February 06, 2010 Letter to Editor
Travis Hutton died 1/21/10.
He was our grandson and we saw the article you wrote about his death. We were very displeased and felt it was written in bad taste, was unkind and derogatory. All you mentioned were his police records and you published a police picture.

You could have published his graduation picture, but you didn't. You obviously didn't talk to his parents, grandparents or the principal of his school to learn that he was an intelligent, happy and charismatic young man. He was 18 and almost 19 and had been living away from his parents and grandparents for months, from what we were told. You didn't know many facts about him or the type of family he had.

You seem to think teenagers might read your article and it would make a difference. Wrong! Most teenagers aren't going to read an article like yours and if they did would blow it off. The kids who knew him would have been angry. You made it sound like he was a very troubled alcoholic teenager. He obviously made some bad decisions, that resulted in his needless death, but it doesn't mean he was a "bad" young man.

Haven't you looked at statistics? Teenage alcohol consumption is at epidemic levels. According to USA Today and research, one third of all teenagers binge drink at least once a month and they drink 25% of the alcoholic beverages sold in this country. 81% of the kids have consumed alcohol and 70% have smoked cigarettes. 87% of adults admitted to trying alcohol before the age of 21. Travis was just doing what many teenagers do. You mentioned that it wouldn't be a surprise, if alcohol was involved in the incident.
Well, the police did not arrest the driver for being under the influence and did not express that there was any alcohol use by anyone involved in the accident. You were making an unkind and needless assumption.

His mother, June Cherry, is an ordained minister. She performed his celebration of life memorial service. Can you imagine the strength and faith she must have had to stand up in front of hundreds of people? Many friends, family members and his principal stood up and expressed what an intelligent, happy, charasmatic and compassionate person he was. His mother commented that Travis had been fearless, since he was a toddler. He lived everyday like it was his last.

His friends mentioned Travis lived life on the edge. Lack of fear and his need to take risks is what killed our grandson. Would counseling have helped Travis? Probably not. He was the type of young man who was going to take risks, regardless of counseling, parental controls or consequences. With kids like him, you do what you can and pray they make it to adulthood.

My husband has told me some of the risky things he and his friends did as teenagers. His friends have told my husband of the dangerous things they did as teenagers. It is a wonder they are alive. They didn't have to be drunk to do those things. They did it on a dare or for the thrill of it. My husband came from a very loving stable family and he attended church regularly. He wasn't a bad kid or alcoholic.

We are sure when you were a teenager, you knew kids like Travis. How would you feel if someone had written an article like yours, after loosing one of your children? Why didn't you investigate to find out the type of young man he was? Why didn't you print a nice picture of him? Where is your compassion for the family and friends left behind? You obviously were just interested in writing the negative things about him and sensationalizing the incident. This type of reporting is why my husband and I dislke the media and the things they do to families. Was Travis an evil murderer? No he was a teenager, who made bad decisions and big mistake.

The point I am trying to make is that teenagers don't always use common sense and many are going to do risky things sometimes and are going to experiment with alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, despite the consquences. This is a fact. Do we condone that type of behavior, certainly not! As a parent you try to educate your children and instill good values. Most teenagers are going to be somewhat rebellious, but those positive values you worked to instill will often prevail in adulthood.

If you want to make a difference, encourage the public and legislators to outlaw "car/air surfing" It is illegal in some european countries. You could also push for mandatory alcohol and drug classes, starting in middle school. We don't mean one hour films or speakers once a year, but real in depth classes. We live in Oklahoma and cannot do much to change laws in Texas.

Did your article make a difference in helping to curb drug and alcohol abuse by teenagers? Probably not. It dishonored Travis and created more heartache for his family and friends. In the future, we hope you express more compassion and integrity, with those in your community, when losses occur. We pray you will apologize to his family and friends and will print this response to the editor.

Jimmy and Mary Love

Editor's Response
The final news article about Travis Hutton was one of unspeakable tragedy for his family.  LNO reported 5 arrests of this young man over just a few months time and at least twice his arrest for being drunk at the high school before 10:30 in the morning.  LNO even offered an editorial note that "someone should help this kid" after the 4th arrest reported on Travis.

Unfortunately Travis holds the record for arrests reported on LNO in a decade of reporting local news. LNO reported on his tragic death with a review of his frequent arrests and believe anyone would have concluded he was potentially a "troubled teenager." 

LNO never stated he was a "bad kid" or inferred he was not liked by his peers.

Hopefully your comments will resonate with families and others and through legislation and/or educational efforts a similar tragedy of even one teenage can be avoided.