A new outdoor classroom at Rockrimmon Elementary on Colorado Springs' West Side carries the name of Melissa Joffrion, a mother of four and Parent Teacher Organization president who died following an oral cancer diagnosis.

What began as an idea for a bench or two near the walking path where parents drop off and pick up their children grew into a full outdoor classroom after community donations reached $30,000.

Melissa's son Jake Joffrion is a student at Rockrimmon Elementary. The outdoor classroom is a reminder of his mother when he passes it on his way to and from school.

"Yes, every day I usually cry," Jake said.

"I also really like it. I'm glad they made it. I mean, I love how they're putting grass around it. I feel like they're really respecting it," Jake said.

Melissa was deeply involved at Rockrimmon Elementary. She served as PTO president, led fundraisers, and helped teachers apply for grants.

"She just wanted to do everything she could to, to help the teachers be successful and be involved with the school," Justin Joffrion, Melissa's husband and Jake's father, said.

Melissa's cancer was discovered after a persistent sore on her tongue. Her diagnosis was unexpected.

"She was young and didn't have the, the sort of lifestyle that might contribute to a diagnosis of oral cancer," Justin said.

Even as she faced her illness, Melissa focused on the school community. When she died, she asked that memorials take the form of donations to Rockrimmon Elementary.

"Even in her time of passing, she wanted people to donate money to the school instead of to expenses that they had, or flowers, and that was really important to us to make sure that she was honored in that way," current PTO President Chelsey Tyndall said.

"Her husband and family wanted something to both honor her and really bring the school community together," Rockrimmon Elementary Principal Amber Izzo said.

Justin said the location of the outdoor classroom reflects how Melissa chose to bring her children to school and connect with other families.

"She didn't like to kick them out of the car. She liked to walk them down and gave her a chance to meet people and visit, and so we thought it would be nice to have a space where people could gather and socialize before and after school," Justin said.

Justin reflected on the level of support from the community.

"When someone is gone, you learn what the scale of the impact that they had on others and so that was very touching to us because we miss her tremendously, of course," Justin said.

"We really decided we wanted to think outside the box and what could we do that would create more community," Tyndall said.

The outdoor classroom also serves the school's educational mission. Rockrimmon Elementary is an IB school, and teachers had been considering an outdoor teaching space.

"There are so many reasons for an outdoor classroom. I feel like it gives our students the opportunity to really put their learning into action," Izzo said.

"Any time we can find a way to, you know, change the scenery for the students and get engagement levels back up in a new way is always, you know, something a teacher's looking for," 3rd-grade teacher Makena Wims said.

"Being in IB school we really consider the whole child and being outside and the positives of nature and its effect on children we know how positive that is," Izzo said.

3rd-grade teacher Briona Dice described one planned use of the space.

"An example is our upcoming weather unit we're studying the types of clouds and we can come out here and get students to actually look at the clouds and be truly engaged in their learning," Dice said.

Jake turned to his father.

"She was amazing," Jake said.

"She was amazing," Justin said.

The PTO continues to raise money to add landscaping around the outdoor classroom space.

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Breast cancer is blamed for more than 42,000 deaths a year in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets underway, health care providers are delivering the message: too many people wait too long to get a mammogram.

Julie Buffenmeyer is a radiology tech who performs mammograms for others her job is also personal.

"I myself got early detection. I had ductal carcinoma. They were able to go in and remove it and then because of my family history, I decided to go ahead and do a bilateral mastectomy," Buffenmeyer said.

She felt an unusual dent in her breast tissue and, because of her family's breast cancer history, got checked early. Standing in front of a mammogram machine, she described the equipment simply.

"The equipment that is behind me is an absolute lifesaver," Buffenmeyer said.

Now she regularly encounters women who have delayed their screenings.

"It is very common. Or you have somebody that comes in, and will come in and they haven't ever had one, and they're in their 70s," Buffenmeyer said.

Patient Amberly Brown's most recent appointment was multiple years overdue. What started as "next week" grew to a month, then a year.

"I'm very much the, you know, typical busy person. We all have a lot to do," Brown said.

She knows someone who is fighting for her life because of breast cancer, and that relationship has become a source of motivation.

"She reminds me all the time that we have to show up for ourselves, and I'm grateful for that reminder," Brown said.

Cynthia Smith with Colorado Springs Imaging said timing is everything when it comes to outcomes.

"The earlier you catch it, the better prognosis you may have," Smith said.

Colorado Springs Imaging is offering a $100 screening this month for people without insurance. Appointments are designed to take less than 30 minutes and are easy to schedule.

"Patients typically call us to get scheduled and we try to get them scheduled the same day, next day," Smith said.

For Buffenmeyer, surviving breast cancer has become a personal mission.

"I don't want to be a statistic. I want to be the one that steps up and says, hey, did you get checked? I got checked," Buffenmeyer said.

Colorado Springs Imaging has multiple incentives through the month of October to encourage mammograms.

People without health insurance can also get a free or low-cost mammogram screening at more than 100 clinics across Colorado through the Women's Wellness Connection program, offered through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. To learn more about eligibility and to find a clinic near you, click here. When you call the clinic, be sure to let them know you would like to participate in the Women's Wellness Connection program.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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The springs in Manitou Springs are getting an assist from some rain. Water managers say it is the right kind of rain, as opposed to the flash flooding that happened earlier this month. This kind of rain is helping offset the drought conditions from earlier this summer.

Umbrellas and hoodies are the fashion trend of the day in Manitou Springs.

"It just like started just raining at like 4 a.m. just constant since then," said Nichole Saffeels.

Enough rain to wake her, but not so much she is concerned.

"It's just rain, like it's a constant rain, but it's not like storming, it's just like consistent," Saffeels said.

She is also aware it has been a dry summer.

"I think we need it, definitely," Saffeels said.

Ben Schmitt tracks the water supply for Manitou Springs and agrees this storm is dropping rain at a good pace.

"While rain is great, it's great if it's slow, easy moving rain that comes down and doesn't create a lot of turbidity," Schmitt said.

Turbidity is when water is rushing so fast it gets clouded with debris. Rain at a slow to moderate pace seeps into the ground and adds just enough water to put some extra in Manitou's one storage reservoir. It is important for use in homes and businesses and essential to public safety.

"If we have a bigger event like a wildfire or something like that, we need to make sure we have that reserve capacity to be able to bring into the system, so keeping that resource whole is like keeping your bank account topped off in case of an emergency," Schmitt said.

Back in the spring, Manitou put water restrictions in place because snowpack was at 9% of normal, and the city considers snow its second water storage resource. Recent rain has helped bring water levels in the community's one reservoir up to a more comfortable level. Still, water restrictions remain and city leaders believe conservation needs to remain a priority.

"I don't think we are quite out of the woods yet, just based on the patterns growing up here my entire life, and seeing this, there's a noticeable shift in the patterns that we're seeing for storage and snowpack," Schmitt said.

There are no complaints about the water reprieve from the rain. Now what water managers want to see is a much better snowpack year on Pikes Peak.

"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."

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