of us who loved my uncle, especially when we learned that she spent only a few months in prison for her disgusting action.
Hopefully, this tragedy that Mr. Joe Fries reported so well would deter others to attempt what this gal unfortunately chose to do.
Victoria Clark
Kelowna