DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am again turning to Sun Spots to help us in our effort to obtain names for our next memorial monument (this is number 28) at the Veterans Memorial Park, by the Great Falls near the Longley Bridge in Lewiston. As you all know Veterans Day is coming pretty soon. So anyone who would like to have a family member or friend’s name inscribed on that monument needs to do so fairly soon. The only requirement is that the veteran has been honorably discharged, or is currently serving in the U.S. Armed Services. They can be past or present, men or women, National Guard, Reserves, Merchant Marine — in any branch of the services.

All we need is a copy of their DD214 or Honorable Discharge or any document stating their service.

We have over 5,700 names inscribed on our existing 27 monuments. Among these are three Medal of Honor recipients. We also are taking applications to have a memorial bench placed in our Veterans Park. The Lewiston High School Class of 1966 had a memorial bench installed recently, as many of their graduates were Vietnam veterans.

So, if anyone knows of a veteran who has not had his name inscribed on one of our monuments, you can call Norm Cote at 207-782-1725 or email him at nmcote@roadrunner.com and he will tell you how to go about getting applications for both a name or a bench. Applications are also available at the city of Lewiston website at http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/documentcenter/view/5360.

Christmas will soon be here, and this would be a great gift for a family member or someone’s friend to have his or her name inscribed on our next monument, to tentatively be unveiled next Memorial Day in 2016. Thanks again to Sunspots for helping the veterans of the area. You are a true patriot.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My mother was transferred out of a Freeport nursing home in August. I had paid the bill up front for the full month, and have been trying for a month now to reach someone in billing to get reimbursed. At this point I have left five messages for the person in charge of billing, as well as messages to the administrator, admissions coordinator, and business coordinator on site at the nursing home. In addition to not being refunded over $3,500, I cannot bill the long-term care insurance for the amount paid for the first half of August without an updated bill, so now I am down over $5,000. I am striving to keep my mother off MaineCare, and this delay is making it difficult. So far the only response from the nursing home has been to bill me for September. Are there any agencies I can call to help remedy this? — No Name, No Town.

ANSWER: Sun Spots can give you the name of three agencies to contact. The Maine Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, 61 Winthrop St., Augusta, ME 04330; email mltcop@maineombudsman.org or call 207-621-1079. Or try Legal Services for the Elderly, 5 Wabon St., Augusta, ME 04330; or call 1-800-750-5353. From the Maine Health Care Association “you can obtain the latest information on long-term care in Maine … find a long-term care facility in your area and access other important resources. Please contact us at (207) 623-1146 or email Ashley Ellis at aellis@mhca.org if you have a question or cannot find the information you need.”

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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