The frustrations involved with a 10-month-old pandemic have settled in on the director of the Marshall County Emergency Management Agency, and that is why Tom Hart reacted to recent statewide decisions last week on social media.
“Decisions need to be made by local officials at the local level. Those in Charleston, at Harvard or wherever do not know what is actually occurring at the local level and in our communities; local folks do. Charleston should be providing guidance and support. Bottom up instead of top down.”
Hart attached to his update an article that covered upcoming decisions facing W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice concerning schools, the length of the winter break, and extracurricular activities in 2021.
“I think we’re at the point to where we can handle what needs to be done in our communities,” Hart insisted. “Our health department, our elected officials, and our public officials have all been involved with this since Day One, and they all know what is going on in their respective communities, and they know what’s going on in the county. My thought is that a lot the decisions could be made by those people.
“Our health department is on top of everything, and they know everything about this virus and how it has spread in Marshall County. Those folks have been working 15-16 days, seven days a week for a long time now, and they have been rock stars through all of this,” he continued. “That’s why I think that trying to dictate from top down, whether it’s from the state level or the federal level, is not the best way. I think we need to look at a bottom-up approach because I believe our local officials could make better decisions.”
Role Reversal
Marshall County is one of the largest in the state of West Virginia with 312 square miles at the neck of the Northern Panhandle, and while just five municipalities operate within the borders, there are many more communities that can be counted, as well.
But no matter in what corner of the county school children and their families reside, they have been mandated by state government to remote learning for more than a month. Concerns have been expressed by parents and by school officials, however, about the effectiveness of the online platforms and about the lack of broadband access in certain areas.
Hart believes county school and public health officials would make more informed decisions that pertain to education and commerce, too.
“The state and federal levels need to provide guidance and support, but the people in Charleston don’t know, and the feds don’t know where the problem areas are in Marshall County, but the local folks do,” Hart explained. “And the maps that the state releases do not tell anyone where those problem areas are either.
“That’s why the decisions about reopening the schools for in-person instruction could be made on the local level, and why I believe the decisions about how businesses are operating could be made by local officials, too,” he said. “The Mom and Pop shops have been struggling for a while now, but the big-boxers just seem to be not missing a beat right now. I know the small, local businesses are abiding by the guidelines because they want to keep their employees and their customers safe, but the statewide restrictions are really hurting them and maybe that doesn’t have to be the case across the board.”
Masks, Distancing, Cleanliness
Along with social distancing and washing one’s hands, the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in April that Americans begin wearing facial coverings, stating that even cloth masks would assist with limiting the spread of COVID-19. It was explained that the covering would halt the majority of the aerosol humans emit when coughing, sneezing, and even speaking.
Today, a vast majority of businesses in West Virginia and Ohio have been mandated by the respective governor to place “Masks Required” signage on front doors, but from there it’s all about enforcement. Over the weekend, the Marshall County Health Department reported that the number of positive cases surpassed 1,500 and that there have been 43 associated deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
“I think the masks so make a difference, I really do, but when you go into some of those bigger businesses, you see a good number of people who still are not wearing them for whatever reasons,” Hart reported. “It’s been 10 months or so now, and we all know how this virus spreads and what the precautions are that we should be taking, but not everyone is now, and a lot of people haven’t from the very beginning.
“I believe the guidance that has been offered by our local public health folks should be what we go by,” he said. “Our local folks are far more familiar with the people of this county than anyone on any other level, and it’s my hope that change is made in the future.”
