RUMFORD — Vice Chairman Jeff Sterling opened Thursday night’s selectmen meeting like the board always does — with a Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
But before he asked the audience to join the board in the pledge, he asked everyone to remain standing afterward for a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon bombing victims.
He mentioned the heartrending singing of the anthem by the Boston Bruins crowd at the Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres game Wednesday night at the TD Garden, Boston’s first major sporting event since the bombings.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” Sterling, a hockey enthusiast, said.
He urged people to watch the video of the crowd raising their voices in emotional unison after singer Rene Rancourt began the song.
“It’s sad, it’s uplifting, probably the most successful rendition of the National Anthem that I’ve ever heard,” he said. “If you get a chance and you haven’t seen it, it’s on YouTube, and you’ll be very proud to be an American.”
“I think it’s awesome,” Selectman Brad Adley said. “You’ve got to see this. It’s phenomenal. What they did was unbelievable. Unbelievable.”
Maine Chamber of Commerce director speaks for Boston
AUGUSTA — While waiting for Gov. Paul LePage to arrive at a press conference at the State House on Friday, Dana Connors, the executive director of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, offered a few impromptu comments about Boston’s recent events.
Connors gave his speech as police and FBI agents in Watertown, Mass., were on the trail of the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. Connors was there to discuss the benefits of pharmaceutical research in Maine.
“We can’t help but wonder out loud, the impact that this week has had on us,” Connor said. “As they close in to make the final capture and apprehension … the unsettling effect it’s had, and I think all of us come together, as you’ve heard across this country with a hope that there may be some light that comes out of this dark moment … and certainly our heartfelt prayers and thoughts go to all of the victims and their families in this time when they are needed the most, and know that we are there to help,” Connors said of Maine’s support to Boston and Massachussetts.
He mentioned the two states’ long ties, citing Maine’s 230-year history and connection to the “Commonwealth.”
“It’s probably not my place to say it,” Connors said. “But it’s a thought that I am sure each and every one of us is having this morning, particularly as we listen and watch the news to find out what is happening in these closing moments — I hope.”
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