Letters to the Editor: Sept. 25, 2024

Published 4:00 am Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Editor’s Note: Curry’s letter has been corrected to reflect verbiage cited in the letter came from the plantiffs’ filings rather than the final Texas Supreme Court ruling. It should be clarified that the original incorrect attribution was added during the editing process and was not submitted by Curry in her original letter. 

Support local animal shelters

In September, we celebrate National Puppy Mill Awareness Day. Puppy mills breed dogs for profit, at the expense of dogs’ health and wellbeing. Puppy mills sell their puppies to retail pet stores, who then turn around and sell those puppies to the public at extreme prices and with predatory loan options.

To curb the puppy mill pipeline in Texas, 18 cities have passed humane pet store ordinances, which ensure retail stores partner with local shelters to showcase needy animals available for adoption, rather than source from puppy mills. These ordinances allow local communities to take a stand against unscrupulous breeders and make our communities safer for animals and consumers alike.

Unfortunately, there’s no statewide ban on retail pet stores, and a bill passed in 2023 prevents any more cities from passing such ordinances on the local level.

During National Puppy Mill Awareness Day, I ask you to say “no!” to retail pet stores that sell dogs and cats. Instead consider fostering, rescuing and adopting from our local shelters. Our East Texas shelters are inundated and overwhelmed with dogs, puppies, cats and kittens who are desperately in need of loving homes. The SPCA of East Texas alone has over 160 dogs and cats available for adoption.

Together, we can improve the lives of our East Texas animals and help our neighbors adopt pets who need their love.

Liz Hanna

Tyler

‘The rest of the story’

Reading Evan Moore’s column in the Sept. 13-14 edition of the Tyler Morning Telegraph reignited my disdain for unfair reporting about Smith County.

I’m not disputing Moore’s opinion about the Kerry Max Cook case. Much of what he said about Cook not receiving a fair trial in 1978 is supported by the facts.

I do, however, question Moore’s true motivation for writing about Cook’s case. Moore jumped on the anti-Smith County bandwagon in 2000 when he wrote a controversial article about the Smith County District Attorney’s office.

That article, “Justice Under Fire: ‘Win at All Costs’ is Smith County’s Rule, Critics Claim” was the subject of a libel suit against Moore and his employers, the Houston Chronicle and the Hearst Corporation. The Cook case was a key feature of the article.

Although the plaintiffs alleged malice, the lawsuit eventually was dismissed because it lacked adequate evidence that Moore wrote it with actual malice — a key finding needed to prove libel involving public figures.

The plaintiffs argued Moore “purposefully avoided the truth” and relied upon biased sources, and an expert witness testified the article “fell far below” the standard of adequate reporting, according to the the plantiffs’ filings. 

In the recent guest column, Moore questioned the Smith County District Attorney’s Office’s goal in the Cook case. Well, I question what motivates Moore to continue to criticize Smith County.

Moore’s criticisms of Smith County are chronicled in my book, “Lies and Consequences: Covering the Trials of Kerry Max Cook” (Chapter 63 titled “Cheap Shots”) as an example of a public opinion campaign to discredit officials who prosecuted Cook in his re-trials.

It’s always interesting to read — as radio host Paul Harvey famously noted — the rest of the story.

Vanessa Curry

Former Tyler journalist