Jodi Cox of Warsaw presented commissioners with a letter objecting to the reappointment of Remington, along with a petition containing nearly 600 signatures. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — More than a dozen people spoke out about the potential reappointment of Kosciusko County Health Officer Dr. William Remington at the Kosciusko Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Nov. 9 – most in opposition.

Jodi Cox of Warsaw presented commissioners with a letter objecting to the reappointment of Remington, along with a petition containing nearly 600 signatures.

Cox’s concerns relate to a recent school board meeting concerning mask mandates as well as a ‘hot mic moment’ last month in which a private conversation between Remington and other officials, in part about the mask mandate, was live streamed prior to a COVID-19 press conference at city hall.

Last month, the Kosciusko County Board of Health recommended Remington’s reappointment to serve another four-year term as county health officer. His current term ends Dec. 31, 2021. Remington has served as the county health officer continuously since 1994.

Due to a new law in Indiana, Kosciusko Commissioners now have the final say regarding the public health officer’s reappointment; previously, this decision ended with the board of health.

In her letter, Cox said the recent school board meeting regarding mask mandates was “abhorring” and that she was “disgusted at the entitled empowerment every single one of the school board members displayed in front of pleading parents to not let the school go against their personal beliefs on what is best for their child.”

Cox said prior to that school board meeting, she “couldn’t have cared less about who was on either the school board, health board or even who the commissioners are for our county.” However, Cox said, that is no longer the case. She started looking into what the jobs of school board members, health officials and county commissioners entail and began listening to the weekly county COVID press conferences. 

“This is where I learned that Dr. Remington stated that he was proud of Biden’s vaccine mandates and was disappointed in (Governor Eric) Holcomb’s refusal to enforce the mandate for Indiana,” Cox said. “To quote Remington exactly, he refers to us as ‘noncompliant parents who need to get out of the way’ so that our ‘children will fall in line.’”

A portion of Cox’s letter reads, “Our fear was that the mask mandate was about power and control. This fear was confirmed in the hot mic session. It obviously is not about health and safety, as all sporting events require no masks. Board members that donned N95 masks sitting 8 feet apart at the board meeting were seen three days later jammed into packed stadiums with their families without their protective masks on. Makes you think their mask wearing was nothing more than a prop for the predetermined narrative for that meeting.”

Several people expressed concern about potential health issues that could arise from children being forced to wear a mask for six plus hours each day.

Others questioned a possible “conflict of interest” due to the Warsaw Schools superintendent being a voting member of the county board of health as well as another health board member who is married to a member of the school board. 

Kosciusko Health Administrator Bob Weaver spoke in defense of Remington, telling those in attendance that Remington has never issued a mandate regarding wearing masks in school.

Remington urged school districts to use a mask mandate in September in an effort to reduce the number of students required to be in quarantine. Warsaw Schools is the only local district to implement a mask mandate, which is still in force.

Commissioner Brad Jackson, who described himself as a “hardcore conservative and a patriot,” cautioned against personal attacks, even in circumstances involving differing views, and advocated for unity.

“It’s scary, we’ve got vaxxers and no vaxxers, maskers and no maskers … we need to get together and take our country back,” Jackson said. “We’re not going to get it by shooting our own people.”

Cox said she is calling for the resignation of Remington because of the way he has handled the COVID response. She asked that commissioners not reappoint Remington and instead find a doctor “who better represents our community’s values and respects the freedoms that Americans for generations have fought to protect.”

“We’re all on the same page. What I don’t want to see is … so what needs to be looked into is to talk more with Dr. Remington, investigate more and find out where he really is because I also don’t want to just have a mob mentality where we just lynch a person and not accomplish anything,” Jackson said. 

Remington did not attend the meeting. No decision was made regarding his reappointment, but one is expected by the end of the year.

In another matter, County Surveyor Mike Kissinger, on behalf of the county commissioners, county offices and residents of Kosciusko County, congratulated county Geographic Information System Director Bill Holder for being the recipient of the David C. Ford award.

The award is the highest GIS award given in the state of Indiana and is named after an Indiana state senator who was a recognized leader in GIS technology.

Kissinger said Holder was nominated by fellow county employees. 

In other news:

• Richmond Slone of Etna Green was honored as Veteran of the Month.
• Bids for the 2022 annual highway supplies were opened during the meeting. County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty will take the bids under advisement and offer his recommendations at the next commissioners’ meeting.
• A quarterly contract invoice presented by Kosciusko Area Bus Service (KABS) General Manager Tony Peterson was approved.
• The next regular meeting will be 9 a.m. Nov. 23.

From left, Kosciusko County Surveyor Mike Kissinger and Kosciusko County Geographic Information System Director Bill Holder. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels