I was somewhat startled when I opened Wednesday’s paper expecting to read about the death of former President Gerald R. Ford. What really shocked me was that President Ford did not even get top billing in the Salisbury Post.

A dog hit by a car was more important that our 38th president passing away.

As an avid animal lover, I had no problems with the article, but I do have a problem with it being misplaced on the front page of the newspaper. There is absolutely no reason why President Ford’s death should not have received top billing. After all, President Ford was the man that took over the White House when Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. President Ford did all within his power to heal the country after Watergate. But now, according to the placement of the article in the Salisbury Post, he doesn’t deserve top billing. What a shame that someone at the Salisbury Post failed to use their knowledge which would have told them a president (dead or alive) should receive more recognition than a puppy dog.

It all boils down to the fact that someone at the Salisbury Post failed to use values when it came to this article; those values were misplaced. Now, let’s see if they print any more articles and put them in the correct portion of the Salisbury Post. Gerald Ford was an honorable president and articles about him should be placed in the appropriate place in the newspaper. I’m sure the Post could give ample excuses why they put his billing under a hurt dog and beside a donkey.

How disgraceful can you get?

— David Rodgers

China Grove

Editor’s note: The Salisbury Post was one of the few papers in this region to get any word of Ford’s death in Wednesday’s edition. The announcement was late-breaking news Tuesday night; a Post editor worked past deadline to change Wednesday’s front page and place the story in a prominent position on Page 1A. Neither the edition of the Charlotte Observer received here nor the Independent-Tribune of Concord had news of Ford’s death that day. The Post gave fuller treatment to the story on Thursday and will continue to do so. We appreciate readers’ high expectations and strive to meet them daily.