The following is a letter to the editor from Jill Lokere. Letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect WestfordCAT or its Board of Directors. To submit your own letter, e-mail asylvia@westfordcat.org
I’m writing in support of Stephanie Granger, MS, and Sue Hanly, RN, for election to the Board of Health.
As a member of the Board of Health for the past six years, I have seen firsthand how vitally important it is that our Board members have an extensive background in science, medicine, public health, or environmental safety. This ensures that any decisions that are made are grounded on data-driven scientific facts. It is all too easy these days to be swept up in pseudo-science, with potentially disastrous results for our town.
One example of this is a recent decision by the Board of Health to continue fluoridating our town water. Fluoridation is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Despite decades of scientific evidence that fluoridation is effective for preventing cavities in teeth and poses no safety risk, supporters of de-fluoridation recently brought forth pseudo-science to the Board in an attempt to scare the town into de-fluoridating our water. Luckily, fluoridation was maintained, but only by a 3 to 2 vote! There are many other issues that are vital to health and safety that pseudo-science might undermine, like vaccination. If this is important to you, and if you want any policies and bylaws passed by the Board of Health to be grounded in a solid understanding of real scientific research, please vote for Stephanie Granger, MS, and Sue Hanly, RN, NCSN, for Board of Health.
Stephanie Granger has master’s degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health and has worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the area of maternal and child health. Sue Hanly is a nurse in the Westford Public School system. Please vote for Granger and Hanly for Board of Health on May 3 – let’s make sure Westford remains a healthy and safe place to live!
Jillian Lokere, MS
Board of Health Member, 2010-2016
103 Russells Way, Westford
