STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Senior Connection has had a lot to deal with during the past seven weeks from a delivery van that broke down while delivering meals to seniors to ramping up the number of meals-to-go it serves to keep seniors fed during the coronavirus pandemic.
But, happily, The Senior Connection received enough funds from the just-concluded Idaho Gives fundraiser to fund another month of its expanded meals-to-go program during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Nancy Eccles & Homer M Hayward Family Foundation offered a matching grant of up to $12,500 and 145 donors contributed enough that The Connection ended up with $35,605.
But, wait! The Senior Connection has found another way to stretch the budget as it continues to feed seniors as they stay at home.
Chef Brian Ahern has found a way for people to donate a cow or hog that can be butchered and processed for The Connection. The Boise-based Northwest Premium can do that! It turns out Northwest Premium is very busy right now due to the meat industry shortage. But it can accept a hog in June and a cow in August. So, if you have one collecting dust or an ornery animal eating the roses in your garden, call 208-788-3468.
“THE BIGGEST BATTLE WON’T BE AGAINST THE VIRUS”
Mitch Albom, who has spoken at the Sun Valley Writers Conference a few times, recently wrote a cautionary essay on steps the nation is taking as it tries to restart the economy as cases of COVID-19 continue to pile up.
He quoted Economist Donald Boudreaux who told him that there is a rhythm to the economy and that starting and having to retreat, if it has to happen, is like suddenly killing the engines while flying a plane.
“It is not so simple to try to start them up again, Boudreaux said.
“COVID-19 isn’t going to change its behavior. That burden will fall on us,” said Albom. “And as we push to get back to work to get our boats in the water, the biggest battle won’t be against the virus. It will be against ourselves.”
IT LOOKS HOPEFUL BUT…
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported daily in Idaho spiked on April 2 with 227 confirmed cases. Idaho saw 94 cases on April 9 and 58 on April 20. Since, the number of new cases has been trending downward with the largest single day tally being 33.
But an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University reminds people that lifting stringent requirements is a life-or-death sort-of-level decision.
“If you get this wrong, many more people will die. It’s as simple as that,” Dr. Larry Chang told the New York Times.