The tax office and planning office tied in this year's decorated doors contest among the various departments at Danvers Town Hall. A reindeer herd decorated the window at the tax office and the planning office had a reindeer snowball toss. Both of those decorations tied for first place. The tax office decorations were done by Ann Marie Brown, Joyce Cronin, Alyson Jalbert, Patricia Mazzetta, Kelley Rayos; Jill Summitt and Jannell Viel. The planning office decorations were completed by Mark Carleo; Kristan Farr and Janell Powers. There was a three-way tie for second place, with Human Resources…

Have you voted yet today? We snapped photos around Danvers' polling locations on Tuesday, but we want to see your shots too. Whether you've run into a candidate, are holding signs outside, or simply want to take a picture of yourself at the polls - we want to see how the voters in Danvers are participating on Election Day.  Adding your photos to the gallery is easy -- make sure you're a registered user and signed in then just click the green and white button that says 'Upload photos and videos.' If you're using a smartphone, email your shots to danvers@patch.com.

It was yet another fierce showdown Wednesday afternoon between soccer rivals Peabody and Danvers on the Tanners' home field. The Northeastern Conference opponents battled to a 3-1 win for Peabody, which now moves the Tanners ahead to 10-0-0 for the season while Danvers falls to 8-2-2. Hayley Dowd and Kara Digiacomo scored the first two goals for Peabody, interrupted by Danvers' Meghan Kenny finding the net in the 50th minute of the game. It almost became a tied game thanks to Danvers' Kylie Plaza, but her shot to the net ended up being ruled out by a referee. Peabody's Victoria Digiacomo then…

The annual playground parade make its way from Plains Park and through Danvers Square on Wednesday evening, with floats from the town's 13 summer park programs. Were you there? Did you take photos? Feel free to add them to our photo gallery by clicking on the green and white button that says "Upload Photos and Videos" on this story. Danvers Community Access Television also added more than two dozen photos of the parade to its Facebook page. The parade is a summer tradition that dates back to the 1950s. Each camp comes up with a theme and decorates a float. This year, themes ranged from Up! to…

I do a lot of outdoor photography on the North Shore and am especially partial to the smaller, less known outdoor areas that might hide some great photos. As the Danvers Patch guest editor this week, that gave me the excuse to go check out the Ferncroft Pond Recreation area, which is located up behind North Shore Community College near 128 and almost right on the Middleton line. I'm not sure how long this conservation area has existed and I suspect fairly few people are aware of it, but it is a nice enough little spot for a short walk. Just remember to bring your bug repellent this time of …

Since coming to work for Patch in the Fall of 2010, one thing I've been able to incorporate into my work is my passion for outdoor photography. The North Shore is one of the most beautiful areas of Massachusetts in my opinion, and we may not always realize some of the great scenery that exists all around us and just a short drive away. This particular gallery might have a somewhat misleading name because it also has some shots of the tidal river heading toward Route 128 and Beverly. With that, feel free to also check out some of the outdoor photo galleries that run over on Lynnfield Patch, …

U.S. Congressman John Tierney visited Cakes for Occasions this afternoon, to congratulate the bakery for being named as finalist for the National Retail Federations’s video contest “This is Retail.” Cakes for Occasions is the only Boston area retailer to be named. The gourmet pastry shop is among 20 finalists from across the country whose entry was chosen to demonstrate the power of retail. The top ten finalists will be revealed on April 9, followed by a second round of public voting. The contenders will then be narrowed down to three until a winner is chosen in early May. The winning video …

Ingrid Barry sent us some great shots from the Rail Trail clean up on St. Patrick's Day. Barry wrote: Can there be a better way to spend part of St. Patrick's Day then helping to make Danvers a cleaner, greener place? Sixteen people answered the Danvers Bi-Peds call for volunteers to help clean up accumulated debris at an access point to the rail trail along Cabot Road. While the rail bed lay dormant for many years, some citizens found it a convenient place dispose of everything from yard waste to concrete to old batteries. Also, no cleanup along the trail happens without finding those little…

After St. John’s Prep knocked in four runs in the first inning, the Danvers Falcons were hard-pressed to play catch-up to their cross-town opponents. The Eagles improved to 14-5 while the Falcons sit at 16-5.

