12/17/04 - Thirteen members of Dover Baptist Church (as part of a larger group of 28 total members from nationwide locations) traveled to Cambodia in November on a mission trip to help a congregation build a church in the village of Seung, in the city of Sisophon.

12/17/04 - Santa had many helpers on Saturday, Dec. 11, as community members came out to hear bands and packed not just venues throughout the city, but also the gift collection bags and boxes slated for Dover Fire Department's contribution to the 32nd Annual Seacoast Firefighters Toy Bank Drive.

12/17/04 - The Dover Adult Learning Center of Strafford County has organized a new winter workshop program geared to personal enrichment courses. Courses will be offered in floral watercolors, Web-based genealogical research, mosaic design, virtual museum tours and the creation of Russian Matryoshka dolls ("nesting" dolls).

12/17/04 - Pinard Waste Systems is raising money for the New Hampshire Food Bank by collecting recyclable paper products. Old newspapers, magazines, phone books and office paper can be dropped off at Harley-Davidson dealerships across the Seacoast. Pinard will collect the products, recycle them and give 100 percent of the proceeds to the New Hampshire Food Bank.

12/17/04 - Teenage members of Dover's Youth to Youth program volunteered to assist the Dover Police Department in conducting compliance checks in November, and Dover stores that sell tobacco products had a perfect score in refusing to sell cigarettes to underage kids.

12/17/04 - The annual Christmas concert at St. Thomas Aquinas High School will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m., and will feature a wide variety of contemporary and traditional arrangements. Songs will be performed by various St. Thomas vocal and instrumental ensembles, all under the direction of music director Daryl Robertson.

12/17/04 - How does a community with limited resources protect its most special natural areas and meet the financial needs of landowners at the same time? Many communities, like the City of Dover, wrestle with this ongoing question as they strive to balance the financial goals of long-time local landowners with the preservation of important community natural resources, such as wildlife habit, working farms and forests, shorelines and drinking water supply lands.

12/17/04 - Elizabeth Fourar-Laidi, executive director of the Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, has achieved the title of certified animal welfare administrator from the international Society of Animal Welfare Administrators.

12/17/04 - Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester and year program homestays, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.

12/17/04 - Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art, and Image-Making Within The Writing Process, will be offered during the month of January on the campus of the University of New Hampshire. These two art-and-literature-based approaches to literacy have been proven to dramatically improve student reading and writing.

12/17/04 - The public is invited to attend a hearing regarding the implementation of new standards for public school approval. Among the major initiatives being discussed is one that directs all districts to offer kindergarten opportunities for 5-year-olds, smaller class sizes, broader routes to alternative compliance and a number of high school reforms, including an increase of credits needed to graduate.

12/17/04 - Until recently there were two things I had never seen in my life. I had never seen a moose, and I had never seen the inside of a Wal-Mart. I know this seems impossible because I've lived in Maine for almost three decade, and Wal-Mart has basically taken over the world.

12/17/04 - The Red-bellied Woodpecker comes to eat our hulled sunflower seeds several times a day now, so I've been able to get a very good look at him. I'm still startled when he zooms in to the feeder because he's not one of the birds I'm used to seeing here. Over the past few weeks, I've had conversations with several people who asked me how I could tell it is a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and that has led me to think about how to identify birds.

12/17/04 - New Hampshire's own Ed Gerhard will be joined by Bill Mize for the popular Annual Christmas Guitar Concert in its 22nd year on Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 292 State St., Portsmouth. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m.

12/17/04 - Jazz pianist Mark Shilansky and friends will perform at the Concord Community Music School on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m., as part of the School's 20th anniversary season.

12/17/04 - Once again, music conductor Kenneth Kiesler leads the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops concert in a blaze of joyful merriment. Adored by young and old alike, this sparkling program of festive songs and time-honored classics captures the spirit of the season with great orchestral flair.

12/17/04 - The Arts Rochester Teen Acting Company presents "Uh Oh, Here Comes Christmas," based on the books by Robert Fulghum and adapted by Ernest Zulia and David Caldwell. The show will be at Exeter Town hall on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17 and 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m.

12/17/04 - Gina Sparrow, a student flutist at Arts Rochester, has been selected for NH 2005 All-State Festival. Sparrow, of Rye, a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, has been studying with Arts Rochester flute instructor Roseanna Drysdale for five years

12/17/04 - The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce welcomes one of its newest members, Fiddlehead Farms Marketplace (located at 920 Central Ave. at Week's Crossing in Dover), to the business community.

12/17/04 - Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce member Cartelli's Bar and Grill, located at 446 Central Ave. in Dover, recently celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

12/17/04 - Photosmith has recently been selected to produce 24-by-60-inch prints that will be used on NBC's Emmy winning television series "The West Wing." The photographs are part of a series on Manchester's historic mills, and were taken by Manchester-based photographer Ron Boucher.

