The Courier
News
Love’s Comes to Bliss
The Roadrunner Restaurant in Bliss is no more. Located just off the east Bliss exit of I84, the building had been deserted for over a decade. Two weeks ago, along with the Bliss Saloon, the old restaurant was demolished to make way for a Love’s Travel Stop & Country Store. The new Bliss Love’s will have room for approximately 116 trucks and 70 cars, as well as a McDonald’s and a Subway. According to Caitlin Campbell, Media Relations Specialist, they will have approximately 50 employees. “We’re excited to join the Bliss community and provide drivers with great services and amenities at good value and competitive prices along with helping to get them back on the road quicker.” Love’s was started 1964 by Tom and Judy Love in Watonga, Oklahoma (northwest of Oklahoma City). In the mid-70s, they expanded their service to include groceries and become one nation’s the first one-stop gas stations. Today, Love’s is a chain of more than 500 truck stops and convenience stores in 41 states. Construction of the new location in Bliss is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021, depending on weather conditions. If you haven’t done it yet, apply for your absentee ballots. Online or at your County Clerk’s Office.
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
April 22, 2020
Vol 44 Num 17
Back to Work on May 1st?
Last Wednesday, Governor Little extended the “Stay at Home” order to the end of this month. This continued shutdown of our national economy has prompted a number of protests against this action (here and in other states). The response from many has been to call these protesters idiots, stupid and uneducated. Instead of addressing the reality of people’s desire to get back to normal life, political discourse has once again devolved into “name calling.” This sort of behavior is a reflection of the overwhelming fear that has gripped many of our friends and neighbors. The question: “Is this a rational fear?” When the Covid-19 crisis began, we had very little information about the virus and how it might affect us. The prediction from the best expert, University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics & Evaluation (IHME), was 240,000 people or more could die. Other predictions suggested 2.5 million deaths. Based on that information, President Donald Trump and Governors across the U.S. issued stay-at-home orders. The main reason for doing this was not to stop people from contracting the disease or even to prevent death. It was to keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed by people needing medical attention. We now know that those original predictions were incorrect. Over the last month, IHME has been slowly but consistently reducing the number of expected deaths from Covid-19. Last Friday, they revised the projected total of deaths down to about 60,000. This means the mortality rate of Covid-19 is no worse than the seasonal flu. So, that means we can go back to our normal lives... or does it? Unfortunately, from the very beginning, this “crisis” became a excuse for politicians to behave badly. The $2 trillion CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security Act) was filled with unnecessary spending by members of Congress. On top of that, rather than being excited by the good news that Covid-19 isn’t nearly as dangerous as we thought and sending us back to work, those same politicians are desperately trying to find ways to give us more “stimulus” money. Are there reasons to continue to be careful around high-risk individuals. YES! For the rest of us, however, it is time to go back to normal life... regardless of what fearful individuals might say.