Letters to the Editor 01/02/2008

To the Editor:

Regarding your article "Tainted water tests clean," (The Nugget, December 26, 2007) I'm a little confused here...

Does The Nugget mean that the water coming from the wells tests clean when it comes out of the ground or that it tests clean because it's being treated with chlorine?

If the water tests clean and the chlorination system's been turned off, it's news to me; many of us have been drinking bottled (or out-of-the-neighborhood) water since the contamination notice was issued on the 4th of December.

As for the newspaper article, in my opinion there's a big difference between "a clean bill of health" and water that's being chlorinated to kill off pathogens. If it's clean it doesn't need chlorination; if it has to be chlorinated it's not clean.

Seems pretty straightforward to me, but maybe I'm missing something...

If I wanted to drink and/or bathe in chlorinated (or otherwise-treated) water, I'd live someplace with a regular, reliable and chemical-rich water system.

There are still some fairly basic questions that need to be addressed, and I'm disappointed that your correspondent either didn't ask them or somehow they failed to get reported:

Is our water free of pathogens or is it "clean" only because it's being chemically treated? What caused the contamination, and how likely is it to happen again? Who's responsible for testing the water? How often will the wells be tested and for how long? If our own water supplier won't keep us informed, where can we get information about our water quality? Is this problem localized or is it symptomatic of a larger trend (or would we rather not know)?

The last word we (the residents of SCCE (Squaw Creek Canyon Estates) received was that a "temporary" chlorination system had been installed, and "we'll let you know...."

That was posted on the mailbox kiosk around December 17, removed in the past day or so (as of December 29), and there's been no word since.

I understand that getting the word out to 130-odd households is difficult, and I was impressed by SCCE's timely notification of the problem initially, but as time goes on the updates get fewer and fewer. I hate to think that the weekly paper (as good as it is!) is the timeliest source of information about the water I drink every day.

Happy New Year, and thanks for reading.

Pete Rathbun

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To the Editor:

Elections are the cornerstone of democracy. If you don't like the incumbents, you can toss the rascals out. In May, Mark Yinger ran for the Sisters School Board on a platform that essentially said: "Toss this rascal (Jeff Smith) out."

With all of my warts and bruises, more voters voted for me than for Mark Yinger. Now Mark Yinger writes to The Nugget and wants me to resign. I am certain that he's not alone in this perspective, but the voters asked me to continue, and I will do so. That's the way democracy is supposed to work.

Jeff Smith

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To the Editor:

On September 15, 1998, I was fortunate to be hired by Dr. Tom Rheuben and Dr. Steve Spear to provide dental hygiene services to their patients here in Sisters. 

Many changes have occurred in the practice ownership since that time, but I have been privileged to continue at that original office. It has been my honor to provide dental hygiene care to those patients and now friends that have been coming in for all these years. 

As times change, so do our choices, and my time at this location is done. I encourage all those friends to continue on the road of self caring and success that we have achieved together, and I thank you for all the fun we had along the way. Your successes in your dental health and care have been my successes as well and have made my days on numerous occasions.

Thanks for giving me all those pats on the back, back.

Sincerely and with hugs,

Teri Fast, RDH