Hundreds of people rolled up their sleeves today to get a free flu shot in Farmington.

For the 7th year, NBC and Telemundo Connecticut teamed up with ProHealth Physicians for a free, drive-thru flu shot clinic. 

The clinic started at 10 this morning, but people started lining up as early as eight in the morning to get their shots.

“I do it for others because I do not want to give anyone else the flu,” said Marguerite Rose of West Hartford as she waited online for her flu shot. “We figured we could zip in and get our flu shot and that’s why we’re here,” she said.

“Very convenient right around the corner from the house, no hassles,” said Debi Koch of New Britian, who also was waiting online bright and early. “It’s an in-and-out shop,” she said.

ProHealth Physicians had 350 flu vaccines and 100 high dose shots to give out to the community for free and with no insurance needed.

“It’s the safest way to keep yourself safe for the winter,” said Dr. Stephen Traub, CEO of ProHealth Physicians.

The CDC says the flu can spread year-round, but its spreading spikes from December through February.

That’s why experts recommend now is the time to get your shot. 

“The flu shot gets updated every year based on predictions of what strains of influenza are going to be,” said Traub.

The shots can cause minor aches and other symptoms, but doctors say that’s just the vaccine building your immunity. They say the flu shot will not give you flu, and any minor side effects from the vaccine are better than the actual virus. 

“It’s about 7 days probably of misery fevers aches and chills and missed work if you don’t have the flu shot,” said Dr. Joy Hong of ProHealth Physicians.

People over the age of 65 or those who have preexisting conditions are especially encouraged to get the shot too.

A makers market featuring Maine artisans who specialize in upcycled goods, slow fashion and/or found art will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the American Legion in Damariscotta. 

Drawing inspiration from the newly formed Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus, co-founded by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the market aims to raise awareness about fast fashion’s impact on the climate crisis. The caucus promotes reducing, repairing, rewearing, and recycling as sustainable alternatives and supports the return of USA-based textile and apparel production.

The market will be co-located with the “Rally for Democracy” sponsored by the Lincoln County Democratic Committee. The rally is a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) party with live music, food and drinks for purchase, activities for all ages, and opportunities to meet Democratic candidates and gather voter information. Pingree will attend the rally and make remarks.

Four makers will be selling jewelry, art, children’s clothing, one-of-a-kind fashions and accessories at the mini market.

Based on Deer Isle, Maureen Farr’s Mozelle Fine Jewelry has evolved from found object jewelry to creating pieces of silver, colorful enamels on copper and repurposed steel. Attendees may pre-order at https://www.mozellefinejewelry.com/shop-mozelle for pickup at the event by selecting that option at checkout.

From her studio in Bath, Kharris B creates assemblage art. “Old photos, recipe cards and letters, discarded old books, camera lenses beyond repair, retired clocks and tools… there are treasures everywhere if you are looking for them…” explains her website, https://www.kharrisb.com/. Contact her to request that specific pieces be brought to the market for in-person viewing. 

Kate and Nick Bergmann of Peace House Studio in Bath create children’s clothing made in the USA from durable, soft organic cotton. When items are worn or outgrown, they can be returned to the Patches Project for store credit. The Bergmanns state,“We believe that clothes belong on people, not in landfills.” Learn more at https://www.peacehousestudio.com/.

Callie Rhodin creates one-of-a-kind upcycled, hand painted and well-loved fashion, accessories and art under her selkie silhouettes brand based in Portland. Rhodin’s “art comes from a part of you that is entirely magic” as described on her website, https://selkiesilhouettes.shop.

For more information, visit https://lincolncountydemocrats.com/rally.

We now know the identity of the clever treasure hunter who tracked down a gold statue worth more than $25,000 — though whether he gets to keep tens of thousands more in bounty money apparently remains up in the air.

Dan Leonard, a meteorologist in Andover, Massachusetts, was identified as the winner, not by the founders of Project Skydrop, but by NBC affiliate News Center Maine, which actually introduced Leonard and the people whose puzzle he solved in the woods of Wendell State Forest.

Leonard described the moment to founders Jason Rohrer and Tom Bailey like this: “I’m kind of in disbelief that this is happening. I see the camera so expertly hidden in that stump, and I think, ‘Oh my god.’”

The digital treasure hunt for the gold statue whose value was appraised at $26,536.25 sparked widespread speculation from puzzle enthusiasts and more. The founders created clues to make the search hard, but not too hard, specifying an area where the 10-ounce, 24-karat gold statue could be that shrank every day. People could also pay $20 to receive a daily clue, which helped fund the bounty.

People are searching for a golden statue worth more than $25,000.

The circle was centered roughly on Greenfield, Massachusetts, north along the Connecticut River from Springfield.

The person who tracked the statue down was seen on cameras grabbing the puzzle off the floor, but the Skydrop organizers didn’t hear from him until News Center Maine reached out. Leonard explained that he narrowed down where the treasure could be based on the temperature recorded in the camera, plus the cloud cover and plant life seen in the stream.

When they did meet, Leonard learned there was a catch to claiming the bounty, as News Center Maine reported: the prize could only be accessed by solving clues written onto the trophy itself, which technically meant that anyone with access to the statue could crack the code and claim the money.

Leonard was surprised, but not particularly bothered, saying, “Let’s say I don’t get it: I still had a really good time and got a treasure out of it.”

Rohrer shared more about the circumstances around Leonard’s victory in a message to the game’s official Discord server, a social media chat site where players were able to get more information about what happened.

The winner’s name is Dan Leonard. A news channel up in Maine figured out who he was, based on their meteorologist connections. They connected us with him, and we got to talk to him on camera yesterday. That encounter should appear on the news soon.

Dan joined Project Skydrop for $20 on October 25. He explained how he solved it. Along with weather patterns, temperature data, and cloud cover stuff from the trail cameras, he also depended heavily on the aerial image clues. He said it would have been impossible to solve if:

1. He had no aerial clues
   or
2. We had cropped the temperature sensor data off the camera images.

The aerial clues helped him in two ways. First, they showed him that the treasure was in a large, deciduous beech grove, and there aren’t many large beech groves in the Erving area. Second, they showed him a “map” of what the scene looked like around the treasure (the logs, etc.)

He never had an exact GPS coordinate figured out. He was simply walking the (few) large beech groves in Wendell, looking for the distinctive logs that he saw in the clues.

The temperature sensor data and weather patterns just helped him narrow down the area.

Also, he actually stared right at the treasure and didn’t see it. He walked away, thinking he had found the wrong logs. He was about to leave (he walked off-camera for 1 min and 30 seconds), and then he came back to take one more look, because those logs looked like such a close match. Then, staring at the leaves in the spot he had already checked, he suddenly saw that the treasure was there after all. He said it was almost impossible to see.