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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJess Grable October 30, 2015 OCT 3 0 ?015 TO: Port Angeles City Council �; - cj-, -S FROM: Jess Grable CC: Peninsula Daily News—Paul Gottlieb RE: Talking Point at Fluoride Public Forum—Oct. 29, 2015 Attached is my script which I was unable to deliver in its entirety. There is a message for you, an avenue to resolve an issue that has taken on"hot button" intensity and is dividing our community. Can't we, all of us, work as one to resolve this issue in an amicable manner so that the needs of all residents of our city are met? Our medical professionals have taken on the role of advocacy for children. I respect that and agree that when a segment of our community suffers, we all suffer. However, the fix is there to help these children with fluoride varnishes and/or fluoride prescriptions. That is definitely a work the medical professionals can accomplish. They have energy to burn in their quest to help children as was exhibited last night by each one who spoke and that energy could be directed toward finding ways to fund dental care for indigent children. I speak for myself only in saying I would be willing to burn some of my energy toward that end. I would do that because I, too, am an advocate for the elderly and yes, many single adults and parents who bear the physical, economical and medical burden visited on us by fluoridation. I would be willing to expend my energy in meeting the medical professional's half-way in whatever community endeavor is created to pay for dental care for indigent children. If our doctors are feeling some disrespect, sadly, they have brought it upon themselves. When they turn out en masse for public hearings to opine their views and enjoin state representatives, both factions become adversarial peers and they lose the luster of their profession and/or political standings—it's the"them against us" syndrome. We are all good people and we become better people when we come together with a common goal. Please be instrumental in ending the divide before it becomes an abyss. Because Paul Gottlieb was present last night, he gets a copy of this writing and my script. The PDN's new leadership, too, could be instrumental in a community drive to assuage a need that will always be there because there will always be children in need of dental care. We heard many times of the urgent need to treat the many cavities of children in Port Angeles. One can only conclude that fluoridation is not working as well as doctors profess. Thank you for your consideration and whatever future action you take to resolve the fluoride divide. Jess Grable — 1117 South Peabody Tonight we are hearing from the health care advocates about the large number of cavities in Port Angeles which doesn't speak well for fluoridation. All the attention to studies, reviews, statistics, guest opinions, endorsements, the fluoride debate itself, and its expense to the taxpayers, $I OK and counting, was not necessary because you, as a council, notified the public that your decision would be based on the results of the survey mailed one to each household on a water meter. Those residents who rent or otherwise are not on water meter do not have a say on fluoridation. You set the stage for state representatives who do not live in Port Angeles and white-coated professionals to showcase their opinions on fluoridation, thus providing a bias against those who oppose it. Such actions are not befitting a city council elected to represent ALL voters. Fluoridation is systemic because it swishes over the teeth, a moment on our lips, forever on our hips. Our systems do not absorb all that we consume. Some is excreted; some remains and accumulates. That is how fluoride works. It accumulates on our teeth to form the hard shell our medicos extol as beneficial, never mind the resultant fluorosis. BUT, it also accumulates in the rest of our body, especially our bones, where it forms a hard shell and causes osteoporosis and thyroid dysfunction among other maladies. We heard from more than one medico on the fluoride panel that fluoride occurs naturally in the soil and that it is safe in our water. YES, FLUORIDE DOES OCCUR NATURALLY IN THE SOIL BUT THE FLUORIDE USED BY THE CITY IS ARTIFICIAL AND NOT SAFE BECAUSE IT IS A TOXIC CHEMICAL. Cherie Kidd is the lone holdover from the council and was instrumental in the decision to infect us with fluoriditis in 2006. Now she is up for re-election for a third term which may put her in office for 12 years. Isn't it coincidental that she was also instrumental in delaying the decision on fluoridation until AFTER the general election on Nov. 3? The local Voter Guide asks current candidates for City Council if they support or oppose fluoridation. Ms. Kidd did not have to respond because she was running unopposed at the time the Guide was printed, no longer true, as she now faces an opponent in Dan Bateham. I ask you, Ms. Kidd, as the lone holdover from 2006, what assurance do we have that your decision this time will be based solely on the number of persons on water meters? And all of you as a council have the duty to honor the results of the survey. You have set a pretty low bar in the manner in which you chose to make this decision. BUT you have one last opportunity to come out with a win for all. By ending fluoridation, you can decide that no one has to choose for or against. You can decide that no one will be forced to stop it and no one will be forced to ingest it. WE CAN ALL BE WINNERS, INCLUDING YOU, THE CITY BUDGET AND THOSE RESIDENTS WHO DID NOT GET A VOTE!