DEAR SUN SPOTS: Eighteen people from various countries are waiting for volunteer English conversation partners to help them gain critical English speaking skills. It is an interesting and enjoyable way to help while learning something about another person’s culture.

The program requires a two-hour workshop, then a one-hour per week commitment for one year. Our next workshop will be held on Oct. 26 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Preregistration is required.

Please call Literacy Volunteers at 333-4785 or e-mail info@literacyvolunteersandro.org. — Tahlia Chamberlain, executive director

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My bank (not in the L-A area) has written to me, saying:

“As part of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, we are required to ensure information related to your account is updated and that it’s documented for our records. We have recently noticed an increase in check deposit volume which appears to possibly be for seasonal work you may be doing.”

When I called the bank, they thanked me for telling them that I am a farmer (for the past 35 years), but they did not explain how the Patriot Act makes seasonal income suspicious or unpatriotic.

Can you shed light on this? — Arthur Harvey, Hartford

ANSWER: One of the many ways government authorities catch suspected evil-doers is to “follow the money.” The Patriot Act expanded the government’s ability to do so.

In the case of terrorists, they must have money to live while pursuing their plans for carnage. Their supporters send them money, which tends to arrive irregularly and in large quantities. By scouring bank records, the authorities hope to pinpoint possible plots before they bloom.

This does not mean that your bank thinks seasonal income indicates you are a terrorist. It is simply following the law requiring them to check up on anyone with large, irregular bank deposits.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I recently found that someone in Norway posted a message with you on Sept. 12, 2008, requesting if anybody out there was raising hoghorn potatoes, and it appears that no one has responded.

I live in Hollis and have been raising these potatoes for more than 45 years and want to share them with others. The person requesting only referred to themselves as F.W. and I.T., as I remember, so I do not know how to contact them. Could you help?

I am going to share these spuds with the folks at McLaughlin Garden in South Paris for next year’s planting. I have enough good, clean seed potatoes to share with a few other locals.

When I was a lad, growing up in Oxford in the 1930s and 1940s, these were commonly grown. When I moved back to Maine in the 1960s, I asked my father, Ernest Mattor, if he could find some for me, and he found a farmer in Minot that had some, and that is the origin of my line. From all of my Internet research, I seem to have the only ones extant.

These potatoes are very firm and dense, with a purple skin and a fingerling form. They bake up very mealy and have exceptional flavor. — John A. Mattor, 929-3201, mattor@sacoriver.net

DEAR SUN SPOTS: We were at the Cumberland Fair and were having trouble with a scooter chair. A nice lady came over to us and asked if we needed help. She was a great help, and we wanted to thank her very much. It’s nice to know that there are still helpful people around. Thanks again. — Florence via e-mail

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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