From the Publisher's Notebook

The Granite State Sentinel
says “Hello Neighbor”

It is with great pleasure and pride that we bring you the first edition of The Granite State Sentinel, serving the communities of Somersworth and Rollinsford entirely and initially offering partial coverage of Dover, with full coverage coming within a few short weeks. Your newspaper will begin arriving in your mailbox this Friday and every week thereafter. Many years of newspaper experience coupled with months of resident interviews have given us the ideas for the type of stories you want to read. While it is true large daily newspapers serve this area and they do a very good job in reporting the national and regional news, it also remains true the area is underserved with stories that are most interesting to the residents of your towns.
Residents of Somersworth, Rollinsford and Dover will begin receiving their copies of The Granite State Sentinel in the mail weekly while the residents of other surrounding towns may pick up copies at a number of convenient store locations until we can add these towns to our weekly mailings within the very near future.
It is our primary mission to become your neighborhood newspaper providing news about town issues, school activities, including sports profiles, business profiles and any category of events ranging from bean suppers to town parades. On occasion we will report events that are taking place in neighboring communities only if we feel it is of interest to the majority of our readers. That restriction will hold true about any statewide issue that we feel fits the same profile. We feel it is our job to be informational rather than confrontational and in doing so provide you with the “good” news about the “fine” towns we serve.
Thank you again for accepting us into your homes and please e-mail or call us with any news about upcoming events and we will see that the message gets in to the hands of our readers.

Mark J. Wilcox
Publisher

Photo captions: Left — Somersworth City Hall. Right — Rollinsford Town Hall (Granite State Sentinel photos)

Somersworth Chamber’s Annual Auction on Tap

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
SOMERSWORTH—
The 11th annual Holiday Auction of the Greater Somersworth Chamber of Commerce will be held Friday, Nov. 13.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Jennifer Soldati, executive director of the Chamber said.
The live and silent auction will be held at the Great Bay Gallery Foundation Facility at 25 Willand Drive. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the auction beginning at 7:30. An online portion of the event is already underway. It can be accessed at somersworthchamber.com.
The auction is one of only two fund-raisers for the Chamber. The other is a golf tournament.
This year the auction is underwritten by Public Service of New Hampshire, D.F. Richard Energy and Profile Bank as major sponsors and WTSN 1270 as the media sponsor.
On the list of items up for sale is included a Singing Valentine. Ms. Soldati said the group that will deliver the Valentine would be on hand to entertain during the auction.
Also on the list is an oceanfront home for a vacation in El Salvador and a one-hour comedy magic show for a special party. The star of that show will also be on hand to demonstrate some of the show’s content “so you can see what you’re buying,” Ms. Soldati said.
For sports fans there are 2007 World Series baseballs autographed by Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester and former Red Sox outfield, now Los Angeles Dodger, Manny Ramirez, and a team -autographed UNH hockey shirt.
Special items include a half-hour real fire truck ride with Santa Claus and a two-hour ride- along in a Somersworth Police Department cruiser.
Also on the docket is a $250 gift certificate toward heating oil from Webber Energy, and a home furnace cleaning.
Tickets for the auction are available at the Greater Somersworth Chamber of Commerce office or at the door. Tickets are $15.
Tickets include light entrees, hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks. A cash bar is available.

St. Mary’s Holiday Fair on tap Saturday

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist

ROLLINSFORD—
The annual Holiday Fair to benefit St. Mary’s Church will be held tomorrow (Nov. 7) at the American Legion Hall on Foundry Street.
“Basically it’s a church fair,” Gail St. Hilaire, the event’s chairwoman said. “It’s like a family affair. Everybody gets involved,”
The auction/fair has a long history. Ms. St. Hilaire has been heading the event for 11 years and, she said, “It was going on way before that.”
The fair will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a silent auction table with items for everyone.
Features at the annual event include a country store with homemade pies, jellies, pickles, beans, and cheese and a penny table with a variety of hand crafted and new items.
There are craft and ornaments including jewelry, holiday decorations, knitted items, personalized ornaments, homemade baked goods, specialty baskets, and a white elephant table.
Specialty baskets for pets, movie enthusiasts, chocolate lovers, gardeners and others are also featured along with antiques, gently used items, books, toys and attic treasures at the White Elephant table.
Activities especially for children include games, crafts and a candy wheel.
Lunch will be served and includes homemade soups, sandwiches, hot dogs, chili, and assorted pies.
The fair-auction benefits St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The church structure is over 150 years old, Ms St. Hilaire said. The parish is, she added, the oldest continuously active Catholic Church in New Hampshire.
For information call (603) 742-8198.