Dear Sun Spots: Can you help me find out where Ray Richardson and Ted Talbot have gone? I used to get them on FOX 23 in the morning, but they haven’t been on lately. Thank you. – No Name, Lisbon Falls.
Answer: According to a release March 30 posted on MyFOXMaine.com, the FOX Morning News will no longer be airing on FOX 23. They note that you can still catch WLOB’s NewsTalk with Ray and Ted on the radio in greater Portland on AM 1310 and FM 95.5, and streaming on the Web at wlobradio.com.
Dear Sun Spots: As a former resident of Lewiston, I continue to receive the Sun Journal. I like to keep up with the local news of Lewiston and Auburn. I look forward to Sun Spots each morning to see who you have helped. Now I am asking for some help.
As a child growing up in Lewiston in the 1970s, every Saturday at exactly noontime, we would all hear what sounded like a very loud air raid siren. It seemed that no matter where you were in the city, you heard it.
As I sit here thinking of childhood memories, this sound popped in my head. After all these years I never did find out exactly what that sound was or where exactly it was coming from. Please help me by answering this question. Thanks for all you do an keep up the great work. – L.P., Alfred.
Answer: Many people we spoke with who grew up in Lewiston and Auburn remember hearing these sirens. Both Michael Lord of the Androscoggin Historical Society and local historian Doug Hodgkin noted that these tests were conducted by the local emergency services department, formerly the civil defense agency.
Hodgkin recalled that one of the sirens was located behind a house his family rented on Omer Street in Lewiston.
Joanne G. Potvin, director of the Androscoggin Unified Emergency Management Agency in Lewiston said that’s just what they were, air raid sirens. During the time of the Cold War, the sirens were strategically placed in Lewiston and Auburn and tested the first Saturday of every month.
During times of peace, they were maintained to warn people of emergencies. When the sirens sounded, it would alert people to turn on televisions or radios for further instruction. They were used up until about 15 years ago. They are now defunct, and the EMA uses the Emergency Alert System.
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