To the Editor:

I would like to thank Leroy Towns for his editorial in the Feb. 6 Tribune (“From a Kansan: Officials tamper with federal workforce). As a retired federal employee, I, too, am concerned about the all-out assault upon my former colleagues.

Government employees are not “faceless bureaucrats,” but your friends and neighbors. We shop in local stores, attend religious services, send our children to school, support sports teams, etc., just like everyone else. Unlike everyone else, at the beginning of our careers we took an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States, something the vast majority of us have taken seriously. Although none of us would compare our service to those who have served in the military, federal employees take pride in serving our country in our own way. In addition, many of my coworkers were current or former members of the military, some combat veterans.

Federal employees are busy serving the American public across western Kansas. Two units of the National Park Service, numerous USDA offices and law enforcement officers are just a few of the physical indications of assistance. With its aging populations, large numbers of Kansans collect Social Security payments and rely on Medicare. Rural hospitals, too, rely on federal programs. Local first responders benefit from federal money, either through grants or direct appropriations, for equipment. All of these payments can only be dispersed by federal employees who work across the nation. Employees who in their own communities also shop in local stores, send their children to school, support sports teams, etc. just like everyone else.

Betsy Gore

Larned