Sorted by date Results 601 - 625 of 911
Tooth decay has gone down To the Editor: You may not have heard that tooth decay has gone down in all developed nations at about the same rate, whether their water is fluoridated or not. Strangely, most in the medical profession are also ignorant of this phenomenon. Yet data from the World Health Organization shows this trend: http://www.mah.se/CAPP/Country-Oral-Health-Profiles/. Here in the US in 1987, the National Institute of Dental Research conducted the largest government study ever done comparing fluoridated versus unfluoridated...
To the Editor: What is dental fluorosis? While the right amount of fluoride makes our teeth more resistant to the enamel-dissolving acids made by the bacteria in our mouths, studies have shown consuming too much fluoride while your teeth are forming can cause gaps in the crystalline structure of your tooth enamel, resulting in the white spots known as fluorosis, and in extreme cases of high fluoride intake, brown spots. The CDC says in 1986-87, 22.6% of adolescents aged 12-15 had dental fluorosis to varying degrees; in 1999-2004, 40.7% of adole...
Hooray for photos To the Editor: Hooray for the photo contributions by John Havrilek and Carli Byrer, so that there was something pleasant in last week’s Pilot, as compared to images of “your’s truly.” H.C. Gilliland...
Fluoridation best solution To the Editor: At the Petersburg Hospital (the real Old Hospital) and in doctor’s offices, of course we used oral thermometers then. After the quick shake down of the mercury in the thermometer and the words “Open up. Please”, the mouth was opened and the thermometer went in under the tongue. The view of the open mouths of many children revealed blackened teeth. The memory of those teeth will be with me forever, indeed, I was amazed to find that many young adults in their twenties had full sets of false teeth. When...
We hope the recall sponsors will decide to drop the proposed recall effort. Their time will be better spent looking for candidates that will be willing to file for candidacy and campaign for three open seats on the Assembly this fall. The city manager’s proposal to replace the retiring power and light manager with an inexperienced electrical superintendent is fraught with opportunities for failure. It will provide good campaign fodder for the fall election. It was highly unlikely that the attorney providing the opinion that gave the go-ahead fo...
Herewith are my observations and thoughts regarding the restructuring of the utility departments as proposed by the Borough Manager with the intent of saving the Borough money. Review of this proposal brings to one’s attention that the manager is endeavoring to create a position to be filled by a preselected individual to manage three utilities. As such, if put into play, it will most likely make it very difficult to recruit for this position at some future point in time. The proposal is flawed, in my opinion for this very reason. The c...
The Borough Assembly should push forward with long-term airport parking at the James Johnson Airport. We've all walked thousands of yards to get from airport parking lots to ticketing concourses at Lower 48 airports, but in Petersburg we all want to park just 10-20 steps from the terminal entryway. The Planning and Zoning Commission has brought forward a cost estimate of $65,000 to build a 35-space lot right across the street. Lynett Campbell, Chief of Southeast Region Aviation Leasing said the...
Debate issues with respect To the Editor: Rumors, allegations and recall threats in the wake of the former Mayor's resignation seem to be reaching fever pitch. To address some of questions and correct the record on several points, I feel it's necessary to weigh in. As for the ex-Mayor's resignation, he made a choice that was prudent for him. I won't second-guess it. In our Assembly-Borough Manager form of government, the Manager is responsible to the Assembly as a whole. His role includes hiring and firing personnel including department heads,...
Asking for support To the Editor: Recently Mike Schwartz sent a letter regarding the potential loss of our family cabin since 1956 that is up Petersburg Creek. As most of you know my father, Ken Hammer passed away last fall and in addition to the heartache of dealing with his loss, this takes on another level of loss. As Mike stated in his letter, the Forest Service designed a permit plan that only allows one transfer within a family and when that member passes on, the Forest Service reserves the right to destroy the cabin. More precisely, the...
We find the evolving process to fill the power and light superintendent’s position becoming almost bizarre. The effort required to pound seemingly square pegs into round holes is exhausting to watch. To have two persons, making the same salaries while accomplishing the same job a single person filled just weeks ago, belies the intent to save money for the borough. Selecting the superintendent’s revised job description, and eventually advertising the position, should take highest priority. To move an administrator with limited electrical bac...
Exception to rule needed To the Editor: Jens, Jake, and Carrie Hammer recently lost their father, Kenny Hammer. They inherited a cabin up Petersburg Creek that the Forest Service is in the process of forcing the family to remove. In their effort to eliminate every cabin ever built on Forest Service land, the Forest Service designed a permit plan that only allows one transfer within a family. When a family member dies, the Forest Service reserves the right to destroy that cabin. Jim Hammer made the mistake of transferring the permit to his son,...
I may be mistaken but it was my assumption the Borough assembly could only authorize spending of a limited amount of monies without the approval of the public, but even if I am mistaken, the assembly and manager have seemingly put Petersburg in a very precarious position for future bond issuing by their insatiable spending habits. According to their figures, we are now four and one half million or more dollars in debt and an effort to raid the Electric Utility reserve fund is under discussion to help pay that debt. I believe this action...
To the Editor: June 15, 2017 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. On this day, communities all over the world will sponsor events to highlight the growing issue of elder abuse. In confronting and addressing the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, it is important that we also identify and recognize the signs of elder abuse. The U.S. Administration on Aging estimates that as many as 1 in 10 elders are abused or neglected each year. Older adults are valuable, contributing members of society and their abuse or neglect diminishes all of...
