An editorial from The Exponent Telegram
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — It’s not often you get so many diverse groups agreeing on one thing. Everyone has an opinion, and some issues can cause heated arguments.
But the fact is, the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Public Health Service, the World Health Organization, the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, 75 percent of the U.S. population and 90 percent of residents in West Virginia agree on one thing: Fluoride in our drinking water is OK.
Yet, two members of the Clarksburg Water Board — Charles Thayer and Paul Howe — last month voted not to buy anymore stocks of fluoride, effectively ending the practice of fluoridation. The vote was made in an abrupt way, without public notice or public hearings.
Board President Al Cox voted no, arguing strenuously in favor of fluoridation.
Fluoridation has been a practice for decades, and scientists and public health officials say it has done much to fight tooth decay…