DEAR SUN SPOTS: I was thinking of the past, and I remember seeing a nuclear fallout shelter sign on the YMCA building years ago. Is that still a fallout shelter? Are there any other shelters in L-A?

Also, I remember years ago while living in Lewiston near Central Maine Medical Center, they would blast the civil defense siren. Is that still around?

The reason why I ask is because my future brother-in-law is doing a report on the 1950s for school, and I thought of these ideas that I remember hearing and seeing in the mid-’90s. — Anthony Smith, absmitty17@aim.com

ANSWER: To answer your question, Sun Spots spoke with Joanne Potvin, director of the Androscoggin County Emergency Management Agency.

Joanne said that nuclear fallout shelters are no longer around, although some old buildings still have signs on them that the owners have never bothered to take down.

Instead, Joanne said, governments have what they call “all hazards” or all-purpose shelters, such as schools or government buildings, designed to hold a large number of people in case of any emergency, including extreme weather.

As for air raid sirens, Joanne said there is no longer a siren operating in the Twin Cities. In general, across the U.S. sirens have been replaced by modern technology.

You may have heard the emergency alert system (it used to be called the emergency broadcast system) tests on public radio or television (a loud tone followed by “This is a test of the emergency alert system. If this had been a real emergency, you would have been told … “).

This system is used for any event that warrants notice of the general public. Joanne said that unlike the siren, this system is designed to not only alert the public to an emergency but to offer information as to any action you and your family should take.

Although Maine has fewer weather-related emergencies than many states, personal preparedness is always a good idea.

Joanne recommends families develop an emergency plan, and her agency has plenty of material to help you do so. They are underneath Lewiston’s Central Fire Station at the intersection of College, Blake, Oak and Bates streets, with the entrance at 45 Oak St. The agency is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The website is www.androscogginema.org, phone 784-0147.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I just read your Dec. 30 column about the Google archive of old Daily Suns and Evening Journals. I would love to get this information, as I have started researching my ancestry.

I am not sure if you respond to emails or not. If you do not, could you please rerun that information sometime?

Thank you in advance. Have a nice day. — Bruce Barnes, Lewiston, barnes2016@roadrunner.com

ANSWER: Sun Spots does not privately answer questions via emails (though readers can submit questions for her column via email), but she is pleased to be able to repeat this valuable information. (For those with computers, previous columns are online at sunjournal.com. In the search box, enter “sunspots” and the topic you are seeking.)

You can find the Google archive at http://news.google.com/archivesearch. The site for the Daily Sun is at http://tinyurl.com/334ehgd; the Evening Journal is at http://tinyurl.com/2v2uu7x.

Note: You cannot print directly from the archive. See http://tinyurl.com/3ufnme3, “Google archive printing possible, not easy” for possible workarounds.

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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