For rent: Gorgeous, updated two-bedroom apartment available at 222 1/2 East Water St. Upstairs apartment with all new stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors, overlooks downtown. Huge back deck with great view of bluffs. Large eat-in kitchen, sunny living room and great built-ins. Rent is $900. No pets/no smoking. Contact Shawna Todd, (612) 363-6135.

For sale: PlayStation 3 Slim with various games. $150. Contact Aaron, <lurtaa01>.

For sale: IKEA Galant corner desk-right. Birch veneer with silver "T" legs. Adjustable height with table top corner 63 x 47 inches. Excellent condition. Asking $75; purchased new for $250. Call 382-4067 and leave a message for Greg.

For sale: Gently used sound system. Includes two Peavy speakers, two Peavy 1,000 watt monitors, one mixer (Peavy XR684) and manuals. Asking $300. Contact Erik, 387-0837.

Free: Augsburg Fortress Publishing's 2016 Appointment Book, aka the "Little Red Book." Convenient shirt pocket size with red leather-like cover. Has day-by-day notes pages; six pages for phone numbers and additional notes; and single page calendars for 2015, 2016 and 2017. Retails for $10, but I want to give this to someone who could make use of it. Would make a great stocking stuffer. As it is FREE, there is no haggling on price! Contact Dennis, <magnusde>.

Benefit concerts: Burning Bright, a group of Decorah-area professional and amateur musicians, will perform their annual holiday benefit concert, "All Before Me Peaceful," at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at First United Methodist Church, 302 West Broadway St. This year's concert includes adult and children's voices and various instruments performing pieces from a variety of traditions, both sacred and secular. Tickets are on sale at the Oneota Community Food Co-op; suggested donation is $12, with a minimum of $6. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. Advance purchase is recommended since performances often sell out. Proceeds from this year's concert will be donated to the Community Food Pantry at First Lutheran Church, Project Care, Path to Citizenship, and the Northeast Iowa Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. For more information, contact Kathy, <reedmaka>.

Found: A phone was found in the grassy area behind the Olin Building on Monday, Nov. 30. Please go to the administrative office on the third floor of Olin to identify and claim.

Babysitter/pet sitter available: First-year student on winter break from the University of Iowa looking for babysitting, pet sitting, house sitting or other jobs. Available Dec. 19-Jan. 15. From Decorah, very responsible, can provide references. Please email inquiries to Molly, [email protected].

For sale: Brand new GoPro Hero 3, never been used. $260. Contact Shelby, <nelssh05>.

For sale: Slumberland sofa sleeper, in excellent condition. $200 or best offer. You haul. Located in Caledonia, Minnesota. Contact Melissa, <bothme01>, to see a picture.

For sale: Paul Reed Smith SE Standard electric guitar. F14613. Matte vintage cherry. $300. Like new. Contact Maryna, <bazyma01>.

For sale: Alvarez Regent acoustic guitar RD8 with case, extra strings, tuner and assorted picks included. $120. Contact Maryna, <bazyma01>.

For sale: Peavey Foundation bass guitar. Has cosmetic scratches, but plays very well. Shipped from factory on Dec. 12, 1995. Asking $125. Comes with soft case and guitar stand. Contact Tim, <schweizt> or 419-1886.

For sale: Salomon XScream 179 cm Prolink downhill skis with Salomon S710 bindings. Includes two Rosignol Quantum poles. Asking $75. Contact Tim, <schweizt> or 419-1886.

For sale: Seasoned oak and cherry firewood. Easy pickup, in town by hard surface road. Best offer. Contact Dave, 380-3939.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

And finally...

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration that begins Dec. 26 and ends Jan. 1. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture. Kwanzaa celebrates the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba:

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

• So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.

  -Bahá'u'lláh