Each year, thousands of Upper Valley residents take part as participants, volunteers, and donors, in The Prouty, the annual fund raising effort for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) at DHMC. This year, the 41st for the event held on July 8 and 9, is no different, as preparations are well underway for another successful Prouty.

Literally thousands of participants take part in the cycling, walking, rowing, golfing and other activities that make up each Prouty event. And each of these participants raise money from friends and family for participating, with the funds raised going towards research, and services for patients at the NCCC.… Read More

Community master plans provide a unique vision for what residents and public officials would like for their towns and cities over a multi-year time frame. Master plans also help guide local decision-making in areas like land use, energy, conservation, recreation, housing & transportation, business, and cultural and historic resources, among other topics. Lebanon, like many communities around New Hampshire, is revising the 2012 master plan using a dynamic new approach of working on a few chapters each year.

This year, the Natural Resources and Energy chapters are being updated as opposed to rewritten, says Planning & Development Director David Brooks. “Some communities do their master plan this way, taking a chapter or two each year, which affords a rolling cycle of updates.… Read More

La Salette Shrine: Hope International Connection and Peace

Most Upper Valley folks are familiar with the La Salette Shrine Festival of Lights display in Enfield, NH during the holiday season, but the shrine is a busy place connected to the Upper Valley Community year-round. Speaking with Father John Patrick Sullivan, the director of the shrine and Roman Catholic priest, one can hear his passion for connecting with people in both his neighborhood, the greater Upper Valley, and the world community.

 La Salette has been a part of the Upper Valley for over 100 years after the Shaker society sold the land to the La Salette group in 1927.… Read More

Iryna’s story begins ten years back, before Russia’s war on Ukraine ever began. Iryna Petrus – now living in the Upper Valley with her 4-year-old daughter Polina after fleeing Ukraine in February 2022 – first came to Lebanon as a student. Iryna had a degree in engineering from a university in Ukraine, but was looking to improve her English by studying at Lebanon College where she earned her Associate Degree in business administration. She also worked at Elixir in WRJ, where she recalls talking to patrons about Ukrainian independence and history: “I was a really proud Ukrainian back then and even more now.”… Read More

The concept of a natural burial as an environmentally friendly option in private and public cemeteries is becoming increasingly popular throughout the country, primarily for its minimal environmental impact, simplicity, and lower cost to the consumer. Historically, natural burials were the norm until modern funeral practices like embalming, caskets made from exotic wood, and non-biodegradable cement vaults evolved shortly after the Civil War in response to the desire to preserve soldiers’ remains until they were returned home to their families. Today, with more than 350 green burial cemeteries in the United States, natural burial practices are making a comeback, and municipal officials and consumers are evolving in their understanding of the benefits and management needs of natural burials.… Read More

At age 79, Quail Hollow Senior Living Community resident Sarwar Kashmeri has achieved stunning success in his career and gained not only national recognition, but international acclaim, as well.

Sarwar Kashmeri is an international relations specialist, author, and commentator, noted for his expertise on U.S. global strategy and national security. He is the host of Polaris-Live, featuring 30-minute live conversations on the business and geopolitical impact of China’s rapid rise to superpower status. 

He is the author of the Foreign Policy Association report The Telegram: A China Agenda for President Biden (2021). China’s Grand Strategy: Weaving A New Silk Road to Global Primacy (Praeger) – his third book – was published in July  2019. It… Read More

Muriel Maville, owner of Muriel’s Donuts in Lebanon, had never baked before opening the shop with her husband Francis in 1967. “I was a mother; I was at home!” Muriel laughs, “I hadn’t even gone out to work. In the beginning I didn’t even know if I even wanted to do it, but it all worked out alright.” 

To say that it worked out alright is an understatement; Muriel’s Donuts has stayed in business for 54 years, with Muriel and her family baking up delicious donuts for a loyal customer base and the new faces that come in to try the treats they’ve heard about from friends and family, and in regional and national publications. … Read More

In summer of 2021, the Lebanon Times attended an inspiring concert on the Lebanon green featuring one of the Tuck’s Rock Dojo bands, a mix of talented high- school and college-age musicians and their high-energy teacher, Tuck Stocking. The singer’s powerful and emotional voice and the driving rhythms and melodies of the instruments playing classic rock songs inspired dancing and jubilee in the crowds. Let’s explore the secrets to creating such passionate and skilled music.

Tuck Stocking and Kata Sasvari, a husband-wife team, started Tuck’s Rock Dojo back in 2009. Tuck has a longtime love of many types of music.… Read More

Brian Cook, executive director of Revels North, and his team are finding innovative ways to bring Christmas Revels to our community. A part of our Upper Valley community since 1975, the Christmas Revels celebration made the move to the Lebanon Opera House in 2019. Cook and his team concocted the idea of a heart-warming animated Revels film for the 2020 season but were determined to have an in-person performance for 2021 and have created a new conceptualization of Revels to make that happen. “We see this as another chance to reinvent what we do. We feel like, let’s have some fun with this.… Read More

Lebanon’s Recreation Director Paul Coats scans Colburn Park and says, “You don’t get settings like this everywhere.” At 400 x 235 feet, Colburn Park is not huge, but what might be no more than a giant roundabout, is in fact the physical hub and community anchor of Lebanon’s compact downtown. This was never more apparent than in the summer of 2021, when Covid weary citizens took to the park for escape, diversion, and connection. 

Coats first discovered New England while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998. When he returned home and saw a job opening for a recreation coordinator in Lebanon, he went for it.… Read More