‘Resist the Mandatory Mask.’ Missouri town’s fight over COVID mandate lands in court
Notes from the public hang on a bulletin board inside the Pettis County Health Center, thanking workers for trying to keep residents safe during a global pandemic.
The goal, says administrator JoAnn Martin, is for her staff to concentrate on those messages and the support from many in their community. If they do, maybe it will drown out the vitriol from a growing group of naysayers who insist the health center in Sedalia and its board are trampling on their rights.
The Board of Trustees for the health center passed the “Public Health Emergency Rule” mandating masks on Aug. 5. Two days later, opponents filed a lawsuit saying it was bogus.
Signs now dot lawns in Sedalia and other parts of the county, saying “Resist the Mandatory Mask.” And social media is full of attacks, saying county health officials overreached their authority and questioning the virus’ fatality rate. Said one resident on Facebook: “Why aren’t people dropping dead left and right” if it’s so serious?
“We’re trying very, very hard to focus on what our mission is,” Martin told The Star. “I commend my staff that get up in the morning, come to work, try very hard, try to be patient. … There are people who would throw up their hands and say, ‘I quit. I can’t do this anymore.’”
What’s playing out in Pettis County two weeks after masks were mandated is similar to other communities across the nation where fiery feuds pit personal responsibility against those who claim their personal rights are under attack. But in this county, near the middle of Missouri, the battle is now in circuit court.
On Tuesday, another heavy hitter weighed in on Missouri’s mask debate — this one in favor of wearing them.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, met with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson. Birx told Parson that counties with more than 20 active COVID-19 cases should be under mask orders.
Pettis County, according to the health center’s website, has at least 160 active cases.
Three days earlier, Birx was in Wyandotte County and warned that the heartland, including Kansas and Missouri, was in danger of becoming the next Southeast when it came to skyrocketing COVID-19 cases.
She pointed to counties with poor mask-wearing practices as a major part of the problem.
But many in Pettis County aren’t buying that.
“This is America, right?” said Rusty Kahrs, a leader of the county’s anti-mask movement and one of eight plaintiffs on the lawsuit. “If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you want to wear a blue shirt and Nike tennis shoes, wear a blue shirt and Nike tennis shoes. Because a blue shirt and Nike tennis shoes will prevent just as much viral spread as the masks that they’re telling people to wear.
“We don’t believe that the science is there to prove that it does any good whatsoever. Then for them to go in and bully the local businesses after they’ve suffered so much from March to May is just wrong.”
Most experts, including Birx, strongly disagree. They say masks are a key factor in stopping the spread of the virus.
Kahrs, a former presiding county commissioner, said those opposed to the masks communicate in a private Facebook group that now has more than 900 members, with another 400 people asking to join. He said they believe that ordering people to wear masks is a violation of their “personal rights, personal liberty, and business’s right to operate freely and fairly.”
The group also says the county health board violated the law when it passed the mask order. The board has five members, and the vote was 2-1. One member was absent, and the board chairwoman said she could only vote in case of a tie.
The lawsuit, filed in Pettis County Circuit Court, says the plaintiffs and other members of the public fear they will be wrongfully prosecuted and publicly shamed for not abiding by the “unlawful” order. It asks the court to declare that the order is not enforceable by the Pettis County Health Center.
“First of all, they didn’t have a majority vote, so they did not pass it under Missouri law,” said Stan Cox, the group’s attorney. “Secondly, in order to have a punitive provision in an order, you have to submit it to the county commission, and they have to adopt it and publish it. And they have done neither.”
The lawsuit is asking for a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the mask rule, followed by an injunction.
“They have convinced a good number of people that they have to wear them and that these rules are in place subject to criminal and civil penalties,” Cox said. “We’re wanting to get a court order so it’s clear to citizens that the health board is not empowered to punish them for violations.”
The Pettis County prosecuting attorney has read the rule and doesn’t think his office has the authority to prosecute those who violate it.
“I don’t believe I have standing or jurisdiction to prosecute it as an ordinance,” Phillip Sawyer said. “To me, I read the statute to say a county commission has to adopt an order (for it) to be prosecuted. … I personally, legally speaking, do not think it’s enforceable by me.”
He doesn’t question Martin or her motivation.
“I absolutely believe she is trying to do the best she can with what she can,” Sawyer said. “She’s looking out for public health. Nobody is suggesting that’s not her intention.”
Martin has watched the numbers balloon.
On June 16, when all restrictions were removed in Missouri, Pettis County had a total of 96 cases of the coronavirus. Soon came the Fourth of July, which she says “was not kind to us.”
Neither was the rest of the month.
As of Tuesday, state numbers showed that Pettis County has reported 666 cases.
When the Health Center’s Board of Trustees met in late July to discuss a mandate rule, the key was to slow the spread.
“I had truly hoped that we could have a discussion and listen to what people wanted to say,” Martin said. “It didn’t turn out that way.
“We do have individuals in this county who believe that they have the right to do what they want to do. And we have tried to communicate, educate and explain why these strategies” are the ones available, she said.
Martin has heard reports of people refusing to wear masks. But she also hears that others are seen wearing them in the community.
What she hopes people realize is the only goal of public health at this point is to get the virus under control.
“Nobody likes this, nobody wants to do this,” Martin said. “We’d much prefer to have everyone moving in the same direction. … You can push this virus down, but it takes everyone in the community moving together.”
In Johnson County, Missouri — which is a neighbor to Pettis — the health department’s Board of Trustees implemented an order July 6 mandating facial coverings. But the pushback hasn’t been as severe as what Pettis has experienced.
“Some folks are concerned we are overstepping our boundaries, that it’s their right to choose whether to wear a mask,” said Kerri Lewis, community outreach coordinator for the Johnson County Community Health Services. But there is just as much support for the order, she said. “Our goal is strictly safety.”
And already, the results of their mask order have been positive.
From July 1-14, Johnson County reported 199 positive cases. From Aug. 1-14, that case count dropped to 52.
“It’s still a large number, but a lot better than where we were last month,” Lewis said. “We know the masks are working.”
Kahrs, a business owner who lives in rural Pettis County, said the opposition group formed at the end of July. After the mask order was implemented, he said, members raised $5,000 in less than 24 hours to hire Cox to represent them.
“And we’ll wind up raising more before we’re done,” he said. “The people of our community are tired of being bullied by the health department. And we’re gonna stand against them.”
Chris Stewart, chief executive officer of Katy Trail Community Health, said it was “very disconcerting” to hear a former county commissioner and other community leaders using “bogus science” in their arguments against masks.
“The message of those of us who believe in the emergency order is that the only way we can support keeping businesses open is to wear masks,” she said. “There’s too much virus in the community. And if they don’t wear masks, what’s going to end up happening is employees are going to get sick, then it’s going to be hard to stay open.”
Stewart said those who supported masks thought the county commission might consider passing an order after the Aug. 4 primary election.
“Really what all of us were hoping for was that after the election, they would do something, because we understood that an election was going on and there were definitely political issues,” she said. “But that didn’t happen.”
David Dick, the presiding commissioner, did not return a call for comment.
Martin’s message to those fighting the mask rule is simple, one she’s been hoping for weeks that people will hear and understand.
“There is no harm intended toward you — we just want to protect our community,” she said. “And we are asking you to join in that protection.
“No one can say for 100 percent certainty that they are not carrying the virus. By covering your face … you’re playing a critical part in protecting the community.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
