Children’s health in the U.S. is under fire

I listened to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statement to the U.S. Senate. He claimed chronic diseases did not exist when his uncle was president. Wrong. In 1962 the leading cause of death in the U.S. was heart disease, and cancer came second. In 2020, 690,882 people died of heart disease, 598,532 died of cancer and 345,323 died from COVID, the third leading cause of death. In 2023, heart disease and cancer remained the top two killers but only 49,932 people died of COVID, dropping it to the 10th leading cause of death. Why did that rate fall? Because millions of people received COVID vaccines by 2023.

Kennedy threatens the nation’s health by dropping the requirement for vaccinations for communicable diseases. Measles, diphtheria and polio can kill children. Any communicable disease can make children very ill.

I was born before vaccinations existed for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. I got them all. I was the sickest I have been in my entire life with measles. My mother stayed home caring for me for two weeks, then for my younger sister, even sicker than I, for two more. She took care of us with all those now preventable illnesses. She didn’t work outside the home in the 1950s. Those illnesses required months of in-home care.

A nation that is now made up primarily of both parents working and one-parent households will lose its work force if kids catch these diseases and need parental care. Why risk polio if there is a way to avoid it? Families lost children to diphtheria before the vaccine was developed by American women scientists in 1923. Why risk your children’s lives and the ability to support your family by not vaccinating for communicable diseases?

There are no peer-reviewed scientific studies that show that vaccinations cause autism. Children’s lives should not be risked based on false information. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends immunizations as the best, most cost-effective way of preventing disease, disability and death.

Illene Pevec, Carbondale

Stand up for due process

Local attorneys and citizens:

Next Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at 1 p.m. local attorneys and citizens will be meeting in front of the Garfield County Courthouse on the 8th Street side. This meeting is part of a statewide effort in support of:

• An independent judiciary
• The protection of attorneys and law firms from unlawful attacks
• The preservation and perpetuation of due process of law
• Freedom of speech and association

A website with additional information can be found here: http://www.COLawday.com. I encourage you to show up and spread this message to your friends and colleagues.

To be clear, these are not partisan issues. The rule of law and due process are what ensures that you are safe from arbitrary enforcement of the law. We are a rule-based society which enables us to have certainty in commercial transactions, safety in our homes and protection from government intrusion, overreach and unconstitutional actions. These issues strike at the heart of our democracy, our trust in our government and whether there is accountability for those that deviate from the law or flat out ignore it. I strongly encourage you to participate.

An informed citizenry is critical. Thomas Jefferson wrote the following:

“I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.”

Letter to William Charles Jarvis, Sept. 28, 1820.

James Fosnaught, Glenwood Springs

Girls on the Run builds confidence and connection

Girls on the Run is not a running club. Or a track team. With a unique curriculum focused on cultivating confidence, critical thinking skills, and healthy mental and physical habits, the nonprofit’s afterschool program for third through eighth grade girls is much more than its name implies.

Girls on the Run’s Western Colorado Council began operating in 2000 in the Grand Junction area, and has since grown to serve girls from Frisco to Farmington to Moab — over 1,200 girls across 80-plus schools per year.

Studies show time and again that when girls reach third grade, three things happen: (1) their participation in physical activity steeply declines in comparison to their male peers, (2) girls begin to struggle with body image issues and practice restrictive eating habits, and (3) “girl drama” increases in marked frequency and intensity. The rise of social media and screen time, and the social isolation and resulting decrease in mental health fostered by the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated these issues.

Girls on the Run tackles all of this head-on, and with stunning effectiveness. Girls who were least active at the start of the program consistently demonstrate a 40% increase in physical activity by the end of the season. Eighty-five percent of girls report an increase in self-confidence and sense of self-worth, and 97% of participants report learning critical life skills including resolving conflict, helping others, and making intentional decisions.

Margeaux Prinster, Fruita