County Health Director Quits Over ‘Daily Verbal Assaults’ and Death Threats
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
After nearly 15 years of service, the health director of Franklin County, Missouri, has resigned due to verbal assaults and death threats that she’s faced throughout the pandemic. As reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the presiding commissioner said that the health director, Angie Hittson, had “served the citizens well” but that “blocks of animosity keep stacking up, and some folks are overwhelmed.” Hittson claimed she hit her breaking point after facing continued threats while trying to run clinics and trace COVID infections. Franklin County is not the only Missouri community to lose health officials due to threats of violence, the Post-Dispatch reported. The health director of St. Francois County quit last November after receiving threats and the Jefferson County director claimed to find threats outside her home last July for simply discussing mask mandates.