Federal shutdown creates uncertainty for Maine cancer patient struggling to stay warm

BAILEYVILLE, Maine -- Setting the thermostat at 60 degrees used to be no problem for Gerard Berry, even during harsh Maine winters. Then he got sick with stomach cancer and struggled to stay warm as he lost weight. “I used to tell the kids, ‘Put a sweatshirt on.’ But when I got sick, I got really thin, and we had to push it up a lot more,” said Berry, 47. “We burned a lot more fuel last year than we ever did.” Berry’s family of seven got help filling their oil tank last winter. But Maine officials and those in other states are scrambling to sort out their options in light of the federal government shutdown. An emergency assistance program that typically starts Nov. 1 and helps 7,000 Maine families per year remains on hold. But MaineHousing is reallocating $2.2 million earmarked for weather