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Dori: Mandates drop but fight continues at Burlington mask-optional caf茅
Mar 11, 2022, 2:55 PM | Updated: Mar 12, 2022, 7:59 am
Dori at Billy's Cafe in Burlington. (Courtesy photo)
(Courtesy photo)
While mask mandates are dropping in Washington on March 12, interest on fines levied against Billy鈥檚 Caf茅 in Skagit County continue to swell 鈥� penalties owner Bill DeJong vows to continue fighting.
After a Friday morning phone conversation with the state鈥檚 Department of Labor & Industries, DeJong told The Dori Monson Show that the clock now stops on any new fines. However, he is unclear how the state is going to handle the backlog of $389,760 in fines and continuing interest he has been slapped with since last May.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to fight it,鈥� DeJong told Dori on Friday.
However, DeJong said he doesn鈥檛 plan to do that through appeals. In his mid-February interview with the Burlington business owner, Dori told DeJong that L&I informed him of an appeals process and that DeJong had missed or ignored those deadlines.
鈥淚鈥檓 not appealing what I can and cannot do, or that someone in my restaurant can or cannot do,鈥� DeJong explained.
When state L&I officials first reached out to the Burlington business owner, reminding him of Gov. Jay Inslee鈥檚 mask mandate, 鈥渢hey told me it was for safety violations and necessary for public health.”
“I say 鈥榩rove it. Tell me the law that I鈥檓 breaking,鈥�” he described. “It鈥檚 not a law; it鈥檚 a mandate.鈥�
Did the growing fines and threats worry him?
“It was hard making decisions before the public actually knew what was going on,” he said, speaking to what was happening at the beginning of the pandemic. “My wife and I would stay up at night asking, ‘are we jeopardizing our kids鈥� future?鈥欌��
Once the couple saw 鈥渉ow many people stand behind鈥� their mask-optional restaurant, he was reassured. They were encouraged by crowds of diners from throughout Western Washington who started filling his caf茅 alongside long-time locals, DeJong told Dori.
鈥淲e鈥檙e truly blessed,鈥� he continued. 鈥淲e love the Skagit Valley. We love Burlington. It鈥檚 a big family is what it is.鈥�
In hindsight, Dori wondered, does DeJong still feel as if he did the right thing?
鈥淵eah, we did the right thing for our kids, for our customers鈥� kids, for our employees鈥� kids. If this happens again, we have to have more people stand up,鈥� DeJong said.
Hear Billy鈥檚 Caf茅 owner Bill DeJong describe why he refuses to pay mask mandate fines:
Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon 鈥� 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.
