Why I voted against a mask mandate

I clearly voted against the Board of Health’s mask order last week in our meeting, and I’d like to comment on that meeting.

We are in direct opposition to all surrounding counties and the entire Hi-Line with our order. It will be interesting to watch the numbers in those counties and see if there are perilous spikes as is presumed.

Mayor Tim Solomon’s comment that we need to be the “bad guys” and not local entities is quite convenient as it will clearly be the county and not the city that is the “bad guy” here. He also clearly stated that no one’s behavior will change. Those who do not wear masks will continue not to wear masks. What does this mean for our rule of law? That statement seems to clearly indicate we expect lawlessness.

BOH’s vote was clearly against the plea and advice of our county attorney, who had no vote but will be at the heart of this matter. Is it wise to not follow legal advice?

Ms. Ericka McKeon-Hanson stated “It’s easy to wear the mask.” I agree it’s easy for folks to wear a mask to get groceries or other shopping and necessary matters. But I wonder how many hours a day do you wear a mask Ms. McKeon-Hanson? Ms. Kristi Kline? Mayor Solomon? Health Director Kim Larson? Or do you all have offices where you are able to unmask to do the majority of your work? I happen to know first-hand how much time masks are worn in the commission office and it’s shear hypocrisy if the current pattern continues because masks are selectively worn at best and this is true for other county offices as well.

I would contend there are hundreds of employees and business owners in our community who wear masks under duress, but let’s face it, they are not elected so they would lose their job if they took their masks off. They are people I feel badly for as they are doing what they must do so they can pay their rent and feed their family. They have no say in this matter, and yet as our numbers have plummeted, we are imposing more restrictions knowing full well we cannot enforce the 6 foot rule, we cannot make people wash their hands, and we cannot make people wear their masks.

We also continue to move the “goal” requiring two weeks at 10 cases per 100,000. That is less than two cases per day for two weeks before we revisit the order. With Hill County’s aggressive contact tracing, testing and the number of false positive tests that goal seems unlikely to achieve.

Finally, it was suggested that those who choose not to wear a mask would harass those who choose to continue to wear a mask. I think that is very much not the case and quite the opposite is true.

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Diane McLean is a Hill County Commissioner.