This owner of a Meridian hair salon couldn’t wait for Gov. Brad Little’s order to reopen
Danae Valle grew up in Emmett, down the road from the Van Deusen Ranch operated by the family of Gov. Brad Little.
Hometown loyalty aside, Valle, 50, decided she needed to get back to work. Last Saturday, the hair salon owner violated Little’s stay-home coronavirus order and reopened V3 Hair Studio in Meridian.
Hair salons are not scheduled to reopen until Saturday, under Stage 2 of Little’s four-stage Idaho Rebounds plan. He announced moving from Stage 1 to Stage 2 at a news conference Thursday.
But Valle hasn’t been alone in violating Little’s order by jumping the Stage 2 gun. With almost no one, not even agencies under Little’s control, enforcing his order, violations of business closures have grown more common — and voluntary compliance less so — as business owners struggle to pay bills and customers grow restless.
“I have zero money,” Valle said by phone. “I’m not really a bad person, but I’m doing it for survival.”
The front doors to the salon at 1756 W. Cherry Lane were locked on Wednesday, and tinted windows prevented a reporter from seeing inside. Valle wouldn’t let the reporter in but agreed to speak by phone while he sat in his car in the parking lot of the strip mall where the salon is located. Four other cars were parked in spaces in front of the salon.
Valle, who has been a stylist for 33 years, said she didn’t decide to reopen in haste. She said she spent six weeks developing protocols for her salon that ensure safety for her customers and fellow stylists. V3 is also following protocols recommended by Barbicide and CaviCide, two industry leaders in supplying disinfectants.
“We’re prepared,” Valle said. “I’ve done everything for the betterment of the community.”
She appeared Monday on a webcast organized by the Meridian Chamber of Commerce. In it, she said she removed the salon’s waiting area. Customers with appointments are asked to remain in their cars, and a stylist texts them when ready. Customers are asked to keep jackets and other personal items in their vehicles.
Valle said she also removed magazines and a coffee bar. Only one provider is allowed at each station, and stations are spaced more than 6 feet apart. She has brought in two workers to sanitize spaces after one customer leaves and another comes in.
She asks stylists and customers to wear masks.
“We ask them if they’ve been exposed to anybody who might have a virus and if they’ve had a fever,” she said on the webinar. “We ask if they’re waiting for the results of a test, and we point out that we want them to wash or sanitize their hands when they come in.”
The shop has stopped using hair dryers so that potential pathogens don’t fly through the air. Valle and her stylists are not accepting walk-in customers or new customers.
She said other stylists are working outside their shops, which makes it harder to follow proper safety procedures.
“There’s people doing hair everywhere — in their garages and in people’s homes,” Valle said in a second phone interview. “You can’t keep the protocols there, you can’t keep things clean, and you could lose your license for operating outside a licensed facility.”
Deputies get haircuts, citing an exemption
Even Ada County sheriff’s deputies, who were charged by Little with enforcing his order, decided they couldn’t wait until Saturday to get their hair cut. And they didn’t get it cut at a licensed business.
Deputies received haircuts from a licensed cosmetologist who set up shop at the clubhouse of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office Employees Association at 10 N. Liberty Street in Boise, the Idaho Freedom Foundation said in a post Wednesday.
Under state law, haircutting services provided by cosmetologists and barbers must be conducted in state-inspected sites. Julie Eavanson, spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Occupational Licensing, said by email there is “no licensed barber or cosmetology establishment located at that address.”
Patrick Orr, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told the Idaho Freedom Foundation by email that the association believes deputies are exempt from Little’s order under a provision that declares public safety officers essential workers.
“The employee association interpretation of Gov. Little’s stay-at-home order determined that a specific exemption existed for businesses that provide support for law enforcement and first responders,” Orr wrote.
Last week, Little said the state would consider revoking professional licenses or other state-issued licenses for businesses that open early under his four-stage reopening plan.
“If it’s a cosmetologist or somebody that has a liquor license, they are putting their license at risk,” Little said during a taping of Boise State Public Radio’s “Idaho Matters” program.
No word on investigations of salons, cosmetologists
Eavenson could not say whether any salons or cosmetologists are under investigation for defying Little’s order. Complaints and investigations are confidential unless the licensing board takes action against a licensee or salon, which could take a year or more.
“It’s all confidential until final action is taken,” Eavenson said by phone. “Our investigations generally take a long time, because we have a limited staff.”
There are 20,360 licensed cosmetologists and barbers in Idaho, Eavenson said. Their licenses must be renewed annually.
Valle has been licensed since 1988. After her salon closed in March, Valle said, she and her six stylists lost 1,800 appointments. She has a waiting list of 500 people seeking services.
The stylists are now receiving unemployment compensation and did not want to return to work until Little gave the official go-ahead, Valle said. Three other stylists are working for her for now.
Since the salon reopened Saturday, Valle said, she’s seen a steady stream of clients.
“We’ve had doctors, nurses and even a police officer,” she told the Statesman. “We’re busy. Everyone wants their hair cut.”
Valle said she was trying to get back on her feet after a divorce in November and was turning a corner when the coronavirus pandemic hit Idaho in mid-March. Since the salon has closed, bills have piled up. Valle said she owes the state of Idaho $6,000 in unemployment taxes and owes the Internal Revenue Service for quarterly income taxes paid by business owners.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Valle said. “The state would get me for the unemployment taxes or get me for opening early. I didn’t have the resources to stay closed any longer.”
A friend of Valle set up a GoFundMe campaign. Valle said she was touched that her friend, Kayla-Leah Rich, would do that for her, but said she was embarrassed by it. The campaign had raised $925 by Thursday afternoon.
Valle grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and said she learned to follow the rules. She said it was a difficult choice to willfully disobey the order of the governor from her hometown.
“I feel like an Emmett rebel,” she said.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
