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Norris is addressing flood threat

Having lived in Mount Vernon for the past 40 years, the recent flooding and devastation in the Midwest brings home the realization that we could be next. It is only through community efforts with sandbags and a good deal of luck that we have dodged the bullet in the past.

I have watched as former city administrations have done little if nothing to prevent a disaster such as this. Our former mayors watched the floods come and go doing nothing but use the event as a photo op with the governor.

We now have a mayor in Bud Norris who has the foresight, intelligence and intestinal fortitude to put forth a well thought out plan for flood prevention in Mount Vernon. I have watched the naysayers moaning and groaning about the plan with little or no positive ideas of their own to offer.

We have had a voluntary citizens’ group working on this project for nearly three years, along with an engineering company. The plan is well thought out and long overdue.

Be thankful we currently have a mayor and City Council with a common goal that is to protect the city from flooding in the future. They are to be commended.

Dr. Lawrence W. Pirkle
Mount Vernon


Reasons to not fluoridate water

Tulane University is developing cocoa extract toothpaste, claiming it is likely more effective than fluoride; hopefully, this will evolve. Meanwhile, with a prescription, at least one chain grocery store is giving fluoride away. Visionary! For those needing prescriptions, a local doctor could write a “blanket prescription.” No? If that’s unethical, how then can water be fluoridated?

How much fluoride is each individual getting already? If unknown, what determines if any or “extra” is needed or would cause harm? I think individuals should check how much fluoride we’re already ingesting.

Go online (seek credible sites) and look up, for example, “USDA fluoride content in foods and beverages” (wine swillers and tea totalers take note). Fluoride options abound: rinses, flosses, drops, pills, topical varnishes, certain salts, bottled water, toothpastes, foods and beverages.

Also, check out “kidney foundation drops fluoridation support.” It appears fluoridated water is a threat to the 20 million Americans with chronic kidney disease, with another 20 million at potential risk. How many kidney patients are in Skagit County?

What’s the dilemma with Skagit’s teeth? Credible “scientists” would continue searching for diverse causes instead of supporting old data. Bad teeth can cause poor health, but poor health can cause bad teeth. What if the real problem is a dietary calcium deficiency? Or, maybe proper dental care isn’t known or practiced by certain people.

The one-size-fits-all approach of fluoridated water is potentially damaging. There should be scrutiny of fluoride interactions with today’s many medicines and “newer” illnesses; study human and environmental cumulative effects. Cheap and easy doesn’t equate with safe and effective. Options flourish. Solutions should match individual problems. If concern about Skagit’s teeth is the real issue, then the $1.2 million offer should be dedicated to county dental problems — for those without help — even if water isn’t fluoridated.

Andrea Xaver
Big Lake