1 16 22 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/f51fabc9c741659251b27a7b41004868.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=Ms-bWqCHsp-kwMf-Xo8HwBWlhIpT-kE63PbAB6QmPxDpYWvvqnl2W1vehogvCK0878VIlICebM7a%7EERGu9a8kJ%7EF3hyDNasJ5xXpc%7E-WjS1O%7ETxeetJG4d5FPq5-AxmasCISGTmK1gK7FK9%7Eii6SGUzyupmOlR6TPwGW4BJXkjaONJuNgNL6PCO%7EkNO2D-KF%7EEumG1YxEcVQx8xHaelg7O%7ExZuz930kYedxAHNYBjEc9WWU9Vf6n68HLgtMI3PdIkny76vnls3u1dLtc-cuJp2Mfp3%7EUtmTczoJwMwR3AZ7VHqtp69PVKpW4pkJ4GCFbwkoTkjdyDY%7E5i%7EizcOmgKQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM c5b69401a1635474bfaf0595fc5e6886 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story MAINE -- There are far fewer vehicles on the road these days, but the trucks are still rolling. From log trucks supplying manufacturers of toilet paper to trucks hauling components of COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment to those keeping our grocer’s warehouses stocked, truck drivers are very essential workers. Thomas Moss returned to long-haul trucking after a career as a PET/CT technologist. That medical background makes him all the more aware of how easily he could transport COVID-19 from one side of the nation to the other. “I don’t have a regular route,” Moss explained. “I go wherever they tell me to go. My last run was from Pennsylvania to Lewiston. Before that, it was from Maryland to Pennsylvania.” During his travels, Moss has noticed that there is no one set of safety protocols. “There’s no consistency,” he said. “It kind of makes me worried that the government isn’t making a consistent type of emergency plan. When I worked in the medical field, there was a standard set of protocols and most hospitals were pretty much the same.” One state might have stringent safety rules in place during this pandemic, while another might be more lax, or lack any guidance at all. In response, Moss said, truckers need to develop their own safety standards. “I wash my hands [with hand sanitizer] before I get out of my truck and again when I get back in,” he said. “That’s basically my way of making sure I don’t get it – but there’s no guarantee of that. It is constantly on your mind, because you see it everywhere. I’ve been mostly up in the northeast, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and back into Maine, and I’ve gone through New Hampshire and Connecticut. Sometimes you have to stop for fuel or a meal and you see different precautions in different places. But, I applaud that they are taking precautions.” Most truckers don’t have a television on board, and may not catch the latest news via the radio. Moss has been observing a three-foot distance from other customers when he does stop, unaware until he arrived home on March 27 that the recommendation had been changed to six feet several days ago. Every fuel pump or door handle Moss touches reminds him of the risk to himself, his family when he arrives home, and everyone else along his route, as well as a sense of responsibility to keep himself and everyone else safe. “You don’t know who was pumping fuel last. And how do you know that person you’ve talked to [at shipping and receiving areas] isn’t positive? Truck drivers travel from state to state. I can be in California two days from now. And if even a quarter of truckers tested positive, they would have more than a pandemic on their hands because shelves would be empty. That is on my mind a lot.” One saving grace is that truckers don’t really mingle like other coworkers, Moss said. They pull in for fuel, for food, and to sleep before hitting the road again. It was that way before the pandemic, too, but now, “I see truckers with masks and gloves. They don’t want to spread this. We are trying to do our part to prevent [spreading] it.” Bringing the virus home to his family is a concern, and so is becoming ill out on the road. “Even if I don’t have symptoms, am I positive or negative,” he wonders. “I was listening to a podcast while coming home, talking about a testing facility for doctors and nurses. Why isn’t there a testing site for truck drivers? I could be positive here, not know it, and go out to wherever and touch a door handle and the virus has traveled across the country. I believe that’s on every trucker’s mind. I can see it in the truck stops. How do you know?” Also a concern is the lack of a plan if a trucker does become ill on the road. Company guidance is usually to follow the advice of your physician, but if you’re in New Jersey and your physician is in Maine, and you’ll be contagious the entire way, or too ill to drive that far, then what? “I am more concerned for him than I have been,” said wife Christi Moss. “I know he’s cautious, and he’s always been a hand washer, but he comes into contact with multiple people where he is picking up, delivering and trying to get meals. We continuously try to plan for should he get ill on the road. I don’t have an answer for that.” Christi Moss said she’s not in a panic about either of them getting sick, even though they “crossed into the [60+] danger zone a couple of years ago,” but the uncertainty does bother her. “What’s the plan” she wonders. She only began her job as administrative assistant for a large property management company at the beginning of March, so Christi Moss is juggling that new-job learning curve along with concerns about her husband on the road, a grown daughter with pre-existing conditions who works at a large grocery store; a grown son whose work hours and income have been impacted by COVID-19, and her youngest, a busy high school junior now cooped up at home instead of participating in the band and sports activities she loves. Asked what she does to keep herself sane and healthy, Moss laughed. “I don’t think I’m doing that much different, not that I’m consciously aware of, anyway.” At work, they are taking every precaution possible. And with her husband away, a new job, a teenager, two very large dogs and one cat to keep track of, she said, “I think, because of starting the job at about the same time this broke loose, I can’t say if I am doing things differently because of one or the other!” Thomas Moss said that while he doesn’t meditate, he does, “a lot of positive thinking. I am hoping we do get over this without more fatalities. Right now, from what I see at stops and on the road, truckers are trying to do our part.” Another thing that helps Moss, and that he said would help other truckers, is some simple appreciation. “I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything,” he said. “But in the last week and a half, I stopped at least once every day, and I had one person thank me out of at least 100 people.” And that one person, or the friendly wave or thumbs up to truckers as they pass by, makes all the difference, he said. “When that young lady at the truck stop thanked me, it made me feel kind of appreciated,” Moss said. “I’m not asking to be glorified, but to be respected, and to get a ‘thank you.’ It does make us feel good. We are out there trying to do the best we can for you.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Truckers Face Isolation and Worry as They Keep America's Supply Chain Intact Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-03 Subject The topic of the resource Truck drivers Moss, Thomas Moss, Christi COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 14 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource There are far fewer vehicles on the road these days, but the trucks are still rolling. From log trucks supplying manufacturers of toilet paper to trucks hauling components of COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment to those keeping our grocer’s warehouses stocked, truck drivers are very essential workers. Writer Sheila Grant profiles long-haul truck driver Thomas Moss. 2020 Essential Workers Safety Travel Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/a026ad352f9dba75e8374444c298613a.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=Iapg-q3wvPx4Hg5ZYMKacP8XXmAfWVF6WeNLwtDZxfZLIEJqkcci5u96GZekVbbRTs-SDWzWPtfDc0a2%7EgGwMisrgDRKt50VoOb7HsQl2Cnt8uAW0pDq71v6JM9cwL7yM1i4XcNS9dBnt%7E4WhSd7CEZcts7Ipun48xkeC0z52sdUgWiMp47l4Dot9kS7sTrQv2WYhzYlAKJaob5RocaPPPLbGDLPe3-myKAzvqZehDy2j%7EeiOR1xpeOylotYVnF89AgwPe-cSZC0o4VJhqslxTTNvi1rxmCqg98WXu7%7EAii-qkiKZurMrWFrVC0df4GiD20oxB580091sLs-xUoUNg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM cee982cbbd4bd6706c5d41c7cb613807 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/cc8d79054ffd6b4ba78c243cd0e5553f.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=CpANda4uLrOfodv8OtXHP9%7EajxXpSgcrvgyGT8Pc0%7Erom-kXgsTrQZke3Oyhv23FZIXGKI3ViE6V4czkEx0Zds92C0PQpI1yIFbfT2MBvZdaVnQfIhVeaj8ZjdNjzg73UYJkNevtiQtBuLMh5cyCBevCHrs4zWGGAhnKXCOULwfQMNJ6mL-q1GtL33XvAIGSlaZ0BsneAyavepLz4G0Mt5m-RZnBldWDfuCkPqk3e5fc2pAGdlAcxbo4Q6ZjykTMfv5fx66vVG6JsamQmB-Fm71SDP8pfSnVNpJIMTlsICh4sz5wJ9gSDBQt-571dz%7Ec21%7ExD45qP94AdWoTM%7EaTDg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 40786d612a5c4d0cf49ecc22703f1644 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story If people in the Piscataquis region know me at all, they know me as a writer for local newspapers and magazines. What most folks don’t know is that I grew up without a lot, as did many Mainers in this neck of the woods, and I struggled with poverty off and on for years before finding my financial footing. I’ve even been a welfare recipient, though I’ve tried to pay those funds back, either directly or by paying it forward to other families and organizations in need. I did not realize until this past two weeks, when friends and family have asked me (because I am known for my research skills) if it was safe to freeze, or how to extend the life of some food item, that I may have acquired some useful skills during my journey. Everyone wants to make their fresh food last and to make as few grocery shopping excursions as possible these days. In the late 1970s/early 1980s, as stepmom to three growing kids, the book “Putting Food By” taught me how to can vegetables and make pickles. It also features chapters on drying, freezing, and storing in a root cellar, to name a few. It’s an “oldie but a goodie,” and has been updated a few times over the years. Copies are available on eBay and Amazon. I buy my blueberries and many of my vegetables already frozen. For items I do buy fresh which are not pre-washed, I like to soak in a solution of three parts cool water, one part white vinegar for 15 minutes, rinse, dry and then package for use. I don’t know if vinegar kills COVID-19, but it does have disinfectant properties, and this kind of a wash also helps berries stay fresh longer. Bananas turn dark faster in the refrigerator, but the insides stay firm and fresh far longer – and when they become too mushy, mash up three and store in the freezer in a small plastic container to thaw for banana bread later! Also, don’t separate bananas (or grapes) until ready to consume, as connection to stems keeps them fresh longer. Celery lasts longer wrapped in tinfoil. Lettuce won’t get soggy as fast if it is stored with a paper towel. I bought some green and yellow peppers last week for recipes I won’t get to for a while, so those got chopped, pre-measured and stored in small plastic containers in the freezer. It’s important not to leave too much “head room,” the space between the food and the top of the container, when freezing, to reduce the risk of freezer burn. But you do need a little room, or items that expand when frozen could burst out of containers. People have asked me how to make milk last longer, and eggs. Both can be frozen. Eggs should be removed from shells and frozen in whatever quantity required for various recipes. It’s best to use previously frozen eggs only in recipes that require a lengthy cooking time, in case of any bacteria that might otherwise cause intestinal distress. Thaw them in the fridge, and never re-freeze eggs. And the milk? Just give it a really good shake once it’s thawed. I also freeze the last of a gallon of fresh milk if it’s starting to sour, measured out for future baking needs. Other items that can be frozen include butter, margarine, shredded cheese, spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, and most stews and casseroles. I have to experiment to find which dishes freeze well. My Italian meatball soup is fine frozen, but my taco bean soup, not so much! Baked goods can be frozen, as well. Putting a paper towel in with a loaf of bread will keep it from getting soggy as it thaws. Putting a slice of bread in with cookies will keep them softer as they thaw. It’s best to use frozen breads and muffins within 30 days, as the quality begins to degrade after that. Cookies seem to last a little longer. We were still eating my molasses holiday cookies in February. Apples are another fresh food that does well in the freezer. I slice mine into pie-sized batches and freeze. Or, if I have some that are looking a little worse for wear, I peel, slice and cook on low heat, adding sugar and cinnamon to the applesauce to taste, cool, and freeze. Our grocery store workers are doing their best to keep the shelves stocked and oft-touched surfaces cleaned. I figure I can do my part by not visiting them any more often than I have to until COVID-19 concerns have passed. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Being a Penny Pincher Pays Off in the Time of COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-03 Subject The topic of the resource Food--Preservation Frozen foods COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 14 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Everyone wants to make their fresh food last and to make as few grocery shopping excursions as possible these days. Writer Sheila Grant provides tips on extending the life of food items, including fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, and baked goods. 