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CLEAR Temp: 58 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, June 26, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 2, 2003 Group works to put issue on fall ballot Some who would drink fluoridated water wouldn’t get to vote on it By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune For the first time in more than 40 years, voters may have a chance to decide whether to add fluoride to Jackson County’s largest public water supply. That is, if organizers can get it on the ballot. So far, a grass-roots group of dentists, doctors and social workers say they’ve collected 500 of the 3,606 signatures they need by May 9 to qualify a fluoridation initiative for the Sept. 16 election. Petitions began circulating quietly last month in dentists’ offices across Medford, where organizers hope informed discussions will prompt higher participation. "I think we’ll get the signatures," says Lee Murdoch, a longtime Medford pediatrician and spokesman for the initiative. The group, which includes representatives from the Southern Oregon Dental Society and the local Head Start agency, has been working behind the scenes for nearly three years to put the issue of fluoridation before the public. "This is absolutely, totally, beyond anything else, the No. 1 health issue we face," says Murdoch, who saw what he says are devastating effects of rampant tooth decay while working with children in west Medford. If the effort succeeds, Medford voters alone will decide whether to authorize the city’s water commission to begin adding fluoride to the Big Butte Springs water system. The system serves some 100,000 Jackson County customers, including 35,000 outside of Medford. Fluoride at a rate of .7 parts per million — the standard recommended by the state health division — would flow through the water to customers in Central Point, Eagle Point, Phoenix, Talent, White City and Jacksonville — whether they want it or not. That’s because the Medford Water Commission is the legal custodian of the water system and the commission is governed by the will of city residents, says City Attorney Ron Doyle. "The city of Medford voters are the only voters that would be able to advise the water commission," Doyle says. "In other words, Jackson County can’t tell the city of Medford what to do." Over in Jacksonville, that doesn’t sit right with City Council member Jerry Mathern. He learned several weeks ago about the proposed ballot initiative. "Our main concern is that the people of Medford vote on it and the people of Jacksonville have to live with it," Mathern says. "I have no real problem with fluoridation at all, I just have a problem with being told we don’t have a say." Irked council members will be the least of worries for Medford Water Commission Director Ed Olson. In 1998, the last time fluoridation came up for a public discussion — never mind a vote — his office fielded scores of phone calls and accumulated a 2-inch folder of documentation. "It’s an issue with a lot of pros and cons," Olson says. "We end up figuring we’re going to get a black eye no matter what we’ve done." Implementing fluoridation would require $500,000 for equipment and modifications to the springs and the system, Olson says. The average household bill could go up by between $5 and $12 annually, depending on final costs. To Cynthia Hay, a Medford mother of five who signed the petition, that seems a small price compared to the pain and expense of tooth decay. Her four older children, ages 5 to 15, were raised until four years ago in an Arizona city with fluoridated water. Among them, they’ve had only a few small cavities. Thirteen-year-old Zoe hasn’t had any. "We’re proactive dental care people," says Hay, 35. "I wiped out the babies’ mouths. I used pea-sized toothpaste on their toothbrushes. I drive my husband crazy with floss." But Hay’s youngest son, Josiah, was born in Medford. When she took him for his first dental exam last October, Hay was horrified at what the dentist found. "He had nine cavities at age 3," she says. "He needs fillings and crowns and pulpectomies — it’s like a baby root canal." To Hay, there’s no question that the absence of fluoride was a factor. "I assumed there was fluoride in the water here," she says. "It’s not the only reason, but the contrast was so huge, it should be obvious." If the majority of Medford voters agree with Hay, Olson says he’ll flip the switch that will send fluoride flowing throughout the region. "It’s an issue, frankly, that we wish would go away," Olson says. "But it’s a community decision." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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