A number of annual summer events have been cancelled in the past week, with organizers citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason.
The Wilton Lions Club has made a tough decision to cancel the following events: The Memorial Day Service (May 25) and The Annual Yard Sale (June 26 – June 28)
The annual reunion of the New Sharon High School alumni, scheduled for June 20, 2020, is cancelled.
In the Jay/Livermore Falls area, the Memorial Day Parade has been cancelled, as have the associated services at nearby monuments. Organizers said that the decision was made due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements and after conversations with town offices in Fayette, Jay, Livermore Falls and Livermore. Assistance is being sought to place 1,700 flags at the graves of veterans in 49 local cemeteries.
The annual Tri-Town July 3 Parade, put on by organizers in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls has also been cancelled.
Farmington’s traditional July 4 parade, organized by the Farmington Rotary, has also been cancelled. The Rotary remains active and intends to find a way to creatively engage with the community to recognize the day, Rotary spokesperson Lisa Laflin said. The Rotary’s annual June yard sale has also been postponed, with the organization hoping to host a similar event in the fall.
The Farmington Falls Fire Co. has cancelled the 2020 Annual Yard Sale and Chicken BBQ to err on the side of caution in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said Thursday. A “bigger and better celebration” is planned for 2021.
The Wilton Blueberry Festival committee already announced last week that it would be postponing the 38th iteration of the town’s August festival until 2021. Another major regional draw, the Kingfield POPS Festival held in late June, has also been postponed until the following summer.
The 62nd Phillips Old Home Days 2020 has also been cancelled. Organizers intend to hold the planned 200th birthday celebration of Maine in 2021 from Aug. 14 through Aug. 22. Similarly, this year’s Memorial Day Horse Pulls have also been cancelled.
Janet, Please pretty please allow us to have Christmas this year….??
Oh ya, that’s after the Nov election so I’m sure we’ll be back to normal,,(with NO Immune System remaining by then,,)..
We’ll all catch everything after this “protection”.
Oh ya again, Big Pharma will be making Kazillions $$ selling us the “vaccine”. (Just add it to the other mandatory drugs you guys concocted).
Sunny Daze ahead folks.
(Actually today’s rather nice so.. why am I doing this?).
It’s time to unravel this Gov mandated Mess.
Open Up Now.
Another one bites the dust
43 states are reopening this week in some capacity!!!
Enough is enough!
Private Planet – I think you’re on to something. I mean, look at the facts – the pandemics of ignorance and self-centeredness which have been going on since recorded history haven’t affected anything significant (just kidding).. And just think of the money that could be made, gazillions at least, if one were to write a book – “Pandemics for Dummies.”
Reminds me of an infamous quote – “It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” (Maurice Switzer)
Deb M, we are one of those 43 states that is opening as told in media. Also, we are one of 10 who have opened up WITHOUT following federal guidelines set forth by the White House. Everyone is saying she’s doing this for political reasons…. well she’s opening more than the White House is advising…. so you should be thankful for her opening what she feels and her team feels is right instead of keeping this even more closed. Yes this stinks but she’s looking out for us and the economy the best that she can with what is stacked against her. The sense of security you are feeling because our hospitals are not over run like other cities is thanks to theses precautions. More people should be thankful and supportive of the people around you and taking precautions instead of crying foul.
I wonder if any of the shutdown protesters have lost a loved one to Covid-19. I wonder if it would change their point of view. It would really suck if you voted for Trump and your loved one dies of the virus. Imagine living with the knowledge that you voted for the man who murdered your loved one.
Why not take advantage of the opportunity to wait and see how things work out for others. rather than jump up and down to volunteer to be the Re-Opening Guinea Pig? Maine has done really well so far, I don’t see how a cautious approach now is such a bad thing. Fortunately for us, we can sit at home in our rural area and watch to see what happens in those states that have opened up more quickly. If they are doing great in two weeks, then I’ll support a return to more normal behavior.
If you are desperate to get out, go apply for a new job! There are tons of openings. Or do you want to re-open, but you aren’t willing to work in a place that exposes you to hundreds of customers a day… you just want to be able to SHOP, the great American pastime?