2020 Food Learning Recipes https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/efa39b130e27c7b0e47bcf6679575e52.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=mrOvEB-5R7RC8aj3T8JPq5PmRbYqdyuP5rjoAly86-eEwCDRMTAEKylHBqVQGmwnZR1fvUB8jK86RdcZEyXTsjOXNGTTTE6PB6mVoPnlDBFFmUYQDRrT6%7E7Q5NBRyGLRinXWMgxR9d%7EUi3enkiJIkPPW6A6tMSChPYGO0RNgsb5nK4CfrsjPgrIBKZ3chIGBx-Y1I0PEMCYJga7oqMOyrtTLe9SKGjlwwMNrknQoS5VpjvmW%7EVBZI-GVTepPm3vy%7EZhzxOpTRdL6%7EK87UF4mHS7T2jvbKeqGUN1NIikOU9Z0SDe3VQEYnmUsbJJ%7EeP0jPPlBSeTNCLYedlqRIYr32w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM da0e37f7106a89a0dcabe1351b15309f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT -- Life has changed dramatically for families in the Piscataquis region, and around the globe. “I get to get out of the house by myself, and that’s about as much celebrating as I’m doing today,” said Christi Pingree on April 2, her birthday, while picking up pre-ordered groceries. The couple, who will be married two years in June, have two children, Jarad Pingree’s son, Kieran, 9, and Christi’s daughter, Jelena, 9. Pingree, a behavioral health professional, took a leave of absence when the school closed, even though she worries about her clients while she’s away. “My workplace is pretty understanding, and in my opinion, family comes first. I don’t want my kids shuffled around, especially at a scary time, an uncertain time. I want them to have stability, a strong routine. We do a whole school day and try to keep it as normal as possible,” she said. Jelena enjoys being home schooled, but Kieran doesn’t like it as much and misses his friends, Pingree said. Finding materials hasn’t been an issue, as the school sends homework, coloring sheets, links to word searches and other educational games. Art projects are also available online. School begins right after breakfast. “We do things in the same order every day,” said Pingree. “We knock out the hard stuff first, then go on to the easier things. If we can’t do recess, we do what I call movement – we put ‘Just Dance’ on the Wii to get all their wiggles out.” Pingree said she “never aspired to be a homeschool or stay-at-home mom, and I was right! This is not for me. I only work when they are at school. I take them to the library once a week, and I’m at every sports thing, but I like to get out and work, and I like having my free days here and there, too.” Financial concerns and COVID fears Pingree was a little apprehensive when she took her leave of absence. Then they found out Jared would also not be working. Jarad just finished work as a background investigator. His new job, forensic analyst at the Maine State Police crime lab, is on hold. “This is a little scarier because we don’t know how long this is going to go on for,” she said. “I don’t know if this will be a month or three months. I had heard with mortgage companies, if you needed to miss a payment or three, they would put it on the back end of the loan.” But when she called, she was told that they could take months off, but would owe back payments in addition to regular payments once they resumed. Fortunately, the couple’s income tax refund arrived recently. “That was a load off,” Pingree said. “I felt like the timing was pretty darn good. I think we’ll be okay. We’ll be fine.” Typically, Pingree shops at Sam’s Club and Walmart, supplementing with trips to Shaw’s and Will’s Shop n Save. Now, “I don’t want to go in anywhere. I pull in [at Walmart] and call and tell them I’m there, and they bring it out to the car. I don’t touch anything or talk to anyone. I wash my hands when I get home and I scrub everything down with antiseptic wipes, then I wash my hands again,” she said. Postage stamps are ordered online, as are photographs. Arrivals from Amazon get wiped down, too. Pingree is also uncertain how safe takeout food might be. “Everyone decides how much risk they want to take. Everyone has their ideas, but to me, it’s just not worth it. I am perfectly capable of preparing our food. To me, better safe than sorry. That’s just my personality.” Mental health matters Talking to the kids about what’s going on can be tricky, Pingree said. “I don’t want to lie to them that it’s all sunshine and rainbows, but I don’t want to scare them, either. We tell them that everything is going to be okay, that we are doing everything we can to protect ourselves, and just following [recommendations] to keep ourselves healthy.” Pingree, who works part time, misses having a few hours to herself while the kids are in school. “I really, really miss having time to myself one or twice a week,” she said. Fortunately, her husband helps her carve out a couple of hours to watch TV by herself, and she helps him find time for a nap once in a while. Jarad Pingree, a veteran, is missing pain management treatments normally received through a VA hospital in Boston. Pingree said she misses attending church in person rather than via Facebook Live. And she misses dinners with her in-laws, who live nearby. “It’s been kind of weird and hard not to be able to do that. Yesterday, my mother-in-law put some masks in the mailbox, and waved through the window,” she said. “I try to keep things as normal as possible,” Pingree said. “Other than that, we are just kind of winging it and doing our best like everyone else and hoping this thing will pass.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Striving for Normalcy in the Time of COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-10 Subject The topic of the resource Pingree, Christi Families Education--Parent participation Home schooling COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 15 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Life has changed dramatically for families in the Piscataquis region, and around the globe. Writer Sheila Grant profiles Christi Pingree, a behavioral health professional who took a leave of absence when her children's school closed. 2020 Change Childcare Families Remote Learning Students Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/7ce19cc7180ff3878d81dda199fbfe9b.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=CyGwRKWJWiH5ZvtNTFUN51fiMQxGDNPbp2gBoH0D7b2G2BU6hYDHTHAy6IZzhLmATL0eCi67E7E5t4mwrfiNTclIeACFzdSDswsq%7EWCVq7UAofuR5jdSuQLpwAdINYca8Ce0fHlFlcR1Ux87o5hcF6lMIsoPjpU6s0v%7EtQDM7x8jmiEZ8cSwj5KhZbkiVJzTGSwYr0SJxItQfsjik371itblLiZt3axwoTd-RmBWQsyVXt13Zcq8RThLY%7E1RO9GO7iraxEBubpYJi-NqM992ipzxw%7EYb7U7C3S8uX5nQtrGOgnm32qYZvsGIIX5jM-EizRr9-E6hLIg28eJ9yezXqg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 5bd4523be9cfaafc5cbd94531d230630 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT – The team at Northern Light Mayo Hospital is getting ready for COVID-19, and they could use our help and support. “One of the things I do think is a blessing for us here is being in a rural area where the population density is so much lower than even in Portland or southern Maine,” said Marie Vienneau, president of North Lights Mayo Hospital. “It helps increase the chances of success with social distancing. I hope and pray that helps us here in this county. We support the guidelines and encourage everyone to follow them. They do help and they can work!” Social distancing is “one of the only tools in the tool chest,” said Dr. McDermott, VP of Medical Affairs and Senior Physician Executive. “We don’t know who is shedding the virus until they are sick, four to 10 days after they’ve been exposed. Social distancing will work, and may be what makes Maine look different than other places. We might be in social distancing for six to eight weeks, maybe more. Social distancing is a difficult term, so let’s call it physical distancing, but without a breakdown in communication.” For example, he said, many meetings now take place online via Zoom, and friends can have dinner together over Skype. “We are very fortunate to have those technologies and people are finding creative ways to use them.” Proper hand washing is also imperative. Dr. McDermott said he loves the handwashing advice dispensed recently by Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah, which was: wash your hands as if you have just sliced a bag of jalapeno peppers and now need to take out your contact lenses. “A lot of people are very concerned about hand sanitizer, but when I became a nurse, we didn’t even have hand sanitizer,” Vienneau reassured. “Soap and water are all you need, so you shouldn’t worry too much if you don’t have hand sanitizer or bleach wipes. You can get by if you just wash your hands well.” And while it was somewhat contentious, the merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health on March 1 couldn’t have come at a better time, Dr. McDermott said. “One of the things I would say really helps me get though the day and worry less at night is knowing that we are part of a system. That brought to us a wealth of resources, planning, materials and ability to anticipate potential problems that would have been extremely difficult on our own. I feel blessed that we’re there,” he said. Vienneau agreed. “All the supports are there, and financially, we would have been in very dire straits had we not merged at the time we did.” The hospital is losing revenue from cancelled elective procedures and routine appointments, while savings are being depleted due to stock market losses. “It would have been very difficult for us without this system to back us up,” she said. Community caring makes a difference “I would say the community has been extremely supportive of the workers, as well,” said Vienneau. “Spruce Mill [Farm & Kitchen] sent cookies and coffee one day. Gordon Contracting donated N95 masks, and helped us set up our areas. And various community members are making homemade masks.” Mayo employees are finding the community efforts, “very supportive and heartwarming at a time when they are under more stress than they may have been in their careers,” she said. “It’s unusual,” said Vienneau. “At a time when many of our family members are home and trying to stay home, we are actually working harder than we would normally work, because the demands of preparing for this are quite great.” To offset that unsettled feeling, it’s important all essential workers try to, “get enough rest, eat healthy, get exercise every day – all of the things that keep you going during a challenging time,” she said. “I think one of the things that I personally have experienced that has been helpful to me, and I know other members of the medical staff have felt this, too, is the tremendous amount of support from our friends and families,” Dr. McDermott said. “Not a day goes by that I haven’t gotten a text saying something like, ‘Hey, I know you’re on the front lines. I’m thinking of you.’ That sort of unsolicited support from family and friends, through social media, texts and phone calls all help a lot.” McDermott said he also feels blessed to be in an area where most of us can open our door and get outside without violating social distancing guidelines. While people in urban areas are stacked high in multistory apartment buildings, “we have the ability to get out on the recreational trails, go for a walk, go down to the lake or up to Borestone,” he said. “We’ve got those opportunities here in our backyard, and I think people are taking advantage of that. My daughter, from San Francisco, came home because if she was going to work from home, she would rather do it in Maine than in a crowded urban area.” Healing themselves while healing others While anyone who can work from home is doing so, hospital workers are in the workplace “because that’s where the patients are,” Dr. McDermott said. “We ask each other, ‘How are you doing?’ and then “Okay, how are you really doing?’ We don’t have a lot of employee turnover. People here form friendships over 15 or 20 years. They know when someone is under stress, and looking out for them is a nice feeling.” There are also a couple of people at the hospital who are doing reflective readings, and sharing them with coworkers each day by email to provide insight, a reprieve, and to take the mind to a different place. “And humor helps,” said Dr. McDermott. “This is not something that should be taken lightly, but we try to find some levity. There are things about the ways our society is responding to this that are humorous – and laughing helps.” Additionally, Northern Lights Mayo Hospital tasked some staff with creating a wellness handbook for employees. “It was sent out today [March 30] and has multiple links to mindfulness programs, meditation, recovery resources, exercise – access to programs to keep ourselves and our minds fit and healthy,” said Vienneau. “We asked them to develop this based on the situation we are in at this time. As leaders of this organization, Dave and I and the rest of the leadership team are charged with the support of our employees and helping them through this, being there every day and helping them, communicating with them, doing nice things for them like free food on Fridays. It’s a prolonged period that this virus will be with us. It is very important to support our employees,” she said. “Of course, we have individuals who, based on their own personal situations, are dealing with some anxiety,” Vienneau continued. “Perhaps it’s a caregiver who is pregnant or older and has chronic conditions, and they are asking questions about that. People are seeking help and support if they feel affected, but overall, our employee morale is quite strong.” Finding the silver lining “Another thing that is really helping us through this is that with adversity comes innovation,” said Dr. McDermott. “We are learning to do things we haven’t done before. We are using Zoom as a secure platform to begin reaching out to patients in their homes through telemedicine.” A lot of healthcare can be done well through telemedicine, he said. For example, a patient under treatment for high blood pressure, with an accurate blood pressure cuff at home, could safely have a follow-up appointment with a physician via telemedicine. “In many parts of the country, telemedicine is more advanced, but all of a sudden with COVID-19, we are putting in place platforms in all primary care areas that will serve us well for years to come. I’ve got two daughters living out-of-state in urban areas, and they routinely get things taken care of through telemedicine. They get the advice and guidance they need, and it saves them time and travel. We are learning new things, which helps keep people resilient. I think some of the skills we are learning now are skills which are going to serve us well in the future.” “Our providers are open and excited to learning new telemedicine technology,” said Vienneau, adding that after the crisis, healthcare will probably never go back to how it was pre-telemedicine. The other thing that Dr. McDermott said he is seeing is the office-based practitioners, who are not as busy now, are cross-training for roles that they may have done in the past, like working in the hospital or in the ER. “It’s refreshing for them to push their minds in different ways,” he said. “They are not doing something they are not comfortable with, in terms of taking care of someone sicker than their anticipated needs, but they are working in a different environment, with a different team. It’s almost like taking a vacation while at work. We are doing that now, before the surge. When we get the surge, we’ll be ready. We’ll have staff cross-trained and people won’t be trying to figure out how a system works that they don’t’ know really well. We will be ready to roll up our sleeves.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Local Healthcare System Prepares for Challenging Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-10 Subject The topic of the resource Northern Light Mayo Hospital Medical care Rural hospitals Hospitals--Employees COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Vienneau, Marie McDermott, David Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 15 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource The team at Northern Light Mayo Hospital is getting ready for COVID-19, and they could use our help and support. Sheila Grant talks with Marie Vienneau, president of North Light Mayo Hospital, and Dr. David McDermott about social distancing, hand washing, employee wellness, telemedicine, and other topics. 2020 Essential Workers Mayo Hospital Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/a3acd734332f9ef3e4407a4e714f8acc.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=U8FYarbXwj1686tWyxFbLJDGXERY0Lq8yuO667FwCrjET3SLcih7qAZcUKURHljmUOZ6jtfDUwUEyGcLQHTWIAcHV3nUIieIQuSI8%7Ez494taG5QhVtzYgoXzplFD6hGpLJAgns9bfqasd%7EAmiy3M1n-5PzOBVrEETTH2pGV1pEOrNum4omf8fZ82-BlHOqnMilTLDa9sZ2ZPAOCwm1Jef%7EzQDaWcUIfkHf-RZqYNbQlkk5Jo%7EaXhOMQxOgLUECniWJqOWQSJPG11-2lduDKihaObrEWVIWmSvCnsSppayoNZhk6sdbyVdAFdEUwwIrdClT6YiQRP5JxdPm-svwpTJA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM fcbc3eec2daf4adcafcfb0fb1106f83f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story AUGUSTA -- When one needs their job, speaking out about what it’s like to be an essential employee might be risky. “So, I’m considered an essential worker, as we supply people with food and supplies for their pets,” explained the worker, who wished to remain anonymous. The store serves pet owners within a 50-mile radius of Maine’s capital and is considered a high-traffic location. “The executives have done a great job being transparent about all the changes due to COVID-19,” she said. “We've been able to keep the same payroll hours, but our business hours have changed. We're required to keep track of the number of people in the store (no more than 15), which is difficult when 'Bob' and 'Mary' decide to take their family of five to go look at the 'pretty fish,' without gloves or masks, and with a few kids coughing and sneezing on everyone and everything in store. “Because of this, and because we are trying to reduce the risk to everyone, we have an extensive cleaning schedule of all the carts, baskets, counters, pin pads, etc.” she said. “I've also learned that the best way to help protect my customers is to sanitize my gloves between each interaction. We are taking this seriously, but it has become painfully obvious not everyone is.” This employee lives with, “my dad who has health issues already. Both my parents are taking care of their parents, whose health is already declining without the help of COVID-19. Because of this, every time I leave this house I'm wearing gloves, have hand sanitizer, and grab a mask from work if I'm there. “The fact that I have coworkers and customers telling me that 'it is what it is' and 'if they get it, they get it' without wearing gloves or a mask or taking any precautions is appalling,” she said. “I'm putting not only myself, but my family, at risk by working, and people who go about their day like normal, without any precautions whatsoever are the reason we're in this mess.” Recently, this employee came down with a head cold. “Mostly just a sore throat, but with everything going on, you never know,” she said. “Luckily, I had that day off, but everyone in my house treated me like the plague. If I touched a handle they'd sanitize it before using it. I drank so much Emergen-C! “The next day I was scheduled to work,” she said. “As it was just a head cold, I was feeling a lot better but still not 100 percent. Everywhere you look, people are telling you to stay home if you feel sick, so that’s what I did. One more day to get it out of my system. When I called in however, I felt like the bad guy. The afternoon crew had also called in just moments before me, so now the managers were scrambling to figure things out, and I got the stress unload.” Still, she is grateful to still have a job, “and so is my mom, who is now working from home. My brother works third shift and my dad is a disabled veteran. With a six-month-old puppy and two cats in the house, we are already crazy and annoyed with each other enough without the addition of COVID-19 closing opportunities to get away from each other.” The April 9 blizzard didn’t help the stress level, since gardening is a pathway to relaxation. “My seedlings are eagerly waiting to be planted in the garden, and I need sun! I want to get my hands dirty digging out weeds and growing my own food again. Even before COVID, I was planning the garden, leaning about sourdough and canning and preserving foods, and summer will bring that. Like most people, I'm tired of winter and mud season at this point, and just want to sun bathe. But on the bright side, the birds are enjoying the feeder now. Some chickadees, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, and eastern phoebes have visited.” All in all, though, she said, “I’m calm but scared. I don't know if I'm being cautious enough or am blissfully ignorant of how much danger I'm putting myself (and my family) in.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Essential Worker Balances Fear of Virus with Need to Work Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-17 Subject The topic of the resource Essential workers Employees COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Augusta (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 16 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Writer Sheila Grant interviews a pet food and supplies store employee about what it’s like to be an essential worker. 2020 Essential Workers Fear Stress Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/ed540daecd09a82c48e09fb7f7d84ef2.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=kD3zk-Uan60X0beC66wwnlHXcvfWG6Wzr8zVNHmBZWomQsjt1pKuPQYhQrZFfGkvqMTRVTc6FpLjZDAzPI1GV4SDdUJWWmQBWScekRRFULqRzRrpe3ExPmfhyJlvZrYwaSiJJS103hD-YUr8HhwAtCBWh1edZzbCxA1A6dRjAK55Ay9z1qP7k9mzyiI8s-NxeC11sqwsv-5qdl9v9nqiJl3-I4iIwQ2X8okH9UJ2vRmepQ-GCn8BD1vrzsPnmyCdnxjxfwD654ZlRVsZzyeJBSeKlDG%7EXP%7EDNUOJcRFE61ZCUFfR17przrB-1lEpsXGj02H5FmIcqkQvkJgSTEanqg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 5fa0a162eef394ef9597128bd0d1eec8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story ST ALBANS – When Agnes Totherow, 82, contacted The Eastern Gazette on April 9, she was frightened, in pain and frustrated! Agnes, who lives alone, has needed a hip replacement for months. She’s been in too much pain to leave the house over the winter, to sleep well, or even to stand with her walker long enough to cook for herself. And because of the COVID-19 risks, her surgery, scheduled for March, was postponed to April. Now that’s been postponed, too. “Dear God, I hurt,” Agnes said. “I walk from my chair to the kitchen and I’m in such agony!” Compounding her worries is that she tried to get Meals on Wheels – and landed on a waiting list. Her daughter, who lives nearby, picks up her groceries, as well as doing her own errands and those of another elderly family member. Neither woman has a lot of gas money, according to Agnes, plus she hates to see her daughter out there risking infection. “I’m worried for my young’un,” said Agnes. “She can’t stay long. She’s in and out, afraid of infecting me or anybody else.” Agnes spends a lot of time “yelling at the TV,” she said. “I have to just sit here and suffer, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, I see these people out running around. Do they not understand they need to stay in? Is there something somebody can do to make these people stay in, for the people like me that need medical help and can’t get it [until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted]? Please make these people understand!” So to be clear, throughout Maine and our nation, there are people going without surgeries and preventative care they need until we have successfully flattened the curve enough for medical practices to return to normal. And there are elderly people with limited resources stuck in their homes, worried for their families and having a hard time paying for the food and medications they need, or the gas to fetch them. Some of those people aren’t physically up to cooking meals. And many of those people are experiencing loneliness and anxiety. Staying safe at home and practicing the recommended hygiene when we must go out is vital. The longer it takes to flatten the curve, the longer it will be before we can get back to whatever our new normal is – and folks like Agnes can get what is certainly essential healthcare to them. In the meantime, check on your neighbors, and learn what resources might be available to help meet any needs. A call to the St. Albans Town Office proved helpful. Town Clerk Charlin Williams knows Agnes, and said she is “a sweet lady.” Williams planned to contact Meals on Wheels to see what might be done to move Agnes up the waiting list, and to invite a friend from church to take turns dropping meals at Agnes’s door now and then. A call to the local town office is a good place to start when searching for resources, Williams said. Many communities have service clubs or volunteer groups trying to help out at this time. In St. Albans, Hartland, Palmyra and Ripley, for example, the Hartland-St. Albans Lions Club agreed at their last meeting, nearly two months ago, to transport food to the homes of individuals or families who are self-quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in the household. “We are not offering to [pay for] the food for people, but to help them by bringing it to the door and leaving it there,” explained Robert Davids, president of the local Lions Club. The club will grocery shop, and also pick up boxes from food cupboards for delivery. Agnes didn’t fit the criteria, but that didn’t stop Davids from giving her a call, and then delivering groceries paid for out of his own pocket, when Williams told him about her plight. “I don’t really know why but we haven’t gotten any calls, until I got the call from the town office yesterday about this lady in St. Albans,” Davids said. “I haven’t met her face to face. I called her and found out what sorts of things would help get her though the weekend, then went to Moosehead Market for microwave meals, milk, peanut butter and other items she suggested might be helpful. She asked me to leave them on a chair at the top of the ramp, because she can’t bend down enough to pick them up. This is not what the Lions were planning on doing, but I had the chance to help her out myself, so I bought the food and took it to her.” And in a more roundabout search for resources, The Eastern Gazette reached out to a volunteer group in the Dover-Foxcroft area involving a partnership between The Commons at Central Hall, Helping Hands with Heart, and United Way. Dr. Lesley Fernow, who is heading up efforts to organize grocery/prescription deliveries in that area, called Agnes herself, and also planned to connect Agnes with a United Way volunteer in Palmyra who had offered to call shut-ins during this time of isolation. “I was so down that day, it was terrible,” Agnes said during a follow-up call on April 13. Having lost power for three days, Agnes risked going to stay with her daughter until the lights were back on. “And I got some sleep last night,” she said, sounding more chipper. “I also got to thinking, there are other souls out there in worse shape than I am that need help,” she said. “I’m just praying for them and asking God to hurry up and get this mess over with!” