Letters to the Editor: March 5, 2025

Letters to the Editor published in the March 5, 2025 issue of the Tomahawk Leader.

Fluoridation

Recently, fluoridation of Tomahawk City Water has been postponed due to a storage issue. As a result, in April you will see a question on the ballot asking if fluoride should be placed back into our city water supply. Consider this Letter to the Editor my personal attempt to educate the public further on this issue.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found in soil, rocks and waterways. Today, fluoride can be delivered topically and systemically. Topical fluorides strengthen teeth already present in the mouth, making them more decay resistant (toothpaste and mouthwash), while systemic fluorides are those that are ingested and become incorporated into forming tooth structures (water and/or supplementation).

More than 75 years of research shows optimally fluoridated water is safe, effective and supports good oral health. The fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L used in community water fluoridation maximizes benefits for preventing tooth decay, while minimizing risks to human health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend water fluoridation at a level of 0.7 mg/L as a cornerstone of cavity prevention in the U.S...reducing cavities by up to 25%!

You may have heard talk recently of how harmful fluoride in drinking water can be. Most recently, a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency has made headlines.

The basis of the suit involved the use of a study released by the National Toxicology Program, which was not a report on the fluoridation of water, but rather a report on exposure to fluoride at levels greater than 1.5 mg/L – which is more than double the level of fluoride in drinking water. It is noted in the report itself that the it does not address the impact of fluoride at 0.7mg/L on a measurable change in intelligence quotient. This report has been rejected twice by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

As the American Dental Association said, “the main takeaway is that (the study) did not find any connection between lower IQ and fluoride intake at the level recommended for community water fluoridation.”

Lack of fluoride in our city's water system raises concern for students (and community members) for the following reasons:

1.) Dental caries (cavities) is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and can have lifelong consequences. It disproportionately impacts children who are racial minorities, come from low-income families or have special needs (approximately 50% of Tomahawk School District students qualify for free and reduced lunch).

2.) Currently, zero dental offices in Lincoln County accept Forward Health/Medicaid pediatric clients. Therefore, barriers to care include transportation, limited time away from work and/or school and limited finances for travel and/or care.

3.) Those who were previously benefiting from city water fluoridation may now have to follow up with their primary care providers and/or dental offices to discuss other ways of supplementing fluoride.

Make your voices heard in our upcoming election.

Thank you!

Trina Armstrong

Irma

Protecting Medicaid funding for our communities

Dear Editor,

Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of Americans, including children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. It provides essential healthcare services, ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our society receive the care they need. In Wisconsin Medicaid provides funding for all of the following programs: BADGERCARE, FAMILY CARE, IRIS, FOSTERCARE, KATY BECKETT, CLTS, MAPP, CCS, and institutional care.

As a parent to a child with a disability, a speech and language pathologist, and community member, I see firsthand how Medicaid supports individuals with disabilities, helping them access therapy, medical treatment, and other necessary interventions. Reducing funding would not only harm those who rely on it but also place additional strain on hospitals, schools, and local services.

Services our family has been able to access which help our son have included some of the following: parent education about his special needs and how to manage them, daily living skills instruction where he has learned to make purchases at stores and place orders at restaurants, specialized toothbrush, home modification with equipment to access teletherapy as we did not have reliable access to high speed internet, medication and medical copays.

Representative Tom Tiffany voted to end these basic services which have been invaluable to our family. My story is only one of many who are in this community. I have attempted to call and connect without success with Representative Tiffany.

Investing in Medicaid is an investment in public health, economic stability, and human dignity. I urge policymakers to protect and strengthen Medicaid funding rather than reduce it. Our communities depend on it.

Sincerely,

Angela Koch

Tomahawk

A letter on Pine Crest

I am writing as a member of People for Pine Crest. I’ve told nobody what I intend to say, nor have I asked permission or approval.

The bulk of the political conversation about Pine Crest has dealt with money: can the county afford to care for our old and infirm. Pine Crest was whacked by COVID and then, in its weakened state, it got picked on by the new county board majority wanting to privatize care of the elderly and hurting.

People for Pine Crest at this point probably knows more about Pine Crest finances than does the county board. Nearly two years of volunteer study and meetings have not been wasted.

But there’s another layer here. The folks who make up People for Pine Crest were drawn to the issue not out of wallet gazing but out of deep moral concern. What drew us in was a sense of outrage that we should repudiate our collective responsibility for those who are old and infirm.

To sell the nursing home is a moral failing, including in the financial “intelligence” by which the board majority has claimed such astonishingly assertive confidence. At its core, sale sets a terrible ethical message: we prefer to sell off the care of our old and inform at a flea market asking price. The county board majority claims – some of them actually do claim – to be good Christian conservatives. It makes one wonder what those words might mean.

Paul Gilk

Merrill