ANSWER: Suns Spots called the New Vineyard Town Office and spoke to Arlene Davis. She’s worked for the town for 45 years and has never heard of Baker Hill. She did suggest that you find a copy of the updated “Town of New Vineyard comprehensive plan” as it’s possible that Baker Hill is mentioned in it. An older edition of that book is available at the Maine State Library. You can check with a library closer to you to see if they have a copy or visit the town office. Maybe a reader can supply an answer or another source.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I just received a survey from the United States Department of Commerce. It is supposed to be a census survey, but the form responding site and the more information site at census.gov/acs just don’t look like something the government would send. It says response is required by law and there is a penalty for not responding. They seem to want a lot of personal information. Can you find out if this is real or a scam? I can’t be the only person who received this form. Thank you for all you do for us. — Gail via online submission form.

ANSWER: Sun Spots knows of someone who got one of these surveys, and he also thought it was fishy — particularly the warning that a person could be penalized for not responding — but he found out it was for real.

He received his survey in the mail, and filled it out on paper, not online. As with any survey, if it asks for personal financial information (accounts, social security, etc.), it’s to be avoided.

The more information page answers this question: “Is the American Community Survey mandatory? Yes. It is a legitimate, mandatory survey sent to a small percentage of our population on a rotating basis. You are legally obligated to answer all the questions, as accurately as you can.

“The relevant laws are Title 18 U.S.C Section 3571 and Section 3559, which amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221.

“Your answers are important. As part of a sample, you represent many other people.

“Why is the ACS mandatory?

“Response to the survey is mandatory because the American Community Survey is part of the decennial census, replacing the “long form” that previously was sent to a percentage of households once every 10 years.

“Can my address be removed?

“No. An address may not be removed from the American Community Survey sample as the validity of sample data would quickly deteriorate if selected households were exempted.

“We try to keep the number of households in the sample as small as possible in order to limit the cost of the survey and reduce the impact on respondents. We also take steps to reduce the chance that a household will get the survey more than once in a five-year period.

“Thank you for your time and effort. It makes a difference!”

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