Real County Post

  • About Us
    • Hill Country Post
      • Newsletter
      • Our Lead Editor
      • Editors
      • Heroes
        • Hero Stories
        • Wall of Remembrance
    • Mission Transition
      • Related Posts
      • Website
    • Contact Us
  • News
    • Community
    • Finance
    • Food & Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Obituaries
    • Sports
  • Counties
    • Share a Local Story
      • Community Events
      • Community History
    • Bandera
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Blanco
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Edwards
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Frio
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Gillespie
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Kendall
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Kerr
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Medina
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Real
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
    • Uvalde
      • Related Stories
      • Officials & Public Places
      • Local Churches
      • Parks
      • Did You Know …
  • Shop
    • Cart 🛒
    • Checkout ⇒
  • Advertise Here
    • Submit Your Ad
    • Featured Block Ads
    • Free Business Ads
      • Agricultural
      • Business Services
      • Construction Services
      • Healthcare Providers
      • Hunting & Fishing
      • Lodging & Recreational
      • Personal Care
      • Real Estate
      • Restaurants & Markets
      • Retail & Miscellaneous
  • Listings
  • Account

Kelly asks governor to exempt Kerr County from mask order

By Sean at Kerrville Daily Times, September 15, 2020

Faced with a low number of confirmed COVID-19 infections and large-scale, public disregard for the governor’s face-covering order, County Judge Rob Kelly asked the governor’s office to exempt Kerr County from the order.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s July 2 face-covering order requires all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with few exceptions.

Kelly signed the exemption request on Sept. 14 and the county, on Sept. 15, confirmed he’d submitted it to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. 

In order to obtain the face-covering exemption from the governor, a county must have fewer than 20 active cases and the county judge must file an attestation to that effect, according to Sept. 14 comments by William “Dub” Thomas, Kerr County emergency management coordinator. If a county receives an exemption and then has 20 or more active infections, then the county can’t apply for another exemption for another few weeks, according to Kerr County Attorney Heather Stebbins. 

During their Sept. 14 meeting, county commissioners expressed agreement with asking Abbott’s office for the exemption. Officials noted that many people at the large, outdoor patriotic event on the courthouse grounds on Sept. 12 didn’t wear face coverings, even though the event organizer submitted a COVID-19 safety plan to Kelly, who approved it. Abbott’s July 2 order also prohibited outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people without the approval of the mayor or county judge. 

“My observation is, for example, the patriot gathering this weekend: there was very little social distancing, there was hardly any masks,” Kelly said. “I approve all of these COVID-19 safety plans for these gatherings; nobody follows them, nothing’s being enforced. I’m just being realistic; I’m not being pessimistic about (it), I’m just saying this is the way it is. And so I have to ask myself, what do we really need to be doing at this point?”

Kerr County Sheriff W.R. “Rusty” Hierholzer made it clear earlier this year that he wasn’t willing to divert law enforcement resources to making sure people were wearing face masks in compliance with the governor’s order, and went so far as to call the order unconstitutional. 

At the Sept. 14 meeting, Thomas mentioned he had been at the gun and knife show last weekend and saw there were “a significant number of people not wearing masks.”

“And we were packed in there like sardines,” Thomas said.

Kerr County Precinct 2 Commissioner Tom Moser noted a general lack of compliance with the governor’s order at a large Sunday event he attended. 

Thomas told commissioners local COVID-19 infections have declined since the end of July, and there hadn’t been more than 20 active infections since Aug. 14. There were well over 150 active cases at one time in Kerr County, he said. As of late Sept. 14, there were 10 active infections and 10 deaths attributed to COVID-19. 

Based on Kelly’s comments during the Sept. 14 meeting, and the preceding discussion with his colleagues on the court, it was clear that Kelly had made up his mind to submit the attestation.

“So you know what you’re going to do?” asked Precinct 4 Commissioner Don Harris at the end of the discussion that day.

Kelly replied, “Yeah, I do,” and then called the next agenda item.

See the original article: https://dailytimes.com/promotions/article_94f98d1c-f7d4-11ea-9386-8b106c1ef552.html

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share via Email
  • Share on Tumblr
Sep 16, 2020Hill Country Post
2 years ago Featured, Food & Health, Kerr County, Public SafetyCoronavirus, COVID-19, Governor Greg Abbott, Kerr County Judge, Texas Division of Emergency Management68
Hill Country Post
Face Mask Mandate Lifted in BanderaTexas Supreme Court rules 3 Green Party candidates be added back to November ballot

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

 About Us 

A centralized state of the arts source of information for people who live, work or visit the Texas Hill Country. See About Us for more details.

 Recent News 
  • Dershowitz: Trump indictment supercharges 2024 support March 24, 2023
  • West Texas A&M University students file free speech lawsuit after president cancels campus drag show March 24, 2023
  • ‘Project Texas’ could be the solution to prevent the U.S. ban of TikTok March 24, 2023
  • New Texas bill would ban ‘Lonesome Dove’ over ‘explicit’ content March 24, 2023
 Contact Us 

Share your Hill Country stories with us. We gladly welcome community input and suggestions for articles on our website.

Phone: (210) 568-1568

Email: editor@hillcountrypost.org

Follow Us on Social Media
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Gab
Visitors:
2019 - 2021 © Hill Country Post | A Community-Based Initiative of the Mission Transition Foundation A 501(c)(3) Public Non-profit | Terms & Conditions | Powered by Fidelity Partners Website Designs

Make a pit stop at our Hill Country Community Shop 🛍️ Dismiss