Opening night for the Center Theatre’s latest production “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” (abridged)[revised] is Friday, Nov. 6. The show will be performed live at the Center Theatre, following all state and federal safety guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but will also be streamed live on-line for those that don’t feel comfortable coming to the Theatre in person.
The play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, is a hilarious comedy in which three energetic actors perform all of the works of William Shakespeare in only 90 minutes. The production promises to deliver some much needed laughs, according to the Center Theatre’s Executive Director Patrick Myers.
"2020 has left us all needing to laugh a little …or maybe a lot…and enjoy live Theatre,” Myers said, “This show with these talented actors will certainly let you forget about your troubles for awhile.” Myers also said that the Center Theatre is doing everything required to make the live performances safe for actors, patrons, volunteers and staff.
“We specifically chose this production because of the small cast size,” Myers stated, “It made it easier to keep actors safe during rehearsals and performances. We will have a maximum of 50 people in the audience per show, and attendees will be required to wear masks while they are not eating concessions in the auditorium. The Theatre will also be thoroughly cleaning the facility between performances, ensuring outside air is circulated through the auditorium at all times, separating groups in the auditorium to enforce distancing, and other measures to make sure everyone feels safe attending the show.”
However, the performances will also be streamed live on-line for people who want to see the show, but do not want to attend a live in-person event.
The show will be performed from Nov. 6-14 and tickets for the live show or livestream are both available at Center Theatre.org. The Center Theatre is 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to make arts, education and entertainment accessible to our rural communities to engage and inspire.
Whether it is desperation to play or a contrary commitment to “keep the music playing,” the Harold J Crosby band in Dexter, Maine made it happen during the summer with social distancing, separated audiences, special traffic patterns, and a pop up portable facility. Helping to have everyone hear the conductor at 30 feet away, environmental noise like fire trucks and ambulances and motor cycles, were the Retekess transmitter and receiver sets. Each player had a wireless ear piece tuned to the conductors transmitter allowing soft voice directions even during playing. A success for this unusual summer of limited performances in very rural Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties in Maine.
Preparing for the indoor season was a challenge achieved inspired by our 2019 Band Camp conductor Dr. Sam Woodard of the US Army ceremonial band and their method of rehearsal by Plexiglas. While we weren't as endowed as they are, our solution is simple and affordable.
Three panels of 4 mil crystal clear vinyl sheathing hinged together to make a 3 sided aerosol protection barrier around each player at least 6 feet apart seems to be the answer. The exclusive restricted use of a town hall building in Dexter on the 1900 basketball sized court makes it possible to set up once and leave it. Cross ventilation large window fans provides continuous circulation as recommended by the Maine CDC keeps the air clean along with bell covers on each wind instrument. Face coverings in the form of shields or masks are used by all when not playing.
We keep the music playing, prepare repertoire for the next season's events and keep well protected until other medical solutions are available.
More photos, our Band Camp, Covid Cove--plans, costs, and supply sources are provided upon request from https://www.cuthbert-foundation.org/, crosbycommunityband@gmail.comDEXTER/DOVER-FOXCROFT – As much as COVID-19 has complicated everyone’s lives, it has boosted business for certain niche industries, including local farmers markets.
“Sales have been up from last year and we’ve seen a bunch of new customers,” said Mary Hoskins, owner of Cedar Hill Farm, about the Dexter Farmers Market. “I’m pretty sure some of it is pandemic related because we have had comments from customers about enjoying shopping outside and helping local farmers. We moved to a more visible location this year so that has had an effect, also.”
Gretchen Huettner, owner of Farm in the Woods, said that the Dover Cove Farmers Market is also doing well this spring. “We have been extremely surprised at the outpouring of support from our customers, and the number of new customers we have been seeing,” she said.
The number of people coming through the market has increased significantly, and for many vendors, sales figures are also up this season. “We had one vendor who said their opening day sales were more than double a typical Memorial Day weekend, and many of our vendors don’t have much remaining product at the end of the day,” Huettner said. “We are optimistic that this will bode for a wonderful summer for customers and vendors alike. Many of our vendors are making plans to increase their production and product offerings, as well. For those that grow produce, the season is off to a complicated start, but we are optimistic that by early July things will be looking really good.”
Farmers markets were deemed essential able to open as seemed prudent throughout the pandemic. The Dexter Farmers Market runs summers only and has seen no changes to its schedule. This year, the market moved to 445 Corinna Road, just past Brooks Tire. There are two regular vendors, “but several others attend as guests and we are always looking for more farmers to join us,” Hoskins said. The market runs from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through mid-October.