12/17/04 - The Center for Family Business at the University of New Hampshire invites area companies to participate in its Leadership Development Program for family and nonfamily managers.

04/09/04 - The following are local births at Wentworth-Douglas Hospital...

12/17/04 - Recent articles and editorials have incorrectly implied that the new On Board Diagnostics (OBD) emissions testing program was optional for the state to implement, when in fact it is a mandatory federal requirement.

12/17/04 - To the Editor: The Dover real estate tax bill that homeowners paid on Dec. 1 has emptied the checking and savings accounts of most Dover residents. Many are asking, "Why must I put up with such an unreasonable level of municipal spending that has been driving up my real estate taxes?"

12/17/04 - The following people passed away recently. . .

12/17/04 - The Dover Public Library has recently added the Portland Museum of Art to its already extensive list of area museums. The passes allow free admission for two adults and six children. The library can only distribute one pass per day, so make your reservations in advance by calling the library at 516-6050.

I love Christmas. Every year I tell myself that I am going to cut back. There's not a lot of money, the grandkids are getting older, and I'm tired. But then I find something in November that is just right for Brittany, and I'm off and running.

The last meeting was held on Nov. 11 at St. John's Methodist Church at 26 Cataract Ave., Dover. We celebrated our 35th year with a large cake and a plaque from National AARP, congratulating our Chapter No. 611 for being incorporated for 35 years.

12/17/04 - Current coed league players can now sign up for this upcoming winter session. Starting Jan. 3, new and non-current players can sign up for Co-Ed Hockey League Winter Session at Dover Arena. This program runs Mondays (and some Thursdays) from 9-10:30 p.m., from Feb.

12/17/04 - Dover Recreation and the Dover Indoor Climbing Gym announces the next session of climbing classes. Sessions specifically for teens and adults will teach the basic skills needed to climb indoors, including gym navigation, climbing technique, and safety systems.

12/17/04 - Don't miss WWE SmackDown! Live Event at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Monday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. The event card includes the WWE Championship Match between Booker T and JBL, and the No Disqualification Match between the Undertaker and Heidenreich (subject to change).

12/17/04 - Athlete's Competitive Edge will be holding tryouts for the ACE Elite New England Lacrosse team for serious lacrosse players. The tryouts will be hosted at the CYAA Field House, 27 Raymond Road, Candia.

12/17/04 - Columnist Sarah McQuade gave birth to baby boy Scott Thomas McQuade on Friday, Dec. 10. Her column will resume shortly. Well-wishers can e-mail dcn@seacoastonline.com or write to her through DCN at P.O. Box 1987, Dover, NH 03821.

12/17/04 - Cub Scout Pack 180 of Dover held their Halloween party at St. John's Church, their meeting place. Cub Scouts and their leaders, along with parents, wore costumes, played games and enjoyed a safe night of celebrating Halloween.

12/17/04 - Openings remain in the 8 a.m. session of Dover Recreation's Lil' Shots basketball program. Lil' Shots is an eight-week program offered to first- and second-graders. The program will be held Saturdays at Woodman Park School beginning Jan. 8. Lil' Shots focuses on skill development, rather than competition.

12/17/04 - The six-week program Aerobics of the Mind will be offered by The Homemakers of Strafford County beginning Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005. Facilitated by Lucia DeDe and Hanna Jacoby of The Homemakers, the program will be held Tuesdays from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Trinity Anglican Church, 180 Rochester Hill Road, Rochester.

12/17/04 - The Center for Women's Health, an obstetrics/gynecology practice, will be closing the doors of its Rochester office on Jan. 31, after 20 years. The practice's Sanford, Maine, office will remain open.

12/17/04 - For those looking to quit smoking, the American Lung Association of New Hampshire is providing its "Quit Kits" at reduced rate through the end of January.

12/17/04 - Wentworth-Douglass Hospital will offer the American Lung Association's "Freedom from Smoking" program this winter, especially for young mothers.

12/16/04 - BAGHDAD, Iraq - A bomb targeting a prominent Shiite cleric killed seven people outside one of southern Iraq’s holiest shrines Wednesday as campaigning began for Iraq’s first post-Saddam elections - a vote that is going ahead despite suicide attacks and assassinations by Sunni insurgents.

12/16/04 - WASHINGTON - Iraqi insurgents are growing more effective and it takes time for the U.S. military to get its troops the protective equipment needed, defense officials said Wednesday.

12/16/04 - QUINCY, Mass. - A three-alarm fire in Quincy killed a woman after the blaze broke out with five people inside a home.

12/16/04 - CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The campaign manager for Sen. John Kerry's failed presidential bid said Wednesday she regrets underestimating the impact of an attack advertisement that questioned Kerry's Vietnam War record.

12/17/04 - BURLINGTON, Vt. - A Milton man who crashed a car at high speed and then wandered into a house and kissed a sleeping couple is facing a variety of charges.

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