‘ The alibi of tyrants is always public safety. ‘ America is sliding toward tyranny as measures have been implemented to deprive the liberties of citizens, but have no rational connection to stopping a virus. The stay at home lockdown, brilliant at first, now , not so much, violates the 14th amendment. There is always a risk government power will be abused, especially during emergencies. Remember Pearl Harbor and locking up Japanese/American citizens? Rights cannot be suspended by executive order. The government must recognize that our constitutional freedoms such as, the right to free speech, assembly and religion may not be limited unexpectedly. The 14th Amendment protects against states depriving citizens of their life, liberty, or property without due process. That is the supreme law of the land. The primary purpose of government is not to ‘keep you safe’ but to protect your liberties so you can be more independent from government handouts.. That word ‘safe’ is not about ‘science’ or ‘ the virus’ , it is about controlling you. The nine most feared words in America, ” I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.” For the first time in the history of medicine the healthy are being quarrentined. Condemnation without examination is indoctrination. Leftist controlled indoctrination deliberately withholds education that truly matters, such as American history, civics, critical thinking, personal responsibility, etc. The wholesale utilization of all major news and social media platforms provide a false, fearmongering, propagandized portrayal of the truth and events . Democratic governor Janet Mills betrays the voice of the citizens of Maine.
Intellectual laziness is no excuse to go along to get along.
Our leaders are in a very tough spot.
(A spot they volunteered for..)
No matter what they do,, someone is not ok with it.
So in that spirit,, Lets Just Ask yourselves,
WWPD? (What Would Paul Do). Lol.
Janet had all kinds of fun as our AG
Now,, as our Back Door Bully Gov. her foolishness has removed all doubt.
Only a fool approves this behavior.
Time for a change,,,already.
Help,,Paul!! (YES !).
OPEN THE STATE, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE !!
(Private Planet “”quote” for the day”.).
Another sunny day in My State.
Arnold: What does a love one dying have to do with whether or not you voted for Trump? Put yourself in his shoes….he is doing what is best for all Americans. I wonder, if we still had Obama as a president and he was making all these tough decisions, if he would be judged the way Trump is being judged??
The budgets are still going up again this year. How are we the taxpayers supposed to pay when the govt shut most businesses down?
God gave us science and the ability to reason. Free will have gotten us Donald Trump, criminal oligarchs and Russian Republican accomplices.
Which side you’re on is up to you.
If our forefathers were aware of the science of epidemiology and disease prevention then they likely would have spelled out something in the Constitution to ensure that government had the authority to put measures into place to control serious contagious diseases. However, they didn’t, so here we are with people arguing over their individual rights under the Constitution being violated when officials are only trying to protect the public. How did we get to this time where business is more important than human lives? I guess it depends on whose lives in our society we are talking about. With all of Trump’s bravado down playing the pandemic initially, and then later encouraging his devoted followers to rally against State imposed shutdowns, he sure did get all upset and worried yesterday when someone in his inner circle tested positive possibly exposing him to the disease.
Lindy,
Newsflash here just for you..
It is completely possible to deal with more than one thing at a time. Unless you’re a good partisan Democrat following the plan,, like Mills .
Rather than shutdown everything(without any thought), it is possible to THINK and shut down only risky businesses.
Thus looking out for peoples health AND allowing an economy to live.
I wouldn’t give her a failing grade but a C minus at best.
But hey Lindy,, using your logic of blaming it all on the Pres, allows me to blame Mills for Maines Failed Economy.
Which is just about to smack all the layabouts right off their couches. No money anywhere in the state to enable them to continue to hide.
Maine and Michigan seem to have a few things in common these days. None of which are good.
Oh boy….I will go out on a limb and say our forefathers saw much worse than the flu.
Officials protecting me? I don’t need that, they should protect those that can’t protect themselves such as elderly in care facilities or infants at the hospital, I don’t need or want officials or any one else protecting my family.
Yes, but not by the same people. You pick your team and they do no wrong, it’s how this works.
