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MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County’s Sheriff says he appreciates the county legislature’s motion supporting his stance on Governor Cuomo’s non-essential gatherings executive order, but that, not voting on the motion was the best move.
Sheriff Jim Quattrone, in a statement to the media on Wednesday afternoon, says the motion was pulled in part at his request.
“I did not want the public to believe I was endorsing large gatherings; the health and safety of our County Residents is what is critical at this time,” said Quattrone. “With the increase in the number of COVID cases, we cannot become complacent.”
He says there is a fine balance between individual rights and public health.
“I will continue to encourage individuals to avoid large gatherings and do their best to limit their exposure to others without practicing social distancing and wearing proper face coverings,” furthered Quattrone. “We can continue to protect our rights but must remember that with every right we have a responsibility to respect others’ rights.”
Legislator Terry Niebel (R-District 5) was slated to introduce a motion Wednesday night supporting Quattrone who believes an Executive Order limiting non-essential private residential gatherings is unenforceable.
Niebel says as part of the motion, the Legislature would’ve “respectfully” asked Governor Cuomo to re-consider his 10-person limit for non-essential private residential gatherings.
The lawmakers say the motion was pulled because there was a misconception of the intent of the motion, explaining that the Legislature wanted to support the Sheriff, but wasn’t trying to promote mass gatherings.
County Public Health Director Christine Schuyler says she understand that the public are tired, but public health measures are “not the enemy,” but rather the roadmap to recovery.
“We all have a personal responsibility to slow the spread of the pandemic and eliminate the virus as quickly as possible,” said Schuyler in a statement. “Therefore, it’s imperative that we take an effective, fact-based approach by doing things like limiting the size of gatherings, wearing masks, social distancing and washing our hands. We’re on a way to distributing a vaccine but we need to stay focused.”
County Legislator Elisabeth Rankin (R-12th District) says she agreed with the motion while also urging residents to be safe and responsible.
“If that motion would’ve come to the floor, I would’ve supported it,” Rankin said. “I would’ve supported it with the caveat that doesn’t take away any personal responsibility. People still need to be careful with themselves and their families.”
Rankin says it would be hard for law enforcement to go “door-to-door” to enforce the gatherings.
This report has been updated to reflect Sheriff Jim Quattrone and Public Health Director Christine Schuyler’s comments.
ORIGINAL:
MAYVILLE – A motion was withdrawn from the Chautauqua County Legislative Meeting Agenda Wednesday that would have supported Sheriff Jim Quattrone’s position on Governor Cuomo’s executive order on non-essential gatherings.
Legislator Terry Niebel (R-District 5) introduced the motion, but later withdrew it from the agenda. Quattrone says he believes an Executive Order limiting non-essential private residential gatherings is unenforceable.
Niebel says as part of the motion, the Legislature would’ve “respectfully” asked Governor Cuomo to re-consider his 10 person limit for non-essential private residential gatherings.
Fellow County Legislator Elisabeth Rankin (R-12th District) says she agreed with the motion while also urging residents to be safe and responsible.
“If that motion would’ve come to the floor, I would’ve supported it,” Rankin said. “I would’ve supported it with the caveat that doesn’t take away any personal responsibility. People still need to be careful with themselves and their families.”
Rankin says it would be hard for law enforcement to go “door-to-door” to enforce the gatherings. The Legislator says she hopes the motion is discussed again at a later date.
Legislative Chairman Pierre Chagnon (R-District 8) says the motion was pulled because there was a misconception of the intent of the motion. He explains that the Legislature wanted to support the Sheriff, adding that the Legislature wasn’t trying to promote mass gatherings.
Chagnon says “it’s possible” that further discussion could take place, but to his knowledge, there hasn’t been any further talk.
The proposed motion is a bad idea as it could be misinterpreted and send a mixed message just as COVID-19 cases are rising in the county.
A better motion would be to support the healthcare workers who are on the front line and have to deal with ever increasing cases, most of which are avoidable if people simply followed common sense protocols including avoiding large gatherings.