DEAR SUN SPOTS: Is it true that Auburn levies a $1,000 fine for recycling? If so, shame on Auburn. Police can go through your trash to prosecute? — No name, Auburn.

ANSWER: Trash pickup and recycling are offered by the City of Auburn free of charge with no penalties or fines for recycling or not recycling.

Recyclable materials go to Mid Maine Waste Action Corp. (MMWAC), located at 110 Goldthwaite Road in Auburn, which offers solid waste recycling of materials back into their basic raw material state as well as an advanced waste-to-energy facility to minimize the landfilling of waste materials.

For more information about Auburn’s recycling program, you can visit auburnmaine.gov/pages/neighborhood/trash-recycling or contact Public Works at 207-333-6670.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Your column has helped get the word out about aluminum tabs for the Ronald McDonald House in Portland in the past. Please share with your readers that about 10 years ago, I met a young father from Auburn walking from Maine Medical Center to the Ronald McDonald House. That young man told me his son was a patient at the hospital.

The parents were staying at the Ronald McDonald House for almost nothing. As a young family that service was a life saver. I inquired and learned that tabs were a part of the house’s budget. I decided to collect them. I have had success with picking them up from many of your readers. Each year I deliver them and am asked by the volunteers to say “thank you Sun Spots.” —Mary Ann Norcross, no town.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Tommy’s Feral Felines will hold a Spring Fling Bake Sale along with a Bottle Drive on Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Chapter 11 on Main Street in Lewiston, next to Cumberland Farms and across from Burger King. In addition to offering a variety of delicious baked goods, Tommy’s will be collecting bottles and cans.

Tommy’s is also looking for bakers to help fill our tables with yummy treats. Please deliver your items directly to the sale, wrapped and priced. Tommy’s Feral Felines is an all volunteer, no kill organization, which receives no official funding and relies solely on the donations and the income generated by its fundraising events. Tommy’s staff works hard 365 days a year in all kinds of Maine weather to support abandoned cats that live a feral existence. In addition to feeding and sheltering the cats, Tommy’s provides spaying and neutering, vaccinations and other medical care to the animals; many of which are too many generations feral to be adoptable.

Tommy’s has faced several crises in recent times that have left them in dire financial need. Any and all support is greatly appreciated. So whether you would like to bake, pick up some yummy treats, have bottles or cans to drop by or would just like to make a donation, please mark these dates on your calendar. For further information or to make a donation you can contact Norm Blais at 207-240-8767 or at [email protected] or at P. O. Box 274, Greene, ME 04236.

Tommy’s and all of their feral kitties thank you for your help.

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 [email protected], 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 pinterest.com/sj_sunspots.