Dear Sun Spots: In response to increased needs, Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice is offering two opportunities this spring for compassionate people to be trained as hospice volunteers. Classes will be held in Androscoggin and Oxford counties.

In Oxford, a 27-hour hospice training course will be held Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from April 10 through May 8.

In Lewiston, a 27-hour hospice course will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings from May 29 through June 26.

Hospice volunteers help support terminally ill patients and their families at home, in long-term care facilities, and at the AHCH Hospice House in Auburn. Volunteers are valued members of the hospice team and are matched with patients in or near their communities. We ask for a time commitment of two-to-four hours each week.

For more information, please contact Volunteer Services at 777-7740 or 1-800-482-7412. ­- Nancy Greene, No Town.

Dear Sun Spots: I have a gift certificate for Quad M’s Cabin Restaurant, 476 Fairbanks Road, Farmington, 778-2776. They appear to be closed, and I’ve no way of redeeming this. Might you please find out what has happened here and how I can redeem my certificate? – No Name, No Town.

Answer: According to our Farmington office, the restaurant closed without any notice in January, and was placed for sale. Sun Spots tried contacting the owner, but that number is disconnected with no forwarding number provided.

Perhaps there are readers out there who may have more information that they would be willing to share with you.

Dear Sun Spots: I have a heavy-duty swimming pool cover that has been damaged this winter and am looking for someone who may be able to fix it. The cover has straps with springs attached that I need sewn back on as some have been ripped off.

There will be a lot of tension and weight on the cover so it will have to be a heavy-duty sewing job. Is there anyone who could tackle this job? Thank you. I can be reached at 645-4472. – Dawn Young, Dryden.

Answer: Have you contacted a pool company to see if they can assist you?

Dear Sun Spots: Would cataracts make my head ache? It seems to be right on top. I had my eyes checked two weeks ago and wear glasses for reading. – P.A.C., No Town.

Answer: Sun Spots would urge you to contact your eye doctor and primary care physician to discuss this ASAP. This is something you should be speaking with them about and not the Sun Spots consumer column.

Dear Sun Spots: Would you please find the address of Bill Gates and Ellen DeGeneres? You have found Ellen’s address before and I have communicated with her in the past. My grandson would like to communicate with Bill Gates. He has all of Gates’ products and wants some answers to some of his new items coming out. Thank you. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: According to www.microsoft.com, to contact an employee at the corporate offices you will first need to include the recipient’s first and last name, or the department name with your correspondence. Address it to Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, 800-642-7676. You might also consider trying to contact Gates at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, P.O. Box 23350, Seattle, WA 98102, (206) 709-3100 (Reception) or via e-mail at info@gatesfoundation.org.

Regarding DeGeneres, try reaching her at East Coast Office, P.O. Box 6176 Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044. You might also try locating her via her Web site at http://ellen.warnerbros.com/showinfo/faqs.html, or you can contact her via mail at The Ellen DeGeneres Show, P.O. Box 7788, Burbank, CA 91523. Please mark it to the attention of fan mail.

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). 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 posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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