“So today the Governor basically begged the good citizens of this state to take responsibility of your lives. Yes the Governor can shut the state completely down or a County Mayor can shut down an entire county down under the state of emergency act. There are a whole bunch of things that empower levels of state and local governments under an declaration of emergency.
Now to my point. This is not at all political from the President down no matter what any of us think or may have read. What we all know is if and when a shut down order is issued, how hard it would be to enforce. For me, the only way I can describe the handling of this in Coffee County would be like herding cats or pushing log chains. Can you vision all of our law enforcement having to go street to street road by road 24/7 on a loud speaker telling you to get inside. Stopping you and asking you what your reason for being out is and why. Putting up hundred of barricades around both of our cities not letting you, my friends, my loved ones, or my citizens in or out. Can you only Imagine!
Now, our population has increased much and our mode of travel has improved along with our social network since 1918. We live in clusters now and not on the two cow family farm. We are a fast pace gotta have it now society. So just pushing the stop now red panic button is not so easy. Shutting any part of our country down all at once is like stopping a 55 mph one mile long freight train on a dime or better yet catching a bullet from a firearm with your two fingers.
Our Governor has the weight of the state on him and I see it and hear it in our calls. There are hundreds of options and opinions shot at him by the minute. The same goes for THE PRESIDENT. Some of us are afraid of what coming in future orders. As I said last week. You are not going to like it and you sure as heck want like me and some other officials.
This evening I ask the citizens of this county to respect the decisions and steps Governor Bill Lee is taking. Go back to the beginning from the first order to the one today and you can clearly see how things are trending and getting tighter with your freedoms. I hope you see what’s coming. The campgrounds and parks in this county are full and full in many of the counties around the state. Most of the calls LE are responding to are domestics, assaults, public intoxication along with issues in the parks. This is not party time, spring break or summer vacation. Another issue is the mass amount of garbage handling that is taxing the system. Mr. Bell told me this morning they have taken more waste in the past week than he has seen in his 40 years doing the job. Franklin Co just put out a notice of limitations today.
Shut down is coming, roads and jobs will be closed. Money and businesses will be lost and y’all will blame us, the elected officials. I have come to grips with it and prepared as of today. All I ask you to do before the blame is placed, look in the mirror and ask that person you see, what did I do today to stop the virus.”
Respectfully,
Chad