Letters to the Editor 11-12-15

Speak with your gas tank
Editor: As most know, Healdsburg was the first in the state to ban the sale of all tobacco products to those under 21 years of age. The ordinance went into effect July 1, 2015. But the tobacco companies threatened suit against Healdsburg if they continued this policy; so Healdsburg has stopped enforcement of this policy pending advice from the State Attorney Generals Office, but the ordinance remains on the books.
So I decided to try to see if I could drum up financial and public support if one or more of our local gas stations would voluntarily not sell tobacco products to those under 21. The result I got was amazing. In less than a week I got 250 signatures of those willing to patronize a gas station that would do this.
And I asked them to estimate how many gallons of gas they used per month. The 250 people who signed my petition use about 11,000 gallons per month, or about 44 gallons each. So that is what a local gas station can expect from these 250 people alone. And that number will grow, as many people have heard of me doing this and have approached me to say they will sign, will patronize the gas station that does this, but I don’t need any more signatures.
My point is that whichever gas station decides to do this, they will see a big jump in their sales, not just the 250, but many others in the area who appreciate what this means. When I find the gas station or two that will do this, I will let everybody know via this newspaper. And we will save lives.
Dave Anderson MD
Healdsburg
Our kids deserve better
Editor: For generations, in small towns all over America, citizens have valued their children and provided ball fields where they can safely play baseball, football, soccer, etc. Not little old Healdsburg.
The city administration, city council and parks and recreation commission seem to have abdicated their responsibilities for the health and well being of our young athletes.
For example, there is a marvelous senior center for older people like me. There are numerous dog parks for citizens who own pets. There are miles of walking paths for those citizens who like to walk/jog/bicycle … but the city owns only one field … Rec Park, and it is locked most of the time.
What is even more tragic is that the City has not spent one dollar in capital improvements in the past 16 years to improve the rundown, in poor condition fields where little league baseball, Bulldog football and soccer are played by our youngest citizens along with all our high school varsity and field sports.
Why? Because until recently children have had no voice, and in this town, it seems as though only the squeaky wheels get attention.
The city manager, city council and parks and recreation commission begrudgingly allowed a concerned citizens group to raise $100,000 on their own in order to remove and replace the infields at both little league fields as well as Recreation Park (owned by the city). Most of the funds came from people who do not live within the city limits.
Our champion Prune Packers and the Healdsburg High School varsity teams also practice and play at Recreation Park, which hosts over 160 games per year; twice what a major league field hosts.
You would think the three musketeer groups would be elated, but no. Several of them fought the idea of making it safer or better (at no cost to the city) for our children to play and exercise, and the new bermuda grass gave the citizens and city a gift; it uses 30-40 percent less water.
The city management, council, and parks and recreation commission have now been asked to match the citizens’ $100,000 in order to remove and replace the Recreation Park outfield, which is in very poor condition, a fact which was admitted at a recent city council meeting.
You guessed it – the big three are balking and trying to ignore the problem and challenge of making the fields competitive for our forgotten citizens, our children.
As a city, we need a balanced approach to meeting the needs of our entire community. The children of today will be our leaders of tomorrow. They learn discipline, team building, good sportsmanship, clean competition and healthy exercise from little league baseball, Bulldog football, soccer and other sports.
What can you do to help? You can write letters to City Manager David Mickaelian and to city council members and parks and recreation commission members, at Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448.
You can also contact the city council through the city website, www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/179/City-Council.
The council members are: Tom Chambers; Brigette Mansell; Shaun McCaffery; Gary Plass and Eric Ziedrich.
The parks and recreation commisioners are: Kent Mitchell; Juan Mota; Kathy Birdsong; Richard Bugarske; Christine Hyde; Jay Tripathi and Shawn Widick.
Jim Walters
Healdsburg
Reason and balance
Editor: Following up on Ray Holley’s Nov. 4 Main Street column where he describes the rapid and disheartening rise in winery tasting rooms that are now operating like bars and restaurants, I’d like to add a note about the impact to the neighboring rural roads around Healdsburg.
Westside Road is past the tipping point on cumulative wine tasting rooms, events and related traffic. We now have a real public safety issue, with too many cars full of inebriated passengers on quiet country roads and a din of steady noise (exponential and very loud on weekends) that is disturbing the grace of the neighborhood and spoiling this special scenic corridor for everyone. We are afraid to drive the roads on Saturday and Sunday for fear of colliding head on with a speeding driver, swerving to avoid a conscientious group of bicyclists.
Please help us bring some reason and balance to the underlying permitting process that is at the root of this run up to over concentrated drinking and driving. The Healdsburg City Council and the Sonoma County Permit & Resource Management Department need to know that we need their proactive action in finding a balance that is sustainable and safe.
William Rosenzweig
Westside Community Association
Healdsburg
Fluoride works
Editor: In response to Jeannie Rudd’s article on fluoridation of our water, I speak from my experience.
After extensive age-related dental work, my gums had receded significantly, exposing root surfaces which were not covered by the normal thickness of tooth enamel. This gave them a greater propensity for tooth decay.
My dentist prescribed a tooth paste with 1.1 percent Sodium Fluoride, (compared to 0.15 percent Fluoride Ion in a leading brand of over the counter toothpaste). I have used this prescription toothpaste for 15 to 20 years with no ill effect. In fact it has kept me routinely cavity free using half the applications prescribed on a daily basis.
When I first started using the prescription toothpaste, my dentist asked if I would like to have the exposed roots of my teeth painted with a stronger solution of Sodium Fluoride on a one-time basis as a preventative. I agreed and that regimen has worked well for me, as I have had no cavities for many years.
I recall many years ago reading the literature regarding the successful use of Sodium Fluoride in drinking water at the time it was being introduced across the U.S. as many were concerned about fluorine poisoning. A key point in the statistics was whether the untreated drinking water had naturally occurring fluoride or not. In the localities which had no naturally occurring fluoridation, incidence of tooth decay was significantly higher than the converse.
Over the years I have discussed this issue with several dentists. All would agree that fluoridating the drinking water has reduced the number of childhood cavities substantially, nationwide.
We should not allow alarmists to convince us fluoridation is wrong. The evidence is on the side of fluoridation.
John Murphy
Healdsburg