The sins of the son are not the sins of the father

I read a story on the front page of the May 19 edition of the Lowell Sun. I'm sure you know who George Duncan is. I don't know Mr. Duncan personally but you couldn't live in the Lowell area and not know who he is and all the things he has done over the years to make Lowell a better place.

Just recently, I had a need to go to Lowell General Hospital. I couldn't help but notice that Enterprise Bank donated a complete wing to Lowell General Hospital.

While I was reading and digesting what the Lowell Sun thought was necessary to include in this particular disgusting story, I couldn't help but ask myself, why?

Why did the Lowell Sun think it was necessary to point out the relation of this particular individual to Enterprise Bank and the founder of Enterprise Bank.

I would have thought given all the things George Duncan has done for the city of Lowell someone at the Lowell Sun would have realized that by including what they did they would be slamming someone that doesn't deserve it.

How do you think George Duncan feels about the whole situation and then to have it reported on the front page of the Lowell Sun?

Was this just printing the news or is there some other reason for tying Enterprise Bank and George Duncan into this ugly story?

The story should have been only about the individual accused of doing what is reported in the story. Not about Enterprise Bank or one of Lowell's outstanding contributors — George Duncan. What if you were unfortunate enough to have a son like this individual? Would you want your name and the business you started to share front page with a story like this?

Why, why, why did the Lowell Sun think it was necessary to slam Mr. Duncan the way you did? Is this how the Lowell Sun thanks someone like George Duncan for all he has done for the city of Lowell? I'm not suggesting burying the story but making Enterprise Bank and George Duncan part of this story is just plain wrong.

The damage is done. The Lowell Sun went out of its way to damage a good man, one who deserves better. Don't you think? The Lowell Sun is in a position to do a lot of good and in this case it did a lot of “bad.”

Whoever is responsible for including Enterprise Bank and George Duncan in this story to sensationalize this story owes Enterprise Bank, all of the employees of Enterprise Bank and Mr. Duncan an apology. I don't suppose I'll be reading about an apology in the paper but a phone call would be the least you can do to try and mend the damage the Lowell Sun did to George Duncan and his family.

How did the Lowell Sun get this so wrong?

— George Barry Chelmsford

— Note: Andrew Duncan is employed by Enterprise Bank as its community and cultural liaison.