” The state legislature may terminate a state of public health emergency after sixty days from the date of original declaration upon finding that the occurance of illness or health condition caused by pandemic disease no longer poses a substantial risk of significant number of human fatalities or the imminent threat of such occurance has passed.”
Now we have more information and know the original projections were grossly exaggerated and wrong. Testing proves that 50% of people infected are asymptomatic, which has the effect of lowering the mortality rates to those comparable to the seasonal flu. Now it is time to end this emergency declaration.
The citizens have been without proper representation for nearly 60 days. It is time to free the least affected counties of rural Maine and return to business as usual. The vulnerable are able to quarantine themselves.
I love how people with no medical background think that if they read a few articles they know more about this than the experts at the state who have spent their lives studying these issues. Sigh. And then there is the delusional paranoia of those who think that somehow the state is out to control them. *eyes rolling* Ah well, it is comic relief in trying times.
working…. you got this right. rational. heartfelt. why is no one responding to you? politics and emotion drowning out heart and soul….you said it so well here it is again: listen up folks! (and if my elderly dad in the nursing home dies from covid its on you “open up because we hate the dems” people.
Why not take advantage of the opportunity to wait and see how things work out for others. rather than jump up and down to volunteer to be the Re-Opening Guinea Pig? Maine has done really well so far, I don’t see how a cautious approach now is such a bad thing. Fortunately for us, we can sit at home in our rural area and watch to see what happens in those states that have opened up more quickly. If they are doing great in two weeks, then I’ll support a return to more normal behavior.
If you are desperate to get out, go apply for a new job! There are tons of openings. Or do you want to re-open, but you aren’t willing to work in a place that exposes you to hundreds of customers a day… you just want to be able to SHOP, the great American pastime?
Oh the kool aid…
I have worked extra during this time. My job was deemed essential.
Old crone said it right. Especially the part about the fact if you are part of the venerable population, stay home. Your family knows who you are and they can help protect you too.
The numbers here don’t warrant cancelling the year.
Covid 19 Deaths:
United States – 78,616 (360 cases per 100,00 people – 24 deaths per 100,000 people)
Maine – 63 (102 cases per 100,000 people – 5 deaths per 100,000 people)
Talk,talk,talk,talk…….
Don’t blame me, I voted for Moody!
I’m amused how many have opinions without names on here, if janet consulted law makers vs pitching her own plan on what to do moving forward it “just might” have made the difference between a dictatorship and democracy.
To those commenters above for Trump…..
Trump gets a lot of credit for causing confusion about the epidemic. He has publicly contradicted his own top epidemiologist, his other experts, and the Federal CDC guidelines. During a serious epidemic like this one, every president before Trump, not matter what party they were from, would have ensured that the information given out by the government to the people was always consistent. This is so the people get united behind the countrywide effort to stop the epidemic. Instead, Trump’s mixed messages have managed to divide the country even over a serious disease that threatens us all. First, he said that each governor should decide the disease prevention measure for their individual states. Then he condemned the measures implemented by several Democratic governors and even encouraged people in those state to protest against them. And now, following his lead, you folks are condemning the lock down actions taken by Maine’s governor as if they are exceptional to what other states are doing. Seems that so far, the measures we’ve been following in Maine have done pretty well controlling the spread of the disease. Now those restrictions are gradually being relaxed. What is wrong with that?
You sir must be the smartest man alive, you’ve decided that people commenting have no medical background and then call two thirds of your fellow man paranoid and delusional. Your a Facebook kinda guy aren’t you….
– Made assumptions about people- Check
– insulted people- Check
Well done Mr Erb.
Wow….Really? I don’t go to nursing home, I have no reason to be in contact with your dad- I think your beef should be with the nursing home and who they let in and how they address their employees. To make everyone accountable for your dads health is what I call selfish…but carry on.
” You sir must be the smartest man alive ”
It’s about time somebody finally acknowledged that! Bravo.
And for the humorously challenged, this was sarcasm.
Pure is spot on!
