Dear Sun Spots: Here I am full of questions, thank God for Sun Spots. Please, what happened to the free paper called Bear Facts? How do we get rid of the unwanted telephone calls? What address or phone number do we need to get rid of junk mail? You do good work and we appreciate you folks. Thanks. – No Name, Farmington.

Answer: In response to your first question, Sun Spots was able to find the following information on The Bear Facts Web site, www.bearfactsme.com, which was updated Dec. 1, 2007: “The Bear Facts is no longer published. After 20 years of faithful service, the owners have decided to retire. The newspaper industry had changed by increased Internet usage, dropping advertising sales, and significant competition from everyone with a computer willing to run desktop publishing software. We thank our readers and advertisers for the many great years.”

The Bear Facts of Maine was a four-season, twice monthly publication with a peak circulation of 40,000 each issue. It was distributed throughout Oxford, Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, and Northern York counties as well as other selected outlets in Maine, Canada and other New England States.

To get rid of those unwanted telephone calls, the federal government created the National Do Not Call Registry, a free, easy way to reduce these calls you get at home. To register or to get information, call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register, or visit www.donotcall.gov. You will receive fewer telemarketing calls within three months of registering your phone number. According to the Web site, placing your number on the registry will stop most, but not all, telemarketing calls.

Credit Bureaus also offer a toll-free number that enables you to “opt-out” of having preapproved credit offers sent to you for either five years or permanently. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) for more information. When you call, you’ll be asked for personal information, including your home telephone number, your name, and your Social Security number. The information you provide is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out of receiving pre-screened offers of credit. You can also do this through the Web site, www.optoutprescreen.com.

Another option is to register for the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service, which lets you opt out of receiving direct mail marketing from many national companies for three years. DMA’s Mail Preference Service, which was created in 1971, is designed to help consumers decrease the amount of nationally generated commercial or nonprofit mail they receive at home. When you register with this service, your name will be put on a “delete” file and made available to direct-mail marketers. However, your registration will not stop mailings from organizations that are not registered with the DMA’s Mail Preference Service. Sun Spots was unable to find an address or phone number consumers can use to register. However, you can register on line at www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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