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I have followed media coverage of the Lewiston shootings from the outset. Many names of decent people, both living and dead, have been mentioned. The best of human nature seems to have triumphed, which makes me, a native Mainer, very proud.
Worthy of praise are two people whose faces many saw at the daily press briefings from Lewiston, but whose names may be less familiar. One is Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck, who conducted himself with restraint and dignity. Although some reporters’ questions may not have been answered to their liking, he never lost his temper and shut down the sessions.
The second name is Regan Thibodeau, an American Sign Language interpreter. She stood at the side of Sauschuck, Gov. Janet Mills and other speakers, working to capture every word for Maine’s deaf community. Her friend, fellow ASL interpreter Joshua Seal, was among the 18 victims of the Oct. 25 shootings.
Finally, the residents of Bowdoin, normally a quiet town of about 3,100, deserve a medal for all they have been through in the past six months. As if April’s quadruple homicide was not enough, they had to endure a second caravan of media and curious onlookers, a handful of whom behaved badly, who were drawn to the home of the shooter Robert R. Card II. Hopefully, the next six months will be quieter for this historic Maine community.
Richard R. Shaw
Bangor