STATION EDITORIAL
Posted May 29, 2020
This is a station editorial, I'm Randal J. Miller, station president. Well, we're into Governor Pritzker's Phase 3 of his "Restore Illinois" plan following the coronavirus outbreak.
Businesses except restaurants and bars are now open, as long as they use the CDC and state guidelines for capacity, social distancing, and require customers to wear masks.
I gotta tell you, it's been a LONG time coming to get to this point. Our region flattened the curve weeks ago and should have re-opened, but that's now water under the bridge.
I'd like to point out a couple of things.
First, states all around Illinois have opened restaurants and bars, again with guidelines for capacity, social distancing, and having all employees wear masks. Cleaning is extensive and frequent. I know all this, because May 23rd, my wife and I dined at a restaurant in St. Peter, Missouri, which opened to dine-in in mid-May. And, on Memorial Day, we traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana, and dined-in at a restaurant there.
In both cases, half the tables were blocked from being used, all employees were wearing masks, and extensive cleaning was taking place. In both restaurants, my wife and I felt comfortable. Our restaurants in our listening areas could do the same thing...if allowed to. Otherwise, as I've shared in past editorials, many of our local restaurants and bars will never re-open.
My 2nd point is one I hope you'll follow. With our local businesses re-opening, you and I need to patronize them to help them get back to normal. Most have lost money, a lot of money, and to keep them in our communities, we need to SHOP LOCAL. Remember, the money you spend locally turns over multiple times in our local economy, and that helps everyone.
We're calling this re-opening "The Greatest Comeback of All Time" to encourage YOU to shop LOCAL, and to encourage our local businesses that we have their back. Let's show them how much we value and appreciate them by spending money LOCALLY. That will help keep our small town way of life going for you, and for the next generation.
Shop LOCAL, and let's help our local businesses make "The Greatest Comeback of All Time."
That's our opinion....we welcome yours. Our e-mail address is editorial@randyradio.com.