In yet another way of keeping information about the progress of the Legionella bacteria in Marshalltown, our health departments have decided to apply the ‘personhood’ rule to the very cooling towers that are primarily suspected of spreading the disease. This makes no sense. If a restaurant fails a safety inspection and is potentially harmful to its patrons, the health department lets us know, and even if it passes, we are also notified. If a grocery store is selling vegetables that cause botulism, we are notified. But we won’t be allowed to know which towers have been causing this new problem? So far the health departments have said we have to wait for test results. But they have not provided us with information about how to actually protect ourselves: How do cooling towers spread the bacteria? Inside the buildings or outside? If outside, how far do they spread it? I live very close to a massive cooling tower in north Marshalltown – am I safe to go outside to mow my lawn? Will a mask protect me from the bacteria? I’d like to heed the mayor’s ‘don’t worry, be happy’ message, but caution seems a better idea. I hope the department is doing their best to find a solution, but their silence is telling me, ‘Sorry people, you’re on your own.’