DEAR SUN SPOTS: Does Maine have a law that gift certificates must be honored? That was my understanding, especially if they were issued in Maine with no expiration date.

My foursome had one from a semi-private course here in Auburn. I reserved tee times at this particular course, and I told the pro shop we had a gift certificate for four players and two carts. He said no problem.

The certificate was dated March 2007. The person at the pro shop would not honor it. I asked him to call his supervisor or who else was in charge. He did and that person said “no,” that the certificate was issued two other owners ago.

I would think this is not good business ethics. — Paul Dumont, No Town

ANSWER: Sun Spots recommends you call the Consumer Protection Service of the Maine Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-436-2131. There are laws governing gift certificates in Maine, and the CPS can ascertain whether the golf course is legally obliged to honor yours.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Please post a correction to the typo in the recipe for cold mustard pickles that I submitted and is in Tuesday’s paper. It should read: Pour brine over cukes in each jar to 1/4 inch from top. Thanks! — Beverly Harvie, beaniandboppie@aol.com

ANSWER: This error crops up periodically. It is a computer translation glitch that appears when certain non-letter characters are used, such as fractions and accented e. The Sun Journal works very hard to catch them but invariably a few slip through.

This is also the same recipe where alum was changed to aluminum. Sun Spots apologizes for the error.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Great Falls Model Railroad Club of Auburn and Lewiston is sponsoring a “Come rain or shine” yard sale and open house on Saturday, Aug. 21, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the club building, 144 Mill St. in New Auburn, across the street from the Barker Mill.

Funds from the yard sale will help with ongoing renovations of the building and with layout construction costs. The 100 members of the club have donated a wide variety of items for the club’s third annual yard sale.

During the yard sale, people are invited to tour the facility to see the renovations that have been made to the former Jake & Andy‘s Donut Shop and the progress on layouts of various modeling scales. Representatives of Operation Lifesaver will be sharing railroad safety tips and distributing free informational materials for adults and children.

The nonprofit model railroad club has been active in the community for many years with displays at libraries, schools, nursing homes and public events such as the Balloon Festival and Santa’s arrival in Lewiston-Auburn.

The Auburn Music Association earns money by selling refreshments during the club’s annual train show at Auburn Middle School on the first Saturday of each November. Through Auburn Adult Education, the club offers a model railroading class twice a year.

“Train Time,” the cable television program produced by the club, is seen on Great Falls Television and on Time-Warner Cable. DVDs and VHS tapes of many of the shows will be available. Thank you. — Paul Lodge, secretary

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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