Stop! Don’t cut those long, lovely locks of yours just yet! Karen Peck, chairwoman for Circles The Salon’s first Lock of Love Day, wants you to wait and have your hair cut free on Valentine’s Day, for a very special reason.

Circles The Salon of Pittsfield wants to donate 300 inches of hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that, according to its Web site, provides hairpieces to children in the United States who are under 18 and suffer from long-term medical hair loss. Applicants must meet certain financial guidelines.

Circles will offer free hair cuts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at its salon, 13 Somerset Plaza in Pittsfield.

“We at Circles decided that we could put our hearts and our skills to work,” said Peck of helping provide hair to Locks of Love.

And, Peck told me, she has a very special and personal reason for doing so. Her teenage niece, Jennifer Berry of Newport, is recovering from cancer treatment that included chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant.

Berry has been told that because of the treatment’s intensity, her hair will not grow back, so she is making an application to Locks of Love.

Peck explained that for individuals to be eligible to donate to Locks of Love, “they must have at least 10 inches of hair to cut and it must be free of chemical damage.”

“This is a contribution that costs nothing,” she added, “but is straight from the heart.”

Peck also wants you to know that on this day, cutting hair “is all we’ll be doing. If anyone wants additional services, they will need to reschedule.”

The goal for the Circles staff, she explained, “is to be able to give back some dignity to each and every child who benefits from this wonderful day. Hair is someone’s identity; it’s how he or she is known. It resembles their personality.”

Peck believes it would be “wonderful” to help make an individual feel “complete.”

If you don’t have enough hair to donate, then tell a friend who does, Peck urges.

“The more who hear about this day, the more haircuts we can donate, and the more children we can help.”

For information or to make an appointment for your donation, call 487-3200.

Members of the Presque Isle Class of 1969 meet at 6:30 tonight at the home of Debbie Durbin, 26 Ward St. in Presque Isle.

Any member of the Class of ’69 is welcome and encouraged to attend and, if you have questions, to call Pat Good, 764-6552.

The reunion committee is still seeking five classmates they have not been in contact with since the last reunion: Lana Ricker Lajotte, Bill Schmidt, Joe Haines, Debbie Kilpatrick and David Gogan.

If you have information about any of these individuals, write Durbin at the above address, or call Good at the above number.

Trail Riders of Today, or TROT, hosts its annual Sleigh Rally at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Beem Farm on Pittsfield Road in Palmyra.

The rally features several horse-drawn sleighs and drivers competing in various categories, ranging from Currier & Ives to the obstacle course.

Admission is free and refreshments will be available.

A portion of all sleigh ride donations will benefit a local equine rescue facility.

Anyone who needs participant entry information can call Amy Beem at 368-5288.

She also suggests that if the weather is “bitterly cold,” you might want to call to find out if the event has been rescheduled.

The fourth annual North American Polar Bear Dip to benefit Ronald McDonald House of Bangor is noon Friday, Jan. 23, at Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation. This year’s theme is Mardi Gras.

Last year, 150 folks plunged into frigid Passamaquoddy Bay to raise nearly $20,000. The 2004 goal is $25,000.

Sponsored by Washington County Community College in Calais, the event features media celebrities including two brave Bangor Daily News colleagues, Jeff Strout and Diana Graettinger, along with representatives of three Bangor television stations and radio stations WQDY and WCRQ.

Reporters and photographers from the Calais Advertiser, Downeast Times, Quoddy Tides, Machias Valley News, St. Croix Courier and St. John Telegraph Journal also will plunge in for charity.

The event concludes with a Mardi Gras Ball at 9 p.m. hosted by Chuck and Val Maggiani, owners of La Sardina Loca Mexican Restaurant in Eastport. For information or to register, call Tess Ftorek, 454-1000, or visit www.wccc.me.edu.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.