Thanks to Kathleen O’Brien for an excellent article alerting Phippsburg residents to our Select Board’s irresponsible decision to flout Gov. Mills’ order requiring the wearing of masks in public buildings. In defiance of both legal and medical advice, just two elected officials, with no apparent expertise of their own, have chosen to endanger all town employees and the entire community of Phippsburg based on their unfounded personal “beliefs.”

These officials should have to explain their decision to the loved ones of more than 286,000 Americans who have died of this disease in the nine months since March. Or to the 2,597 who died only the other day, Dec. 8 — more American dead in a single day than at Pearl Harbor (2,335). Even as we fly the flag to remember the Pearl Harbor dead, more Americans are dying of coronavirus every single day — and the numbers are rising. We are at war, and the Phippsburg Select Board has surrendered without a fight.

In fact, it would be enough to require these Phippsburg officials to explain their decision “just” to the families of the twelve Mainers who died yesterday. The virus is surging exponentially in Maine, driven by unmasked gatherings in indoor spaces. Sagadahoc County is no exception. Case numbers are increasing in Phippsburg.

Your reporter’s well-researched article usefully juxtaposes Select Board opinions with helpful information. For instance, board member Julia House expresses concern about people who cannot wear a mask, and O’Brien interviewed CDC spokesperson Robert Long, who states that respiratory problems and anxiety disorders are “common medical exceptions” to the mask order. He describes how people with exceptions can be accommodated with curbside or remote service under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Board members showed no concern for Phippsburg residents over the age of 65 (22% per the 2010 census), and therefore at increased risk for complications from covid. They apparently don’t care about younger residents and town employees who may suffer from conditions that also increase risk—  pregnancy, heart disease, respiratory illnesses like asthma or COPD, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, compromised immune systems, obesity, smoking.

What about the healthy (for now) caregivers — the mom with a child who has cystic fibrosis, the husband caring for a wife with breast cancer, the adult caring for an elderly parent? What about people in public-facing jobs? The teacher headed for a classroom in our elementary school? The cashier headed for our well-trafficked general store? What about the rights of us all, as taxpayers, to expect the safest possible environment when we need to register a car or get a dog license? What about the rights of our town employees to a safe workplace? Where is the Select Board’s concern for us and our families?

Nor is spread of disease the only concern. The consquences of an outbreak on town premises — more likely with surge-driven cutbacks in contact tracing — could have unintended consequences. The closure of town offices, the dangerous understaffing of fire department or winter road maintenance crews, or an end to face-to-face instruction at the elementary school.

O’Brien quotes Selectman Chris Mixon: “None of the three of us believe this is a hoax or something to be taken lightly. I encourage people to wear a mask.” I am glad Mixon understands the seriousness of the situation and the importance of wearing a mask. But he goes on to say “I just don’t believe I have the authority to mandate it” and apparently feels it is “an overreach of government power and violation of civil liberties.” Mixon does not explain the legal basis of his “belief.”

For contrast, O’Brien’s reporting presents an expert view of the town’s legal responsibility. She quotes attorney Susanne Pilgrim, who has a law degree from Harvard University and is director of the Maine Municipal Association’s Legal Services: “unless and until a court rules that the governor’s orders are in fact unconstitutional, they remain in force and enforceable by law enforcement.” Pilgrim apparently also feels that failure to comply with the governor’s executive order “carries potential criminal sanctions.”

I wonder whether Mixon thinks Phippsburg’s town policy banning smoking in town buildings and workplaces is unconstitutional too. The public health rationale for that rule, protecting people from a serious airborne health hazard, is identical to the rationale for requiring masks in town buildings during a deadly pandemic. I’m expecting the Select Board to take a stand on our constitutional right to give other people lung cancer.

There is no more important responsibility confronting town officials right now than making every effort to control the growing spread of coronavirus in Phippsburg. I hope Board members will use their authority as elected representatives to immediately support the governor’s legal order to require masking in public buildings. I hope they read the newspaper.

Susan Beegel lives in Phippsburg.

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