Just a week before Fulton's mask mandate expired Feb. 21, Cary Vest found himself stuck in a store aisle, feeling threatened by a fellow shopper.
A man who wasn't wearing a mask was quickly approaching Vest, ignoring the city mask ordinance, store policy and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. A verbal altercation turned physical, leaving Vest injured and the other man arrested.
For a year, people have been dealing with a constant series of choices - each decision a matter of both personal safety and public scrutiny. Should you wear a mask or go out uncovered? Is it safe to send your children to school? Will a visit or a hug endanger your grandparents?
All it takes is a trip to the grocery store or a glimpse at social media to know people's decisions, beliefs and fears vary wildly. For some, this divide has created an environment of uncertainty and even fear.
Between Dec. 1-Feb. 21, Fulton residents were required to wear a mask when in public. Many didn't.
Enforcement of the ordinance was complaint-driven, according to Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers. Though more than a dozen complaints were made, Myers said, no fines or citations were issued.
In some cases, the unmasked individual was gone when police arrived. Other times, individuals were exempt due to health conditions or because they were hearing-impaired.
Complaints were also made about two businesses. Police responded by advising the businesses to abide by and enforce the ordinance, Myers said.
The mask ordinance expired nearly a month ago after the Fulton City Council declined to extend it, but many local businesses, schools and organizations still ask customers and visitors to cover their mouth and nose.
In December, when Fulton's mask ordinance was implemented, hundreds of city residents were suffering from COVID-19. When the Fulton City Council decided against extending the ordinance, city case counts had dropped closer to 50.
Vest, 74, knows he is at increased risk of severe illness from the COVID-19 virus. In addition to his age, Vest has underlying medical conditions that increase that risk.
"My dad, he's very nervous with the whole pandemic thing because he's high risk," said Vest's son, Chris Keller. "He tries to stay home as much as possible. I could probably count on one hand the amount of times he's actually went to town since this stuff happened."
Vest lives with his daughter and grandchildren in rural Callaway County. In an attempt to keep himself safe from potential exposure, Vest has been isolating himself in his shop for months.
But on Feb. 13, he woke up to uncomfortably cold temperatures. There had been a serious cold snap - outside, temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside his shop, temperatures were around 40 degrees.
Vest needed a heater, but he didn't want to bother his daughter with a trip into town.
"I don't want too much contact with anybody, so I quarantined myself," Vest said. "Well, that morning it was so cold. I didn't want to ask my daughter to go to town to get this for me."
He decided to go to Westlake Ace Hardware in Fulton. Usually when Vest visits the hardware store, he stays outside.
"When I go there, there's a gentleman that works there and he helps me," Vest said. "He'll do whatever I ask as far as what I need - I can give him a list and he'll take care of me."
But the employee was helping someone else when he arrived. Again, Vest didn't want to be a bother. He went in.
Walking down an aisle, Vest came upon a woman shopping. Wanting to respect her space, Vest decided to pause and wait for her to finish.
"I wasn't in such a hurry that I tried to do anything else except stand on one of the spots," Vest said, describing 6-foot social-distancing floor markings. "She was probably 8 or 10 feet away from me. I'm doing what the store asked me to do and what the doctors tell me to do."
Then he noticed a man coming from the other direction. Vest saw that the man wasn't wearing a mask.
Recalling the incident later, Vest said he told the man to keep his distance. When the man ignored him, Vest remembers asking why the man wasn't following the rules. Minutes later, Vest was bleeding.
The unmasked man, identified in police records as Ronald English, 56, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault. A misdemeanor, fourth-degree assault applies when someone causes or recklessly causes physical injury to another person or causes physical contact with another person knowing the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.
According to a probable-cause statement filed by the Fulton Police Department, English "got into a verbal altercation over English not wearing a face mask in public."
When English grabbed Vest's collar and pushed him backward, Vest grabbed a shelf to keep from falling. The shelving punctured Vest's hand.
"I was in shock - discombobulated," Vest said. "I didn't know what the heck was going on."
After speaking with police and paramedics, Vest returned home with two space heaters.
"I did get the heaters and I'm grateful for that, but my gosh I paid the price," Vest said. "I certainly won't be going in any stores until they figure this out."
His daughter, a nurse, helped him take care of his hand.
"He's real shook up about it, you know?" Keller said. "As far as physically, he's got some cuts and bruises - he got hurt, but he's OK. But it really shook him up mentally."
Fulton Mayor Lowe Cannell and Director of Administration Bill Johnson hadn't heard Vest's story. Before hearing about the incident, both noted the pandemic has been divisive and unifying at times.
"When all this first started, it was us against the virus," Cannell said.
Then came the mask and vaccine debates. Communities across the country are grappling with the same problems. Vest is not the only person left feeling uneasy and uncomfortable in public.
"The sign on the door saying 'wear a mask' and the deals on the floor that say '6 feet' really don't count - you can't trust that as being safe," Vest said.
Vest is frustrated by those who aren't wearing masks or social distancing.
"I want people to open their eyes," Vest said. "Why are people not protecting themselves, their families at home and the people around them? It's not that hard to do. I have COPD, I have bad lungs, but I can wear a mask and I can breathe."
Keller doesn't understand either.
"If I walked into a store without a T-shirt on, they're going to ask me to leave," Keller said. "That's the rule. And if I don't leave, they call the police. That's how it works. It's so simple."
Vest couldn't stop worrying about the pandemic and worried he might have been exposed to the virus during the encounter at the hardware store. While researching how to get a COVID-19 test, Vest called Missouri's COVID-19 hotline, which can be reached at 877-435-8411.
Calling the hotline ended up being a good decision for Vest - they were able to get him on the vaccine waitlist.
"The only good thing out of this, I got my name on the list for the vaccine," Vest said.
He's already had his first shot and will receive his second dose next week. He said he suffered no complications from the first dose.
"I said, 'Man, that was so easy and so good,'" Vest remembers telling others after the first dose. "Those people took care of me very well."
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. For many, they represent a return to normal life.
Two weeks after the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot, people can begin doing some of the things they've given up with others who have been fully vaccinated, such as gathering indoors without masks.
In Callaway County, 8,742 nursing home residents, first responders, government employees, educators and at-risk individuals have already volunteered for their shots - 19.5 percent of the county.
On March 26, the state plans to offer the Pfizer vaccinations to thousands during a mass vaccination event at Callaway Electric Cooperative in Fulton. In addition to adults who are at risk or over age 65, education, child care, communications, dams, energy, some food and agriculture, government and information technology workers are eligible.
To sign up for the event, individuals must pre-register for the Missouri Vaccine Navigator at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator.
Both Cannell and Johnson have received their first doses and encourage others to take advantage of the vaccine.
"It's a tool in the toolkit," Cannell said. "If people want to take advantage of that tool, if they believe it's right for them, then they should go ahead and get vaccinated."