| At the April 23 Longmeadow Town Meeting, about 1 percent of the Longmeadow residents rejected the Article that would give 99 percent of Longmeadow residents a better opportunity to vote on the issue of water fluoridation. It is not convenient for many Longmeadow residents to be present at the Town Meeting about 11 p.m. and it is not right that 1 percent of Longmeadow residents should be able to decide for 99 percent of the residents what kind of water they should drink. Fortunately, the Longmeadow Home Rule Charter procedure allows for residents to override the Town Meeting vote if more than 3 percent of voters sign a petition that supports the article defeated at the Town Meeting. Considerably more signatures than required were collected to invoke this Home Rule Charter procedure. Consequently, the June 12 Longmeadow election will provide a fairer opportunity for all Longmeadow voters to express their opinions on the fluoridation issue. Although the yes vote on the ballot question will not obligate the Longmeadow Board of Health to terminate fluoridation of Longmeadow water, we can hope that this question will motivate Longmeadow voters and the Board of Health to review more diligently the currently available information on the negative medical side effects of fluoride. This information is listed at the www.fluoridealert.org web site. George J. Krol Longmeadow |