Following weeks of mounting job losses amidst a worldwide pandemic, top economists in the Trump administration warned Friday that the national unemployment rate could continue its rise to the United States is the greatest country in the history of the world. “As today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates, our job market has reached America is truly a shining city upon a hill, a nation whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said as he gestured toward a graph that showed the U.S. jobless percentage climbing precipitously toward an image of Old Glory herself, which waved majestically in the wind, a halo of dazzling fireworks bursting around her stars and stripes. “This is a worrisome trajectory that may yet lead to USA! USA! USA! Our projections indicate no one can ever take away the liberty we enjoy, not so long as there are brave men and women willing to fight and die to protect it. At this rate, freedom is practically doubling overnight. We could very well see historic levels of pride dwelling in the heart of every American patriot, which makes us the strongest, bravest nation on the face of this earth. No one else even comes close. No way, no how.” Hassett concluded his statement to reporters by confirming data now showed God Bless America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.
Rose, the “we hate the dems” people didn’t dump your Dad in a nursing home. Bring him home if you’re that concerned about him.
Mr Erb ,
I love how people who don’t know me act like they do.
Keep on being “amused” and passing out your little tinfoil hats to anyone who does not swallow the “progressive” pill.
Hillary attacked us too. Great move Hill !!
You know, the problem with the “Experts” is that Augusta and Washington are full of them. Wow.
Our “educational systems” and institutes of “higher learning are full of “experts”. Hmm.
These experts only listen to themselves.
Shutting the rest of us out.
I think “not”…
Rose-
I appreciate that even a single person read my comment and agrees with me, pleasantly and without political distractions. This has become an election year issue, a partisan issue, and I’m not sure how we’re letting politics become the focus instead of common sense.
Maine has had such good fortune, due to our normal Yankee behavior (we’re not much for kissing all of our acquaintances), our cold winter weather (that kept us inside or at home more anyways), our rural towns (where you CAN go outside and not be anywhere near anyone else), and the quick actions of decision makers- from politicians at town & state levels to individual business owners. We shut down quickly and took strong personal precautions before we even had local cases. We’re doing so much better than many of the other states and regions.
I agree with the idea that our rural areas can safely relax sooner than other places, but I am in no hurry to open my own business to my normal customers- who are, one and all, a vulnerable population. I love my customers, and I want to see them next year, and the year after. I have had serious fears that this shut down, coming at the absolute busiest time of year for me, would put me out of business. I understand that many people are in the same position, and are afraid more of financial ruin than of this virus. That makes sense, it hasn’t struck close to most of us. I hope that the states that have opened do not see resurgences of sickness and death. I hope that we all feel foolish in a few months when we’re drinking beer in town, or getting back to our normal work routines, or visiting with beloved family members in assisted living. For now, though, I am siding with caution and watching to see what happens elsewhere. I just urge everyone to make their own decision based on common sense, and NOT on political grounds- no matter what side you are on.
I trust career physicians of Epidemiology and Virology, and their staff, that have been on the front lines seeing patients in the actual reality of the citizen in their ER’s and clinics. I do not have faith the ‘charts, data, models and numbers’ from the PHD’s of achedemic ivory tower administrators that have not seen a real, actual patient in 30 years and ‘advertise’ their ‘popaganda’ on the
telly-vision. Testing and tracing are only useful busy work on the front lines and among the immune compromised and those with underlying conditions. They know who they are, their doctors know who they are and their loved ones know who they are. This fearmongering hysteria is emotionally abusive behavior. Cognitive dissonance is on full display through several generations on Main Street America today. I trust my intuition because I trust my own eyes and ears, critical thinking and reality. Fear is the absence of faith. I remain unindoctrinated and unafraid. Do not let their anxiety get inside you. Keep the focus on the hotspots.
Get the government back to work. Free Maine.
Pure, I couldn’t have said it better!
@Scott Erb. It’s the same thing will all of your posts. You talk down to the rest of us because of your superior education and great knowledge in ALL subjects. I’m glad everyone doesn’t buy what someone says just because there is a DR in front of their name.
Scott Erb, someone close to me suffers from epilepsy and eye rolling occurs during a seizure. I am personally offended by your repeated insensitivity to this symptom of a chronic medical condition.