Our daily transportation decisions have major impacts on our personal health and the wellness of our communities. Places that design streets to encourage walking and biking inevitably get people active and out of their cars. A robust transit system encourages good public health because it gets people walking to bus stops. Buses also help us breathe easier. They produce 95 percent less carbon monoxide, 92 percent fewer volatile organic compounds, and 45 percent less carbon dioxide than private automobiles, according to the American Public Health Association.

Thankfully, Lebanon residents have many options to use public transportation or take a safe walking or biking trip.… Read More

Lebanon was once known as “The City of Fountains” – and the Lebanon Fountain Committee is on a mission to help it live up to that name. Established in 1997 to spearhead the restoration of the Marion Carter fountain downtown, the five-member committee continues to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and strive toward the restoration and building of the fountains the city was once known for.

According to Lebanon resident and committee volunteer Priscilla Gosselin, the priority this year is to build a fountain on the downtown Mall, providing another enjoyable space where residents and visitors can gather. As the city recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Lebanon fire that destroyed much of downtown, Gosselin said it seems like a good time to create a new downtown attraction that will add to the feeling of community and fellowship.… Read More

Beverly Damren has been an energetic and sociable presence in West Lebanon for 65 years. She has made her mark as a parent, a Den Mother, and counselor. She has worked in the schools, in social service groups, and most recently putting a strong shoulder to the wheel to get the Kilton Public Library up and running. Growing up in Claremont during the Depression, she learned not to wait around for someone else to do things for her.

Different Times, Different Pace

“Everybody walked – you didn’t think anything of it,” Bev recalls of her childhood. Her maternal grandparents had a farm, which her uncle later took over.… Read More

There is some contention over when it starts – some say the beginning of the senior year, some say in the second semester of junior year – but when “senior-itis” hits, it hits hard. What is “senior-itis?” It can be a hazy, glazed-over look in an upperclassman’s eye, a telltale sign that his or her mind is not there in the classroom, but in what lies ahead for them after graduation. It can be seen in the lounging groups of seniors in the library, luxuriously enjoying the final moments of high school. It can include a sense of fear, too; “senior-itis” is just as much an admission of anxiety over the future as it is an eagerness for the future to come.… Read More