12/21/04 - HAMPTON - Although they never made it to the big time, they have no regrets, because in the eyes of their legions of loyal fans at the Old Salt Restaurant they are gods.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - A parent of a Hampton Academy Junior High School student says the principal of the school told his son to leave the school’s holiday dance on Friday night because the boy was dressed in a Santa Claus costume, which was politically incorrect.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - Hampton Beach Commission member Fred Rice says he’s interested in seeing an "anchor" attraction at the beach, but after meeting with a representative of the Sanborn Group he’s not sure if they are the people to provide one.

12/21/04 - SEABROOK - Representatives from the state Court Accreditation Committee are expected to visit Seabrook soon to check possible locations for a temporary district courthouse.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - Several students in journalism class at Winnacunnet High School are upset that Principal Ruth Leveille refused to allow quotations from an anonymous teacher concerning the recent National Honor Society controversy to appear in an article in the student newspaper.

12/21/04 - Two of the best-loved and most eagerly anticipated Winnacunnet High School events each year will light up the Winnacunnet Community Auditorium stage tomorrow.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - Residents do not want to see selectmen put forth an article to install parking meters on the lettered streets at Hampton Beach.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - It’s not even January, but the March selectmen’s race is already shaping up to be at least a three-way battle for two open seats.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - While there has been confusion with the change of traffic at Hampton Beach, Hampton police Chief Bill Wrenn said there has been no major accidents.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON - The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals again approved variances for a proposed condominium development on Drakeside Road on Thursday night despite objections from numerous abutters who live on the street.

12/21/04 - SEABROOK - Seabrook’s chief of police and a spokesman for Seabrook Station are calling stories last week of a possible terrorist attack on the nuclear power plant "old news."

12/21/04 - SEABROOK - The Budget Committee approved a $9.2 million Seabrook school budget Thursday night, the figure proposed by the School Board.

12/21/04 - NORTH HAMPTON - The Town Hall has been closed because officials became concerned it was unsafe for use.

12/21/04 - NORTH HAMPTON - Fifth-grader Thomas Murray won the 16th annual North Hampton School Geography Bee, which took place last Thursday morning in the school cafeteria. Runner up was seventh-grader Olivia Wilson.

12/21/04 - As the holidays approach, most of us are looking for gift ideas for friends and loved ones, and since we work with books, that’s what usually occurs to us.

12/21/04 - NORTH HAMPTON – The Board of Selectmen officially announced Friday the town will not purchase the property located at 205 Lafayette Road that has been leased since last May as a home for the Highway Department.

12/21/04 - NORTH HAMPTON - The School Board approved further cuts in their proposed North Hampton School budget at a meeting Thursday night.

12/21/04 - HAMPTON FALLS - The sounds of the season were in full swing at the Lincoln Akerman School holiday concert.

12/21/04 - NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - U.S. Coast Guard cutters and aircraft searched in freezing temperatures and high winds for five fishermen lost after their scallop boat capsized and sank about 45 miles southeast of Nantucket.

12/21/04 - HYANNIS, Mass. - Authorities investigating 15 suspicious Cape Cod fires over the past month and a half have arrested a Lakeville man in a single arson last week.

12/21/04 - BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s interim prime minister warned Monday that insurgents are trying to foment sectarian civil war as well as derail elections, while thousands of mourners turned out for funerals in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala a day after car bombs killed 67 people.

12/21/04 - WASHINGTON - In a sobering assessment of the Iraq war, President Bush acknowledged Monday that Americans’ resolve has been shaken by grisly scenes of death and destruction and he pointedly criticized the performance of U.S.-trained Iraqi troops. "No question about it," he said. "The bombers are having an effect."

12/21/04 - There are many among us who find the act of remaining seated during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to be disrespectful at best.

12/21/04 - The following people passed away recently. . .

12/17/04 - Area police made the following arrests and conducted the following business recently...

12/21/04 - In many families there are some holiday traditions that just never go away, like Uncle Jimmy’s stupid knock-knock jokes loudly offered while dining on the Christmas goose or Cousin Suzy’s insistence on giving an imprint of her hand every year to every relative, although she’s in her late 20s.