Gary Dow, who has been associated with Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper as a graphic artist for 25 years, learned of the Lewiston mass shootings in a phone call from his son who lives in Lewiston, “very close to the bowling alley” where several of the shootings occurred, Dow said. Dow also used to live near it. The home he sold a year ago is five blocks from Just In Time Recreation, formerly Spare Time. Dow, now of Bradley Beach, New Jersey, said his son, who works at Lost Valley, called because he did not want him to find out about the shootings on the news and be worried.

“They’re in lockdown,” Dow said of his son and daughter-in-law and their two children. “They’re safe. He called me within a half hour of the shooting. He works at Lost Valley ... He was able to get home. He didn’t know (how he would) because the main street to get to his house is right near the bowling alley, but he was able to get home safely.”

Dow said that son and another one, who lives in the Bangor area, had each been at Just In Time earlier in the week. 

Dow was feeling “angry” Thursday about the shootings. “And I’m on the edge of my seat.” He was taking in the national news coverage, including a New York Post headline. “It says ‘Maine massacre’ right at the top.’”

Other local thoughts

When Wiscasset’s Steve Whitfield was a Lewiston school administrator, he went to then-Spare Time Recreation for a staff bowling outing and for conferences in the facility’s meeting rooms. And Schemengees Bar & Grille – where Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin also allegedly opened fire Wednesday night – is in the part of the city that was served by a school where Whitfield was principal.

Whitfield and wife of 47 years Jan had on Wednesday night’s televised debate on Maine’s Question 3 when the station started cutting in with the news and then updates and running a ticker at the bottom of the screen. “So of course then we checked the other stations, and they had preempted (their programming). And then we got online. When I heard the name of the restaurant, I didn’t recognize it, so I Googled the address, and it wasn’t that far from my school.

“We think of us as being different here in Maine, and ‘Oh, we wouldn’t let this kind of thing happen.’ But there’s just no way to prevent every situation.”

Whitfield told Wiscasset Newspaper Thursday, the city he commuted to for 35 years has traits he thinks will help it deal with, and heal from, the mass shootings. 

He said even though Lewiston is Maine’s second largest city, when he first worked there, he found it was like a big small town, “and it still almost has a small town feeling.” It has gone from its many long-term families whose parents spoke French and children knew a lot of French, to later when grandparents spoke French, parents knew a little French and their children, not much French, he said. Whitfield said subsequent immigrants to Lewiston, from Somalia and elsewhere, also have many large families and a strong community culture. He said these traits, plus Lewiston’s being a service center, with a hospital and with substantial psychological services, help in a crisis.

With him a retired educator who served in Wiscasset and then Lewiston, and her a retired school psychologist for the Augusta schools, the Whitfields have been thinking about the hard task Maine’s schools face when reopening after the Lewiston shootings and their aftermath. “It brings to mind some of the situations we had in Augusta,” such as a child’s suicide or a car crash that impacted families, Jan Whitfield said. School counselors would work on a plan, and have a coordinator, so that, when school reopened, “if there were any concerns that the teachers saw,” those students could talk with someone, one on one, “so that we could listen to them and help them deal with their concerns, and their questions ... and if there needed to be any more interventions ... or if we needed to contact a parent to let them know of concerns that we had, that worked quite well.”

She said what Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson described in a letter to staff and families “is definitely a good way to approach it.” Andersson wrote: “When we return to school ... staff will be prepared on how to respond if students bring up the shooting during the school day. This will be done in an age appropriate manner. Staff will not bring up (the incidents) in school; instead, they will be prepared to respond if students bring the topic up. Our goal will be to provide students with a sense of normalcy and security.”

“You don’t have to bring (the topic) up. But if you see concerns, or if the parents see concerns, it should be addressed,” Whitfield concurred. She added, if a teacher or a parent sees a child “is being particularly quiet, or acting out, they can bring it to light so (the child) can be offered the opportunity to sit down with a counselor. I think it’s important for school staff to try to be extra aware in observing the children at this point, to try to pick up on any concerns they may have and ask if they do want to sit down with a guidance counselor; and for the parents, too, if they have specific concerns, to let the school know, so that everyone can work as a team, to support the students. I think that’s real important.”

With all the discussions of the Lewiston incidents on social media, Jan Whitfield added, “Students are going to be picking up things (from it) that could negatively affect their emotional stability at this point,” including incorrect information which “could cause undue alarm ... And once the fear is there, and they pass it on to friends, and it could get them really upset, especially younger ones, unnecessarily.” She reiterated for parents to be extra aware of what students are viewing and let their school know of any concerns.

Friday, Oct. 27, Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce released a statement from Board Chair Nancy Kennedy offering “sympathy to all who are affected by this terrible, heartbreaking event.”

The message continued, “Here in Maine we are fortunate to have people so selflessly dedicated to protect, serve, and provide care for us and I am grateful to them for the many ways they have shown up for the victims of this tragedy, their families and friends, and to our communities to keep us safe, and to help us move forward. We are thankful to you all. In times like these it can be important to know that we are here for one another to help process the violence of this scale that has hit so close to home. May we be able to lean into our community, to reach out for support to each other where it is needed and to try to be there if called on to be a listening ear. And above all else, please stay safe and keep our neighbors and friends in Lewiston in your thoughts.”

And Thursday, Oct. 26, Alna selectmen told residents via email,