News Archive

METHUEN — For the third time in 21 years, residents will vote on fluoridating the town’s water. Town Council voted unanimously last night to attach a referendum to November’s state elections ballot, asking simply, “Do the inhabitants of the city of Methuen support the fluoridation of the Methuen water supply system?” The town has answered […]

The city will be holding a public hearing next Tuesday on whether to fluoridate the rest of WoburnÕs water, a topic that has been controversial in many communities across the state. The state Department of Public Health lists 135 communities in Massachusetts that have at least partial fluoridation. The result is that about 6 out […]

METHUEN — Three weeks after a controversial Board of Health vote to fluoridate the town’s drinking water — a vote that cost the health director his job and one board member her post — a new board reversed the decision last night. The 20 or so people who filled the small, second-floor conference room of […]

METHUEN — Mayor Sharon M. Pollard wants the Board of Health to rescind its vote to fluoridate the town’s drinking water, saying the decision was made without properly informing the public. Few people even knew of the vote until more than a week after it happened, a delay that angered the mayor, councilors and fluoridation […]

WORCESTER– City residents on both sides of the fluoridation debate came together yesterday under the banner of “Worcester Dental Watch” to call for solutions to a crisis in dental health problems among the poor. In a show of cohesiveness, proponents and opponents of fluoridation and others said they want action to solve the city’s oral […]

PLAINVILLE — Voters on Monday defeated fluoridation by 90 votes, 814-724, potentially setting the stage for a court battle with North Attleboro. But North Attleboro Public Works Chairman Robert Norton said after the vote that the towns “absolutely” could negotiate an agreement to separate their water without litigation. North Attleboro residents in November 2000 voted […]

The world truly awaits the results of Monday’s fluoridation vote in Plainville. Individuals from Australia to Oregon have sent letters to the editor to The Sun Chronicle this winter to reinforce the critics’ campaign in town. In contrast, advocates have received written support primarily from area and state dental professionals. But advocates say the federal […]

Water dominates Plainville’s politics these days. The issue is not new in the town, which has faced water restrictions for more than 10 years. Several recent efforts to alleviate the shortage have raised objections, however, including sending water from a contaminated well to a North Attleborough treatment plant that fluoridates water. To allow the treatment […]

As we did in the year 2000 when North Attleboro voters faced the question of adding fluoride to the drinking water supply, The Sun Chronicle urges a Yes vote when Plainville voters face the same question on April 1. Adding a tiny amount of fluoride — at 1 part fluoride per 1 million parts of […]

WORCESTER — There will be no fluoride in the city’s water supply. Voters once again blocked plans to begin adding fluoride to the city water supply, voting yesterday 56 percent to 44 percent against fluoridation. The victory came despite a $400,000 campaign aimed at convincing residents that fluoridation would reduce dental decay among children. Opponents, […]