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Thanks for bringing Sula home

To the editor,

To all those who called, texted, commented, and for the Facebook "shares.” For all the advice, tips, hints and personal stories and encouragements. To the ones who took extra steps, extra hikes and looked extra hard in every area. To the strangers who became friends, who went completely out on a limb to help out another stranger. To my co-workers for extra hands, and an extra picture, and to my friends who took shifts search hiking with me while I cried. Thank you all. Sula is home, happy, full and hydrated, sleeping next to me, dreaming of her forever-a-secret, grand adventure.

– Jennaye Derge, Durango

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Being homeless is not a crime

To the editor,

It seems like society is raging war against the homeless, and little to no help is being provided to those who are cold and starving, most of them veterans I might add. I’ve met many homeless people on my path, most of them kind and caring, intelligent and poetic. It is illegal to sleep in parks during the night, forcing the homeless to be on an all-night schedule, which makes it hard for them to progress since most businesses and resources are not open 24 hours.

The Manna Soup Kitchen helps out a lot, but otherwise I’m not seeing anything done to help the homeless. It just seems like every town, especially Durango, wants to get rid of them, rather than bring them up to a higher place than they were before. Homeless people are people as well, and they are treated as less than what they’re worth. Being homeless should not be illegal. And while I understand that some homeless people are alcoholics and/or addicts, the police do nothing except for drop them off at detox and nothing else is done from that point on.

This war against the homeless needs to stop. I’ve grown up in poverty all my life. Being poor and down on your luck should never be made a crime.

– Jake DeLarge, “The Antisocial Nihilist,” Durango 

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Going meat-free for Lent

To the editor,

This Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter, when many Christians abstain from animal foods in remembrance of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert before launching his ministry. 

But meat-free Lent is much more than a symbol of religious devotion to Christ. It helps reduce the risk of chronic disease, environmental degradation and animal abuse. Dozens of medical reports have linked consumption of animal products with elevated risk of heart failure, stroke, cancer and other killer diseases. A 2007 U.N. report named meat production as the largest source of greenhouse gases and water pollution. Undercover investigations have documented farm animals being beaten, caged, crowded, deprived, mutilated and shocked.

Lent offers a superb opportunity to honor Christ’s powerful message of compassion and love by adopting a meat-free diet for Lent and beyond. After all, it’s the diet mandated in Genesis I-29 and observed in the Garden of Eden. 

Local supermarkets offer a rich array of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, as well as the more traditional vegetables, fruits and grains.

– Diego Horvath, Durango

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Half-cent tax benefits are huge

To the editor,

I want to voice my support for the extension of the 1999 half-cent sales tax for recreation. Over the years, my kids learned to ski at Chapman Hill; I have exercised and rehabbed injuries at the Recreation Center; we have played soccer on the City playing fields, enjoyed the Animas River Trail, floated down the Animas River, walked our dogs and hiked many of the City trails; and used many, many more of the wonderful recreational amenities available here in Durango.

The benefits to our community for a half cent on every dollar spent is huge, and I urge all citizens of Durango to vote YES on 1-A. For more information go to: Facebook.com/KeepDurangoHealthy

– Michael Burke, Durango

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Let Mideast settle their own wars

To the editor,

Chris Kyle said of his murderer, reported on CNN today, “This dude is straight-up nuts,” and the “dude” caught this on a cell phone text. Why take this ex-GI to a place to shoot weapons when he has PTSD, bad feelings about being called nuts, and his future is bleak? Is it any wonder that Chris Kyle, famous with a book out and the owner of the cell phone oops, was shot and killed by someone deranged? A better afternoon at the bowling alley, with apologies, could have kept this tragedy from happening.

I rented to a former GI gunner who had a wounded warrior mention on his license plate. He scared the hell out of me more than once, even though I gave him no reason whatsoever to be his civilian target. He was able to get a concealed weapon’s permit with a PTSD diagnosis. Again, wonders never cease in this clueless world we live in.

How many trillion more dollars are we willing to spend on wars that kill bad guys, innocents in the cross-fire, that have created thousands of militant cells around the world since 2003, and to treat our returning GI’s with the fake promise that everything will be all right?  

Let the Middle East settle its own Sunni-Shiite civil wars.

– Sally Florence, Durango

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Fluoridation easy, safe dentifrice

To the editor,

February is Children’s Dental Health Month, an opportune time to celebrate the strides we have made in preventing cavities through water fluoridation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has praised fluoridation as one of “ten great public health achievements of the 20th century.”

Fluoride exists naturally in nearly all water supplies. Water is “fluoridated” when fluoride is added at a level that is found to prevent tooth decay. Research supporting water fluoridation is solid – and recent. Within the past few years, several studies have continued to demonstrate fluoridation’s positive impact. A 2010 study found when consumed as a child, fluoridated water makes the loss of teeth (due to decay) much less likely even 50 years later. 

Leading health and medical organizations support water fluoridation. This list includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. We can trust their knowledge and expertise.

Fluoridation saves money. Research shows that every $1 invested in water fluoridation produces savings of $38. This money is saved by families and taxpayers because people avoid paying the cost for more fillings and other dental treatments

Water fluoridation helps improve oral health for people of all income levels and racial backgrounds. In fact, a 2002 study called water fluoridation “the most effective and practical method” for reducing the gap in decay rates between low-income and upper-income Americans. 

Anti-fluoride activists have no evidence proving that fluoride is harmful at the level used for fluoridating water. They will make all kinds of claims, but the science doesn’t back them up.  

Fluoridation is a smart health strategy – even today, when nearly everyone brushes with fluoride toothpaste. Research proves that drinking fluoridated water reduces the risk of decay. At a time when more than 100 million Americans lack dental insurance, fluoridation offers an easy, inexpensive, preventive strategy that everyone benefits from simply by turning on their tap.

– Deborah Foote, Executive Director, Oral Health Colorado