FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville Police handed out more than 1,200 face masks to businesses on the Downtown Square Friday (June 19).
This comes just days after the City of Fayetteville passed an ordinance requiring face coverings to be worn inside public places. Those masks were part of the 37,000 masks the city has already purchased for $20,000.
“We’ve had to buy them in the past, so it is nice to get a box for free and feel a little bit extra of community support,” said Brain Bailey, owner of the Mustache Goods on the square.
He says he's grateful for the extra help.
“It’s nice to get the extra support from the city and all of our neighbors doing the same things, so we all expect the same and our customers expect the same, so it’s nice to have that unity,” Bailey said.
While Bailey says he hasn’t had any issues with people refusing to wear a mask, that isn’t the case at every business in the city. Friday morning police responded to a Walmart where a customer was refusing to wear a mask.
Though, police say they haven't received a lot of calls about this issue.
In a city that does not have a face mask ordinance, Senator Jim Hendren tweeted about an incident in Bentonville, saying staff at a Mexican restaurant asked a man to put on a mask until he was served and he yelled “I don’t put a mask on for anyone” and stomped out.
It's a debate some people are vocal about, but Fayetteville Police explain how they'll handle their city's new ordinance of mandatory face masks.
“Officers would respond, and we would ask for cooperation. Our whole thing during these times has been education and cooperation, so we are not looking to take anyone to jail, we’re not looking to write anyone citations, we just want everyone to be safe out there,” Sgt. Tony Murphy said.
Starting Monday, June 22, businesses can come to fire station one on Center Street to pick up free masks every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Though not a law, the governor did speak on the issue today saying face coverings should be worn in all indoor settings where you are exposed to non-household members.