LETTER

The Henry County Democrats always look forward to participating in the Old Threshers Parade. It’s a time to demonstrate our pride in, and support for, our community.

We sorely missed last year when the pandemic put a halt to so many activities, including the Old Threshers Reunion. We were anxious (along with everyone else) to return to something resembling normal.

Then the delta variant reared its ugly head. Despite the extraordinary spread of this virulent strain of the coronavirus, the Legislature felt the need to take away local control of our schools and ban mask mandates. Therefore, children — who cannot be vaccinated — are put into close contact, indoors, unmasked and completely vulnerable to this disease.

In this context, we pondered the prospect of walking among a very large crowd. This created an environment in which we could spread COVID-19 around our community. Very regretfully, we decided that doing our part to protect the health of our neighbors was more important than walking in a parade.

We look forward to next year, hoping to return to an activity we love in a community that is no longer in danger of a deadly pandemic.

Jeff Fager, Chair

Henry County Democrats