ANSWER: There are a lot of websites and apps available to solve Sudoku puzzles. One website allows you to enter in the numbers by cell and get hints, check your answer, or solve the whole puzzle. Try www.sudoku-solutions.com.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I would like to know how to look up arrest logs from law enforcement agencies, whether it be state or federal. Thank you so much for being so helpful. — No Name, No Town.

ANSWER: The arrest logs maintained by law enforcement agencies in Maine are public records and are available for you to see at police agencies.

Arrest logs in Lewiston are called “arrest status reports,” and other departments may have different names for their logs, or “records of entry.” What the logs all have in common is the name, age and address of the person under arrest, what they’ve been charged with, where they were arrested and the name of the arresting officer, in the order each arrest was made. 

Although a number of Maine law enforcement agencies post call logs (which are also called incident logs) online, very few post arrest logs. Arrest logs are made available to Maine’s media, and the largest newspapers publish them every day, so that’s really your best option to “look up” an arrest log. To see the arrest logs for police agencies in the Sun Journal’s coverage area, go to sunjournal.com. 

The Kittery Police Department posts its “press log” online once a week, which is really a mix of incident and arrest log, and includes all calls officers respond to every day. For instance, last week, the log contained action taken after dispatchers sent police to Government Street to investigate a bad odor, the details of a two-car accident on State Road and Walker Street, and information about a 58-year-old woman arrested for assault on State Road. So, while that’s not a pure arrest log, Kittery does make it easy to look up arrests. 

You always have the option to contact law enforcement agencies directly and ask to view arrest logs. You can do that in person at no charge. If you ask for a copy to be sent to you, you will likely be charged photocopy and postage fees.

If you’re interested in the arrest record of a specific person, Maine’s Bureau of Identification maintains a searchable database at maine.gov/informe/ of past convictions and pending charges for crimes committed in Maine. It’s a little pricey (at $31 per record), and you have to be a paid member to view a record. There are also restrictions about how that record can be used once you get a copy.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice is looking for hospice and bereavement volunteers to fill our many needs in the home, nursing facilities and Hospice House. Hospice is a home-based program that provides holistic, palliative and end-of-life care to patients who are living with a life-limiting illness.

Volunteers provide companionship and respite, so families can take some much-needed time to do errands, get a haircut, visit with a friend or get some rest. Our nursing facility patients have days when they may not get a visitor, so volunteer visits are very much appreciated. As a volunteer you may read to a patient, sit and hold their hand, watch television, sit outside on a nice summer day, go to activities, look through photos, or enjoy conversation. Your 2-4 hour weekly commitment can make an incredible difference in the lives of a patient and their family.

A 20-hour hospice training has been scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 29. If this doesn’t work, another training has been scheduled to start in April.

If you are interested, please call Volunteer Supervisor Kathy Baillargeon at 795-9586, or e-mail her at kathy.baillargeon@ahch.org. 

Use the QR code to go to Sun Spots online for additional information and links. 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 be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com, tweeted @SJ_SunSpots or posted on the Sun Spots Facebook page at facebook.com/SunJournalSunSpots. This column can also be read online at sunjournal.com/sunspots. We’ve joined Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/sj_sunspots.

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