How is the shutdown impacting you?

I want to start out with a bit of house keeping type items. First off we are trying our recipe submissions again this month, even though we did not get any recipes submitted in December. For this month we went with the theme of casseroles and on page seven there is a tasty sounding meatball casserole recipe that was submitted by a reader through our Facebook page.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone again that the time is approaching for our yearly Visitor’s Guide. Which means we are accepting photos and activity ideas for consideration for publication in the annual guide. Please bring them by the office or submit them by emailing them to me at editor@mountainhomenews.com.
We have spent a lot of time at the newspaper office talking about the current government shutdown. Truthfully, it seems to come up as a topic of conversation pretty much everywhere one goes. Most people are very concerned and upset that it is still going on. I know that I personally am sick and tired of feeling like the American people are being held hostage while our government feuds in Washington. I have used the term “jr. high, bull poop” to describe it more then once. I truly hope that the legislation that Senator Risch and some of his colleagues are trying to push through the legislature passes this time (they’ve been at it since 2010) and these types of government shutdowns are no more.
However, that will not make the one we are currently facing go away and I am very curious how this is affecting our coverage area.
I have heard people say that this is not affecting them so they don’t care. I am sorry, but that is just not true. 800,000 people out of work is making our economy take a hit and is affecting each and everyone of us. As MLK Jr. said in the quote on our front page “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” and I want to know how this is impacting your life. Please send you shutdown experience to me as a letter to the editor and maybe it will help change the mind of someone that thinks this doesn’t matter to them or to small town Mountain Home Idaho.