DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to G.A.L.’s Dec. 12 request for traction aids, I have a set, unused, still in a box, and she is more than welcome to have them. She can call me at 998-4114 after 5 p.m. — Ty via email

 DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to the Dec. 12 inquiry, traction aids were available at the Center Street NAPA store in Auburn over the past several years. I bought several sets for the fleet I manage last winter.

They come in regular and heavy duty versions, and I heartily recommend the heavy duty ones. They last virtually forever and come with a snap-to-close denim storage bag to keep the sharp pointed sides from damaging anything they come in contact with.

If the traction aids get you out once, they are cheaper than a tow, and you have to be really stuck for them not to work.

If memory serves me, they were produced over the years by Diamond machine in Lewiston. — Bill, Auburn

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Please add my name to the list of people who do snow removal in Lewiston and the surrounding area. — David Brown, 740-2400 or 783-7584, octone2005@gmail.com

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I offer snow blowing and shoveling services for the Lewiston and Auburn area. I get my customers from word of mouth and do not do any advertising to keep my prices low. Most driveways I do for $25 to $40, and seniors are usually all $25.

I can be reached at 577-9944 or by email for free estimates before the snow falls. — Rick Farr, r.farr@yahoo.com

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I was wondering if you could help me. I would like to write to some serviceman overseas. I would like to be a pen pal, but I don’t know how to get the name of someone. Could you please help me? — G.L., Cornish

ANSWER: Sun Spots is sorry to say that the old days of U.S. citizens being able to correspond with or send packages directly to servicemen and women they don’t personally know have passed. Security concerns (such as the threat of anthrax in letters or packages) have ended programs such as the U.S. Postal Service’s “any service member.”

There are organizations who arrange for those who want to email the troops or send them packages. Sun Spots listed some of those in her Sept. 29 column (you can read that column at your library; ask the librarian to go to this link: sunjournal.com/sun-spots/story/1093466). Considering how young most soldiers are, it may be difficult to find one who wants to put pen to paper instead of fingers to keyboard.

In addition, several of the links Sun Spots found in her pen pal search are no longer active due to the drawdown of forces. One such, the My Soldier program, is being changed from supporting troops overseas to helping fund their tuition when they arrive home.

Sun Spots does not know of any group that provides names of soldiers who want to write traditional letters. Perhaps a reader or some local veterans groups will know of organizations that coordinate these interactions or know someone who would like to correspond.

Alternatively, you might consider looking for a nonmilitary pen pal, or perhaps someone who is retired from the service, via The Letter Exchange, 855 Village Center Drive No. 324, North Oaks, MN 55127-3016, www.letter-exchange.com.

 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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