The News and Sentinel's readers are interested in news about events occurring in, and people from, our coverage area: from Stratford north to Pittsburg, and from Magalloway, Maine, west to Averill, Vt. We will also publish advance notice of events taking place within an hour's drive of our area. We report on state and national issues only if there is a specific local impact.

E-mail is the preferred method for news submissions. However, items are accepted by mail or facsimile; the text must be legible and double-spaced. All items must include the sender's name and telephone number. Items typed in all capital letters are not accepted; they will be returned to the author for re-typing.

Obituaries, memorial service and interment notices are published free of charge. Engagement, wedding and birth announcements are likewise published for free, but on a space-available basis, first-come, first-served; those who wish may purchase ad space to ensure immediate publication. We welcome photos to accompany these announcements.

Letters to the editor must be signed, and include the sender's town of residence. Only those letters regarding matters of local or regional concern or the newspaper itself will be published. We do not accept "form" letters, nor letters of endorsement for political candidates. Thank-you notes, congratulatory and birthday wishes must be submitted as paid Cards of Thanks or advertisements.

Deadlines: Press releases, engagement, wedding and birth announcements: noon Friday. Letters to the editor, Calendar of Events items: noon Monday.

Photos sent by e-mail should be attached as a JPEG or TIF file, at least 150 dots per inch in resolution. Photographs may be sent as color or black & white prints, so long as their resolution is clear enough to ensure good quality once reproduced on newsprint.

      Please download and use as a guide to write your own announcement, or complete and submit by e-mail to the editor. Adobe Acrobat is required, download it here.