PAGE 6 • SECTION 2 Mount Desert Islander THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 Commentary Editorials Letters Beautiful day mittee to recommend cancel- To the Editor: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY ing spring cruise ship arrivals Prepare and pull together Th ese days are so worri- now. Th at is the responsible some that I wanted to share thing to do. something nice, and hearten- The Mount Desert Islander welcomes letters to the editor. Jacqueline Levesque his is a scary time for many in larly pertinent now, to have a couple of ingly normal, about our com- Letters of no more than 350 words, and 500 words for Bar Harbor our community. People are afraid. weeks’ worth of essentials in the pantry munity. Viewpoint submissions, are encouraged. All letters must Th ey are afraid of the coronavirus and medicine cabinet just in case. But Social distancing or T Saturday was a beautiful include the writer’s name, town of residence and a telephone and what it could mean for their families, unnecessary hoarding is not fair to the day with intimations of spring. personal spacing? friends, colleagues and neighbors. Th ey next shopper. Many people can’t aff ord Walking down our quiet side number, for confi rmation purposes only. Opinion pieces may To the Editor: also are afraid of the collateral damage. to buy large quantities at a time. When road, I saw two strange things. be edited for slander, libel, clarity or length. Anonymous It’s like a hurricane or An out of state car and, a few letters, letters that serve exclusively as a thank-you, and those Nor’easter but you can’t see it Local schools have shut down, leaving they do head to the store for necessities, feet ahead, a large plastic bag or forecast it! Th e good news? parents who must work scrambling for they need to fi nd them. endorsing commercial products or establishments will not be straining with its load of cans accepted. The Islander will not publish election letters in the No power outages or property childcare. Small local businesses, espe- Th e coronavirus — and fear of it — damage. However, there will be and bottles. edition immediately prior to that election. Letters should be cially restaurants, are hurting. Older and has already had serious fi nancial impli- As I stood perplexed, an- consequences. We all need to immune-compromised Mainers are feel- cations with more to come. Many up- other vehicle approached and sent to [email protected] and must be received by follow the Centers for Disease ing isolated and at risk. coming events in Hancock County and stopped. Here were neighbors Monday at 9 a.m. to be considered for the week’s issue. Control recommendations to Fear can be a great motivator, but around Maine have been called off or from elsewhere on the island, get through this. who come to stroll with their I don’t really like the term sometimes it leads us to do irrational postponed. Bicentennial plans for this little dogs. Harbingers of spring time, which could last weeks or reassured the group that they “social distancing.” Although I things. Emptying the store shelves of past Sunday, the state’s offi cial 200th an- themselves. Th ey had spent the months. were not counting on sending totally agree with the concept, toilet paper, diapers, baby formula and niversary, were nixed. Th e Great Harbor morning gathering up trash However, I was disheart- the sick to MDI Hospital, but I don’t believe we should “so- other necessities in order to amass huge Shoot Out, which had games scheduled others had tossed on their less ened to hear the Committee when pressed, did admit that a cially” wall ourselves off from stockpiles for personal use defi es logic on Mount Desert Island as well as in Ells- considered passings through. Chair say “We cannot cancel critical patient could be taken the world. “What?,” you say! and standards of basic decency. Th ere’s worth and Trenton over the weekend, And they knew the car was that cruise ship season. Th at is not to our tiny local hospital. “Yes!,” I say! In these uncertain a real diff erence between being prepared was cancelled late last week. So too were of visitors who could not resist responsible.” While the federal Th e chair of the commit- times we should stay “social- stopping for a stroll themselves. government and private enti- tee and the cruise ship repre- ly” connected. Stay informed and panicking. the teams’ hotel reservations and dinner So we nodded to giving ties across the country and state sentative suggested that 5,000 about the current situation via Panic can be as dangerous as any virus plans. Th is at a time of year when local elbow bumps and went our (including cruise ship compa- people on a cruise ship in a television or internet. Choose and spread even faster. Coronavirus is a establishments could use a cash infusion. ways. Th ankful for each other’s nies) are canceling events, clos- confi ned space being released responsible sources, like CDC. legitimate threat and how we rise to meet Event organizers are prudent to heed company, our community, and ing schools and instituting tele- into our community was no gov. But, equally important, that threat will test the effi cacy of our na- the advice of public health offi cials and amidst the chaos, a beautiful work, the committee discussed diff erent and heck maybe even we should stay “socially” con- tion’s infectious disease prevention mea- postpone large indoor gatherings, but it island day. how the cruise ship industry safer than the many tourists nected with those we can’t con- sures and the capacity of our health care comes at a cost. Cheers. Keep safe and keep was taking measures to pre- arriving by car as the cruise nect with physically. FaceTime, strong. vent the spread of coronavirus ship patients (whoops I mean Facebook, Instagram, texting system. It also will test citizens’ willing- So while it may not be the right time to Annlinn Kruger in our community when they passengers) are screened more or just plain old-fashioned ness to comply with recommended pre- gather together, it is the right time to pull Bar Harbor land on our shore. Th ey spoke frequently. phone calls are so important cautions against the disease. together. To fi nd ways to support aff ect- of multiple screening of pas- One only has to look at right now, especially when Public offi cials at all levels must be pro- ed businesses and nonprofi ts. To check Cruise ships sengers, onboard testing and CDC recommendations re- the most vulnerable among us active and transparent about their eff orts in with friends and neighbors who might To the Editor: even onboard virus-detector garding cruises to understand need it the most. to contain and combat the spread, basing be at particular risk. To leave a little toilet I attended the Cruise Ship machines. Th ey spoke of taking the danger of confi ning large I’m trying to think of in- their decisions on the best available sci- paper on the shelf for the next guy. Committee Meeting Th urs- temperatures and evaluating numbers of people in one novative ways to do that. My day March 12 to learn more anyone with a temp of 100.4 space. CDC recommends trav- therapy dog, Miss Scarlett, and ence. Citizens must do their part to wash We have an obligation to look out for about how the (soon to arrive) (what would they do with a elers, particularly those with I will miss our weekly visits their hands and stay home when they’re each other — not just ourselves. And to cruise ships and the coronavi- passenger with a temperature underlying health issues, defer with Birch Bay residents. But sick. It’s always a good idea, and particu- remember, this too shall pass. rus threat will be addressed. I of 100?). All of this will not all cruise ship travel world- there is no reason why we can’t applaud the recommendation mitigate our risk or the impact wide. Cruise ship passengers see them and talk to them. We to form a coronavirus com- on our limited resources, but are at increased risk of person- could see them through their mittee that can address the temporarily banning cruise to-person spread of infectious window and talk to them on Sunshine week many issues our community ships will. diseases, including COVID-19. the phone. Weather has been may face during this stressful Th e Coast Guard offi cial I urge the Cruise Ship Com- conducive to that. Go outside, aine’s Freedom of Access Act, shine a light at all levels of government. which became law in 1975, Th is year, March 15-21 has been M cites that “public proceedings deemed Sunshine Week and with it exist to aid in the conduct of the peo- comes a chance to highlight Maine’s ple’s business.” Each week the pages of right to know laws, including the Free- the Mount Desert Islander (Ellsworth dom of Access Act. American) are fi lled with stories that Maine’s FOAA laws are for everyone State of Maine stem from public proceedings. Th is — not just journalists. All governmen- paper, and its reporters, know that the tal proceedings, with narrow excep- public relies on us for tions, are open to the complete, factual, and public and the public has Freshman legislators seeking re-election comprehensive news Everything looks the right to be included coverage and to deliver in most steps of the deci- that we rely, in part, on better in sunshine sion being made around as primary season approaches two-way communica- them.