I agree.

Not quite the "stupidest", but maybe the second.

There is absolutely no chance I will be visiting his jail but if I would you had better believe I would be wearing a mask.

I’m not seeing a linked story, Lucille.

Sammy, google it. The story was all over the news yesterday.

Here is a link to an article on the subject:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2020/08/12/florida-sheriff-orders-his-deputies-not-to-wear-masks/

If you read the article it may help you understand why the sheriff made this decision. Partly it was because of the hatred the left has stirred up against police officers.

Please stop trying to turn this place into Hot Topics and let us have a peaceful place here.

ditto ... no vitriol at the kitchen table

The fact that a public health crisis has become a partisan political issue is one of the most frustrating and dangerous things now. The actions of that sheriff are putting people's lives at risk. What are employees supposed to do if they want to protect themselves and their families? Give up their livelihoods? We're in FL, where aid for unemployed people is among the most meager - and often totally nonexistent - in the country.

In the news report I read the other day, the sheriff also refers to people who are coming to his office to do business - not just the unfortunate people being arrested or detained.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought law enforcement's job was to 'serve and protect'...?

So what is he planning to do with mask wearers who dare enter his
office? Arrest them or fine them? I hope he gets sued, and voted out.

From the NYT: The sheriff ended his email on a strict tone of enforcement: “My orders will be followed or my actions will be swift to address.”

Personally, I think the topic is a valid and possibly life saving one for the KT, because it opens a discussion as to what you would do if you arrived at a place where you had a necessary errand to perform, and were informed that you could not wear a mask.

There is a kerfluffle about politics, so I changed the presentation to a health issue, which it is.

The conundrum is that the health issue is also a political issue, thanks to those who shall be nameless. You can't separate them.........they have been intimately entangled and much of the crisis with the health issue is due to political manipulations. It has become a package deal.

“If you read the article it may help you understand why the sheriff made this decision. Partly it was because of the hatred the left has stirred up against police officers.”

66 other counties in Florida don’t seem to be having his problem.

edited to remove my ’haha’

You can't separate them

You are right. But presentation is everything. It's the optics that set off the kerfuffle.. Remove the word 'idiot' don't point any fingers. Instead marvel how an official could do this, and wonder out loud that it couldn't possibly be safe.

It's along the line of 'Bless your heart' and such, looking like powdered sugar and lace when it is actually blood and guts.

Partly it was because of the hatred the left has stirred up against police officers.

The police have been killing, beating and ruining the lives of Blacks for years. "The left" didn't stir up anything. The killing of George Floyd by the police brought the issue to the forefront.

Sorry. Didn't mean to disturb the peace.

^ You didn't - it had already been disturbed by the accusation of hatred.

If you want peace, don't accuse people of hatred. It will have a polarizing effect, whether you intend it to or not.

There are plenty of clear face coverings that would allow for the clear communication the sheriff desires. He could provide those for his staff. For the public, though, that's another issue. Perhaps he could lay in a supply to have out.

There are plenty of clear face coverings that would allow for the clear communication the sheriff desires.

Do the clear masks muffle speech?

I would think that they do but I've not had one nor been out enough to see/ interact with someone wearing one.

I think to be a successful police officer you need a voice that carries. A quiet voice that is hard to hear in normal surroundings would be a serious drawback (that could/should be remedied with vocal training). So I don't buy the "muffled" reasoning.

eta: I think I missed the point. But I'll let my post stand as is, for what it's worth. If the person you're communicating with needs to read lips, a face shield is better than a bare face, and a person who needs to read lips isn't hearing your voice all that great anyhow. And what's wrong with police (or anyone who regularly encounters a hard of hearing person) carrying a pad of paper and pencil? That's what we did for two deaf people I worked with -- writing was simply the easiest way to "talk." Body language and facial expressions don't need hearing to be effective.

"Do the clear masks muffle speech?"

Not that I have noticed. One of the checkers at my local grocery store favors the full face, clear plastic masks or shields and I can understand her just fine. In addition to the fact that she has a series of them (with the top headband decorated du jour), it is easy to see her smile and interact with customers. And she tends to have a pretty voluble personality anyway :-)) I always pick her station if she is working when I visit.

When an elected official pulls a stunt like this, he is usually aiming to please his constituents...because he has further political ambitions. Do you suppose he'd do this if it wasn't popular there? In the absence of action taken to halt this move, we can assume the good people of Marion County, Florida approve of his order.

Why tar *only* the sheriff?

The mayor of Ocala, the county seat of Marion County, is a real piece of work...

Being able to hear what a person wearing a face shield and who is in near proximity is different than an officer trying to project his voice to someone who is 20 feet away and with traffic noise, etc. in the background.

I can see both sides of the issue and am glad that I'm not in the position to have to make these kind of decisions or decide whether I wanted to keep my job taking into account the added risk.

So the sheriff's stance has softened a bit, according to this article from a local news site.

I don't usually quote entire articles, but I found it difficult to leave anything out.

https://www.ocala.com/news/20200813/marion-county-becomes-focus-of-national-face-mask-debate

"This week, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods’ move to largely ban masks at his department amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic drew intense national media attention.

From the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today (flagship of Gannett, which owns the Ocala Star-Banner) to NBC’s Today Show and Fox News, the story shined the spotlight on Marion.

