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Friday, March 11, 2022
Volume 18 • Issue No. 10
Update on School & Child Care Masking Recommendations STATEWIDE The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Maine Department of Education (MDE) advised Maine school units and child care providers that, effective March 9, universal masking is no longer a statewide recommendation in these settings but is optional. Consistent with Maine’s tradition of local control, local school boards have the authority to determine requirements in their respective schools. This change is dependent on continued stability in COVID-
19 trends in Maine, including reduced hospitalizations, reduced virus levels in wastewater, and reduced school outbreaks and absenteeism, among other quantitative and qualitative factors. It
also comes as Maine and the rest of the nation enter a new phase of the pandemic, where vaccines, therapeutics, and other interventions highly effective at preventing serious illness and death are widely available. Maine is one of the most highly vaccinated states in the nation, and the Administration continues to strongly recommend that all people get vaccinated and boosted. Maine has not had an indoor masking requirement for any setting, including schools or child care facilities, since June 2021 – instead recommend-
ing that these locations follow COVID-19 guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC). That guidance was updated on February 25. Previously, the U.S. CDC recommended that all schools and child care facilities implement universal masking and required masking on school buses. The Maine CDC has completed its assessment of the U.S. CDC’s revised guidance, as directed by Governor Mills. While it welcomes the simplified recommendations, which take into
account important metrics such as hospitalizations, the Maine CDC encourages people, municipalities, schools, businesses, and other entities to consider the new guidance as one piece of information in a holistic approach to deciding whether masking is appropriate for their setting or themselves based on their risk factors. “At this point in the pandemic, the focus of State government remains on maintaining the critical functions of evSee MASKS page 19...
Berwick Solar Hosts Berwick Academy Students BERWICK & SOUTH BERWICK Berwick Solar, a community solar project located on Route 236 in Berwick, recently hosted students from South Berwick’s Berwick Academy (BA) to tour the approximately 15-acre site. Through the walking tour of the operating project, which came online in May 2021, students learned about solar energy generation, the environmental benefits produced by the project, and the State of Maine’s programs to reduce carbon emissions from electric generation. Berwick
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Solar was developed by Energy Management, Inc. (EMI). Sarah Jeanne Shimer (on right in photo), the BA teacher leading the students, commented that “the Berwick Academy Global Environmental Sustainability Class had the opportunity to tour the Berwick Solar Project to learn about the process for building solar arrays and Maine’s focus on renewable energy. Many of the students were surprised to learn that this
YORK COUNTY Applications are now available for University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s 2022 Kids Can Grow youth gardening program in York County. Children ages 7-12 will learn how to grow vegetables, f lowers and herbs, and build and maintain their own raised-bed garden at home. Teaching sessions are held monthly on Saturdays, April 30 through September 24, at Sanford Community Garden, 246 Blanchard Road, Sanford. UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers work with participants throughout the gardening season in teaching gardens. The children then work
Library News
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Pets
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Home & Business 24-26
See SOLAR page 8...
Kids Can Grow Program Accepting Applications
Arts & Entertainment 9-11 Calendar of Events
site was actually so close to their school, and they were shocked by the equivalent carbon offsets it produces each year. The EMI team did a great job making us feel welcome on-site and explaining the development, construction, and operations of Berwick Solar. Overall, the field trip was a great chance for students to see concepts they’ve been learning in the classroom in action in our
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on their home gardens with help from their Master Gardener mentors. The children also learn about community service by donating produce from the teaching gardens to local food pantries and shelters. The registration fee is $25
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per child, and the application deadline is Monday, April 4. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants. For more information, to request a brochure or application, or to request a disability accommodation, call 207-3242814 or 1-800-287-1535, or email
Check out the pages on
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susan.tkacik@maine.edu. Kids Can Grow provides children with a positive first experience with gardening and growing their own food, according to UMaine Extension Professor Frank Wertheim. The hope is that this early experience will inspire in young people a life-long interest in gardening, healthy eating and further exploration of natural resources related fields. The program, which has its roots in York County and is being adapted across Maine and in other parts of the U.S., is gaining in popularity as national interest in youth gardening and local foods has grown.
Daylight savings begins at 2 a.m. on March 13