Business group’s movement to open continues

OROVILLE » More than 100 business owners and community members met Monday at Mike’s Grande Burger to protest the state’s orders prohibiting indoor operations especially for restaurants due to COVID-19 — since then, word of their movement has spread on social media and local officials have continued to speak out.

On Tuesday, event organizer Levi Fuller set up a GoFudMe page to support local businesses which are choosing to open.

The community funding page’s purpose statement reads: “We are raising money for business owners standing up for their Constitutional Rights who will most likely require legal fees. If for some reason legal fees aren’t needed the money will be donated to help Butte County Children who have been victims of sexual assault.”

As of Thursday the funding page had 31 donors collectively donating $3,195 toward the $50,000 target.

Fuller, the son of Mike Fuller, owner of Mike’s Grande Burger, has also established a Facebook page called “Oroville Strong — United We Stand.” This private group page described as, “A group of Oroville and surrounding area business that have joined forces to combat this state mandated terrorist activity and jointly open our businesses up,” had nearly 4,000 members as of Thursday.

When contacted Thursday for further comments about the movement he started, Fuller declined to speak with this paper.

Dave Pittman, Oroville city councilor, attended Monday’s meeting and said he continues to support local business owners’ “Constitutional right to be open.”

“Most of the restaurants I’ve been in are using and practicing about 95 percent of the guidelines,” he said.

Pittman also said as long as the sanitary guidelines are being followed including sanitation of tables and common areas, social distancing, frequent hand washing and having sanitary wipes available he’s in favor of businesses being open.

“I support freedom of choice for businesses to operate in this manner and consequently for customers to enter or exit. Walmart is open and they have a restaurant inside that’s never been closed. What’s the difference between them and the rest of the food service businesses in town? Let’s be fair to everyone,” he said.

Regarding the mandate to wear facemasks Pittman said “staff should probably wear masks” but it “crossed the line to demand every one wear them.”

“It’s really about customer choice. It’s all up to the customers. If someone wants to come in and buy food, so be it. They should be allowed to choose to sit inside or outside or take their food to go. It should be customer preference. If they want to wear a mask into a business, that’s fine. Customer choice gets lost in all this regulation.”

“Masks on or not hasn’t proven to have a direct correlation to getting COVID or not,” he said, pointing out that there is no “OSHA certification” on the masks people are wearing and that commonly worn masks have not been “certified” to “hinder the spread of COVID” and are “nothing different than putting a Kleenex wipe” over your face.

“All the OSHA standards for respiratory protection have been thrown out the window,” he said.

Since Monday’s meeting Pittman said local business owners are “scared because they don’t know what will happen when and if they open.”

“There is a lot of fear among owners and operators. I don’t see conflict. I see fear. Most people are concerned and want to work with people to find resolutions to these issues. Frankly, I hope that’s the way it goes. We don’t need confrontation. It’s a matter of Constitutional rights. In my opinion people need to settle down, take one day at a time and just persevere.”

Mayor Chuck Reynolds who said at Monday’s meeting that the city would not be enforcing the state COVID-19 mandates said on Thursday he was doing so “not to spite the state but to support local businesses.”

“There is no law to enforce. (The mandates) are simply a request from our governor. There is nothing to enforce. We are simply trying to educate people on being safe,” he said. “If (the mandates) were that important to this governor he wouldn’t have allowed protesting, funerals and his own rallies with no masks or social distancing. It’s funny how smart this virus is that it only effects people not in his support group,” said Reynolds.

While he “cannot speak for the state,” Reynolds said he could “speak for Oroville.”

“We are not approaching this from an enforcement standpoint. We are approaching this from an educational standpoint. I cannot say what the state will do,” said Reynolds

The mayor also said in every restaurant he has been to employees were wearing facemasks.

“As far as customers, how are you going to eat with a mask on? We all know ourselves. We know our weak points, what we are susceptible and vulnerable to and certain areas we need to watch out for ourselves. Like if you are a diabetic — well you have to watch your sugar. If you are overweight, you have to watch your carbs. If you feel you are at risk by all means order food to go and go home and eat,” he said.

Regarding the group of businesses who are banding together to open indoor dining and other indoor services specifically when asked about their attendance at the Butte County Public Health Department meeting Thursday,

the mayor was in agreement with Pittman.

“This was a regularly scheduled meeting. What’s happening now with this group is they are becoming emotional. I understand that but I’m a simple guy, when I get to ‘yes’ I stop talking. These people got told ‘yes.’ They got told there wouldn’t be local enforcement as far as local jurisdiction. They got to yes and need to stop talking but they’ve built up this energy and are going to keep going until somebody shows up, somebody who is going to enforce the mandates. I recommend they be quiet now. I support them 100-percent. It’s time to be quiet now because no one has shown up yet to enforce the mandates and go against their wishes. If you keep raising your hand, making a big deal about this (the state) is going to have to do something. I think they are in a good spot now and should stop,” he said.

Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly posted a statement Thursday on his Facebook page.

“Rumors about pulling licenses by the county of Butte are just that,” Connelly wrote. “I fully support the opening of Oroville for business operations. Everyone should mask when working and customers should weigh the risks. If anyone is in contact with older people or those with health issues do not partake. It was America the land of the free and should be again.”

Oroville city council woman Linda Draper provided the following statement to this newspaper on Thursday:

“After reading the article about the meeting at Mike’s Grande Burger recently, I want to make it clear that Mayor Reynolds and Councilor Pittman do not speak for the entire Oroville City Council. I am appalled at the reckless disregard for the health and safety of the public displayed by all our elected representatives at that meeting, including Assemblyman James Gallagher.

“COVID-19 is not a hoax, and anyone who’s had it or had a family member or friend die from it can attest to that. And no, it isn’t going to go away after the November election. I also disagree with the mayor encouraging people to behave like ‘gangsters.’

“While I understand the difficult position our restaurants are in, if everyone would consistently wear a mask and follow the CDC guidelines for a few weeks, we could get a handle on this. I’m concerned that the behavior displayed at that meeting will exacerbate the current situation and cause an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

“It seemed hypocritical to be voting on a disaster declaration at Wednesday’s emergency city council meeting in order to receive state and federal disaster funds after members of our council have said they don’t think people should follow state guidelines for COVID.”