Oktibbeha County no longer requires protective face coverings, proven to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at county-owned buildings and social gatherings outside the Starkville city limits.
District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard left Monday’s board meeting early, and the remaining supervisors’ vote to continue the mask mandate was split 2-2, with Orlando Trainer of District 2 and Joe Williams of District 5 in favor and Bricklee Miller of District 4 and Board President John Montgomery of District 1 against. The mandate had been in place since July 7 but expired Monday.
Since the motion was to renew a measure set to expire, a majority vote was required to extend it.
Montgomery has said at previous meetings that wearing masks should be left up to the individual. Williams and Trainer both said Monday that ending the mask mandate was “a big mistake.”
“I don’t think you realize what you’re doing,” Williams said.
Board attorney Rob Roberson, a Republican who represents Starkville in the state House of Representatives, contracted and recovered from COVID-19 over the summer. He told the board Monday he will continue to wear a mask.
“If you feel uncomfortable and if you (are around) people who are older, wear your mask,” Roberson said. “Regardless of whether there’s a government mandate, do the right thing and protect the people that you love.”
The supervisors voted 4-0 to renew the county’s curfew, which runs from midnight to 4 a.m., for another two weeks. They first enacted it Sept. 8 to discourage large parties as the pandemic continues.
They also unanimously approved changes to the county ordinance pertaining to vicious dogs in light of recent dog attacks on both humans and farm animals in the Maben area. The ordinance defines a “vicious dog” as one “with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, when unprovoked, to cause injury or otherwise endanger the safety of human beings, domestic dogs, livestock or poultry.”
Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for enforcing the ordinance, and vicious dog cases are adjudicated in Oktibbeha County Justice Court.
The court is allowed to order the dog to be euthanized if it is in fact vicious. If the court finds the owner unfit to own an animal, the dog will be “permanently forfeited and released to (the) city animal shelter, Oktibbeha County Humane Society, or other appropriate entity to be euthanized or rehomed as deemed necessary,” according to the ordinance.
The court is also allowed to appoint a “temporary custodian,” likely a veterinarian or the Oktibbeha County Humane Society, for an animal that is believed to be vicious and seized by law enforcement.
Additionally, the board unanimously passed an ordinance to collect unpaid garbage bills. It voted unanimously in December to bill property owners instead of renters for garbage collection services, and the property owner is ultimately responsible for paying a garbage bill even if the previous owner or renter did not pay it.
The new policy will allow anyone with a delinquent garbage bill to pay 25 percent up front and make regular payments to finish off the rest of the debt, and they can still purchase a car tag as long as their payments are on schedule.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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