By Guy Page
Tuesday night, four Vermont towns chose to not mandate masks in indoor public places. However, Williston — a major commercial center of shopping malls, superstores, and business parks — approved a mask mandate.
Meeting in Special Session Nov. 22, the Vermont Legislature passed S.1, empowering municipalities to adopt mask mandates to reduce Covid-19 transmission through April 30, 2022.
Selectboards in Brandon, Cambridge, Middlesex, and Shelburne all declined mask mandates. Shelburne passed a resolution recommending mask wearing. As of Wednesday morning, 12 municipalities have said no, eight have said yes, and two are requiring masks in municipal buildings only.
The Williston mandate exempts “a leader of a public service or leader of song/singing choir members, or the like. Provided however that that person’s face covering shall be immediately worn again after said communication.” It includes fines of $50 for first offense, and $500 for third offense.
The following is an up-to-date tally of Vermont municipalities known to have discussed municipal mandates requiring masking in public places. It will be updated as often as necessary as towns and cities decide yea or nay.
Meeting in Special Session Nov. 22, the Vermont Legislature passed S.1, empowering municipalities to adopt mask mandates to reduce Covid-19 transmission through April 30, 2022. The bill contains no firm deadline for municipalities to act, but does require review 45 days after adoption, and permits renewal every 30 days. S1 also says the selectboard/council may act without a citizen referendum.
Sources for information below include Vermonters who attended meetings, town officials, and media reports.
YES
Waitsfield – Dec. 6
Essex Town – Dec. 6
East Montpelier – Dec. 6
Burlington – Dec. 2
Warren – Nov. 25
Rutland Town – Nov. 24
Brattleboro – Nov. 23
NO
Brandon – Dec. 7
Middlesex – Dec. 7
Cambridge – Dec. 7
Shelburne – Dec. 7
Stowe – Dec. 6
Morrisville – Dec. 6
Waterbury – Dec. 6
Rutland City – Dec. 6
Charlotte – Dec. 6
Hardwick – Dec. 2
Hyde Park – Nov. 29
Masks required on Municipal Property Only
South Burlington – Dec. 6
Wolcott – Dec. 1
Non-mask, but Covid related
Berlin – Dec. 6. Discussed proposed resolution by Carl Parton to prohibit vaccine passports. No action taken.
Scheduled mask mandate discussion
Williston – 7 pm, Dec. 7 – #6 on agenda, est. time 7:20 pm
Shelburne – 7 pm, Dec. 7 – 7:35 pm at the Shelburne Town Offices at 5420 Shelburne Road. Items on the agenda are not up for discussion during the 7:05 comment time.
Cambridge – Dec. 7
Montpelier – 6:30 pm, Dec. 8, #8 on agenda
Bennington – Dec. 13 (likely)
Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.
I wish I still lived in Vermont only for the reason that I would travel to all the towns with mask mandates and walk around without a mask. I would use the left’s own tactics of civil disobedience to show my total contempt for their foolish mandates.
Interesting discussion on Vermont Digger…
https://vtdigger.org/2021/12/09/as-the-pandemic-unravels-the-administration-lashes-out-at-a-critic/
Of course nobody can comment on the site, how convenient. They are all arguing about masks, masks, masks….it’s complete uniparty games.
Heaven forbid they mention Ivermectin, or even use it on a trial basis in this state. People are needlessly dying and we are arguing about masks.
As the British are saying…”you can’t keep a fart in your trousers” and you still smell it through your mask, masks don’t work. Science and your nose are proof.
Don’t try anything that has make an entire state in India of 230 million covid free in less than 30 days…..nope don’t follow that science. Just keep following orders.
Don’t forget that the children have been mask controlled in schools for a couple of years now which eliminates certain social interactions needed for growth plus the smile of others for recognition and comfort all while few children have died of this virus with huge future implications on their mental health as it already has appeared within these paranoid maskateering ADULT select boards who seem to be only insulating themselves from a negative future vote.
Notice, The town officials do not need to place it on a referendum for vote. Who cares what the people want! It is being established for the deplorables own good.
If you do get nailed by one of these Illegal fines DO NOT PAY IT….
Let them take you to court where the illegal mandate will be overturned and
the influx on the court system will bring it to a halt… The NY courts are all ready
dismissing every court case but accepting payed fines..
Please don’t boycott towns that impose these mandates. Most of the businesses in those towns were probably against it. I know my business and at least 20 others in Bennington are against it. We have been petitioning the select board them telling not to do it. I fear it’s a forgone conclusion. But one of my arguments has been that it’s a slow time of year and a mask mandate will make it even slower because people won’t come. Some of the comments here show that I am right, but I ask that you don’t punish your local small business for the stupidity of their select boards.
Some of us live by idiots, nazi’s
https://www.redvoicemedia.com/2021/12/ivermectin-gets-doctor-fired-banned-from-hospital-grounds-patients-left-to-die/
Science is not the problem, lack of education is the biggest issue we face.
I will not shop, dine, stop, get gas, or buy a cup of coffee in any town with this brainless mandate!
I live in Williston but ALL of my shopping and I mean every damn bit will be done in the closest town without this Gestapo approach to controlling the populous, which appears to be South Burlington. Unreal stupidity.
Don’t municipal laws have to be approved by the legislature? So how do these nuts plan on collecting a fine? — Not to mention masks have zero effect on transmission.
Apparently Putney ( ! ) said no to a town mask mandate on Dec 1.