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Check On Your Neighbors; They May Not Be Okay Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-17 Subject The topic of the resource Neighbors Totherow, Agnes Older people--Care COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant St Albans (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 16 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Agnes Totherow, age 82, lives alone and has needed a hip replacement for months. Throughout Maine and our nation, there are people with limited resources stuck in their homes, worried for their families and having a hard time paying for the food and medications they need, or the gas to fetch them. Writer Sheila Grant encourages readers to check on their neighbors, and to learn what resources might be available to help. 2020 Caring Community Health Connection Isolation Neighbors Stay-at-Home https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/72af60fe61d8692c7a1ea286c70c636a.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=TbbMIUqnLpTm9K2wXr9YOZ-Gz28AwcgdBXu1Ws9yEwQCbW-1%7EMslz-7mdoj5tq525lGhjdXUuGJNJG8xRoMA7V02T4%7ELLm12XPOa46rf%7ERU5v23zORLIN8SqvSho3uAqkIRD356ZH9bPZFhVwnqZa-j2cRyqz8UA50yIiVIJmLHt4dohf1HFhSrfxjCT9IKbivEmxcClZnovQk5aYTBx0lighhCX11tMipRA9S-zEUlfO46TBQgF6xXtA1F43YDYcEZSnMLRv0mqItScdJvsaG0cnsbDywcYRR-ip1yNPwIYF2KYiNIRuvIxIUI1817FVxQSilnHm66DToexGsUQCg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 682fb781fddcdc66235acbda2eedb80e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DEXTER -- Donna Kraft-Smith was one of many Mainers taken by surprise at the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus was making its way across the nation, Kraft-Smith was busy operating her Therapeutic Body Work Learning Center in Brewer, her own massage therapy practice in Dexter, and planning a road trip with her husband, Henry. “It didn’t seem like it got real for us in Maine until March,” she said. “Up until then the President was even saying it was a hoax or whatever.” It was not until President Donald J. Trump addressed the nation on March 11, and Maine had its first presumptive case of COVID-19 on March 12, that many Mainers took a more somber look at the pandemic. To Kraft-Smith, it felt like things just “blew up.” At first, she continued to try to run her therapeutic massage practice, stepping up already stringent cleaning standards. “I am always trying to keep everything as clean as possible, not just with COVID-19, but there are other things that people might transfer to one another,” she said. Then, because she planned to go on vacation, Kraft-Smith stopped seeing clients. Kraft-Smith has 12 students this year at the Therapeutic Body Work Learning Center. The 500-hour course runs for 14 months during two intensive weekends per month. Fortunately, she decided to cancel the late March session even before Governor Janet Mills ordered the closure of nonessential businesses, effective March 25. “We could have made that last class, but I really felt it wasn’t a good idea,” said Kraft-Smith. “There were too many of us in a room, coming from all different places.” Even at home, there was confusion about how to proceed. “We were planning a road trip to Florida,” she said. “My husband and I went back and forth on it, and decided we weren’t going to go because we would pass through so many states and would be stopping at rest areas, gas stations. We decided if things got worse, we would be with people we didn’t know and we would not have a doctor, so it just didn’t make sense to leave -- and within a couple of days, things blew up.” With her practice and school closed as non-essential businesses, Kraft-Smith continues trying to work with students, who are about halfway through their training. “I am doing some online training, but not everyone can use Zoom, and now they are saying Zoom has some issues. Because some people live remotely, it’s challenging. I’m trying to do some by Facebook and email. But they can only do the academic work; they can’t do the hands-on. We have to wait until a time that becomes safe.” No students have registered for the new session beginning in September. “In the meantime, I’m expected to pay rent,” she continued. “My space out of Dr. Reddy’s building in Dexter, they said I didn’t have to pay rent until I started again, but the Brewer space, which is more expensive…I could defer rent, but he is still expecting me to pay that [back] rent later.” Kraft-Smith is hoping that if she doesn’t qualify for Maine’s unemployment program, she might qualify under the new federal program. “I believe I may be eligible for up to $600 a week for up to four months, but the state does not have this site up yet,” she said on April 3. Henry is retired and draws Social Security, so the couple does have some income. He is also experiencing health issues for which surgery may be required, but “doctors don’t’ really want to have you come in now,” she said. “They are doing a lot over the phone to postpone that. I’m sure a lot of other people are struggling with this now, too.” Even if Kraft-Smith could work now, she wouldn’t. “I’m not scared to death that I’m going to die from [COVID-19], but I’d rather not get it,” she said. “I have no choice. I have to keep up. If I just go down, it’s not going to work. I am the only one who can go back and forth to town, can walk the dog, can really help him.” To keep her spirits up, Kraft-Smith is connecting with students and friends on Facebook. “I have that to look forward to, and like everyone else, I’m trying to accomplish things that I don’t usually have time to do because of work. And I allow myself some time to be sad and to be afraid – but then I dust myself off and just keep going.” Kraft-Smith has also been a yoga instructor, and is certified in Reike. “I practice my deep breathing all the time,” she said. “I’m aligning my body, and doing some stretches – probably not as much as I could, but I have a lot of other things I need to be doing. It’s not just yoga on a mat. Yoga is a lifestyle, so the things I’ve learned to keep myself calm are helping a lot.” Kaft-Smith said that massage clients unable to see their pracrtitioners should be stretching “always!” and may benefit from online yoga, meditation and exercise classes. But, she cautioned, “When talking about people with a lot of chronic pain and stiffness, sometimes the videos out there are too much. You always have to be mindful of where that place is that your body says ‘that’s enough.’” She’s also giving some thought to the future. “Eventually this is going to end. It may change my career. I’m thinking about other things I could do. Everyone isn’t going to want to just jump back in and have a massage until they feel safe again.” There’s also the issue of job loss, and that folks may not be able to afford a massage – or the online classes Kraft-Smith is thinking about offering. “I could teach mediation and yoga online. Self-massage is something I’ve been thinking of offering.” Kraft-Smith said anyone interested in possible future videos or massage can contact her at <a href="mailto:mainemassage@gmail.com">mainemassage@gmail.com</a>. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Confusion, Disappointment and Change Are Part of the COVID Journey Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-17 Subject The topic of the resource Kraft-Smith, Donna Massage therapy Therapeutic Bodywork Learning Center (Brewer, Me.) Holistic medicine COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dexter (Me.) Brewer (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 16 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Massage therapist Donna Kraft-Smith was one of many Mainers taken by surprise at the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic. With her practice and school closed as non-essential businesses, Kraft-Smith continues trying to work with students and keep her spirits up by connecting with students and friends online. 2020 Change Job Loss Well-being Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/4e21606475d9b7835cba17f275d76f6f.png?Expires=1789603200&Signature=Oseo9cz36ahKDT7gawx-PvNNmZW1lvMJ%7ESIgVbhBKhJ8IxcOWVCitGnkXUtN7RD4JKWHo0iItI9ik29HdIziUfmVgRU5Ex74DWFTjcj7ceel4vjT5yCStfrnFC0NTyH9-DjRTsv4KWKRhH5bA03b4Ink8m6uNE%7EVxbqxHIMbyrZHSXK4sbeKNpvz8R9inIuawWjEP19qTpR%7E5oaKm7vWnCU7DMpdX9vhEWses6Z5xScMH03LQJioijokAUexiJkTBXYlxhZ5dzc2UnejbCzovOHWZmwOhUX6lGW98MdesrtdfP-4OvRr3pFAZptzWDSG-yrjNUpKzG4F3c9VbNbwOQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 2744fafdfef29ac0ba8fa7c28b70a21c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT -- Students travel to the U.S.A. from around the globe to experience high school in America and to prepare to attend our colleges. Now, because of COVID-19 and its associated safety guidelines, many students are unable to return to their homes and families while also missing out on that American high school experience. Dayita Durachman, a junior at Foxcroft Academy, said she is one of the lucky ones because she has been attending the school since her freshman year. Students only here for one year have missed out on the end of winter sports, all of spring sports, prom, and may not get to experience graduation. “I was born in Indonesia, but we moved to Singapore when I was really young,” said Durachman. “I came to FA mostly because I want to go to college here. I thought coming here through high school would make it easier to apply to colleges, to understand the curriculum and how the system works.” FA was specifically chosen because of the good student/teacher ratio and the small town setting, she said. “There are no distractions to studying, like there would be in a big city. The teachers are very focused on us, which is very helpful to me because English is not my first language.” Another thing that made Dover-Foxcroft a good pick was the Center Theatre. Durachman, who plans to study theater in college, has been performing in local productions for the past three years. “I was going to be in ‘Oliver.’ I already auditioned and I got a really good part, but they had to cancel. It’s really sad,” she said. Durachman has had roles in Center Theatre productions of “Little Women,” “Seussical II” and “Lion King.” “The school is doing a really good job with productions, too. I was a main character in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ last fall.” Durachman said she will likely attend a college in New England because, “I call this home, and I don’t want to be far from home.” Still, it is hard to be away from family during a worldwide crisis. “My parents live in an apartment, and apparently someone in that apartment block has it,” said Durachman. “But they’ve been doing work at home. My baby sister is only five months old now, so I’m really worried about her – but I think they are fine. They are just staying home.” Many of FA’s foreign students went home as the pandemic spread. That wasn’t an option in her case. “I was going to go home, but that Monday it hit. Singapore closed its borders, so I can’t go home. And I would have to go through Germany because it takes two days to go home and Germany is in a really bad situation…so I just couldn’t get home. I don’t know when I’m going home. It’s a day-by-day situation,” she said. Having her in a small, rural community is some comfort to her family, Durachman said. “But they are still worried. There’s going to be a risk anywhere.” There are other challenges. Some classes, like music and chorus, cannot be offered online or students may lack the instruments to participate from home, she said. “Or like chemistry. I’m kind of sad we can’t do the labs anymore. Labs are very helpful because you actually see a reaction and how it works.” Some teachers are better at teaching online and responding promptly to email than others, said Durachman. And preparing for the SATs has also become a challenge. “I paid for it already and got the books, but the tests got cancelled and it is harder for us to study in the summer.” FA is trying to make the best of the experience for students still living in the dorms. “The school is trying to keep us physically active,” Durachman said. “They open the gym for us, and we can walk on the track when the weather is nice. “It’s mostly the social interaction that I miss,” she continued. Dorms are not allowed any visitors. Residents, because they are already cohabitating, do not have to social distance, but students have all been given their own room. Activities are organized to try to keep them entertained and cheerful. “We do painting, indoor soccer, and we had an Easter egg hunt around the dorms – I got M&Ms.” The school is keeping the dorms open and providing meals. “The school is doing a good job,” said Durachman. “I’m glad I’m stuck here, compared to all the kids stuck in their own homes, especially an only child. I’ve been living with these people for a whole year. We are all safe. Here, I have friends and some social interaction.” Durachman does a lot of reading, online entertainment, and “I’m trying to get some new hobbies. I’m trying to learn to knit, but I’m very impatient,” she said with a laugh. Her parents call her daily. “I am a little sad I haven’t seen my parents for eight months now, but I kind of want to spend one of my summers here because everyone says Maine is the best in the summer. This might be my chance to do so,” Durachman said. “But the world is sick and everyone is struggling and it’s just really sad.