12/28/04 - HAMPTON - Southbound traffic on Interstate 95 crawled Sunday afternoon as state police responded to a 10-car pile up just north of the Hampton tolls.

12/28/04 - HAMPTON FALLS - Little did Jeff Gove realize that the riding lessons his 7-year-old daughter Brooke requested about nine years ago would lead not only to a family passion for horses, but to a new family business as well.

12/28/04 - HAMPTON - Hampton drivers will get a free pass through the tollbooths in their town should Gov. Craig Benson get his way.

12/28/04 - SEABROOK - Two snowstorms into the winter and the Border Winds neighborhood remains unplowed, neither by the developer who still technically owns the road nor the town.

12/28/04 - NORTH HAMPTON - They call themselves the Can Do Sidewalk Kids, and they are getting real-life lessons in civics, public relations, speaking and letter writing.

12/28/04 - HAMPTON - Selectmen are not sure whether they will follow through with a commitment they made five years ago to accept a federal grant that would install bikes paths on Winnacunnet Road.

12/28/04 - H AMPTON - Tommy Gone Loco is going more traditional as the downtown sandwich shop closes this week to reopen Monday, Jan. 3, as Just Gen’s Sandwich Shop and More.

12/28/04 - HAMPTON - A trial date has been set for Planning Board member Ken Sakurai, who is facing charges of theft by extortion in Rockingham Superior Court.

12/28/04 - SEABROOK - Eighty-seven fifth-graders celebrated their graduation from this year’s D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program Dec. 15 at the Seabrook Middle School.

12/28/04 - SEABROOK - The Seabrook Police Department has its first lieutenant since Chief David Currier last held the position in 1994.

12/28/04 - NORTH HAMPTON - After an initial rejection, the Planning Board reconsidered its position on a warrant article request to hire an architect to develop a plan for the future of the municipal complex.

12/28/04 - College costs are up again. I suppose that’s not a surprise to anyone. According to the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing report, tuition and fees for public four-year colleges increased 10.5 percent for the 2004-2005 academic year. The increase was 6 percent for private four-year colleges.

12/28/04 - My editor said the business profile would test my writing skills, since it was a service-oriented establishment and didn’t have a tangible product, or sensory facet. I was ready. However, my index cards of interview questions didn’t deflect the poking and prodding my patience would receive that day. \

12/28/04 - BOSTON - Lawmakers who want to expand legal gambling in Massachusetts are renewing their push for casinos and slot machines, saying the state needs to hold onto the gambled dollars they say are being lost to neighboring states.

12/28/04 - FAIRHAVEN, Mass. - Town workers plan to try to trap dozens of wild cats this week that have been pestering residents of a rural neighborhood.

12/28/04 - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Rescuers piled up bodies Monday along southern Asian coastlines devastated by tidal waves that obliterated seaside towns and killed more than 22,000 people in 10 countries.

12/28/04 - BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide car bomber killed 15 people Monday in trying to assassinate the head of Iraq’s strongest Shiite party before parliamentary elections next month, while the biggest Sunni Muslim political group dealt a blow to ballot plans by withdrawing from the campaign because of the lack of security.

12/28/04 - Sometimes we act before taking the time to think something through. Perhaps that’s what happened when the principal at Hampton Academy Junior High asked a student to leave a holiday dance because the boy was wearing a Santa Claus costume.

12/28/04 - We can’t tell for sure because we have not been able to reach the owner of the property, but from what we have learned from one woman, a Hampton landlord may have put her in a pretty unfortunate situation.

12/28/04 - The following people passed away recently. . .

12/28/04 - Area police made the following arrests and conducted the following business recently...

12/28/04 - To the youth at New Outlook Teen Center in Exeter, “retro” probably means no further back than the ‘80s, but this spring they’ll be learning a bit about their parents’ and teachers’ “retro.”

12/28/04 - It used to be easy. Before globalization, air freight, and the houseplant boom. Back when the mandatory Christmas plant was a poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and when they only came in red. And it was easiest with poinsettias. We just lived with them until the season changed, and then we threw them out.

Both the Winnacunnet High School boys and girls basketball teams will be taking a break from tough their Class L schedules to jump into holiday tournament action, against teams who won’t provide any rest for the Warriors.