Montgomery County, TN – Happy 4th of July Montgomery County!
As we approach the birth of America’s independence, I would like to share a few things that have been on my mind lately.
First, let me start with COVID-19 Coronavirus. That’s probably been on everyone’s mind lately. Today, our numbers are not trending in the direction they need to trend. Although our number of positive tests to overall tests is below 4%, our results for the last 14 days are moving in the wrong direction.
On a positive note, we are encouraged by our low hospital admission rates and when we compare our community data to other communities our size, most of them have much higher rates of disease transmission.
We cannot take our guard down. I see fewer and fewer people wearing masks and more businesses not following the Governor’s Tennessee Pledge. I encourage all of you to look at this link: www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19/economic–recovery /tennessee-pledge.htmI and adhere to the guidelines.
The pledge is not mandatory, but they are important guidelines. We don’t want to get back to a situation where we have stay at home orders and close places down . We must all do our part. One person alone cannot stop the spread of this virus; it will take all of us working together to make that happen.
Another issue with this virus is that so many people are asymptomatic. People are walking around with no symptoms, but they are carriers of the virus. The chance of contracting the virus is greatly reduced if you wear a face mask. You’re not as likely to spread it if you are asymptomatic and you’re not as susceptible to contract it if you are wearing a mask. Is it 100%? No, but it does greatly decrease the chance to spread or contract the virus.
The other major topic I’ve been thinking about a lot lately has to do with how people treat one another. The names, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rasheed Brock, and others have gripped our nation. The deaths of these individuals were senseless and those responsible must be held accountable. These deaths have sparked protests and rallies across our nation. Unfortunately, some of the protests have become violent. I do not condone the violence, but I do encourage peaceful protests and rallies.
Locally there have been several events and they have all been very peaceful and informational. I think the main reason our events have been positive is because of our diversity. However, just because they have been peaceful it does not give us reason to think everything is okay. It is not! We must continue to embrace our abilities to enhance diversity, inclusion, and opportunity. Our diversity officer, Michelle Lowe, has formed a diversity task force that is going to help tackle our community’s challenges head-on.
We will partner with the City of Clarksville’s Human Relations Commission to ensure that all voices are heard, all inequities are addressed, and EVERYONE is treated equally.
Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson and the City of Clarksville Police Chief David Crockarell are top-notch. I know both of these men to be fair, honest, and loyal to their jobs. They will not tolerate unprofessional treatment of the public or police brutality. They are swift to act if any of these digressions appear in their departments. They are both committed to training their forces in a manner to ensure all are treated equally.
Together, we can eliminate COVID-19 and racial inequities in our community. I know we can be a shining example for other communities across our State and Nation. We must all be smart when we cannot maintain social distancing and wear a mask, and we all must remember that we are “ONE NATION, under God, indivisible, with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL.”
Jim Durrett
Montgomery County Mayor