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Not the American Experience She Hoped For Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-24 Subject The topic of the resource Durachman, Dayita Foxcroft Academy High school students Foreign students COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 17, Pg. 2 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Students travel to the U.S.A. from around the globe to experience high school in America and to prepare to attend our colleges. Now, because of COVID-19 and its associated safety guidelines, many students are unable to return to their homes and families while also missing out on that American high school experience. Writer Sheila Grant profiles Dayita Durachman, a junior at Foxcroft Academy. 2020 Families Foxcroft Academy High School Students https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/1a27f37c68b726ab902203a7ca0af93a.png?Expires=1789603200&Signature=vU9iiddhytfbUntFlhomztbLWMDB-tKIGUimMfKMCg3xbryjQkEvjWygFUyQ0oNoXFpfL08r1DI-WInP3zCRd33HXJjCKTTeAwYYHIztljTSnj5R-xfUhsARbKYzLNhJyrJUi6LmOFyzy9Oc496OHXRk6oX3kBp0MAYjaUhQ39u2FvRepNPygx26838FHJEXgXpSpGUfMT0DN2KzTZd9GrO5AlavVbj1qcwcXiSeFR46LtBsaQEGiWAYxHr0-gY3A2iOGcFokHAr8mTOix4JqaSq4w-DM6zcyfeCQJDw5tc1ZTeelg4SIS-nZH2nO2b4S8Z0IFunTbxLLGd079qvOg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM c69da857895280243111feeff50d8365 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DEXTER – Being a senior in high school, a grocery store employee or a firefighter is a tough job anytime, to say nothing of during the time of COVID-19. Eric Bennett, 18, of Dexter is all three. Responses to the pandemic escalated quickly at Dexter Regional High School, Bennett said, with reminders about hand washing and cough etiquette and encouragement to track symptoms in the early days, followed closely with complete school closure. “They were sending us all home with packets of stuff to do,” he said on April 14. “The hardest part is the culture shock of going from a classroom setting to studying at home. The work they gave us is not necessarily hard, but I found it more difficult to stay focused, compared to in the classroom with a teacher you can ask. I used to go to Mr. Murray’s room after lunch to ask about English. Now I write emails. I got my report card the other day and I am passing all my classes.” Things have changed at Hannaford Supermarket, as well. “I noticed the parking lot was absolutely packed one day, and it was pretty much a mad house in there,” Bennett recalled. “I asked one of my coworkers if they had also noticed things picking up around March 11. That’s when I heard about the first case in Maine. About a week and a half after that, they were putting Plexiglas at the registers. We also have six feet markers for the checkout line. Today we are putting in signs on some of the aisles for one-way. “The six-foot policy has been interesting to follow,” he continued. “It kind of affects everybody’s performance a little bit because you can’t just sneak by a person. You have to wait for the aisle to clear before you can start stocking. Out front, they are cleaning the carts after every use, and you can’t have more than 45 people in the store at one time. We have two employees out front: one who counts, and one who cleans carts.” Employees were being offered the option to wear masks, as well. Bennett said he picked up extra hours at the grocery store because he wanted to earn money while not in school, but that “it always felt like kind of a moral obligation, if you will, to work now because of how many people need groceries. It’s nice to have extra money in my pocket, and I might as well work and try to get that extra experience, but I am also a lot younger than a lot of the workers down there. I’d rather me catch it than somebody who might not be able to bounce back.” Bennett was a junior firefighter for a couple of years before turning 18, and has been a full-fledged firefighter with the Dexter Fire Department since last August. In addition to putting out fires, firefighters answer calls that may put them in contact with COVID patients. “We do get paged out for lift assists and car accidents and some other medical calls,” he said. “We’re all more mindful of [COVID], and social distancing. And it’s always an option whether or not to go to a call anyways. I found a couple of calls that I opted not to go on because of certain characteristics of that call.” Bennett has reason to be cautious. His family has already had its first brush with COVID-19. His sister, 16, who has preexisting health concerns, had been babysitting down in the Portland area. Her employer developed symptoms associated with COVID and was advised to treat it as such, but could not get tested. “So I get a call from my mother that my sister has been exposed,” said Bennett. Since he had not been near his sister, Bennett went to stay with his grandparents in Guilford for two weeks rather than be quarantined at home with her. “I was stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “If I had stayed home, I could not have worked. And it turned out to just be pneumonia.” On the day we spoke, Bennett said graduation was the only thing that had not yet been officially cancelled, “but the writing is on the wall for it. In the fall, I thought, ‘I don’t care if I march’ but now that it’s actually out of the question, that kind of hurts a little bit. But, it’s one of those things where we have to roll with the punches, I guess.” He was also disappointed that prom was cancelled because she “never really had a very good prom and I told her she would this year, but that’s kind of the way the cards fall,” he said. She occasionally visits him at lunch at an outdoor picnic table. “I’m hoping this will be over by summer, at least. It’s bad in this regard, because we are both going to colleges and are going to be halfway across the country from each other.” To destress, Bennett buys project materials online, plays a lot more video games than in the past, and, “I’ve also found myself taking a lot more walks and runs, now that I think about it, which is very relaxing. And if my beeper [for fire calls] goes off, I am out the door! I go stir crazy pretty easy,” he said, laughing. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource School, Work, Duty, Family All Affected by COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-24 Subject The topic of the resource Bennett, Eric Dexter Regional High School High school students Supermarkets Fire fighters COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dexter (Me.) Penobscot County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 17 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Being a senior in high school, a grocery store employee or a firefighter is a tough job anytime, to say nothing of during the time of COVID-19. Eric Bennett, 18, of Dexter is all three. 2020 Families First Responders High School Students Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/2c820588d358669d2b1e403932a51f14.png?Expires=1789603200&Signature=KFL0GbL%7EBbAVR29Vvt12BThjYNp0oDC-idBaWoG1N3gD03JZkcXcsTcBo7QeXMvPKcHQFuCE8j17YTNBNHE1mv%7EhBUywWuRPSj1P4d3AwixQnXXXKCXywH6QRZHzxfoREunz-15eM6S9aBfj5rjsqMkB%7E1697UqgPtaR%7E6XrZNFEryuAnwhHnbxvzzs3eiJY2pSFDK8c0cUW8Q0U-MZ6Q-4mcP7ZrrlF7ttMQ07CvrkB19tpbM%7E55kdXjBRpswKhK72dUXUqh39wU-nRX6EB4bWPQd%7EtiwV2TZ3Q0U4cCaLxnaGpTlK0gNgwQjHK7y%7EPEhRCBlpFVyB4eSqH2y85Iw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM e64878efc9bb5dede19c5e6c5dd8e39e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT/SEBEC – Like most of us during the stay-safe-at-home closures, Patrick Myers is balancing needs at home with those of his workplace. And in Myers’ case, as executive director of the Center Theatre, that workplace is well known to anyone who enjoys taking in a movie, live music, plays or standup comedy close to home. The theater stayed open for a time, doing extra disinfection between shows, “but it quickly became obvious we had an obligation to our staff and the public to close even before we absolutely had to by state mandate,” Myers said. “I think it was certainly the right decision, given the situation. I don’t think there’s any reason the Center Theatre should have stayed open at the risk of spreading a virus through the community. For better or worse, while the theater is vital to our wellbeing, it is not essential to our day-to-day lives.” The first week after closing was spent scrambling to get everyone set up with the technology and a process to work from home. With those issues resolved, “we began to look outward again, at how we could contribute to the community, and what we could realistically do.” The Center Theatre launched its Keep in Touch campaign to help folks feel more connected while also providing some revenue for the nonprofit during this downtime. “The first thing we did was make our marquee available,” Myers said. “Folks make a donation and get a message up on the marquee for a day. We’ve had a fairly good response to that.” When sponsored messages don’t appear, the marquee displays humorous reminders to practice social distancing, or shares other community information. “We also are using our ad space in The Eastern Gazette so that folks will know where to get information or additional resources in the community,” he said. And Keep in Touch Online is a service to create and deliver short video messages. “So folks, for a small donation, tell the theater who they want a video to go to and what they want the video to say, and we’ll connect with some of our talented actors and volunteers to record a short message that will be sent to the recipient,” Myers explained. “It’s just a fun surprise, a way to spread a little bit of joy with a birthday message, an anniversary message or just something silly to make somebody smile. It will be interesting to see what people come up with!” The theater’s weekly e-blasts have evolved, now including free resources for online entertainment and other items of interest to help everyone beat the extended cabin fever season this spring. “And while we’re closed, we are also making available for one week at a time videos of past performances at Center Theatre,” Myers said. “We don’t want folks to forget the great work that has gone on and will go on in the future. It’s a nice way for people to look back and see some old shows that they probably haven’t seen in quite a while.” Work on the second screen in the former Center Coffee space has come to a halt as closures elsewhere have slowed down equipment installation and the arrival of funding. “It was supposed to be finished on Friday, April 10 with a grand opening on the 17th, but I can’t make any predictions now,” said Myers. And what of the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival, for which the theatre is a presenting organization? “As of right now we are still hoping the festival can go on as scheduled, on June 27, but in the event it does have to be postponed, we will have a new date set shortly,” Myers said. “We definitely don’t want to cancel. It will happen one way or another!” Myers said that to make a donation or for more information, visit centertheatre.org, call 564-8943 or mail to 20 East Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft, 04426. Safe on the farm Having businesses and schools closed has meant big transitions at the Myers homestead, as well. “We have two kids now doing school work from home, and both adults working from home,” Myers said. “None of us had ever had anything like this in our lives, where we now have to juggle not only family chores, but also checking in the morning to see who needs bandwidth for a conference call or school work. “Out in the sticks there is not always great bandwidth, so we are just figuring out a new schedule and a new rhythm for every day,” he said. “We are trying to give each other space and the benefit of the doubt, knowing that it’s a new experience for everyone and it affects everyone a little bit differently.” Teresa Myers, conservation specialist with the Maine State Museum, is working from home on projects, policies, guidelines and future exhibits. Their daughter, Alice, 13, “is adjusting very well, keeping busy with school work, and thrives on being self-motivated,” said Myers. “She’s very good about keeping her own schedule, and is frankly enjoying having more free time to herself these days.” The household gained a new member when Patrick’s cousin, Sami Bitat, 17, moved from Algeria to “sort of have the quintessential American high school experience – which has changed somewhat,” Myers said. “He really adjusted to school in the states very well, and then, like everyone else, had the rug pulled out from under him. He’s been through multiple transitions over the last eight months.” Fortunately, there isn’t much livestock on the farm to care for these days, other than chickens cranking out so many eggs that Myers joked the family had a quota to eat four apiece each day. He used to sell eggs, but found it “more trouble than it was worth.” Now, excess eggs are donated to the food cupboard. With spring in the air, there are culverts to shovel out to avoid flooding, and gardens to prepare. “There’s plenty of that work going around,” he said. To relax, the family plays games and “tries to sit down for meals every once in a while together, but mainly just get outside to do some work or get out in the woods to just get away and have a change of scenery,” Myers said. And finally, on the home front, he quipped, “the dog loves that we’re here all the time but I think the cat’s getting a little pissed off that we aren’t giving him half the day to be on his own in the quiet!” