By Paul Hughes, Republican-American Chase Mercer, 8, of Naugatuck, right, and his friend Dakota Paige, 5, of Stratford, center, toss rocks into the Naugatuck River on May 26 while visiting Linden Park in Naugatuck as Chase’s mother, Belitza Cruze, left, reads and keeps an eye on them. -JIM SHANNON/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN HARTFORD — After telling people to stay home and stay safe, the diminishing COVID-19 threat now has Gov. Ned Lamont saying get out of the house and get back to normal. Lamont on May 26 announced a shift in messaging from reopening Connecticut to returning to pre-pandemic ways of working, doing business and living life.