Nelson Defends Bell’s Decisions Related To COVID-19 Response

The Ste. Genevieve County Commission and others were quick to defend Sandra Bell, Ste. Genevieve County Health Department administrator, during last Thursday’s commission meeting.
Facebook posts and phone calls criticizing Bell for advising against go-kart and lawnmower races at the Ste. Genevieve County-owned fairgrounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic led the commissioners to address the issue.
“I had one call for about 30 minutes, wanting to know how Sandra had the authority to make decisions like that,” Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson said. “If she hadn’t, we would have. It was on county property.”
Nelson said Governor Mike Parson’s announcement of a soft restart on May 4 put the onus on local officials again.
“The governor took a monkey off his back yesterday and put it on our back, as Sandra found out,” Nelson said last Thursday. “We’re going to be heavily scrutinized. I want to make sure we all stick together and don’t let a couple of people bully like they did us and Sandra on Facebook.
“She did the right thing. If she wouldn’t have, we would have.”

See complete story in the May 6 edition of the Herald.