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Local Theater Aims to Keep in Touch Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-24 Subject The topic of the resource Center Theatre (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Myers, Patrick Myers Family Theaters COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Sebec (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 17 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Like most of us during the stay-safe-at-home closures, Patrick Myers is balancing needs at home with those of his workplace. And in Myers’ case, as executive director of the Center Theatre, that workplace is well known to anyone who enjoys taking in a movie, live music, plays or standup comedy close to home. 2020 Center Theatre Connection Families Sebec Stay-at-Home Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/00d21bbaf9ef898a2418fc5e22893f53.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=A7ABrXsjmJPSamSYSIOjXk4lYKHzAQnFokUUYp4-QNllt1fi1e7kq5sDZUJovysDu64OAWX9tItIbONKdDAgkEP4z4qgvQ-9IxbzpDAsvkFNpHxsgGDQGZG5TMdNQ3rRVpFjADL4%7EYw8Z5vmiex4sDRJOfIx9uaDTzPgoiJIUfADbUB0ScyZgSqheLPubZylLBU%7ERZuaoPMrPKRKT0k8yA1%7EFyeK2UIQkPQTL3UF2D9h7GPnSfshPBs71cdCflz3BwxHXuTJWJ25dqhH3oHppScpO%7E%7EieM1Yn1R4DrdWe10shXPR1-KVUKVXKEXNmCtUkxwZOySNmIi7AkrHTLMhIw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 51e5d8bf47f43847a199b30c39949d16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story PISCATAQUIS – Getting a new program started can be challenging enough without running into a pandemic during early days. Libby Kain was hired as Recovery Coach Site Coordinator for Piscataquis County in December, working through Mayo Regional Hospital (now Northern Light Mayo Hospital). Healthy Acadia received funding to expand existing recovery services for substance abuse disorder from Washington and Hancock counties into Piscataquis, Somerset and Waldo counties, “so I am working through the hospital, but I am subcontracted,” Kain explained. “The Recovery Coach program is a free, peer-based service for people in recovery or contemplating recovery or affected others – those who have friends or loved ones who struggle with substance abuse disorder,” Kain said. The program uses recovery-positive messaging, provides support and tries to assist individuals in recovery by “helping to remove obstacles and barriers to recovery, by motivating and mentoring, encouraging them, by educating the community, and advocating for [those in or seeking recovery].” A meet-and-greet community dinner had been scheduled for potential recovery coaches in March, but that had to be cancelled at the last minute due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. “Another training was supposed to me in May, a four-day Recovery Coach Academy, but that also had to be canceled,” Kain said. So for now, Kain is wearing both the coaching and site coordinator hats herself. “As coordinator my job is to oversee the coaches and coordinate in the community. I work with community partners and different organizations to let them know the program is available. A lot of the work I was doing was letting people know about this new program and trying to get volunteers on board so they can be coaches.” With no volunteers yet trained, Kain, now working from home, continues her community outreach while also working directly as a coach with persons in recovery. “We did have to make changes, obviously, with the physical distancing and stay-at-home, which eliminated in-person meetings,” said Kain. “I am not in my office. I’m working from home. However, I am still fully operational, still scheduling meetings, using Zoom to video chat or talking over the phone. And I am still able to take new referrals.” It’s been a challenge, with a program “so new a lot of people don’t know about it,” she said. “Not only that we provide addition support for people in Piscataquis County, but that we want the community to get involved, we want to reduce the stigma and let people know that recovery is possible when people are given supports and are ready to use them. There is so much stigma. People think it’s not possible for them to recover, or that they aren’t worth it. I’m trying to create a recovery-ready community that knows people can and do recover, and I think that’s really important for our community to start thinking about.” Once it is deemed safe, new in-person recovery coach trainings will be scheduled. For now, Kain is trying to put together virtual training opportunities. “Safety is the most important thing, but we are safely continuing to provide services,” she said. “Word of mouth can do a lot. A lot of people don’t know what they can do to help, or are not aware of what programs and supports are available close to home, especially during these times. Isolation is really difficult for some people, especially people in recovery. They can call me.” Kain will respond to voice mail left at 564-1280 or <a href="mailto:lkain@mayohospital.com">lkain@mayohospital.com</a>. For more about the Healthy Acadia Recovery Coach Program, visit <a href="https://healthyacadia.org/">healthyacadia.org</a>. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Recovery Services Continue During COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-01 Subject The topic of the resource Kain, Libby Northern Light Mayo Hospital (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Healthy Acadia Recovery Coach Program Community health services Substance abuse COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Piscataquis County (Me.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 18 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Getting a new program started can be challenging enough without running into a pandemic during early days. Libby Kain was hired as Recovery Coach Site Coordinator for Piscataquis County in December, working through Mayo Regional Hospital (now Northern Light Mayo Hospital). The program uses recovery-positive messaging, provides support and tries to assist individuals in recovery by “helping to remove obstacles and barriers to recovery, by motivating and mentoring, encouraging them, by educating the community, and advocating for [those in or seeking recovery].” Type The nature or genre of the resource Text 2020 Community Health Isolation Mayo Hospital Recovery Well-being https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/3b7a4f9a035c4f1a5c1d36837d6266e4.png?Expires=1789603200&Signature=dc8mhlHB5ejbr-KgdOiLscPvPzBiB5zEw08EuGRjGlEK3ItAyzW7GpXHMp6vYoRbhQydffYHFMvGXBG2lzQRWlGFJDGLsxvHVD-53-p8%7EoPrfLcV9CwPuxowLTA4OvjCnCEVK-nvPrxNxXXqKnuU0RmYukVjDL76QHISAjKc5PCmV34ap-1rRsvPCxVWlakv4XgUOuJg-55Zjm97EyuHdoazfddoWoMU4spiV2m1kG5-4%7E3-PLmBtRmpTusMgcY8sQjkfdoL3sxYEGEc8H2BzIQHHTo2uCjsmi%7ESVHiUVnluwa9-WWKcSBUMvR3AJ9MDiWQv0YTXdI8q9LZ4-Ne4QA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 30795f8528e38e90c1036c2b07d135ec Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT/SORRENTO – When the edge of one of my back molars broke shortly after our world had gone on lockdown, I had visions of more breakage, enormous pain and maybe even a serious infection. I wasn’t sure help was available. Luckily, recommendations from Facebook friends pointed me toward Steinke and Caruso Dental Care, which has offices in Dover-Foxcroft and Sorrento that are open for emergency care during this time. But…did I want to risk exposure to the virus? I was nervous, but I knew the tooth could become a serious issue. I left a message on their voice mail around 7:45 a.m. that Monday. Dr. Steinke called me back within five minutes, had me on the phone with his office staff by 8:15, and they got me in for care by 8:30. Safety precautions were everywhere. I needed to wait in my car until someone came out to get me – only one patient in the building at a time. My temperature was taken. I was then directed to a hand washing station. After signing some paperwork (and more hand sanitizer) I was escorted by an already masked, gloved, gowned dental professional into the exam room, where my tooth was sealed with a bonding agent. Color me impressed! “The good news is that we in the dental field have been practicing universal precautions to make both our patients and ourselves safe since the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s,” Hillary Caruso, DMD, recently posted on the father/daughter dental practice’s Facebook page. “It was then we changed dramatically our protocols for infection control, safety and personal protection. Our profession has been a leader in making the medical environment safe for decades.” Before AIDS, it was standard practice for dentists not to wear gloves and to simply wash their hands, and their instruments, with soap and water between patients. Needles were reused. “That is crazy to think about now,” Dr. Caruso said on April 23. With the COVID-19 pandemic and state mandate to postpone non-emergent procedures, Steinke and Caruso (and other dental practices) remain open only for emergencies. “We are staying open to help keep people out of emergency rooms and primary care offices during this time, allowing those practitioners to focus their resources on treating the truly sick,” Dr. Caruso said. “We are limiting treatment to root canals, extractions and sealing broken teeth that are causing pain.” Once the Maine CDC decides it is safe to resume non-emergent procedures, the practice will quickly return to full service dentistry. There hasn’t been any specific guidance yet from the American Dental Association or the CDC as to what guidelines will need to be in place going forward, Dr. Caruso said. “All I do is spend time researching best practices,” she said. Because COVID-19 is airborne rather than blood borne, procedures that cause aerosols are not performed at this time. Dental professionals wear surgical hair caps, and masks, preferably the N95 model when available, and a face shield goes over the mask. Because N95s are in high demand for medical professionals in direct contact with COVID patients, regular procedural masks can be used and covered with the face shield, as well. “What we decided for our office, which has not been mandated yet, was to purchase air purifiers that had been on the market prior to this,” said Dr. Caruso. The machines use UV light and hepa filters to purify the air and kill potential viruses. “We have one for every dental treatment room and also for the reception room. They change out the air up to six times an hour.” Another purchase was a “dry shield” which guards the tongue and cuts down on the amount of aerosols sprayed during certain dental procedures. These things, as well as all of the safety precautions I experienced, will stay in place when the practice reopens for routine procedures. And patients will be asked to rinse their mouths with hydrogen peroxide, a new protocol added since my visit. “We all know that there is light at the end of this uncertain tunnel,” Dr. Caruso wrote on Facebook. “We are at work now making sure, when we can get back to treating our patients, it is with the highest standards for health and safety in this COVID-19 world.” For more information about Steinke and Caruso Dental Care, visit centralmainesmiles.com or call 564-3455 in Dover-Foxcroft or 422-3770 in Sorrento. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dental Profession Well Equipped for COVID-19 Safety Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-01 Subject The topic of the resource Steinke and Caruso Dental Care Dentistry COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Sorrento (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 18, Pg. 6 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource With the COVID-19 pandemic and state mandate to postpone non-emergent procedures, dental practices remain open only for emergencies. Sheila Grant writes about a visit to Steinke and Caruso Dental Care in Dover-Foxcroft, and the safety precautions dental professionals are taking. 2020 Dover-Foxcroft Masks PPE Safety Well-being https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/c93b94f9ed8c4abd8f9ab7e6a28c7e8b.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=ejA1uANv0KiL3BRLLPNv7FjZFOhc7GlGH20FjV-irwIFPgvakJrcis5dcgYz4Q%7ElnSj0ib5jS0cCJy1UJom1%7EU0FlW4gvQExoP8kuD3C6F8Zv5w4ZNlsJwcFYHlaBEXAPa4lrgL8HhNjH9Cvnrl8ed3e-cuKp1lqJeqwCN5QM53-OUAx1p4d8r4eZ0wgiN9Ot-CmFd49B1QzbLPlrXgjbHYVBfK1Ti8C0X7gPgg3xUhUGeWUgH1P4w9aDUXVT1%7EioZvIUI3TCGOEexF286NH08jZSHvCgP1jk0ZWvodKTV51AzT56FoIL1ViB-cRVYyCDR8E1aQbL74hWvVG6x-1gA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 651fdffef084cb7d113811d537307c5c https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/7f16d704db4eee65543ac3fc16fb20d0.