On the Thursday afternoon before Christmas, the staff members of Savory Maine in Damariscotta were delighted to host a holiday sing-along and finger-food-feast to raise money for two very deserving local projects: the Community Housing Improvement Program (C.H.I.P.) winter heating fund, and the Lincoln County Animal Shelter.

While the headline for this story in the Jan. 5 edition of the Lincoln County News noted that many residents of Sheepscot were upset about the killing of domestic geese by a hunter (Page 1), I think the anger goes well beyond Sheepscot as many residents of Lincoln County are extremely dismayed and angry that someone would shoot the geese and claim they were Canada geese. Most people who were aware of the geese knew that they were not Canada geese and that they were really very tame and loved by both residents and visitors to the village.

Mr. Scheiman seems to have a style that mimics shadow boxing an argument without examining in depth the arguments of others.

The Bridge House, the old store and dance hall, is an important piece of history in the village of South Bristol for both local and summer residents.

One of our more disturbing stories this week is the allegation that a Damariscotta man may have bilked an elderly Bristol woman out of more than $200,000 while representing himself as a fundraiser for a charitable organization.

I am writing in response to “Lighten up” by Patricia Manning. (LCN, Page 4, 12/1/11) I would suggest that before she concludes that the residents of Chamberlain are wasting the funds of the Postal Service on an appeal, she should have gathered all the facts.

In 1991 the Russian ruble fell from $1 (one dollar) for a ruble to one dollar for 138 rubles.

Somehow it seems fitting that former Lincoln County Sheriff William C. Carter has left us at this time of the year. Carter’s passing truly closes the door on an era in Maine law enforcement.

We both would like to share some joyful bird news. On Dec. 17, we both were setting at the kitchen table working on a future article and looking out our double kitchen windows at the birdfeeders, when we saw a lot of action.

As a very concerned resident of South Bristol, and the person who owns the property directly on the Gut, adjacent to the proposed construction of a new swing bridge, I am writing to voice my concern that this project has become a boondoggle and a waste of the scarce resources and revenue available to Maine DOT and the state in general.

Drinking and driving is very dangerous, sometimes deadly. About three in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. Dying or killing someone because of alcohol or drugs is a preventable tragedy. If you don’t want to add to these numbers, don’t drink and drive.

The Christmas story is much more than a message about the birth of Jesus. Christmas is more than sleigh bells and mistletoe. It is a story whose center is Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The apparent mess at the Bristol/South Bristol Transfer Station, which we report in this issue, is a particularly unusual situation, because, generally speaking, things run pretty smoothly in those two towns.

Recently a friend of mine asked me a question about my religion and my faith. I answered it as honestly as I could, but when I expressed the sheer joy at knowing that God sent his son to save the lives of every man, woman and child in the world, she was taken aback and denounced this act as an “unfair act.”