Billy, we are not all in this together

Billy, we are not all in this together. We will all be in this together when everyone gets a guaranteed paycheck jlike you do and Dr. Teresa Frankovich does and all those deemed "essential" by a Governor who rewards his cronies, unions and government workers and penalizes hardworking, private citizens.

We will all be in this together when you stop selective enforcement of laws thay are convenient politically. Your education approach and phone calls regarding the local health order has not deterred anyone from mass gatherings or traveling and putting others at risk and these people are driving up local COVID 19 numbers.

We will all be in this together when you and the County health officer stop punishing those following the laws because a few irresponsible people are driving the local COVID 19 numbers and shut things down and flip flop the switch affecting people's ability to earn income.

We will all be in this together when the Humboldt good ole boys and gals who can afford to ride this out and others who suck up to them to get rewarded financially and socially have to go out and earn a living based on hard work. We all know life in Humboldt is different if your daddy/mommy and local connections get you a job and other benefits. 

We will all be in this together when you stop using COVID 19 as an excuse to let more criminals out of jail or not book them at all. You are doing this at a time when people have to be at home, movement is restricted and government/public buildings are closed or restricted.  

We will all be in this together when we all ofus can just like Dr. Frankovich earn so much overtime in a few months that we can resign and work part time.

We will all be in this together when we all can speak the truth, have our rights respected and be treated fairly in this small, rural town despite of who we are.

We will all be in this together when you know what life is like for someone who hasn't lived here for generations. We will all be in this together when credit is given where it is due, where everyone gets a fair chance in this small town to get ahead and not those people who only have their job because they were handpicked to maintain the status quo and are protected by the same few local financial and political interests.

We will all be in this together when you have constant anxiety because your income, living situation, freedoms are at the mercy of a callous, corrupt, incompetent leadership that communicates via Facebook and videos instead of picking up the phone and caring enough to be leaders and giving a damn about those who don't benefit you financially and politically.

We will all be in this together when you actually issue a press release that affects the basic needs of every day people like mass evictions in a backlogged court system brought about by the lawyers and lobbyists of the wealthy who threaten lawsuits when many of the same local wealthy people benefit from loans and help from the government yet lament they need the money.  They should really learn to budget their money!

We will all be in this together when you take a stand and don't put people out on the streets because elected officials botched the response to this pandemic and caused innocent people to suffer.

We will all be in this together when the rest of the local media does their job and stops being a PR tool for you and others locally who reward them for looking the other way, ignoring questions and coverage that is "inconvenient." Panelists and interviews with you and Dr. Frankovich for the same media that is consistently anti law enforcement?

With the exception of Eureka Police Department, Humboldt Bay Fire and medical workers, no one locally has earned the right to say,"We are all in this together."

This letter by Sheriff William Honsal was posted 5 minutes ago regarding Dr. Frankovich's resignation.

An Open Letter to Humboldt County

Today’s announcement of Dr. Teresa Frankovich’s resignation as the Humboldt County Health Officer has come as a surprise to many. While I am disappointed in this great loss to our county, I applaud Dr. Frankovich’s decision to make her family a priority.

As a public servant, this job no doubt has a heavy impact on one’s personal life, family and overall well-being.  Dr. Frankovich has had to make some very difficult decisions in the interest of protecting the health of our community and has faced fierce criticism in the process. Despite all of this, during her time as Health Officer Dr. Frankovich has conducted herself with the utmost professionalism and compassion, putting the community and its needs above her own.  She has led the community through this Public Health crisis and helped guide us through the Federal, State and local pandemic response. It has been an honor to work with her and I am grateful that she has agreed to offer her support and assistance in the meantime as the County works to appoint another qualified individual to fill her position.

Despite Dr. Frankovich’s resignation, the County’s COVID-19 response endures. The Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services continues to oversee the County Emergency Operations Center, which has been activated since March to support Public Health by providing emergency logistics and management to slow the transmission of COVID-19 in our community, prepare for medical surge and supply medical providers and first responders with the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to do their jobs safely. With this emergency response projected to continue into the next calendar year, my office remains prepared and available to assist Public Health and our community where needed. 

From the very beginning, we have said that we are all in this together. This is certainly still true. No person or agency can fight a pandemic alone. We must all work together to protect our family, our friends and our fellow community members.

Thank you, Dr. Frankovich, for giving your all to the citizens of Humboldt County. I wish you success, peace and happiness in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Sheriff William F. Honsal