KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo County board held a special session Thursday night to complete Tuesday’s agenda, which was canceled right after it began because of an error that made public comments impossible.
The public made up for it with an hour and a half of complaints about the mask mandates in schools issued by the Health Department’s Jim Rutherford. Republican Commissioner Dale Shugars, who supports parental rights, says it has certainly gotten people engaged. Democrats Monteze Morales, who is a COVID-19 survivor, and Dr. Fran Bruder-Melgar say they are standing by Rutherford and the mandate.
The board will take up a resolution at their next meeting formally supporting Rutherford. The vote on that endorsement will also likely split along party lines.
Meanwhile, Kalamazoo County Health Director Jim Rutherford says he has no regrets about issuing the mask mandate for students in Kalamazoo County. He says while some say he is out of step with the rest of the state, he claims that is just not true.
“40% of the schools have mandated mask mandates (in Michigan), which covers about 57% of the entire K-12 population. So actually, the majority of kids have a mandate they are under.”
Republican Dale Shugars pressed him on whether his decision was due to political pressure. Rutherford denied that saying it was based on data showing cases were on the rise again.
Kalamazoo County Epidemiologist Kim Kutzco says pediatric cases locally have shot way up from last August to this August and the Delta variant has yet to peak.
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