Letters 10/31/13

Thanks

Dear Editor:

We want to express our sincere
appreciation and thanks to the Aspen Thrift Shop for its generous
grant to the Carbondale Community School and the Carbondale Middle
School that allowed FCD facilitator Mike Connolly to come to our
schools the week of Oct. 14. At the Community School, he worked with
all the sixth and eighth graders. At Carbondale Middle School, he
worked with the entire seventh grade and the eighth grade student
mentors. Over the course of four days at our two schools, Mike met
with over 130 students in two-hour informational sessions.

FCD is a non-profit organization that
provides substance abuse prevention education for schools. Since
1976, they have taught over 1 million students of all ages. This was
the fourth year of this program at CCS and the first year at CMS.
Their mission is to encourage and support the non-use of alcohol and
other illegal or illicit drugs during the growing years; empower
young people to make healthy, responsible choices regarding alcohol
and other drug use; teach students and adults how to recognize the
early warning signs of substance abuse and to intervene
appropriately; educate students, parents, teachers, and
administrators on the physiological and psychological effects of
alcohol and other drugs; promote awareness of drug addiction,
including alcoholism, as a progressive, chronic, and often fatal
disease; and provide educational communities with the guidance and
training necessary to implement comprehensive, effective approaches
to substance abuse prevention.

In an evening meeting for interested
parents, Mike also offered support and guidance in helping their
children enjoy a drug-free adolescence. Topics addressed included
effective ways to communicate with your child about drugs and drug
use; up-to-date facts about current drug use and trends; what to say
about your own experiences with alcohol and/or drug experimentation;
and how to spot early warning signs of trouble; and effective ways to
respond. Parental involvement is crucial to our efforts to reduce the
risks our children face. We want our students to hear from both
school and home that we are concerned about alcohol, tobacco and
other drug use by adolescents, and that we are committed to keeping
our children safe.

Thanks again to the Aspen Thrift Shop
and their support of our schools! It is appreciated.

Tom Penzel

Principal, Carbondale

Community School

Jennifer Lamont

Principal, Carbondale

Middle School

No on 66

Dear Editor:

The Pitkin County Republicans support
excellence in education. However, we have concluded that Amendment
66, a $1 billion income-tax increase for school financing: is poorly
linked to improving student outcomes; would penalize the Aspen School
District by eliminating the cost of living factor from the school
base funding formula, with a disproportionate share of state funding
allocated to urban school districts; is an open ended tax increase
that would immediately increase all Colorado taxpayers’ income
taxes (8 percent increase for taxpayers with annual incomes under
$75,000, 27 percent increase for taxpayers with annual incomes of
$75,000 or higher); would authorize the legislature to enact further
tax increases for school funding without a vote of the electorate;
and would inflict unnecessary pain on Colorado taxpayers during a
period of continued economic fragility. We urge a no vote on
Amendment 66.

Questions 4C and 4D in the Crown
Mountain Park & Recreation District, affects the midvalley areas
of Old Snowmass, Emma and Basalt, contemplating a $25 million bond
issue to pay for a new recreational facility and significantly higher
property taxes to build and maintain the new facility. The proposed
tax increase would more than quadruple the mill levy in the district.
We urge a no vote on Questions 4C and 4D.

The Pitkin County Republicans urge a
yes vote on Question 2B in the town of Basalt, which would authorize
approximately $5 million in bonds to rehabilitate the Roaring Fork
River as it passes through the town, without new taxes. A yes vote is
warranted on Question 2B.

Frieda Wallison

Chair, Pitkin County Republicans