Last modified: Friday, January 26, 2007 11:59 PM EST North may put fluoride to vote BY AMY DeMELIA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF NORTH ATTLEBORO - Voters may get another chance to weigh in on fluoride, with selectmen Chairman John Rhyno planning to ask the board to place the issue on the ballot. While selectmen have urged fluoridation opponents for more than a year to put the issue back before voters, there has been no move to do so. In fact, fluoride opponents, including board of health members, say the issue should not be left to a "popularity contest" because they view it as a public health issue. Fed up with the controversy, Rhyno said he is ready to place the issue on the ballot himself. "I honestly think we have more of a chance of solving the Iran nuclear crisis than this fluoride issue. It's crazy," Rhyno said. "If the members of the board of health who are against fluoride wanted this issue to be resolved, they would put it on the ballot." Rhyno pointed out that town counsel has determined that since voters approved fluoride in 2000, voters are the only ones with the power to remove it. The board of health is suing the department of public works because it has refused to stop fluoridating the water, based on the opinion from town counsel. The only problem is state law includes no provision for removing fluoride once it has been approved by town voters. That means that the ballot question would have to be non-binding, but selectmen have committed to following the will of the voters. News that the issue might be headed to the ballot hasn't been greeted with enthusiasm by either side. Board of health member Diane Battistello, a fluoride opponent, declined to comment, issuing a statement that said only, "I consider this a public health threat and I'm committed to protecting the public's health." Rhyno disagreed saying, "I'd like to think that Sturdy Hospital, which has fluoridated water, would be sounding the alarm for its patients if there were a problem. When I go to the doctor, he tells me to eat the right foods and to walk more - he never has told me to watch out for fluoride." Board of health member Donald Bates, a fluoride proponent, said he has no problem with a ballot question on fluoride, but he believes opponents should be the ones putting the question forward. "If folks want to take fluoride out of the water, then they should put it on the ballot," he said. "We already have fluoride in the water, so it doesn't make any sense for those people who are pro-fluoride to put it on the ballot. "We're getting dictated to by a very small and vocal minority, and since they don't want fluoride, it's up to them to put it on the ballot." Selectmen will discuss whether to put the issue on the ballot at an upcoming meeting. The board has until Feb. 26 to place questions on the April 3 town election ballot.