Letters 10-06-2014
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Applauding Boyne City
A wonderful thing happened in Boyne City. As of May 13, citizens are drinking clean water again. It feels great taking a good long drink knowing it can’t hurt you or anyone; not children, family, friends or animals, because water fluoridation has been stopped.
Three dedicated BC commissioners did their research. They learned that in fluoridated communities, certain groups of people are at much greater risk from fluoride’s toxicity.
Commissioners Town, Gaylord and Sansom gave BC citizens back their democratic right to choose what they put into their bodies. Their water no longer contains hydrofluorosilicic acid, the product now being used to fluoridate water in Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Traverse City and previously, Boyne City.
Jinny Heick, Boyne City
The Real Fluoride Story
According to a survey commissioned by the Michigan Oral Health Coalition, 60 percent of Traverse City residents support water fluoridation.
I found this to be true when going door-to-door with Fluoride Free TC petitions in July, though after speaking a few minutes with them, many began to reconsider their position or change their minds.
For years we’ve been told fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, but natural calcium fluoride is never used in water fluoridation. Communities like Traverse City use fluorosilicic acid, a man-made byproduct of the fertilizer industry, contaminated with arsenic and lead.
Traverse City purchases 7,400 gallons of fluorosilicic acid every year, but not directly from a manufacturer. We buy it from the lowest bidder, a North Carolina supplier who provides the cheapest product on the market. Because the city’s contract does not require a Certificate of Analysis, we don’t know the exact concentration of impurities, nor is the supplier required to tell us its source.
Traverse City commissioners first approved fluoridation more than 63 years ago in 1951, but the question has never gone to a public vote. Although Fluoride Free TC did not succeed in putting the issue on the ballot this year, we intend to be on the ballot in November 2015.
In Boyne City, it’s a different story. Commissioners there voted in May to end fluoridation, but a well-funded campaign by the Michigan Dental Association has placed it on the ballot this November.
Dr. Paul Connett, author of "The Case Against Fluoride" will speak at the Boyne City library, 3 pm Sat., Oct. 11 and at the Traverse City library, 2 pm Sun., Oct. 12. Both are free and open to the public.
Ben Hansen, Traverse City
Snyder, Franz & School Cuts
Like many grandparents, I was delighted to share first day of school grandchild photos with my friends. It was a week of new beginnings for the younger generation, and pride and fond remembrances for mine. Now that school is underway, I am outraged at Governor Rick Snyder and Representative Ray Franz for the continued repercussions that ripple through our school systems due to reduced funding from Lansing. Mr. Snyder and Mr. Franz cut over $3 billion from schools over the last three years to give tax breaks to downstate corporations. I can’t help but notice my elementary age grandson is in a classroom with 29 students. In my granddaughter’s school system in Texas, an elementary class size cannot exceed 20 students. In schools throughout our area, vital programs like music, art, reading support, vocational education and athletics are being diminished if not eliminated due to Mr. Snyder’s and Mr. Franz’s education cuts. Now they have the gall to use Enronstyle "creative accounting" to claim they’ve given more money to education. But the proof of their cuts is in the classrooms. In spite of the word games they play with their accountants, they clearly have chosen to balance their budgets on the backs of our real future, our children!
Peggy Raddatz, Manistee
No Longer A Split Ticket
In the past, I have never voted a straight party ticket. I try to find out about a candidate’s beliefs and personality such as his honesty, intelligence, lifestyle, education, and experience. Then I vote for the person, not a party.
Recently I have noticed that my choices are tipping heavily toward a straight Democratic ticket. The Republicans appeal to my conservative and religious ideas against abortion and acts of homosexuality, but they stop there! Where is the love for the unwed mother who is making a minimum wage that condemns her and her child to a life of poverty? The Republicans with their cuts to programs that feed the child of poverty actually make abortion seem a good choice to a pregnant teen. Where is the support for excellence in education for ALL students to help break the cycle of poverty? How do we treat the homosexual next door? Do we treat him with bigotry and hatred or the love of Christ to a fellow human being?
The Republicans point out all the ways programs can fail and all of the errors Democrats make, but they fail to suggest ways to help the poor and the middle class flourish in this country. When only the top 25 percent of a wealthy nation flourish, there need to be remedies. The Democrats make errors, but at least the party shows care and compassion.
If the Republicans quit being obstructionists and start to work toward compromise and solutions to our problems, I will return to splitting my ballot. Until then, I will be a Democrat.
Dean Fleury, Petoskey
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