The Dover Cove Farmers Market runs from Memorial Day weekend through the last Saturday in October on South Street near the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The weekend before Thanksgiving, the market reopens in the basement of the Thompson Free Library every other Saturday through the end of April – usually.
“We decided in March to close the winter market six weeks early,” Huettner said. “When we were faced with the unknown, it just seemed to make sense. Our market for March 14 was poorly attended, and we had four vendors for the winter, and every household had at-risk members.”
Both markets are taking steps to keep vendors and customers safe. “Vendors wear masks and we provide plenty of hand sanitizer and alcohol sprays for wiping surfaces,” said Hoskins. “We want our customers to feel comfortable and welcome.”
At Dover Cove, efforts to create more spacing were implemented. “Having traffic cones has helped us with distancing, and I feel like the parking lot is safer as a result, because cars seem to be slower pulling in and parking, so that is an added bonus,” said Huettner. Dover Cove customers may also preorder through individual vendors or the market’s Facebook page for minimal-contact shopping.
“We discussed many different things, but decided that supplying hand sanitizer and ample spacing for everyone would be some of the wisest precautions we could take,” she said. “Many of the vendors wear masks when they deem it necessary when dealing with customers, but we have respected everyone’s personal situations. We heavily discussed many of the other suggested precautions and decided that we really needed to leave it up to vendors on how they wanted to deal with their product and money.”
Their position, Huettner said, is that, “we are outside and most of us have tables in our booths that help us maintain distance between customers. According to the University of Maine and other sources COVID-19 has no links to or evidence of being spread through food so we felt comfortable with our choices for the market.”
On June 13, Dover Cove offered free masks to customers, courtesy of a “friend of the market” who sewed and donated an entire box of face coverings. “We were so thankful and happy to see people utilizing the resource if they needed them,” Huettner said. “This is a community effort and we are thankful for all of the support we have seen this season. We all love the market and in deciding what to do this summer, we didn’t want to lose that precious sense of community.”
Both the Dexter and Dover markets participate in the Maine Harvest Bucks program, which allows customers paying with EBT to collect matching “bucks” to spend on fruits and vegetables. Dover Cove has a few Frequent Buyer Cards left, which award shoppers $10 in Harvest Bucks after shopping at the market four times. Huettner said several vendors also accept WIC vouchers.
There are five regular vendors at Dover Cove. “Our vendor numbers for the summer are actually up,” said Huettner. “We have several guest vendors that have participated because their normal marketing options are closed. We had My Three Leaves join us late last year, and Maison de Chevre is new this season. We are trying to figure out how we can safely accommodate more vendors if they would like to participate, which is a wonderful problem to have!”
Dover Cove was given a break on fees this year due to the pandemic. “We have talked about moving because the $350 vendor’s fee from the town has been difficult to cover most years due to the fluctuations in vendor numbers and our other expenses,” said Huettner. “Our budget is pretty bare bones and many times vendors cover additional things because of that. This year we have been so grateful to the town for only charging us half of the normal fee, and we are hoping that if things can continue on the current trajectory it will mean that we are much more financially stable going into the future. It was a simple act of kindness on the town’s behalf, when we faced the unknown, that is making a huge difference for us this year.”
Dover Cove is missing the 4H Passport Program, which has been put on hold this summer. “We are hopeful that families will still come,” Huettner said. The program offered Veggie Vouchers to kids, sponsored by the Piscataquis Regional Food Center, the Piscataquis County Cooperative Extension Executive Committee, and Farm in the Woods. Organizers are trying to figure out how to offer Veggie Vouchers as a Dover Cove program this year, “in hopes that it will help us maintain the participation of local families at market. We all love to see the kids and the thought that goes into their shopping,” she said.DOVER-FOXCROFT – Despite safety guidelines that have made listing and showing properties more challenging in recent months, the real estate market is doing well, according to Dorothea “Dolly” Perkins. In May, the Realty of Maine broker was recognized for the highest dollar volume for an individual agent, closing on nearly $1 million for the month.
