Little concern for local, big concern for federal in Deerfield as voters discuss their thoughts

In Portage County, there are several towns and cities each with their own shops, restaurants,
and people. Every town or city has its own nicks and quirks, but they all share a common trait in which they all have a voting process and election process. Population can vary from town to town, but the voting format stays the same. Deerfield Township is just like any other town in which the people will have the option to vote in the upcoming November ballots. Deerfield is a very rural area, with many corn and wheat fields surrounding the small township. The township square is a roundabout supported by a restaurant, the local fire station, an antique shop, a farmer’s market, and a family dollar store. Home to approximately 2,838 people, Deerfield is the pinnacle of a rural community.
Michelle Hardman, a 15 year resident of Deerfield, talks about how she doesn’t see any problems with the local government in her town, but does have issues with the way things are being run federally. She doesn’t know who is the right candidate at the moment but she does want to see things turn around, especially the economy.

“Some things are hard,” she said. “My husband works in Canton and he is tired of the gas prices because gas for him is pretty expensive. His company is pretty laid back but they do expect him to be there; there’s not much of an exception for it.”
Hardman expresses her concerns about the growing inflation in the country, mentioning how her neighbors and other residents are struggling with keeping things in check with the prices going up. Her main concern is the price of propane and electricity, because electricity prices are going up faster than propane prices. She uses propane to heat her house during the winter as well as cold days, but she is worried for the people who use electricity.
“It’s already hitting them hard.”
On one side of the roundabout in Deerfield’s main square, there is an antique shop called Circle Antique and Flea Market. Heather Bowser, the owner of the shop, has always been interested in antiques, prompting her to become a vendor and then owner as Bowser bought the store with her husband when the previous owner retired 15 years ago.

While only operating three days out of the week, Bowser still gets plenty of business and is busy the entire time. Even with her business flourishing, Bowser is concerned about the growing inflation but has little worry that it will heavily impact her business. “Our business is kind of inflation proof,” she said. “In this business a lot of things are used or secondhand and a lot of time when people are feeling down or feeling like money’s tight they’re able to come poke around and find something that’s at a reasonable price and something that they want to add to their collection.” Bowser also states that the booths they have are completely rented and that they have 135 vendors working in the store because the business has grown so much. With inflation, one concern is the increasing credit card fees and a possible charge they would have to implement if used, and a big concern is the cost of the four heating oil furnaces they have. “It’s a major expense,” she said. “Each tank holds 275 gallons, so that’s when it’s five dollars a gallon. That’s pretty expensive.”

Inflation seems to be a common theme among businesses as across the street from the antique shop is Circle Restaurant, where the prices of their menu items have gone up in recent years. 19 year old Hope Bloom has lived in Deerfield since she was 5 and currently works as a server in Circle restaurant. She mentions the lash she gets from the customers about the increase of prices and how they now charge for extra toppings on burgers and other items.
“I mean on our menu it says the prices may vary and change.” On the topic of the voting and issues in the upcoming November ballots, Bloom states that she hasn’t paid attention to it and doesn’t have interest in it. “I don’t know how to describe it,” she said. “I don’t understand all of it, so I just stay out of it and let everyone else have their opinions”.