Cakes for Occasions celebrated the sun and warm weather on Wednesday by giving away free cookies to kids. The big blue cooking-eating monster standing out on the sidewalk handed out the cookies to kids and adults alike.

No. 1 singles Cameron Trosin handled his Boston Latin opponent, 6-0 and 6-3, followed up by Spencer Canny in No. 2 singles, 6-2 and 7-5, and No. 3 singles Chris Toner, 6-1 and 6-1, for the Eagles on Wednesday. The No. 1 doubles team of John Corvi and Brad Noyes won 6-0 and 6-0, while the No. 2 doubles team of  and Michael Beluch and Matt Walter also won 6-0 and 6-0.

The Danvers boys improved to 15-3, defeating Marblehead at Plains Park on Monday, and clinched another conference title, repeating as the NEC South champions. The Falcons surrendered three runs in the sixth inning, but still pulled out a 7-4 win. Gloucester comes to town Wednesday and then the Falcons host St. John’s Prep on Saturday. Playoff seedings will be released May 31.

The co-ed Falcons’ track team struggled Saturday, competing in the Northeast Conference Championship Meet at Lynn’s Manning Field. The girls’ squad finished fifth, trailing Peabody by 16 points, while the boys’ squad shared ninth place with Revere at 17 points apiece. The Swampscott ladies took first, narrowly beating out Beverly and Marblehead, while Peabody took a commanding lead in the boys’ race, far ahead of the rest of the field. Highlights for the day from the Lady Falcons came with Xanthi Pantazelos finishing a close second in the 200 meter final (26.66), Amanda Caldarone placing …

The fog created a perfect atmosphere for the work at hand Wednesday night, as a large group of volunteers turned out to help place flags at the graves of veterans buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery and St. Mary’s Cemetery. The marking of the graves was in preparation for Memorial Day observances on May 30.

The Prep baseball club hosted Bishop Fenwick on Saturday and shut out the Crusaders, 3-0. The Eagles improve to 11-4 for the season and play Boston College High School next on Tuesday in Dorchester (4 p.m.).

The Danvers High girls’ lacrosse team posted a win Wednesday at home against Hamilton-Wenham, 17-11, improving to 8-4 for the season. Katie McKenna contributed seven of Danvers’ 17 goals for the day, while Katie Szela added three goals to the cause. The Lady Falcons are scheduled to play Georgetown next on Friday (7 p.m.) and Newburyport on Saturday (10 a.m.).

St. John’s tennis swept past Marblehead on Tuesday, 5-0, and then defeated defending Division I State Champions Wellesley, 3-2, on Wednesday. The Prep’s only loss this season has been to Barrington, R.I., leaving the Eagles with an 11-1 record.

The rain on Monday night created some slippery conditions in the latter half of the game, as Danvers hosted Peabody for a boys’ lacrosse re-match. The Tanners were victorious this time, however, pulling ahead for a 10-9 win. The game was tied 5-5 at the half in Deering Stadium and the Falcons’ Mike Trocchi made it nine-all late in the fourth quarter, only to have Peabody’s Nico Manganiello score the game-winning shot. Danvers takes on Beverly next on Thursday (4 p.m. in Beverly).

The Danvers Falcons fell to Marblehead’s boys’ tennis club, 3-2, on Monday. The Danvers boys are now 9-4 and play Peabody on Wednesday.

Danvers Kiwanis and Beverly Hospital sponsored a Bicycle Rodeo in the rear parking lot at the Liberty Tree Mall, behind the Danvers Police Station, on Saturday morning. The rodeo, despite the usual wild riding associated with such an event, was all about safety instead — bicycle safety skills in a fun, family setting, to be exact. Children brought their own bikes and participated in a skills course, navigating through the parking lot around orange cones, as they practiced braking without skidding, for one thing. There was also a safety testing station to test brakes, tire pressure, gears and …