People from Rumford and surrounding towns gather Saturday on Morse Bridge in Rumford to support democracy and to protest Trump administration policies on heath care and veterans issues. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

RUMFORD — Some 85 people gathered along both sides of Morse Bridge for about an hour Saturday, displaying signs protesting policies of the Trump administration and supporting democracy.

Residents from Rumford and surrounding towns gathered at the information center in the parking lot by the bridge with their messages. One person had a sign on a dog.

Organizer Barbara Arsenault of Mexico, former chairwoman of the Oxford County Maine Democrats, had a personal interest.

“My daughter just lost her job through the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts and I wanted to do something about it,” she said. “She was a subcontractor with the National Institute of Health.”

She said she also has a concern about the priority of the health research from NIH, and asked that the explanation for the cuts be put “into plain English to distribute to the public.”

Arsenault said, “This is also a message for people to unite and connect with each other, to express their feelings about various issues as well, and to be heard by the public. You don’t know until you try, so we’re trying.”