Editor’s Note: Over the next few issues, the Lebanon Times’ “Community Impact” page will feature some of the many civic organizations that make a positive, local and global impact on our shared community.

All around the world, people with the vision that life can be improved, are working to make it happen. But, they also understand that they cannot accomplish change alone. So they join with like-minded people in organized groups where much can be accomplished.

One such organization that is working to improve lives locally and around the world is Rotary. The Rotary Club of Lebanon and Lebanon-Riverside Rotary have separate officers, members and projects, but the two clubs join forces many times during the year to work as a team.… Read More

The popularity of bicycling has reached an all-time high in this country both as a form of exercise and a form of transportation. The Lebanon Police Department has responded to the increased bicycle traffic on our local highway and byways with a two-wheeled task force of their own. Lebanon Police Captain, Timothy Cohen, heads up that division and notes that, while the number of bicycle patrolmen has increased, his two-wheeled patrol has been in existence since 2008. It is an elite group.

“You don’t just ask an officer to get aboard a bicycle and go on patrol,” Cohen explained. “If selected, the officer has to go through a rigorous 40-hour training session that is quite demanding.… Read More

When Livability.com named Lebanon, NH the #1 Best Small Town in America for 2015, Recreation & Parks Director Paul Coats revealed to the website’s editors one of the City’s little known charms, “Winters are tough up here, but I think most people embrace it.” As hard as it is to admit, the summer’s 90 degree days are becoming a distant memory, and embracing all forms of play on snow and ice is one way outdoor recreation enthusiasts survive the long, chilly winters in the Upper Valley.

Opportunities for winter fun and fitness are literally everywhere in Lebanon, a fact echoed by Coats to Livability.com.… Read More

Getting around Lebanon was a different process 80 years ago. “We walked everywhere,” says Regis Jette, smiling alertly as she tells stories from her life. Her sunny personality shines through the tales she tells. Though her life had difficulties, she recalls things with a smile. She brings the word ‘chipper’ to mind.

Regis Heath was born in 1920. Her unusual name came from a friend of her mother. Her family, which came to include two younger brothers, lived in Canaan. Her father delivered ice with a horse-drawn wagon. He eventually moved to Lebanon for work, and drove a milk truck to Boston, then the local bus that carried people from town to town.… Read More

While many Lebanon residents have felt for a long time that their fair city is simply a wonderful place to call home, those same folks can stroll through downtown with their heads held a little higher. It’s official. Lebanon has been named the Best Small Town in America out of 100 competing communities.

The award was presented by the website Livability.com that showcases America’s best places to live based on an intensive rating system. Livability officials describe themselves in the following manner: “For 25 years Livability has worked with hundreds of communities developing content marketing programs showcasing why they are a great place to live with one simple goal: help cities attract and retain residents and businesses.… Read More

“We wondered if we’d have to cancel [interfaith] camp,” said Kids4Peace New Hampshire and Vermont regional director, Jeff Mandell. Kids4Peace is a youth movement of more than 1,800 Palestinian, Israeli, and North American members, with a recently formed NH chapter. “But every summer has tension no matter what. Just because you take the kids out of the country doesn’t mean the politics stop.”

The role of Kids4Peace in children’s lives focuses on just that: how to acknowledge the politics, race, religion, history, and gender of a person, without letting those things affect your treatment of him or her. Through peace dialogues and conflict resolution, the organization’s goal is for children to emerge from the six-year program with an understanding of tolerance to bring back to their own communities.… Read More