Okaloosa Public Masking 23 July 2020

Saints, and those sharing the journey,

I had attended the meeting of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on the 21st of July. Under the statement that we were in an Emergency the BOCC began moving in the direction of a vote to require the county to participate in public masking. That move was stopped (temporarily).

The following letter was sent to the BOCC, and copies to each of the 9 municipalities in Okaloosa County. Each of these letters were sent with tracking which will show that the BOCC and every city and town council received it. Each commissioner and municipal council member now is in a position that they should know that the science does not support public masking.

Letter to the BOCC: Public Masking Letter-Sugg

Report to BOCC: Public Masking – Safety or Freedom

Recommended Position: The citizens of Okaloosa County must demand that before any vote on public masking, the commissioners and council members will demonstrate that masking is scientifically proven to work prior to restricting our freedom of movement, freedom of association and further damage to our economy and lifestyle. Lean on the published studies and the scientific community’s assessment of masks. The medical community can be a cesspool of political animals (e.g., the CDC & Fauci).

The scientific community says “no” to public masking. Here is your proof. Read and understand.

• World Health Organization: WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.4-eng “The World Health Organization‟s current guidance (June 2020) states: “Many countries have recommended the use of fabric masks/face coverings for the general public. At the present time, the widespread use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not yet supported by high quality or direct scientific evidence and there are potential benefits and harms to consider…”
• A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers: http://https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25903751/  “The only Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) to date, comparing cloth masks to surgical masks concludes: “This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection.”
• Surgical (Paper) Mask Maker: “This is not a respirator and will not provide any protection against COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or other viruses or contaminants.” Note: The so called political “fact check” sites confirm this statement is true but explain that the statement doesn’t mean what it obviously says.

My Observation of Commissioner Positions:
Please send each one of them a very brief and respectful email with your position. Your position against public masking should be in the subject line. They may only read the subject line.

• Mr. Graham Fountain, Commissioner District 1 is ill and could use our prayers. Drop him a gracious note.
  EMAIL: gfountain@myokaloosa.com
• Ms. Carolyn Ketchel, Commissioner District 2 is a gracious lady who is solidly behind public masking.
  EMAIL: cketchel@myokaloosa.com
• Mr. Nathan Boyles, Commissioner District 3 appears to want to vote against masking but is in need of public support; otherwise he appears to lean toward voting for public masking. EMAIL: nboyles@myokaloosa.com
• Mr. Trey Goodwin (Chairman) Commissioner District 4 also appears to want to vote against masking but is in need of public support; otherwise he appears to lean toward voting for public masking. EMAIL:  tgoodwin@myokaloosa.com
• Mr. Kelly Windes, Commissioner District 5 was difficult to read. I believe he is solidly behind public masking. EMAIL: kwindes@myokaloosa.com

The BOCC has already set a precedent that the commissioners  are tempted to vote on public masking without notice to us. If you wish to have your voices heard, you MUST attend board (and council) meetings. In my experience, the commissioners are afraid of the noisy and emotional pro-mask crowd. Learn how to play the political game or lose it every time. We got into this mess because good, hardworking people trusted others to ‘mind the store.’

The next BOCC meeting is on Tuesday, August 4th, Crestview Courthouse Boardroom, 101 East James Lee Boulevard, Crestview FL 32536 USA. Plan on the whole morning. The board has already shown they may vote at any time.

Finally, be gracious…always. The commissioners have a miserable job. Any decision will have to be made between bad and worse. Arrogance, inability to control emotion, and personal attacks are not appreciated by the commissioners or the general public.

Please distribute this link to honest citizens who wish to understand the science and politics behind masking.

Peace,

Chaplain Rob