not fit the credibility requirement ….
not fit the credibility requirement that I would have asked of my eighth-graders who were writing persuasive papers for me,” she said, provoking some boos from the audience. “You’ve got to look at the credibility and expertise and really dig deeper.”
Lemmer also questioned how the resolution, if adopted, would impact the health and well-being of aging adults and other vulnerable populations.
“My own dad is living with Parkinson’s, and I’ve worked really hard over the past several years to try and protect him so I don’t inadvertently give him this virus, which I’ve suffered from several times,” she said.
Ultimately, the committee voted 5-1 to advance the resolution to the full board, with the only no vote coming from supervisor Alyson Leahy. Chairwoman Michelle Van Krey was absent.
Health officer speaks
County health officer Laura Scudiere told committee members that she does not have the authority to enforce mask mandates or vaccine requirements, and her office is restricted in its ability to quarantine individuals with an infectious disease.
Scudiere said health officers are responsible for investigating cases of communicable diseases, and they are required to report that information to the state. She said they also work to “mitigate further exposure to the public,” but they must do so in a way that is “reasonable and necessary.”
Health officers “seek voluntary compliance with quarantine or isolation guidelines,” she said, and the county hasn’t had to issue an isolation order in 17 years because public health nurses work with the public instead. If someone does not comply with an order, she said the health department would have to petition a court and prove they are using the “least restrictive methods to ensure public health.”
“Thankfully, we have not had to go down this route yet,” she said.
Marathon County does not have a communicable disease enforcement ordinance, so any orders issued by the health department are advisory only, she said. However, she said private entities can enact their own mask and vaccine mandates.
Of the nine people who spoke during public comment, seven expressed support for the resolution and two said they were against it. At times, committee vicechairperson Jennifer Aarrestad struggled to keep the crowd from applauding and interjecting while people spoke.
“I feel like I’m talking to my children,” she said after asking the audience multiple times to maintain decorum and refrain from clapping.
Resident Christine Salm said the resolution was based on “fringe-based theories,” and called the whole discussion “a waste of taxpayers’ time and money.”
“Masks work, period,” she said, drawing laughter from others in the audience. “Peer-reviewed studies support this.”
Salm said the resolution is “steeped in COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories” and called it “nothing more than political theater.”
“It prevents this board from doing the important work of running this county,” she said. “Let the experts do their job and stop wasting the board’s time and resources with junk science and your personal agendas.”
Many others who spoke, however, said it’s government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that have been spreading misinformation and propaganda about COVID-19 and the science behind masks and vaccines.
Dan Joling of Kronenwetter said he has personally witnessed “deaths from COVID treatments and protocols” and that many of his family members are still suffering after consulting “alleged experts.” He said he and his wife are “not going to comply” if further mandates are put in place.
“Fear equals nothing more than control,” he said.
One individual, Christopher Wood, was repeatedly asked to stop talking after he started implying that Jewish people were behind what he called the COVID “scam.” He listed the names of several people at the CDC and pharmaceutical companies, and after each name, he said “dual citizenship with Israel, Jew.”
Aarrestad told Wood that his comments were “out of order,” but he continued speaking before eventually returning to his seat. One woman in the audience urged Aarrestad to “let him speak,” citing his right to free speech.
Other supporters of the resolution stuck to more conventional arguments, questioning the safety of the vaccines and the effectiveness of wearing masks.
Tom Schuette said “it has been welldocumented that government agencies at all levels failed with COVID 19, resulting in tremendous harm.”
“This resolution makes perfect sense to me. I support it and urge you to support it,” he told the committee. “It’s hard for me to believe that anyone would still have blind trust in these agencies.”
