DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am hoping you can help me find the right person to speak with about my future water bill.
I live in Auburn and have city water and sewer. We just replaced our older aboveground pool with a new one. We had to run our hose from the house to fill it and it took over 15,000 gallons of water (the amount the pool installers told us it would take to fill it).
I know that we have to pay for the water we took, but I don’t think we should have to pay for the sewer part of the bill for these 15,000 gallons because the water will never go into our sewer hookup and be run through the treatment facility.
How do I get a credit on my sewer bill for this water?
I do have the paperwork showing the size of the pool and the fact that it was just installed in May 2017.
I am sure that when they prepare the next quarterly bill, it will reflect the additional water usage.
Thank you for your help!
— No name, Auburn
ANSWER: You’re in luck! According to the Water & Sewerage District, you need to call their office with your address, the date that you filled the pool and the size of the pool, and they’ll work with you on a credit for the sewer side of your bill.
The phone number is 207-784-6469.
And, for those who don’t know, the district gives everyone a break on the sewer side of the bill during the summer because they know people are washing cars, watering gardens and that type of thing — including filling pools.
How cool is that?
DEAR SUN SPOTS: Watching a program on TV about how to use natural ingredients for various things, I learned a cure for squirrels eating up your birdseed in the winter is to put red pepper flakes in with the birdseed. The squirrels don’t like it, and the flakes do not bother the birds.
Now, I have to wait for snow to try it out!
— No name, no town
ANSWER: Sun Spots received a similar red pepper tip to discourage nuisance bears, and heard from someone in Lewiston who was very upset that a bear might be harmed by eating red pepper and hot sauce.
Bears have a highly developed sense of smell, so they may not even eat the peppers and sauce, even if there is yummy birdseed mixed in. But, if they do there’s no harm. Hot spices are considered a natural deterrent by lots of environmental groups.
Of course, the most determined bears may develop a taste for red peppers over time, so sprinkling vinegar or ammonia on the ground around bird feeders also helps deter bears.
It won’t do anything to deter squirrels, though. They’ll hop right over ammonia to get to the birdseed.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: Happy Spring to all!
It is that time of year when I ask for donations of yarn. I make hats and scarves for area schoolchildren.
Last year I made close to 200. I hope to get more done this year!
Also asking for Susan Bates crochet hooks, sizes I, J and K. Hope you can help.
Thanks in advance and have a great summer.
— Carol Parker, South Paris
ANSWER: Two hundred hats and scarves! That’s more than one every other day. Very impressive.
Readers? Let’s help Carol meet her goal to make more hats and scarves than ever.
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