A lot of people might die so he can reopen, but that is a chance he is willing to take.

As a small business owner in Lima/Allen County, I want everyone to know that I personally supported our governor, elected leaders and the scientific community on shutting down our businesses and basically our way of life.

After saying that, I believe that we need to worry about our entire way of life. As a former paratrooper that served six years and a tour of duty in Vietnam, I know that anytime we make a decision that there could be dire consequences. We cannot allow our fear of something to completely control our lives. As President Trump said, “We cannot allow the cure be worse than the disease.”

I believe that. We cannot allow businesses to go bankrupt with this closure. I have a good sense of responsibility to my 23 employees. I do not just consider them as employees but also friends. I feel a certain responsibility to them and their families. I think it’s time we re-opened our businesses with good common sense of what we need to do to protect all who work for us and most importantly our customers.

If we continue with the path we are on we will destroy our fragile infrastructure and our economy. That will not be good for anyone. Think about it.

H. Ray Magnus, Lima Business owner