By Kalin Krohe, Panhandle Post
City of Alliance Mayor Mike Dafney announced Tuesday that all individuals attending City Council meetings will be required to wear a mask in light of the ongoing pandemic.
"With us countywide going up number-wise and the severity traveling across the country with this thing ... Alliance and the city council isn't in the position where we can mandate [masks] citywide," said Mayor Dafney. "Now we can with our employees, which we are doing. We just don't have that form of government where I can or the council can mandate citywide. It's serious enough I feel with what's happening in the county that council can control that we're going to require it at our meetings."
Box Butte County was the first Panhandle county to move into the orange risk dial from Panhandle Public Health District on Oct. 5. The orange risk dial means the county is in a high risk of COVID-19 spread. Since then Dawes, Sioux, Sheridan, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Kimball and Deuel counties have moved into this level as well.
"To protect everyone and our people," Dafney added. "I guess to set an example of what needs to be done around here."
The Alliance City Council meeting will be held tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Alliance Public Library council chambers.