By Thursday, however, Woods eased the mask ban significantly when it came to lobby visitors. Originally, the sheriff’s lobbies were to remain a mask-free zone. Visitors who did not want to remove their masks could sit in their cars and wait for a phone call when it was their turn.

On Thursday, a sign on the sheriff’s office main entrance asking visitors to remove their masks was gone, and at least one person in the lobby was wearing a mask as he waited for service.

Related content

SheriffBillyWoodsEmail.pdf

“They only asked me to remove my mask to verify my ID, and they said I could put it back on,” said Jeff Kershner, who was in the office to get a set of fingerprints made.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Bloom confirmed the change, which now requires visitors to remove their masks briefly to capture their faces on the security camera. After that, visitors can replace their masks.

“Our main concern was always about security,” Bloom said.

However, the no-mask policy covering the more than 750 sheriff’s employees remains unchanged. Deputies will not wear masks while on duty, and administrative workers also will remain maskless while in the office. While exceptions to the no-mask policy include sheriff personnel working at the courthouse, the jail, in public schools, in hospitals and in dealing with people suspected of being infected with COVID-19 or at high risk of complications from the disease, the standard is to avoid face masks.

For some, that stance — the first of its kind widely reported in the country — was too much.

“Sheriff Woods just managed to embarrass the City of Ocala at the national level. Every major publication is carrying today his statement that there is no proof that wearing a mask does anything to protect the citizens of Ocala,” Julio Travieso wrote on the Star-Banner Facebook page.

Others welcomed Woods’ stance.

“You are doing the right thing! Thank you, Sheriff! Sheriffs are protecting us from the over reach of the government! Stay strong,” Terri Webster wrote on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.

The sheriff’s Facebook page received thousands of comments on the issue, many of which included rude and sometimes foul language. While the sheriff’s page did not post an item about the no-mask policy, more than 4,300 people, as of Thursday evening, seized on a post about Woods’ participating on a conference call with President Donald Trump to vent their frustration and praise.

That call happened just hours before the Star-Banner broke the news of the new policy.

While some speculated the Trump call spurred Woods’ decision, the email detailing the policy went out more than an hour before the call.

For R.J. Jenkins, the president of the Marion County Literacy Council, the sheriff’s move smacked of politics.

“I have the utmost respect for our law enforcement officers. That work is not only crucially important but also necessary,” Jenkins said. “I understand the decision is being interpreted as a safety issue. But I think, if you read that email, the tone of the email seems to suggest to me that this is some sort of political statement.”

In fact, the sheriff’s move was directly related to a City of Ocala face mask ordinance.

“As most of you are aware the City of Ocala is trying to put a Mask Mandate Ordinance in place. Although the Mayor vetoed that ordinance yesterday it will more than likely be overruled on the next City Council meeting with a super majority vote. Now, that ordinance exempts government entities and leaves the decision to the figure heads. So, as for us, my order will stand as is when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my Office — masks will not be worn,” the email says.

While the sheriff’s edict dominated the national coverage, the city mandate became the subplot. On Wednesday, as the sheriff predicted, the Ocala City Council voted to override the veto that attempted to block the face mask mandate.

The ordinance makes business owners responsible for encouraging face masks or risk a $25 fine. The ordinance compels businesses to post signs stating that face masks are required, to ask customers who are not wearing masks to wear one, and to require all employees to wear masks.

While the sheriff’s office headquarters falls in the city limits, the city face mask ordinance exempts public safety workers, including law enforcement and firefighters.

Further, the sheriff’s office falls under county jurisdiction despite being located within the city limits. The Marion County Commission also does not have authority over the sheriff’s office.

“The Marion County Board of County Commissioners is aware Sheriff Woods has made some decisions as it relates to his employees and his facilities. As the sheriff is a constitutional officer, he alone has the authority to make decisions regarding his staff, inmates and facility visitors,” according to a prepared statement attributed to commission Chairwoman Kathy Bryant.

Ocala City Councilman Matt Wardell, who introduced the city’s face mask ordinance, said it was a shame the issue grew so large.

“I haven’t looked at every mask ordinance in the state, but I’ve got to imagine ours (the City of Ocala’s) is one of the softest, given the fact that it doesn’t actually mandate individuals wear a mask,” Wardell said.

Jenkins, who moved to Ocala four years ago, said friends and families from across the country are contacting him about the issue.

“I think this town is full of generous, community-minded people. It is a humane and friendly place. To see the hyper-politicization of this issue and see our community appear in the national press because of this petulance is really sad. I want them to know we are a better place than this debate over masks makes us seem.”"

https://www.ocala.com/news/20200813/marion-county-becomes-focus-of-national-face-mask-debate

P.S. A face shield alone is not protection from breathing in particles, it needs to be combined with a face covering over one's mouth and nose. Anything that is open on the sides allows you to breathe in particles.

It is not the breathing in of particles that is of major concern when wearing a mask or face shield. It is the breathing out or exhaling. It is more for others' protection, not your own.

I believe both are important.

According to the CDC (8/6/20): "A mask may not protect the wearer, but it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others."

I once heard a saying, that I'm sure I'm misquoting, that went something like this:

"If you think public education is expensive, the alternative is public ignorance and that's much more expensive".

I never knew how many truly stupid people we have in our country. Many have all come out of their hiding places in the last 3+ years and have public exposure for what they do and don't do. It's shocking and we're all paying for it.