Around Edmond: Small businesses forced to close until April 30. Big Box stores not regulating numbers of shoppers. Unemployment town hall set for Friday April 10.

Hi everyone, welcome back to Around Edmond.

First up, click here to find a link to hear Friday’s Unemployment Town Hall, explaining why no one is receiving benefits at all.

Since my last column, it was brought to my attention that, after the City of Edmond amended its order of not allowing gathering of more than 5 people on Monday, on Tuesday morning, the City’s Parks and Rec Department announced the Edmond Farmer’s Market is essential (food from local farmers = groceries) and these vendors who are paying the City for vendor’s fees will be participating in the season’s first Farmer’s Market Saturday after Easter in Downtown Edmond – even though the Urban Argrarian is handling local farmers sales just down the street, using call in ordering and payment and contactless curbside pickup.

The City’s Parks and Rec department is running the seasonal event opener allowing 50 people at a time in to shop local products, or taking your shopping list, if this makes you at all uncomfortable and shopping for you, while you wait in the parking lot. They believe that people will control themselves and stay at least 6 feet from each other. Then, there was the announcement earlier this week that this virus is transmitted by simply breathing, thus the face mask requirements from the US Government.

It’s definitely a bad message combined with “Stay at Home” using the excuse of “Well, grocery stores are doing it”.

We’ve all been to the grocery store recently. The City of Edmond is not leading in that not many are aware of what social distancing is or why it is necessary. I wanted to see the decline in residents going to home improvement stores for myself and waited until 11 am this morning to drive around to see what was happening.

I want to be perfectly clear. I am not fear mongering or picking on any one entity. This matter is serious, yet our leaders aren’t leading and telling us that people seem to be staying in, based on what they are told.

Nope. No one is listening and planning for their spring gardening or indoor painting projects. Look at the three home improvement stores at 11:15 am this morning.

Lowes at Covell & Kelly Thursday 4/9/20 with more cars in its parking lot since its original opening.

Home Depot on Broadway in Downtown Edmond with more cars in the parking lot than we have ever seen before.

Lowes at 2nd and Bryant with an almost completely full parking lot, the rest of the cars completely filled the Target parking lot.

Edmond. The City leaders don’t want to tell you what to do. I get that. Small government. But this is ridiculous and even the governor stated that at some point personal responsibility must come into play as his reasoning to only tell you to stay at home rather than shelter in place to only go out when needed.

By breathing in anyone’s vicinity, even without symptoms, you very well could be spreading this horrific virus which may or may not turn into a hot spot and then overwhelm our medical centers. It has nothing to do with you, but your responsibility to protect others from a virus you may be carrying. Point blank. Have some respect for those who were forced to sacrifice their businesses and livelihoods for this cause.

I will be back with a more delightful version of Around Edmond tomorrow, but please. Stay home, and keep your viruses to yourself. Have a lovely weekend with your sweet families and don’t further endanger those who are working jobs for $9 an hour.

You have all you need for Easter.

Happy Passover to our Jewish community. Peace to all of you.

Sherri