The water was likely still dripping through the ceiling at the Damariscotta Hannaford’s before rumors were flying around town.
Initial reports received here at The Lincoln County News office outlined a collapsed ceiling with people uninjured. The truth of the matter was far less dramatic. After workers discovered a problem, store officials determined there was a public safety issue and decided to close the store until the situation could be stabilized.
The episode of the leaky roof is another reminder of how living in a small town is sometimes a lot like the old schoolyard telephone game, where you sit in a circle, whisper a phrase in your neighbor’s ear and wait for the phrase to come back to you to find out how badly it’s been garbled.
Maybe local store employees could have been more forthcoming with the people they turned away, but as a small cog in an international machine, Hannaford’s officials were following company protocol by referring questions to an official Hannaford spokesman in Scarborough.
We would like to think that if Yellowfront Grocery, just down the road, or perhaps Reilly’s Market in New Harbor, or Damariscotta Hardware, Louis Doe’s, Renys, King Eider’s and so on, had such an unfortunate issue, the respective owners would have been outside greeting their customers with some sort of explanation and a rueful apology for the inconvenience.
There is truly something to be said for locally owned business.
That said, hats off to Hannaford in this case for taking immediate steps to protect the public, and admittedly limit their own liability, by taking prompt action to correct the problem.
