DEAR SUN SPOTS: Nature Kids on Outdoor Adventures 4-H Club will be building a giant bug made out of recycled bottles for Earth Day 2011!

We are seeking empty laundry detergent bottles of all shapes and sizes, fence wire, which will be used to create our bug structure, and spools of wire to attach the bottles to the fence wire structure.

NKOA will begin work on the bug every Wednesday from 1 to 2:45 p.m. at the Lewiston Armory, beginning March 9.

The finished recycled bug will be on display in the community on Earth Day, April 22, location to be announced. Please call 576-3184 for more information.

Thank you. —Tamra Hartley-Smith, tamra_hartley@yahoo.com

ANSWER: Perhaps some local Laundromats might collect bottles for you. Every time Sun Spots does her laundry she laments all those bottles that end up in the trash instead of being recycled. Using them for an Earth Day project would be a good start toward reduce, reuse, recycle.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: People write to you for information about items in a grocery store, which is not that important, and it doesn’t cost them a penny. Yet when you want to write an obituary it costs an arm and a leg.

I just lost a good son, 43 years old, and it would cost $300, which I cannot afford. I don’t think that’s fair. They should be able to have a writing fee for a certain amount of words. It’s not fair not paying for Sun Spots and having to pay $300 for an obituary. — Jeannette, Auburn

ANSWER: Sun Spots doesn’t know who told you your son’s obituary would cost $300, but she assures you that there is a fair fee for obituaries. Obituaries three inches or less in length are free, as are the funeral notices that list the times and dates of services.

Often obituaries are arranged through the funeral home, but you can place them yourself. Obituary clerk John Wood, 689-2823, is available from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and he will help you figure out how to get your son’s obituary down to that length.

If you place the obituary yourself and want to include more than the three free inches, you will need to pay in advance, via check, credit or debit card, and provide the name of the funeral home so John can officially verify the death.

Sun Spots offers her sympathy on the loss of your son.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am writing today in hopes of getting some community support for our City Mission meals, served twice weekly at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Lewiston.

Until recently we have had the benefit of a local merchant donating our coffee cups for our City Mission work (feeding those who are hungry in our community on Wednesday nights at 5 p.m. for supper and 7 a.m. on Sundays for breakfast). We are no longer able to get this commodity as a donation and are currently purchasing paper coffee cups with our meager funds.

I am hoping that community individuals or businesses may be able to assist us with donations of 8- to 10-ounce paper coffee cups to assist us in our efforts. We use about 100 cups a week and are finding the expense for the product is draining our funds. Any assistance would be so greatly appreciated.

You can contact me at the church phone number, 782-3221. Our work is so important to the community, as we serve approximately 1,200 plates of food every three months. Thank you for this great space to communicate with each other. — Dianne L. Nelder, City Mission chairwoman

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.

Copy the Story Link