DEAR SUN SPOTS: For the reader looking for holiday shaped pretzels, CVS on Sabattus St. has star and snowflake shaped chocolate-covered pretzels. They look delicious! — No name, Lewiston.

ANSWER: Thanks for your help. Many of us look forward to the seasonal treats available at this time of year but it can be difficult to know when and where they will appear on the shelves.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Jandy Computer Services in Lewiston has been a big help to me for working my computer, and may be helpful to the person wanting to get out of Windows 10. They can be reached at 207-240-4546 or jandy.net. — Abby, Hartford.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: This won’t help your correspondent who wants to go back to Windows 7 but you might want to mention that Seniors Plus in Lewiston has recently offered several free classes on using Windows 10. Call them at 207-795-4010 to learn about upcoming classes. — Anne, Lewiston.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: There is something outrageously wrong in Rockland. My travel there was met with the most putrid smell. This foul odor was in the vicinity of Old County Road where I was purchasing furniture from a woman trying to sell her house. This beautiful little town is in big trouble, these were not the smells of the ocean. Is this a secret? — No name, Auburn.

ANSWER: There is no secret to the smells in Rockland. Sun Spots reached out to Rockland’s public works department and received a reply from the Public Services Director, David St. Laurent.

He acknowledged that the Rockland Landfill has had a long history of taking in various types of waste, which has contributed to a landfill odor reputation over the years and that periodic odor events are attributed to rainfall, barometric pressure, temperature, inversions, shifts in seasonality (from warmer summer temperatures to winter temperatures) and operations. Without knowing the exact date he could not say which factor would have been at fault, but during this season it may have been a combination of thermal inversion with low barometric pressure.

We are also, apparently, particularly sensitive to this kind of odor.

St. Laurent explains, “It is important to understand that landfill odor is generally generated from H2S gas, which the human nose can pick up at 1 part per billion. Said another way, if you are in a room with a billion oxygen molecules and one was a H2S molecule, the human nose could pick it up.”

But not to worry about the future of this beautiful seaside town. The city is reportedly in the final days of landfill operation.

“This has been a very challenging remediation project and one that is nearing its end,” St. Laurent said, “I have recently been meeting with our consultants and geologist and we are working out the engineered closure details to present to the DEP for final closure. Much of that work is to address odors and the proper management of groundwater. Once closure is complete the days of landfill odor will be gone. The estimated closure date is the end of 2018.”

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