Extremely proud To the Editor: It is not too often that we hear about the accomplishments of our PHS graduates. We are extremely proud of Joseph Zarlengo as a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate. He also graduated with a mechanical engineering degree and a commission as an ensign, which is change of ranking as the lowest commissioned officer, ranking next below a lieutenant. We find a huge disappointment in our newspaper for thinking that this news is back page news. I say when you have such great accomplishments and are from our small town of...
Need to regroup To the Editor: Our local paper seems like it’s mixed up. Viking ship (in color) on the front page was perfect. However the criminal (in color) big time loser has been on the front page for the last three weeks, while our lovely Norwegian award winner was put in with the police news. How great is that? Another big news story, our Mayor Mark Jensen resigned, which will be a great loss to our community, in middle of paper someplace. You need to regroup Patty Nelson When rules are ignored, we must act To the Editor: On May 30, 2...
Thank you To the Editor: Thank you to all the wonderful people that came and helped haul stuff out of my warehouse that collapsed on the beach. I really appreciate all of you. Sigrid C. Medalen Fluoride To the Editor: Being a dentist in this community for approximately 37 years, 14 without fluoridation and 23 with, I have seen the positive effect that it has had on the dental health of the people in this town. When a water supply is fluoridated at the correct level, decay rates in permanent teeth drop significantly, because the enamel of these...
I met a friend at the post office last week, and he told me that nobody had ever died from fluoride. Well, he was wrong. There’ve been many cases of “death by fluoride.” I’ll mention just one that Alaskans ought to know: (From the Anchorage Daily News, September 22, 1992) “Dominic Smith didn’t realize that water from the village well was killing him. So he kept drinking. The sicker he got, the more he drank. The more he drank, the sicker he got. All around his part of the village, his neighbors were falling sick, too. By the next day, Smith...
For the third time in recent history voters will be asked to make changes to the sales tax ordinance. Be it exemptions for senior citizens’ purchases, establishing sunset dates on exemptions for seniors or raising the cap on taxable sales, the voters seem to be consistent. Their response has been, and we think will continue to be, No. That is why it is reasonable for the Assembly to work together with the Chamber of Commerce to craft some ballot propositions that both bodies can agree on, and perhaps, work together, to sell the resulting c...
Set the record straight To the Editor: Just to set the record straight, you really should have checked the accuracy of the statement made by Eric Castro in the April 20 edition of the Petersburg Pilot. Every single pound of seafood we process at Coastal Cold Storage is charged the 6% sales tax, as required by the Petersburg Borough (previously the City of Petersburg), unless it qualifies for a Senior exemption or Resale exemption. I can assure you that if Mr. Castro's uncle comes in the door with three fish to be filleted, vacuum packed and/or...
Fluoridation debate will continue Dear Editor and Assembly Members: In June of 2004, the Juneau Fluoride Commission was appointed and given the task of reviewing existing studies and reports. They were to come up with a recommendation whether or not to use the public water supply as a vehicle for dispensing fluoride. After two years of public meetings, the commission was divided in its recommendations. Three members firmly believed fluoridating the water supply was a good way to prevent dental caries, two members believed the practice should...
Fluoridation proven safe To the Editor: The safety and effectiveness of community water fluoridation has been scientifically proven and documented for 60 years. Dental decay is still the number one disease of children. Water fluoridation can greatly reduce decay across the population. The safety and efficacy is supported by over 100 National and International organizations, the American Dental Association, the American Medical Association, the U.S. Public Health Service(CDC), the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the...
How much flouride is safe? To the Editor: How much fluoride can you safely allow your baby to drink? Or bathe or shower or swim in? I’m not talking about topical fluoride applied to teeth. I’m talking about what you ingest, and absorb through the skin. We’re all familiar with the "Warning" label on fluoride toothpaste, advising us to call Poison Control if our child swallows more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. How much fluoride would that be if swallowed as a glass of fluoridated water? By some estimates, it could be the equivalent of 1...
Rethink flouride To the Editor: I would like to request the Borough reevaluate its practice of adding fluoride to our water supply. It is time to investigate what the current research is on the safety of fluoride after so many years of public use. I found that fluoride in drinking water does give dental benefits to people across the board, and over and over I read, “the benefits outweigh the risks.” But that made me wonder, if there are recognized risks associated with fluoride introduced into the drinking water of municipalities, why don...
Not much has changed To the Editor: Due to circumstances beyond our control, Deb and I had to move back to Juneau temporarily a bit over a year ago. As a result, I’ve missed much of what has been happening in the Petersburg Borough. But a couple of recent visitors and phone calls lead me to believe that not much has changed. The other day we were driving down Calhoun in Juneau where it turns into 12th Street. It was a chilly 33 degrees but the sun was out and most of the snow and ice from a recent storm was gone. A man who appeared to be in h...
After two years of kicking the can down the road, this may be the year the Legislature finally gets serious about closing the budget gap. For two years, action in the Alaska House and Senate has focused primarily on cuts, which has reduced the yearly deficit from $4 billion to $3 billion but can go little further without substantial negative impact to the state's core services — items such as education, transportation and public safety. Finally, there appears to be an emerging recognition by legislators that new revenue for the state is an a...
