On Feb. 2, the board of the Aspen affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure voted to break from its national office and maintain their grants for breast health services to Planned Parenthood’s Glenwood Springs health center.

Because of their courageous stand, and because of the outcry of many others, on Feb. 3 Susan G. Komen for the Cure clarified its grant making criteria. This decision means that Planned Parenthood and Komen can continue to work together to provide lifesaving breast cancer screenings to women in the Roaring Fork Valley and across the nation.

We applaud the Aspen affiliate of Susan G. Komen for standing with Planned Parenthood throughout this past week, and we greatly value our longstanding partnership with this organization.

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Since 1995 we have worked with Aspen Komen to ensure women in our community have the care they need. Through Aspen Komen funding, we were able to provide over 300 clinical breast exams last year and made sure these women received needed follow-up care, such as mammograms and biopsies.

In these tough economic times, our partnership with Aspen Komen has never been more important. More women than ever need access to essential health care services such as lifesaving breast cancer screenings.

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At Planned Parenthood’s Glenwood Springs health center, we provide these services to clients in need from Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin, Mesa and Gunnison counties. Planned Parenthood’s quality, accessibility and affordability make us a leader in identifying breast cancer early on – when it’s most treatable.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with Aspen Komen and working toward our shared mission to provide lifesaving breast cancer screenings and education to the women of our community.

Rebecca Murray, health center manager

Planned Parenthood

Glenwood Springs

I was most intrigued by Bruno Kirchenwitz’s Feb. 1 letter. I am not a “union” member. However, I fully support the work they do to help teachers remain both viable and productive within the valley. Thank you to the “union” for giving teachers a voice.

Mr. Kirchenwitz implied within his opinion piece that there exists a choice between a child’s education and the welfare of teachers. How is it a choice, I wonder, when the two are inseparable?

An elementary-aged puzzle seems applicable. Which came first, the student or the teacher?

As a fifth-grade teacher, I can tell you we are an intrinsic part of classrooms. As a taxpayer, I am pleased to support teachers doing their job.

Three years of salary freezes has made it difficult to eke out a living as a teacher in the valley, and especially as a new teacher. Our mill levy is supporting our children’s education and the incurred costs of materials, trainings, programs for kids, teacher pay, and yes, a janitorial staff. All parts must work in unison to create the space required to educate a child.

It seems to me our Glenwood Springs community recognizes the value and importance of supporting all parts of the educational system, including the teachers who manage a child’s education. Of this I am proud to be a part.

In the last paragraph, Mr. Kirchenwitz expressed a hope that the taxpayers would remember when “they come hat in hand the next time begging ‘for the children.'” It is my hope, too, that the public heed the lessons at hand.

I did indeed come hat in hand to “beg for your child’s education” because it is that important to me. Our future is that important. Next time I feel any child’s education is in peril, I will once again come begging if I must.

Mark Browning

Glenwood Springs