DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m looking for some advice with a problem I been having with a local paving company. Superior Paving Co. paved my driveway in Auburn on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2009.

After they completed it, I notice they didn’t roll all of it. So I contacted them the next business day to inform them. They said there was nothing they could do right now and to wait until spring. So I contacted them April 20 to remind them that it did not hold up over the winter and I wanted it fixed.

Owner Brian Lowell assured me that they would fix it within a week. Needless to say, a week has turned into months. I contact them on a regular basis but still nothing has been done. So what can I do, both legally and ethically? Can I contact the Better Business Bureau?

The bottom line is that I want it fixed. Should I contact another local paving company to fix it? Should I take Superior Paving to small claims court to pay for the fix? — Adam Langelier, Sapper23r@aol.com

ANSWER: Sun Spots spoke to Brian. He said that he did roll your driveway, but that you have a small piece a few feet square, about 5 or 6 feet up from the end of the drive that needs to be cut out and replaced, possibly from being hit by the snowplow.

Since it is time-consuming to move the equipment, he was hoping to tie your job in with another one nearby. He said that he thought he had a job that would work with yours a couple of weeks ago but that customer canceled.

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He said that he has not forgotten you and that he will get to you soon. If you want to speak to him, call his cell at 252-0229.

Sun Spots encourages you to try and work with him before escalating the issue. It sounds to Sun Spots as though the issue is mostly one of timing, not intentional avoidance. As other readers can attest, small claims court doesn’t always work out the way you’d like it to, and while complaining to the BBB might be satisfying, it won’t get your driveway fixed.

If the issue remains unresolved as the summer passes, you can contact the Consumer Protection Service of the Maine Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-436-2131.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have noticed lately that the receptors (ears) for the Telstar satellite program have been removed from the Andover site. Are they no longer needed or have they been replaced with another means of receiving information? — L.M.B., Rumford

ANSWER: Sun Spots did not have a lot of success with this question. She got off to a good start thanks to reporter Terry Karkos of the Sun Journal’s Rumford office. He sent Sun Spots several links for the Andover Earth Station, including fascinating videos on YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/2fvbn2w and http://tinyurl.com/2d4engc). They offer a peek back into the technology of the 1960s, when satellites were new technology.

The Telstar satellite was launched in 1962 through a joint government and business (AT&T) venture. That same year, for the first time a video was broadcast from the Andover Earth Station in the United States to similar sites in France and Britain.

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The video was only a picture of a U.S. flag waving in the wind — nothing compared to what we see these days via satellite — but remarkable for 1962. There is more information on this piece of history on Wikipedia and at http://tinyurl.com/29tf6f8.

Terry sent another lead when he attended a Roxbury selectmen’s meeting and heard that a company named SES World Skies had cleared a 4.8 acre property of all transmission structures and wanted to give it to the town. Apparently technology had rendered the site unnecessary. Sun Spots discovered that it was a similar site to Andover but not the same one.

Sun Spots has been unable to find out anything about specific changes at the Andover site. It seems likely that changing technology has also affected its functions, but discovering those details has proved elusive.

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). Please include your phone number. 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 e-mailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.


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