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Last week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed an Executive Order to allow Mayors and County Supervisors to make their own ordinances and policies to mandate mask wearing in their local communities.
Here is our local breakdown of communities in the Copper Corridor.
Hayden: At press time, Mayor Dean Hetrick was working to call a council meeting for the Town of Hayden to discuss and approve an ordinance to wear a mask. Hayden shows one case according to the Gila County Health Department.
Kearny: The Town of Kearny said in a statement to Copper Area News, “Rather than placing restrictions on Kearny’s residents, the Town Council instead believes the residents of Kearny are capable of making their own decisions. With that in mind, the Town Council wishes to extend their trust and faith in residents, and asks everyone to exercise responsible decision-making.” During a phone call with Town Manager Jeff McCormick, he stated that residents, visitors and business owners were “encouraged to make the decision best for them.” Kearny is showing 6-10 positive cases according to the Arizona Department of Health Services data dashboard. (Read the Town of Kearny’s complete statement here.)
Mammoth: In a brief phone call with Mayor Joe Dietz, he reported that the Mammoth Town Council voted to approve a resolution requiring everyone to wear a mask.
Superior: Mayor Mila Besich signed an emergency proclamation requiring everyone in Superior to wear a mask when in public in Superior. The order took effect on Friday, June 19. The ordinance will remain in effect until 11:59pm on Thursday, July 9, 2020 to allow the full Town Council to vote on the policy and ratify her decision.
Winkelman: The Town of Winkelman recently announced that effective July 1, 2020 they will close the Winkelman Flats Park indefinitely. Mayor Louis Bracamonte explained that he would be working with Gila County to determine a mask ordinance for Winkelman. Currently the Winkelman zip-code shows 12 positive cases. That zip code also includes residents of Aravaipa, Dudleyville and Dripping Springs; the zip-code also crosses into Pinal and Gila counties.
For communities of San Manuel, Oracle and other communities and businesses in the unincorporated areas of Pinal and Gila counties, both counties will be discussing and voting to determine what is best for each county. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors held a meeting on Friday, June 19, 2020, after several hours the meeting was adjourned and the board is expected to vote on the matter on Wednesday, June 23, 2020. Gila County Board of Supervisors have not announced when they will officially discuss this matter. San Manuel and Oracle both show that they are in the 1-5 case category.
The larger communities in Gila County, Globe and Payson have adopted policy to require the wearing of masks. The Town of Miami has not announced their policy as of press time.
The City of Casa Grande, Town of Superior and Town of Eloy all have mask mandates. The communities of Coolidge and Florence are developing their plans and the Mayor of Apache Junction, Jeff Serdy, has announced that Apache Junction will not mandate masks, but they will encourage everyone to follow mask requirements of each business.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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