12/24/04 - Color, texture, shape — each is a stirring quality of the art and fine crafts currently on display at the recently opened Village Goldsmith Gallery, located at 453 Central Ave. in Dover.“

12/24/04 - First Parish Church of Dover will host a community Concert and Prayer Service for Peace, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, at 7 p.m. The music will feature well-known area singer/instrumentalists Joyce Andersen, Susie Burke and David Surette, the Amity Singers, vocal group, and the Rock of Ages Band, among others.

12/24/04 - The following is a selection of Christmas services in Dover. See the Spiritual Community listings on page 14 for information about other area houses of worship.Annunciation GreekOrthodox Church93 Locust St., Dover742-7667Christmas eve:6 p.m.

12/24/04 - Strafford County 4-H youth and leaders, all participants in the UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development program, celebrated their accomplishments and successes of this past year at their annual award night held recently at the Atlantic Culinary Academy.

12/24/04 - The HUB Family Resource Center, located at 23 Atkinson St. in Dover, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gregory Burdwood as executive director. Burdwood, a longtime Dover resident, assumed leadership of the 10-year-old organization in November.

12/24/04 - The Strafford County YMCA announces the appointment of Joanne Desrosiers to the position of branch director. In her new position, Desrosiers will be responsible for the management of all Strafford County YMCA programs and facilities, oversee volunteer and staff development, secure financial development, and foster strategic collaborations with other community agencies.“

12/24/04 - The Dover Adult Learning Center of Strafford County has a unique business management solution for all contractors — from those operating their own businesses to those seeking to learn industry essentials.

12/24/04 - According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), more than one-third of home-fire deaths in the U.S. occur during the winter months.“No time is a good time for a fire,” said exclusive Allstate agent Matt Gennaro, whose office is located at 595 Central Ave., Dover.

12/24/04 - LuAnn Hill and Carlene LaPierre, two employees of Cocheco Valley Humane Society, recently organized an effort to collect donations and turkeys from their co-workers at the Dover-based shelter for the New Hampshire Food Bank’s Thanksgiving turkey drive, publicized by 97.5 WOKQ in cooperation with Irving Mainway stores.

12/24/04 - As I lay on my back, looking up at the open rafters of the new room I was building onto my house, I remembered why I was so afraid of heights.I was very young and my father and my mother had taken me to a playground in Westbury, N.Y.

12/24/04 - Sanctuary Arts has added a number of new art courses to its winter semester program.“We’ve kept a core curriculum of popular ongoing classes because of the strong interest, like a restaurant’s signature dish.

12/24/04 - Open auditions for “Pirates of Penzance” will be held Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Wednesday, Dec. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Garrison Players Arts Center. Call-backs will take place Thursday, Dec. 30, from 7 to 9 p.m.

12/24/04 - Josh Groban, the young man The New York Times crowned “The New Boy Wonder Of The Voice” will be coming to the Verizon Wireless Arena on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to see this amazing artist perform live.

12/24/04 - The current exhibit at the Franklin Gallery — “Recent Works” by Milton artist Susann Foster Brown — has been extended through Jan. 31, 2005, at Ben Franklin Crafts, 200 Tri-City Plaza in Somersworth.

12/24/04 - Dover-area employees expect to hire at a respectable pace during the first quarter of 2005, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

12/24/04 - The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly Business Open House on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Chef Chris Kozlowski’s newest restaurant, Orchard Street Chop Shop, located at One Orchard St. in Dover.

12/24/04 - Raiche & Company, CPAs, P.A., announces Mark P. Boulanger, CPA, has joined the firm as manager in its Dover office.Boulanger concentrates his efforts in the areas of construction, real estate and family-owned business.

12/23/04 - WASHINGTON - A suicide bomber was the likely cause of the deadliest single attack on American troops in Iraq - an explosion at a U.S. base that killed 22 people, the Pentagon’s top general said Wednesday.

12/23/04 - KIEV, Ukraine - Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko praised thousands of his supporters Wednesday night, telling a roaring, orange-clad crowd that they changed the country without bloodshed - but he also warned of trouble during this weekend’s presidential runoff.

12/23/04 - BOSTON - The Coast Guard on Wednesday called off its search for five fishermen lost at sea when their scallop boat capsized in turbulent waters off Nantucket.

12/23/04 - GREENFIELD, Mass. - A Palmer mother who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her infant daughter was ordered to serve about two years in prison.

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

12/24/04 - On Jan. 18, there is to be an election in the City of Dover’s six wards. It is a very important election, and 35 people have registered as candidates for nine positions as Charter Commission Representatives.

12/24/04 - To the Editor: At this holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have helped to make our progress possible.

12/24/04 - The following people passed away recently. . .

12/24/04 - What to do with the children during the winter school break? Call the Children’s Room at Dover Public Library and reserve our brand new museum pass! Our newest library pass is to the Children’s Museum of Maine in Portland, Maine.

12/24/04 - New Hampshire children from preschoolers to those in third grade selected “My Lucky Day” by Keiko Kasza, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, as the winner of the 2004 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

If they made me Queen of the World, here are some things I would decree:l That a real live person will always answer the telephone when we make a call. I recently called the Veteran’s Administration about an insurance question.

These days, people are living a lot longer and in better health than they used to. As a result, many people put off thinking about the care they might need as they get older.

12/24/04 - First District Congressman Jeb Bradley recently announced that 34 students in the First Congressional District will receive congressional nominations to United States military academies.

12/24/04 - Advisors of the Women’s Environmental Leadership Program (WE Lead) at Unity College are accepting nominations for the third annual Women’s Environmental High School Student Leader Award.

12/24/04 - Teams of high school students from across northern New England will gather at the University of New Hampshire in Durham on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, to compete in the annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB).

12/24/04 - Strafford County 4-H, in conjunction with Arts Rochester, is presenting a 12-week Theater Arts Program from Jan. 8 through April 9. All youth ages 12-18 are welcome to participate.

12/24/04 - The Center for Women’s Health has donated $473 to the American Red Cross in Portland, Maine.The center –– an obstetrics and gynecological practice in Rochester and Sanford, Maine –– raised the money through “Blue Jeans Day,” which allows center employees to wear jeans one day per week if they contribute to the charity of the month.

12/24/04 - The Homemakers of Strafford County now offer the services of personal care service providers.Under the direction of the agency’s home health aide supervisor, the PCSPs will provide nonmedical, nonlicensed, hands-on assistance to clients.

12/24/04 - Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover will offer the American Lung Association’s “Freedom from Smoking” program this winter.The first of the eight sessions will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 4, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

12/24/04 - Dover Recreation announces a new fitness program for ages 18 and over.The new Core Ball Workout is a 45-minute workout on the stability ball, with weights. Used for stretching, toning and low-impact aerobics, exercise balls relieve muscle tension, increase circulation and strengthen back muscles.

12/29/04 - KENMORE, Ohio -- A northeast Ohio family hoping to see choirs perform holiday music on Christmas morning instead saw adult programming on the local public access television station.

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