Letters to the Editor 1-21-16

Healdsburg’s voters have already spoken
Editor: I am a Healdsburg family dentist and 16-year resident who is concerned about an initiative petition being circulated in our community for signatures so that it can be placed on the November ballot. It is against community water fluoridation, and if you remember, we just voted on that. In fact, we decided in favor of water fluoridation by a two-thirds majority.
Unfortunately, those opposed to fluoridation seem unwilling to accept the people’s will, and are coming back again, this time with a different tactic that intends to do the same thing – stop community water fluoridation. Before you add your signature to the petition and we go through the whole thing again, please keep reading.
In 2014, a group seeking to end the community water fluoridation program in Healdsburg placed a referendum on the ballot. They waged an emotional campaign, not based on science, hoping to convince Healdsburg voters that fluoride is responsible for a long list of ills.
Many in our community responded with concern, including pediatricians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses, community leaders, public health advocates and elected officials. Healdsburg residents have had access to optimally fluoridated water for 60 years, and generations have benefited with stronger teeth and less dental disease.
Fluoride is naturally occurring in water supplies and Healdsburg’s program adjusts the level so that it is optimal for dental health. Adjusting fluoride levels in water to help prevent disease is much like adding iodine to salt and fortifying milk with calcium.
As a dentist, I see the benefits of Healdsburg’s water fluoridation program daily in my practice. During the last campaign, we heard many residents say that they and their children have healthy teeth and fewer cavities than relatives who grew up in communities without access to optimally fluoridated water.
The tactic opponents are using this time is to request a “moratorium” on the program until the products used for the fluoridation program are tested and deemed safe. In fact, they already are. All products added to drinking water that are manufactured, sold, or distributed in North America must meet NSF International standards for quality and safety.
The NSF, which is dedicated to protecting and improving human and environmental health, established a testing and certification program precisely so that individual U.S. states and waterworks facilities would have a mechanism to determine which products are safe to use. Fluoridation products go through exactly the same process as all other products used in drinking water systems.
A little over a year ago, Healdsburg voters overwhelmingly voiced their opinion on this issue. Please reject the petition when asked to sign, and send the message that our community is well informed on this subject and will not be confused by this tactic nor worn down by repeated attempts to get a different result.
Shawn Widick, DDS
Healdsburg
Setting priorities
Editor: When you fill out your survey regarding the spending of Measure V funds, please allocate a portion to affordable housing. Our senator, Mike McGuire, has recognized the current housing crisis. He has stepped up and is asking Sacramento to make homelessness a top priority. (Marin IJ 1-10-16). Can we make housing our poor and homeless a priority here in Healdsburg too? We can. By designating affordable housing to receive a generous share of our Measure V funds. Affordable housing is a the very bottom of the survey form, If you don’t have the form or if you don’t have a stamp, you can fill out the survey online at  wwwsurveymonkey.com/r/16-17MeasureV
Maureen Mousley
Healdsburg