Perkins said that she loves dealing with farms, but another passion is, “helping people get their first home, or get a home after financial difficulty is really where my heart is. It’s absolutely life changing, not just for the buyer, but for their whole family. Many years ago, we experienced a devastating financial situation due to medical events. We even gave the home we lived in back to the bank, and lived in an apartment over the shop where we had a computer business. We did not even have enough money to go bankrupt. Eventually, with good advice and guidance from some people who knew more about this than me, we were able to recover, and I was able to take that experience and show people how to change their future. I did not know it at that time, but it seems that God allowed us to go through that and gave us the tools we needed to get through, and then be able to show others how to, as well. It’s truly a humbling thing, and it’s ultimately been a blessing, because there truly is hope and a way. It can be a long process, but so worth it!”
Perkins was able to work though the mandated shutdown, but things have been different. “We closed our small Dover-Foxcroft office for about a month and I worked from home,” she said. “When it became clear that we would be able to reopen, I leased a larger space – three times the size – so we could have meetings and closings and still be able to socially distance.” The office is now located at 64 East Main St., Suite G (the former H&R Block office).
Perkins and business partner Xiaorong Horton, and Perkins’ son, Lliam Perkins, also a licensed agent, have room to spread out, and take turns providing office coverage when others are out for showings or closings. “We keep sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, masks for anyone who wants or needs them, and we are able to now work in a larger, better space and still remain as safe as possible,” Perkins said. “We want our clients and customers to be comfortable.”
Realtors were able to show houses, but with some restrictions. Going out to show numerous homes to clients at one time was not an option. “We had to send the clients all the photos and data, make sure they were fully qualified, and then we had to go and do a ‘video tour’ of the properties they were interested in. They could then choose only one to visit in person. If they wanted to see another, we would then have to video that property, and schedule that showing for another time.”
Potential buyers were not allowed to bring friends, extended family, etc. Everyone had to wear a mask, gloves and shoe covers. “We had to provide them,” Perkins said. “I actually ended up buying over 1,750 pairs of shoe covers via my existing ULINE account. We were able to order when no one else was, because they were not accepting new accounts. We delivered many of them to our main office in Bangor, and they were able to help keep showings and marketing going for the area. Our staff in Bangor distributed shoe coverings to those who needed them, to help keep the local real estate market up and running.”
Another change is that much of the paperwork is done electronically, with digital signatures, to provide zero-touch safety. Agents go over disclosure forms by telephone while both parties view the documents on their respective computer screens. Two benefits are that nobody ends up trying to decipher handwritten notes, and that clients can keep the documents on the computer for future reference rather than being handed a “big stack of paperwork” to file.
“For the most part now, we are back to showing, with several restrictions still in place, but it is beginning to feel almost like the ‘old times.’
Perkins said she is not as familiar with the larger markets in southern Maine where the majority of real estate sales are located, “but in this area, people want to be in the country, and in small villages. They want that ‘Mayberry’ experience. We have so much to offer here – a safe place with low crime, reasonable home prices, an easy commute to Bangor and the services and shopping that they have, as well as job opportunities in ways that we never really imagined before. Working from home with the new fiber Internet has been life-changing and has allowed people to move to areas that they never would have been able to before.”
Perkins said that today’s low interest rates are also very good for first-time home buyers. “So, for us, sales are up,” she said on June 24. “We closed 11 transaction sides in our office in the last two weeks, so that is pretty good!”
The award-winning realtor credits good quality presentation, online marketing, and having PPE at the ready for her success. “We carry gloves, masks and sanitizer in our vehicles so that we are ready to show now that we can again,” Perkins said. “We do the best job we can by telling our sellers to leave all the lights on and interior doors open, so we don’t’ have to touch those surfaces. We do what we can to keep their homes as clean and safe as possible and to be respectful of their home.”
Despite robust sales in May and June, there are still people waiting. “I am hoping that the travel restrictions are lifted soon, and we can safely get those families a place where they can grow and flourish,” said Perkins. “We need the jobs and stability that they can bring to our area, and they crave the lifestyle we have here. Fortunately, I am not seeing a lot of the typical ‘out-of-stater’ cliché with the ones coming in. The people who want to move here seem to want to embrace the lifestyle, and do not want to re-create the one they are leaving.”
The biggest thing Perkins hopes people will understand about her business is that, “I am not here to ‘sell’ someone on the idea of buying or selling a home. By the time someone calls me to buy a place, or even sell, they have already decided that they want to do this. It’s a new chapter of life for them, and I am so honored when I get chosen to help!”
Perkins may be reached at 279-0571 or dolly@dollyperkins.com.
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.