Ask the Chief April 16, 2020

Personal Responsibility

We need to take an honest look at what is happening approximately 95 miles away at the Smithfield Foods pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As of 04/12/2020, 293 employees of the plant have been diagnosed with COVID-19. While this is only a fraction of their approximate 3,700 employees, the factory is now closed indefinitely. This plant was responsible for 4-5% of the pork produced in the U.S. along with thousands of jobs at the plant and thousands of more jobs that supported the plant to include trucking and farming.
No one can say for certain how this happened but I imagine it started with a single person who had contracted COVID-19 from another person. Did the person know they were sick and still chose to go to work? I don’t know. Did the person fail to follow social distancing guidelines? I don’t know. Did the person fail to follow proper hygiene guidelines to include handwashing, coughing, touching of the face and cleaning of items? I don’t know. I don’t think we will ever know how COVID-19 entered Smithfield Foods but that is not the point for this article.
The point I want to make is that a single person with COVID-19 can start a domino effect that has the potential to shut down major food producers in just a few days. Minneota is not immune to what is going on around us and our rural remoteness will not protect us forever. During a normal year Minneota, with a population of around 1,400 people, sees over 8,000 vehicles pass through our community daily. It is not a matter of if we will see COVID-19 in Minneota but a matter of when.
What can be done? First, we need to understand that our community will not be safe because of an executive order or some government program. Also, there is no way that I, as your Police Chief, can “police” you to the point of stopping the virus. What MUST be done, is for everyone to take personal responsibility for their actions and that of their children and to DO their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. All it takes is for one person to disregard the health and safety of others thereby causing what occurred at Smithfield Foods to occur elsewhere. The personal discipline and sacrifices this will take are enormous. We need to support each other while also holding each other accountable, not in a negative way but in a supportive manner that promotes safety.
Do your part. Don’t make excuses for why you are not following social distancing guidelines or why you are not staying at home. Be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Chief Bill Bolt

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Minneota, MN 56264

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