SILVERTON

Mark Esper, longtime editor of The Silverton Standard, passed away in his home in Silverton this month. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Mark was the sixth out of seven children born to Leo and Helen Esper. Esper believed the purpose of a newspaper is being a friend to the community. In a 2014 Durango Herald interview he said that does not always mean saying exactly what folks want to hear but always being a champion of the community in the end. Most Silvertonians would agree Esper was ...