The buck stops here friends, readers and others.

Regardless of who writes what article, it comes across my desk where it gets scrapped, edited or approved. I’m referring to a story in Tuesday’s edition that reported the tragic death of Armando Reyes-Juarez who was killed in a traffic accident early Sunday morning.

In our story Tuesday we reported details, some from officials citing the accident report, that cast a bad light on the incident surrounding the untimely death of the victim. Other information came from a reporter’s first-hand knowledge of a previous accident less than a year earlier.

It is never this newspaper’s intention to hurt those who we write about. It happens, but it is not intentional.

The reporter was doing his job and writing the basic who, where, what, when, why and how of any news story. It is the editor’s job to make sure that the story is in printable form. Many did not think that it was and have let us know.

Would we do it again?

I would answer, “Not exactly. If done again more compassion would be used — something they don’t teach in journalism school.”

Others have asked, “Are you going to apologize to the family and friends?”

To that I will definitely answer, “Yes. But I want you to know why the story ran as it did to begin with.”

Ask any law enforcement official in Panola County worth their salt and they will tell you Panola County has a drinking problem.

Law enforcement and the judicial system don’t always deal with it very well. City police catch “heat” from elected city officials when they write too many tickets to the “wrong” people.

Elected law enforcement officials don’t have enough political equity, especially prior to an election, to provide saturation enforcement such as road blocks to keep habitual traffic violators off our roads and highways. Or, when they do, their efforts are met with protest like that of a Sardis restaurant which posted a sign on its front door citing police roadblocks as the reason for its closing.

Some judges and prosecutors have also been somewhat lax in this area.

But it is those of us in the general public who want it both ways. Yes, we want law enforcement officers to get drunk drivers off the road, but wait, don’t write him a ticket, he’ll lose his job (or wife or insurance or … insert your reason). The outcome is that those with the least political clout (and usually also the least means to pay fines) are usually dealt the maximum legal consequences.

A long-time acquaintance of mine who was drunk killed someone but went virtually unpunished until he killed another in a subsequent wreck. He is now serving time for manslaughter. If justice had been served, he would have been imprisoned the first time, likely saving the life of his second victim.

A film of a mock drunk driving accident at South Panola High School, “Shattered Dreams at South Panola High School,” can be viewed on YouTube. Students and first responders from all county and municipal agencies participated to make the realistic and dramatic film last spring. It is worth your time to watch it.

Meanwhile, we express our sorrow to the family and many friends of Armando Reyes-Juarez. We know that  our coverage inadvertently worsened your pain, and for that we apologize. Meanwhile pray that when the dust clears, someone will benefit and Armando will not have died in vain.