Stay local, Shop local, Support local

 For as long as we can remember it has been custom to preach the need to shop local and support Weston County’s businesses, not only during the holiday season but all year. 
With the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic growing, now more than ever shopping local and staying local will offer benefits all the way around. 
While staying in town and shopping locally, people will not only avoid increased exposure to the illness by limiting travel, they will be financially aiding the businesses, entities, organizations and governments that directly support them. 
This year has been anything but normal or traditional. From global pandemics wreaking havoc on every aspect of life to the political absurdness that has occurred, not much of what we thought of as our ordinary, everyday lives has remained unscathed in 2020. 
As we approach the holidays, and dread the thought of tradition and celebration with family members slipping away - even if only for a year - it is important to remember who we are, where we are and what keeps us together through good times and bad. 
’Tis the season to remember what we are thankful for, to celebrate our families and communities, to give a little and praise a lot … even though we know we do this in small-town America all the time. 
There are people in this community who are tirelessly trying to adapt our customary celebrations of customer appreciation days, festivals, banquets and toy drives to new guidelines and regulations spurred by COVID in order to ensure these events can still happen. Those individuals not only deserve our thanks, but our support. 
We are a community that rallies together in times of need. We come together to help one another. The recent United Fund of Weston County pie auction held at Decker’s Market is proof that this “community came out like they always do.” The sale raised over $6,500 and this money will benefit 10 local agencies. This community supports one another, and we’d like to recognize the good will that just keeps on going on here. 
Our hat is off to the community members who continue to spend their dollars to support local causes and businesses, and to the organizers of these annual events and everyone who steps up and finds a unique way to keep these traditions alive for the betterment of our community. 
Keep up the good work, this community is behind you. Remember to shop local, stay local and support local. 
It really does make a difference.