To the editor,

As a past member of the North Attleboro board of health I ask the board of selectmen to defer placing any fluoride question (binding or non-binding) on the upcoming April ballot. I find it extremely unfortunate that this issue has been dragged to the depths it has solely based on political manipulation and misinformation.

Although the voters should be allowed to vote on any issue they see important, I agree with health board member Don Bates; the fluoride petition should be initiated by those who oppose the present town-voted mandate for fluoridated water. Please consider this:

Unwisely, the present board of health has chosen to sue our department of public works to remove fluoride from our water supply based on the opinion of town counsel. He addressed the rights and responsibilities of the North board per their written request a few years ago. That initial communication was set in motion because of an informational public hearing held between the North board of health and several boards from the town of Plainville. Our concerns at the time had to due with our mutual fluoride interests. North citizens voted for fluoride and Plainville didn't. We tried to find workable solutions to this dilemma.

The two most logical options at the time were for North Attleboro to separate the fluoride from the Plainville water supply, which all boards agreed would be cost prohibitive. The other and most logical option was a good faith effort for North to temporarily halt our fluoride program until the residents of Plainville revoted on whether they wanted to purchase water from North Attleboro that contained fluoride. At no time during these discussions did the North board of health consider the permanent shut down of our fluoride program for health-related reasons or recent new findings. On the contrary the full board mutually agreed (even the two anti-fluoride members) that the interests of the North Attleboro's voters was paramount and should be respected. It was then we sought the opinion and advice of our town counsel. How the fluoride issue has evolved to the present is very peculiar and personally disheartening. Much information has been presented to our local media outlets to educate the public and sway opinion. Unfortunately, most of that information has been misrepresented either through ignorance or as a calculated strategy. Either way, it has been both divisive and falsely misleading.

As a former North board of health chairman, I have been fortunate enough to have had tremendous access to both informational materials and as well personal contacts with many high authorities on the state level as well the federal (EPA). I have spoken with the principals of the highly controversial Harvard research study as well as with officials at the Forsyth Dental Institute in Boston. I don't want to come across as either morally or intellectually superior to anyone because I'm not. I do, however, feel a responsibility to convey that based on my fluoride adventures that our town's "genuine" interests are not being properly addressed.

Any "urgent" policy decisions or negotiations at this time prior to the upcoming election would not be sound judgment. After the election, as the litigation either moves forward or is dropped, would be the most appropriate time to address this issue. Politics should be secondary in our thoughts as we move forward.

In the meantime, perhaps the North board of health could research which drugs containing high amounts of fluoride might be of a concern to our community! I am sure by their dedication to our health they have already done this. Certainly they have informed our Council on Aging, local pediatricians as well as our local pharmacists. If not, perhaps this could be done by April, as of course time is of the essence.

Jerome Kennedy Sr.

North Attleboro