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=dRNF4FxE6p0ISn5gnHkqNOnLdAgDUSYsj-kjj5daq2MHN4bBz2%7EsiMOGxeuhXusbd8YeWZqKfEwI%7EmgJSUhLOLi81c7MWKOtnPjfqmDagCdOzJwXRvgYkT5I8cCT0tJxdIwM3sKYZdss48rnaeJFS1E6wW8xuk%7EHlJGu8n5QAe1CCH-hKmS7SmL%7E7-uIDStjx%7E1p-xHGex%7EAoX1DmelywKNMsCnJSMC%7ERCeWpq%7E8w5iY1za0Yw1JF2iPviQ6juke4sUvuAqCMAwz%7EO%7EQT44VBu7CalMMxxA01SsUi4CQSOfZHLQsMThTO4oIg%7ENUOoe-YpX9xF7XZbEAGqytTmPcMQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM cc9cf69099bb4549af33a6716ae09846 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT/MAINE – Kathy Richards, a classroom specialist with the Jobs for Maine Graduates program at Foxcroft Academy, wants to help students find paths to rewarding, well-paying jobs. Richards said she took the “long and winding road” to her own college education, which was attained several years after graduating from Dexter Regional High School at age 16. She worked in special education in the Guilford school district for 17 years before becoming support staff for the Study Strategies program, and eventually helping to launch SAD 4’s Learning for Life program. In January, 2016, Richards joined the JMG program at FA. JMG partners with public education and private businesses to offer results-driven solutions to ensure that all Maine students graduate, attain post-secondary credentials and pursue meaningful careers, she said. “We do not want our students stuck in low-paying jobs that they don’t have a personal connection with,” Richards said. “For some people, they love being outdoors and that’s their passion, so I would not try to get that kid into an office job. I would try to help them find a pathway to a job that allows them to work where they feel the best. If you have a job where you get up in the morning and actually want to go in to work, that’s what we want for our kids. And we want them earning a living wage.” Students learn communication and reasoning skills, conflict resolution, and financial literacy in addition to career exploration. “With the upper classmen, we go into more depth, so we actually find a career path from where they are now to the career they might be interested in in the future,” Richards said. Students learn what sort of credentials would be required, what internships are available, how to write resumes, and more. Much of the learning is game-based or project-based, and students also do a classroom presentation, “so it’s very interactive,” said Richards. “At the start of this whole thing, when we thought we were looking at a two-week shutdown, we thought, ‘sure, we can shift things around, get the research and that sort of thing out of the way.’ Normally, students would be showing their slide shows to the class so that everyone would get the information. It’s an exposure thing. I haven’t figured out how to let everyone see everything yet, so I’m working on that. Now that we are transitioning for the long haul, I’m mapping out how to still cover the information and help them learn those skills. Without as much interaction, it’s a struggle.” Google Classroom and Google Hangouts are helpful, Richards said. She communicates with her students mainly through email, and with phone calls if students don’t reply to emails. “Every student at FA has an iPad issued to them, and FA has put hot spots around the region. If students drive to those hot spots in Monson, Harmony, Dover-Foxcroft, Charleston and possibly Sebec, the iPad automatically connects so they don’t even have to log in. “I just want my students to stay in touch, and I think every teacher feels that way.,” she said. “When I don’t hear back from a student by email or Google Classroom, it’s kind of like being an air traffic controller, watching those blips out there, and when one disappears, it probably isn’t good.” Going beyond academics With schools shut down somewhat abruptly, JMG providers were concerned about more than the logistics of distance learning. “We have 143 programs across all 16 counties and we serve a large, large number of students every year – 11,000 this year,” said Matt St. John, statewide director of operations at JMG. “We are really fortunate to have great specialists who are very student centered. This is not only about helping students academically, but with emotional and social support. “When this crisis first hit, our first response was, ‘What are some things we can do to help our students right now?’ Of the students we serve, one of the populations we target are those who are economically disadvantaged, so we knew food insecurity was going to be a major barrier for a lot of our students and their families,” he said. Fortunately, JMG has spent 25 years building partnerships. “Unum was the first to donate and help us with the cause of getting as many local supermarket gift cards as we could to provide some food insecurity relief,” St. John said. Soon, other partners joined the effort. “We raised $150,000 and the Harold Alfond Foundation matched that, so we had a total of $300,000 that we were able to disperse really quickly to get those Hannaford gift cards out.” Each school-based JMG program was given 20 grocery gift cards. “Our specialists worked with our schools to identify the students and families most in need,” St. John said, adding that this would not have been possible without private-sector partners stepping up. “As this crises progresses, so much is unknown and there is uncertainty about the impacts it is going to have,” said St. John. “We are going to continue to hopefully speak to some of our partners and figure out other alternative ways to help our students. If there are other ways to support our kids throughout this crisis, we are going to find those ways to help them.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource JMG Program Supports Students in a Variety of Ways Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-08 Subject The topic of the resource JMG (Augusta, Me.) Richards, Kathy Foxcroft Academy High school students COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 19 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Kathy Richards, a classroom specialist with the Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) program at Foxcroft Academy, wants to help students find paths to rewarding, well-paying jobs. With schools shut down due to the pandemic, JMG providers are finding new ways to connect with students and support them through this crisis. 2020 Change High School Learning Students https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/48c7446e90dfb80833ad84d50661bdd5.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=OlAMoXaBTk0m1Ty5-jRuFUNJZTnLC1xUgH7Nz7J47hCC2341JFHm9xcm7zbhJoon-1rvpD3yq5-1v3rpwZHHA%7ET6vgXmu2L2GOsghcjlasl0YTcdXAqIntatuF7ENUurSoSuXds2GPkmqIhr-FdnxQMgcZ3myF1h0qak9%7EuCI7OgffHY1Ujm%7EPbBGMz-Us3MBO5bbLU%7EsOg14peElAsObgWyzZ0yo8vuNX2e4KJuKAqoPV385J7Nh%7E8PILplQm7Sz1I8Pxlw269pKIqxxaO7fKIBkefCGSwOA66SZw1tlOpUxOx2wsNcPWa8kEP3Nr8YsOpJnREwi6efX1A8k0RJgg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM a7eb73e2e31ee118af06e82031569407 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/040b78764b1a474d28ebcf58446a4980.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=KJl%7EKKUnM3FVDJoq%7ECVNEQPom46Bh-NiwgoRzWdPEzn4shkbNLSYhMHCeQtcUK3VNVXzEbdaVgpHxUNTPaPmu2hJf5VWliDfh1UM93UsHwHdBIt-SnEP9kGaGEJzeTrJ6A0jtFyxvupGkH3Y7Ase4GuVMgrzqAhxvbXFcHIHxlXTn1-kVYie3OzU4M2UXuHtD5Scq-Ti-DOwgNG1KYissSgqqBXO7Ynq4uv1pHcU0-JLguMczB97NvLz2jv%7EZCQV4Uoe%7Ej9VDefblbqFlv4LtWOQg9R2ONXnhGohFbEelbP5z9ELZN5FeFOVPXdA-2VnvVC-QS298j%7ERaanqCT5Ckg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 0cd4d531ad171ad89c3e82378c217ff3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story PARKMAN – Everyone is adjusting and learning new ways to move forward during these unusual times. Checkerberry Farm owners Jason and Barbara Kafka are no different. Checkerberry, purchased by the couple in 1981, has added a production greenhouse and several high tunnels to extend this region’s short growing season. Organic produce was sold retail for many years, but grew into a wholesale market over time. But this month, on-site sales of seedlings is taking place Thursday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to replace income normally generated selling to Fedco for their annual spring sale, which was cancelled due to COVID-19. “Instead of planting one of my big tunnels in May, I have to wait until June to plant because we’ve been setting it up for retail space,” Jason Kafka said. The virus is not something they take lightly, Kafka said. He sat through Zoom meetings with the Department of Agriculture, representatives from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and other producers to learn best safety practices for his family, his employees, and now, his retail customers. “We need to keep healthy and be responsible,” he said. “None of us have ever lived through anything like this before. We want to be safe and we are following protocols. We are considered essential, so we can’t take that lightly, either. I went to Etna and got hand sanitizer from Mossy Ledge [Spirits]. I’m now in the process of setting up for retail, and I have to make some signs to remind people about social distancing. Our creativity is being put to the test – that’s the silver lining anyway – learning how to cope with it.” Some of the farm’s wholesale outlets are seeing “quite a bit more demand,” Kafka said. “I’m not trying to grow more than I have, but I do know outfits that are.” Some of Checkerberry’s employees also work for other outlets, and that extra demand is keeping them away from the farm later into the season than usual. “We’re all feeling that there’s this demand and how do we dance through this,” he said. One employee was up in Aroostook still, packing potatoes, for an extra week. “We had one prospective employee come by, and he had actually been working at Hannaford down in Belfast. He was done there now, but self-quarantined because one of those hot spots is down there, so there are all these little ripples emanating around. I’d like to have these workers come as soon as possible, but we just have to do it one step at a time to do things properly, so they will be a little delay here. I’ve learned over the years that the ground will only warm up so fast. There’s some stuff I’d like to get done, but if it’s a week later, that’s okay and the ground will just be a little bit warmer.” To everything there is a season, and now it’s time to plant and help produce grow. Kafka is confident that his markets will be ready when the harvest comes. “We’ve been established with these outlets for a good long time,” he said. Asked by Barbara what he wanted for his birthday on May 20, Kafka replied, “I’d like to have my onions in the ground. That’s kind of my target date. But things are still up in the air so much, I’m just trying to work smart.” Social distancing with employees out in the fields is not difficult, but, “working in our production greenhouse, it is harder,” said Kafka. “We are learning new habits. Here in Piscataquis County, away from the hubbub of it all, we’ve had a bit more time to just mentally get a grasp of what we need to do and make those new habits.” While Kafka said maybe it’s been overstated, “we are all in this together. One of our customers that came up on Saturday from Freeport commented on a farm down the road where she has always gotten her milk, but she hadn’t realized she could get cuts of meat and eggs there. So there’s a silver lining to all of this, and hopefully, people realize the importance of buying things locally. We’re all benefitting. The smaller the circle of our money exchanges, paying a local somebody for products or services, that money stays in the community. So utilize our local farms and stores – and local newspapers, too!” For more information about Checkerberry Farm, call 277-3114 or email <a href="mailto:jebkafka@somtel.com">jebkafka@somtel.com</a>. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Farming Requires Adjustments in the Season of COVID Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-15 Subject The topic of the resource Checkerberry Farm (Parkman, Me.) Agriculture Organic farming Local foods Kafka, Barbara Kafka, Jason COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Parkman (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 20 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Everyone is adjusting and learning new ways to move forward during these unusual times. Checkerberry Farm owners Jason and Barbara Kafka are no different. 2020 Change Essential Workers Farming Food Safety Spring https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/4d5bf4d9dbc9066cc2b82d5490e14a7e.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=FOq2DXFbtkhPf-8%7EhHQa6qPYJc8hvuJ-duTah-NQVPr8-avs80x1%7EA8SkAVzSzCG7ic2LdlRjEmhi-6BcER1uN9SXP1964AanOWHbOZ-u8oJZp8UdFQ6owX5BO8W%7EtP3wFS%7EuaeX2ILr28uo3esEJgfgjOIwDGtwfbjPkrZh7GDVCEOZ0ryiRTclcpxY78bpA6LiHZuld3%7EjQHcO0hnxmqM%7E%7Ern2NuYQSa6Q9vJsIcGqjIvLpq6Kt9q5I%7EXHP4jDNO%7EPDtpjHVWOaLbDG4vA2mV7kdfmH3bZlXUYKr5xn05vIUZTnCflVnV7sJ%7Ep%7EcxZxAbeWBSoeEuQ63EIdq914A__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM f0ad6a074385c51cc3b2df1aba2d104c https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/447fdcf91f42d26223ae5f70f2bf566b.PNG?Expires=1789603200&Signature=fUFhPOI-DxV9fx1JfQFLcntUuUifXPh7RVYGmWKcZSXZAV3g617oHRzt%7ERZSI7gq66GkmcdX0W5J8ERZB0Yp4SNv5%7EuHq8Wp1S3YKaHT3v9%7EOoqf9GffwZ9FuoRoe5mzabiRcne2LNMUMAddemYyPm6Nc9nqtel0FDmODrByY5dhjOuS0bkwM8dwoHBbwXT2C91806%7Eb216bKm9ehzeZJX%7Ejbs%7EscTkzCQCeujRRrafEc53kT-Gzw5Cs%7EJFoCBAdBIzXtFXuIZV3kZJauLd-rX3iVmtrLjiHvzvbfuX6i3bZH6-J41X6q3w7eavnJ%7ElBCnOwukJCcinbK-EJtkWbBw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM fde9f8778b1b32ba74fb469de776d9f1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT – Steven Lovejoy does home repairs and maintenance, roofing, painting, snow removal, mowing and pretty much everything else except actually building structures. “I leave that to other people,” he said. The majority of Lovejoy’s clients are elderly folks who can no longer complete these types of tasks. They rely on his help, and his companionship. Recently, an elderly client wanted to visit with Lovejoy, as she often had in the past. “She wasn’t worried, but I was,” he said. “I have people I do work for in the wintertime that want me to come in to have coffee and talk. They really didn’t like the fact that we couldn’t chit chat, because they don’t see a lot of people. When I shovel for them, I check on them. It’s frustrating for them [now].” An older lady who lives next door often visits with Lovejoy. “She’s a very sweet lady and I’ve done a lot of work for her,” he said. “She stopped by one day and said, ‘I haven’t had the chance to talk to you all winter and it’s bothering me. How are you and how is your wife (who runs a daycare experiencing its own impacts from virus-related shutdowns)?’ I talked to her outside for about 20 minutes and that made her feel a lot better.” Lovejoy stays in touch with many customers by phone and has been checking their welfare and sharing information about a volunteer group willing to go pick up groceries for elders and at-risk people, as well as those self-quarantining after returning to Maine from away. [343-3018 or email <a href="mailto:info@CentralHallCommons.org">info@CentralHallCommons.org</a>] In addition to keeping clients safe, Lovejoy has to think about coworkers. Most projects are done with help from Roger Baird. “I work with somebody most of the time, and he’s right there all the time so we’ve got to make sure we’re wearing some type of mask,” Lovejoy said. “That makes it hard to communicate sometimes, through the mask, so you back up six feet, talk, and then go back to what you’re doing.” Contractors are already thinking constantly of safety measures on the job, Lovejoy said. “You’re using ladders or equipment such as saws. And now we’ve got to practice the health side of it. When I go talk to a customer, I’ve got to stop and make sure I do the protocols, social distancing. It weighs on your mind all the time,” he said. At first, Lovejoy’s business took a “big financial hit,” as clients cancelled interior work slated for late winter and spring. “The second this COVID-19 came out, all my inside work stopped. It hurt, it really did,” he said. “The COVID did not help at all. Even my mother- and father-in-law; I was supposed to do work for them and that got stopped.” His mother-in-law works in healthcare, so the decision was made not to do anything in their home “until this calms down.” As other businesses closed due to the virus, their snow removal and interior projects were also put on hold. And of course, for people out of work due to virus-related closures, the budget called for more DIY projects rather than hiring a contractor. For a time, it was a waiting game, Lovejoy said, to see if exterior jobs would come his way or if he should start seeking projects. “My phone has rung,” he said. “I have plenty of work to do outside and I’m very thankful for that. There are small roofs, and getting set up for painting, repairing decks from winter. There is a lot of work out there. We’ve just got to take it one step at a time, and make sure we accommodate everyone’s needs, from picking up supplies at the store to talking with customers over the phone or by text, until we get by this.” The uncertainty is difficult, as well. “The biggest thing for Roger and I is the unknown of what’s going on how, how long this is going to be, and how everyone is going to feel about it all, how long people will have to stay out of work, and what we can and can’t do,” he said. “It’s been a challenge all the way around. Some of it’s okay; some was very stressful until I knew how I was supposed to approach it and make sure everything is safe – it’s understanding to take your time and not rush in certain things. If you rush too fast, that’s how somebody gets hurt.” Patience is key, he said. “If people can be patient with all of this, we will get by it. I’d rather be safe than sorry. This too shall pass.” If readers need assistance with outside jobs now, or inside projects once safety guidelines allow, Lovejoy may be reached at 343-0412. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID Complicates Contracting – and Communicating Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-15 Subject The topic of the resource Contractors Lovejoy, Steven Small business COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 20, Pg. 6 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Steven Lovejoy does home repairs and maintenance, roofing, painting, snow removal, mowing and pretty much everything else. Lovejoy describes the impact of COVID-19 on his contracting business. 2020 Caring Physical Distance Safety Work https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/51500/archive/files/6e5a88eb26abcec54743d8a4fb5e4157.png?Expires=1789603200&Signature=LPuhX3H8%7Ex8TMNEDPqOlIFX9ndffA7fgkcKyqwXYTZSpc0Sf6OZFNdGJB0Pm4e91o1SNuUydS6tqAEPpZuI4WWC-D2y%7EyKRkiOzvxrX7bxAKJclvpUiyIL6rLouLtaTzrPhy7hSfgbttHNcOTdU0E1WvdpYry0VMLbBmVuzsBHdiDhXJ2jeabJghYTEMxLSQIdKeFsitJEecUdJCV7UOoDfF1V5Qvz-ehzWLko8j7CmV2zaZXMHbUm%7EvkYblfyPOMHmBF5gDmDAYzyDkQCXB6V1xew0jtLCH7wxYMFZM47tBUtVP5rzHfw-IkoHiZ-o6yER44Lb8oe6Z5cw1q712zQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 813a3e8265fd19b55f22e91ffb268183 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergency Archive Description An account of the resource Writing, images, recordings, and other materials documenting life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic and other historic events that have impacted our communities. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 2021 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Penobscot County (Me.) Piscataquis County (Me.) Somerset County (Me.) Subject The topic of the resource Communities COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hartland Public Library (Hartland, Me.) Newport Cultural Center (Newport, Me.) Pittsfield Public Library (Pittsfield, Me.) Skowhegan Free Public Library (Skowhegan, Me.) Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Text of your story DOVER-FOXCROFT – Childcare needs shifted rapidly in March as first, schools, and then many businesses, shut down due to COVID-19. Parents had to help more with children’s school work while also working from home themselves or putting in long hours at essential workplaces each day. Childcare centers faced shifting guidelines, as well as uncertain client numbers and income. As Maine businesses slowly reopen, guidelines, numbers of clients and amount of income remain in flux. “I work as an administrative assistant for a company that runs the medical departments of five different county jails,” said Kelly Chabot, a single mother of four from Dover-Foxcroft. Xander, 10, lives with his father, who has underlying medical conditions, “so I am trying to minimize his exposure to keep his father safe,” she said. “I don’t even get to see my son.” That leaves Xavier, 11; Kaliyah, 6; and Malachai, 1, still in need of childcare on work days, and help with schoolwork for the two oldest. “Life since COVID-19 has been crazy,” Chabot said. “The school shut down first, and then Xavier and Kaliyah’s daycare. I had to scramble to find somewhere for them to go, since I am an essential worker due to the fact that I process payroll and am considered support staff for our healthcare providers. I got lucky and Malachai’s daycare was able to take them on.” The biggest challenge has been fitting distance learning into an already packed day. “By the time we get home, it’s supper and then baths and bed for the younger two,” said Chabot. “If I don’t stick to our normal schedule, mornings are a train wreck, especially with Kaliyah. Xavier, for the most part, can do his work on his own with little to no help from me. But I am finding it harder and harder to make time to help the kids.” The saving grace has been her daycare. “I send school work in with Kaliyah and they help her with a couple of pages a day,” Chabot said. The other way family life has changed is with safety concerns. “I don’t allow the kids into any stores, or honestly, out in public right now,” she said. “We get up, drop off at daycare, I come to work, get off work, pick them up from daycare, and then go back home. If I need anything from the store, I try to make it work before I pick them up, but with all the new rules regarding stores, it’s hard. I have a pickup time that I have to follow [at the daycare] or I am charged a late fee. It’s stressful and exhausting and scary.” Jaime Lovejoy’s Daycare has been providing childcare in Dover-Foxcroft for 15 years, but none of them has been like 2020. Lovejoy typically tends to six to eight children ages 3 months to 10 or 11 years. “When this first started and they closed the schools, I had to think about our daily routine. I knew that was going to change because there would be school work to do and that was going to have to be incorporated,” said Lovejoy, who immediately encouraged parents to send packets of school work into the daycare with their kids. The number of children also shifted. There were more kiddos needing daycare with schools closed and businesses open so that parents had work – and then less in need of childcare when businesses closed and parents could be at home. Lovejoy has had two to four children most days during the shutdown. With businesses slowly starting to reopen, she expects that number will go back up soon. Always a stickler for cleanliness, she said sanitization routines did not change much at the daycare to comply with state safety guidelines. “We always do handwashing, but we had to make sure the younger ones were taking the full 20 seconds and doing it property, so I found myself helping them more to make sure. And I’ve always made sure, when the kids put something in their mouths, that it gets washed right away.” Most of Lovejoy’s essential worker families are in the healthcare field, so she trusts them to be aware of and practicing virus safety measures. Still, there have been concessions for safety in her household. Lovejoy’s husband has done all the shopping outside the home to minimize her exposure, and thus that of the children in her care. And recently, when an online order of new toys arrived, “I left it on the porch and got disposable wipes and wiped down the box and what was inside before I brought it into the house,” she said. Adding school work to the daily routine hasn’t been “too bad,” said Lovejoy. “They do get distracted. You’re not going to sit there for three or four hours with them doing it, because you’ve got littler ones you’ve got to keep occupied while you help the older ones. I carve it out, two or three hours a day. We do some first thing in the morning. Then, if it’s a nice day we go outside for a little while, or if it’s rainy, I let them have free play for a little while. When I’m cooking lunch, I have them go back to the school work, and during naptime while the younger ones are sleeping. So we are not doing it all at once.” With ages ranging from 1 to 8 these days, keeping everyone entertained can be a challenge, too – thus the online order of toys and games. Lovejoy went over options with the children and let them help pick which items to order. As more parents return to work and more children arrive at the daycare, “I can definitely tell the kids missed each other,” said Lovejoy. “Watching them come through the door and interact with each other, you can tell they are all happy to see each other and play again. I think that’s been the hardest thing on most of the kids. When you have your routine and it gets changed and you don’t understand why it’s changed, that’s hard.” Recently, out on a walk with her husband, Lovejoy saw a former daycare kiddo riding her bike. “We were on one sidewalk and she was on the other side and we talked. You could tell it was hard on her, too.” And Lovejoy, who has stayed home throughout the bulk of the shutdown, has enjoyed starting to go out a bit more, as well. “I’ve been out here and there, for my own sanity,” she said, laughing. For information about Jaime Lovejoy’s Daycare, call 564-2831. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID Increases Childcare Challenges Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant, Sheila D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-22 Subject The topic of the resource Child care Day care centers Families Chabot, Kelly Lovejoy, Jaime Jaime Lovejoy's Daycare (Dover-Foxcroft, Me.) Distance education COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Newspapers Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Dover-Foxcroft (Me.) Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creator retains copyright. Item may be used for noncommercial purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gazette Inc. (Dexter, Me.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Eastern Gazette, Vol. 168, No. 21, Pg. 4 Language A language of the resource Eng Description An account of the resource Childcare needs shifted rapidly in March as first, schools, and then many businesses, shut down due to COVID-19. Parents had to help more with children’s school work while also working from home themselves or putting in long hours at essential workplaces each day. Childcare centers faced shifting guidelines, as well as uncertain client numbers and income. As Maine businesses slowly reopen, guidelines, numbers of clients and amount of income remain in flux. 2020 Childcare Essential Workers Families Remote Learning Students