“A Personal Choice” Infects 9 Students.

Crazy to think of how our country has become, not long ago we were at ballgames, movie theatres, we got on jam-packed airplanes in extra tight seating ( seats mashed together, aisles even more narrow ) and concerts full of people with no space between us - just normal right? Now of course masks are worn everywhere it seems. We are told by wearing masks it will help slow down the coronavirus - Bismarck was almost completely shut down back in March, then it seemed there was light at the end of the tunnel - businesses re-opened, and we actually could dine inside restaurants again. Everything almost back to the way it was, until BOOM - the virus came back even stronger it seemed. Now that Bismarck schools are about ready for the reentry plan, and the parents are aware of the guidelines, what could they possibly think about Hannah Waters viral photo she took in a crowded hallway at North Paulding High School in Georgia?

A narrow hallway crammed with students ( just four of them wearing masks ) -a crystal clear photo providing evidence of what their school district said "Hey, you kids wear masks if you want to" attitude - "A personal choice" is how they put it. The amazing idiotic thing the district did next, they suspended Waters and another student for posting the images - after a national "What the hell?" outcry, they were allowed to return. Here is an aftermath that played out that picture, nine students from the school have been infected - school nurse Amy Westmoreland called it quits saying this “I don’t feel supported. I don’t feel safe, I feel as though I need to take a stand so that these children who don’t have a voice and are being discouraged from speaking have a voice.”

I understand the urgency some people have for getting their lives back to normal, but at what cost? For more on this story click here.