The Week in Photos: Dec. 16-22, 2023

Lisa Pepin spends time with her son, Cullen, and dog, Butter, Dec. 20 at the American Red Cross emergency shelter in Lewiston. Pepin arrived at her home on Lincoln Street at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and was told she and her son needed to evacuate by 5 p.m. due to the rising Androscoggin River. The American Red Cross and the Androscoggin County Humane Society joined together to allow pets to also stay at the shelter inside the Ramada Inn Conference Center. Jennifer Costa said about 38 people, seven cats and two dogs stayed at the shelter Tuesday night. “We will be here as long as we are needed,” said Costa. “We are here to support the community as long as they need it.” Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Marcel Morin, second from left, hangs on to his grandson, Swindon Morin, as he and his wife and grandchildren skate around the rink on Dec. 17 at the Colisee in Lewiston during the annual “Skate with Santa Public Skating” event. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Katrina Ladd holds back tears as she and her husband, Ben, go through soaking wet photos on Dec. 20 at their apartment in Farmington. They left Monday with their two cats to stay with friends and came back yesterday to find that water from Temple Stream had risen to their windows from the Sandy River, ruining just about everything they own. “We found out that insurance will cover damage to our vehicle, but won’t cover damage to our apartment.” Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

City workers, business owners, veterans and volunteers begin picking up memorial stones, benches and other items Friday mornig that were damaged by Monday’s flooding at Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston. L&A Veterans Council Chairman Jerry DeWitt believes most if not all of the items have been located. Some are damaged or broken while others were set back in place. “This is catastrophic but we have a lot of people stepping up to help pick up the pieces and rebuild.” DeWitt said. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Shukri Abdirahman, in purple vest, co-director of Maine Youth Power, leads a chant on Dec. 16 at Kennedy Park in Lewiston. About 50 people showed up to the rally to protest the bombing of the Gaza Strip by Israel. “I want our country to do a better job making sure justice is served and stop supporting the killing of innocent people and the continued genocide of the Palestinian people,” Abdirahman says. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Teresa Pelletier and her 16-year-old daughter, Baronica, pack their car Dec. 19 as they evacuate their apartment on River Street in Lewiston. The city issued a flood evacuation order for parts of Lewiston. “We will figure out what to do, but honestly, I have no idea,” Pelletier said about where she and her four children will go. The city opened a shelter for Lewiston and Auburn residents and their pets at the Ramada hotel at 490 Pleasant St. in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Bob Raymond uses a garbage can to empty water out of his basement Tuesday in Auburn. Raymond’s wife, Sarah, said three generations of her family have lived in the home on North River Road and she has not seen the Androscoggin River rise to the level that it did since the flood of 1987. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal