For the week of May 26
Letter writer was
not informed
To the editor:
This is in response to Linda Hecker’s letter in last week’s edition.
Truly amazing! Two local boards (the East Windsor Municipal Utilities Authority and the Hightstown Board of Health) and the New Jersey Public Health Council have been waiting months for the National Research Council’s Toxicology of Fluoride report and Ms Hecker, director of dental hygiene at Burlington County College, was totally unaware of this significant report on fluoride.
She also was not aware of Dr. Elise Bassin’s paper showing the increased rate of osteosarcoma in teenage boys exposed to fluoridated water between ages 6 and 8 that appeared in Cancer Causes and Control (2006) 17:421-428. Copies were given to Board of Health members and it is available on line. Dr. Bassin’s paper and the NRC report were mentioned in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Fluoride is not a mineral! It is an anion that needs a cation. It cannot exist alone. What was originally added to water was sodium fluoride. What is found naturally in water is calcium fluoride. For the last 30 years or so, what was added to water is hexafluorosilicic acid, a byproduct of the fertilizer industry taken from the scrubbers and contaminated with arsenic, lead, and mercury. See: Kauffman, JAmPhysSurg 2005;10(2)38-44.
I have no agenda. No one is paying me for expressing my opinion. I am simply the widow of a cancer patient and the mother of a cancer survivor.
Removing fluoride from our water is a first and easy step toward better health. The NRC recommended in its report that all manufacturers of food list the fluoride content of their products. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics say formula for infants up to six month old should not be mixed with fluoridated water. Kidney and thyroid patients are told not to drink fluoridated water. And the list goes on. For twice the hip-fracture rate in fluoridated communities see: Danielson, C. et al JAMA 1992; 268(6) 746-748. For a bibliography on the toxic effects of fluoride see: www.slweb.org/bibliography.html.
What it is really about is liability. How long did we listen to the tobacco companies telling us that cigarette smoke was not injurious to your health? We finally have a report of recent studies on the toxic effects of fluorides. These are studies that should have been but were never done 50 years ago. No one should suffer ill health or death for supposedly improved teeth! Topical application is far simpler and less toxic. After all, do we drink suntan lotion? Dentists throw fluoride at us and use it as an excuse not to treat Medicaid patients. The days are numbered for the continued use of fluoride added to water. Class-action lawsuits are being prepared now by Waters and Kraus and other national law firms. See: www.waters-kraus.com.
Frances Pane
East Windsor
Take first step
toward tax reform
To the editor:
Based on East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov’s latest figures, the East Windsor Township tax rate of 48 cents per $100 of assessed valuation would be reduced if services of Hightstown and East Windsor were totally shared through outsourcing.
East Windsor needs to raise $6,534,048 through property taxes at 48 cents per $100. Add $1.2 million for outsourcing costs for Hightstown and the new total is $7,734,048. Subtract Hightstown’s revenue other than property taxes of $2,395,219 and the amount to be raised becomes $5,338,829.
Hightstown’s share is 13.62 percent of that or $727,149 in taxes to be raised, which is a property tax rate of 34 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
East Windsor would need to raise taxes of $4,605,274 in taxes. This is a 14-cent-per-$100 savings.
Hightstown is petitioning for $550,000 in extraordinary aid from New Jersey, and East Windsor is seeking $500,000 in similar aid to reduce their tax rate as well. It appears we have two government agencies that support and promote inefficiencies.
Why the reluctance to reduce tax rates? Why the desire to remain inefficient? Why the desire to do nothing? Property tax reform needs to take place in our communities by sharing services through outsourcing first and petitioning for property tax reform second.
Gene Sarafin
Hightstown
Sikorski seeks
voters’ support
To the editor:
By way of introduction, my name is Walter L. Sikorski, a two-term councilman in Hightstown, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor in the June 6 primary.
My qualifications include: lifelong resident, retired public school teacher, graduate of Hightstown High School, Trenton State College, Temple University and Rutgers University. During my years of service on the council, I have served on the Planning Board, Greystone subcommittee, as liaison to the Board of Health, Historic Preservation Commission and the construction office.
My campaign motto is: Asking tough questions, making good decisions for the people of Hightstown.
I ask the voters for their support in the June 6 primary.
Walter L. Sikorski
Hightstown
Thrift shop proceeds
to aid local nonprofits
To the editor:
Greater Goods is catching on in this community through great word-of-mouth advertising. Good ideas connect through good people.
Look for Greater Goods signs pointing the way to great bargains in Hightstown this Memorial Day weekend, May 26 and 27. Then mark your calendars for another big sale June 10 at The Peddie School.
Have you heard about Greater Goods, a planned community-based thrift shop whose proceeds will benefit our local nonprofit service organizations? Throughout the summer, we’re accepting donations and hosting yard sales as we build momentum and raise funds for regular operations. Our goal is to raise $10,000 and locate a retail site by this fall and thanks to this great community, we’re almost one-third of the way there!
To donate your treasures to be sold, schedule a pickup of large items, host a sale at your home, or volunteer to help, call 448-1350 or email [email protected]. You also can drop off donations at 214 Stockton St. Spread the word and come shop for our community!
Kerrie Peterson
Hightstown

