Lebanon police officer and percussionist, Tim Cohen, has been a member of the Upper Valley community for almost thirty years.

Cohen, 55, studied music during college and then went on to work in the radio industry for several years. His job as a radio broadcast announcer is what originally brought him to New Hampshire to work on a local morning show. 

His move to Claremont from Cape May, NJ in 1993 led to the discovery of the Lebanon Police Department and their dedication to the community of Lebanon. Cohen’s past experiences with police officers in larger cities such as Cape May, where he grew up, were less influential on his present career than the officers who he’s engaged with in the Upper Valley. 

Officers in larger cities are often not very person-oriented, Cohen said. They are more focused on their job and enforcing laws than knowing who the people are that they engage with. 

Since Upper Valley towns are relatively smaller in comparison to bigger cities in the United States, Cohen says, “Local officers are much more community-centered and are doing it for the right reasons.”

In fact, Cohen was so inspired by the local police force that in 1995, he joined the Canaan Police Department as a police officer. And then in 2006, he joined the Lebanon Police Department.

Meanwhile, Cohen also worked as a music teacher, a job he still has today. Cohen teaches and plays percussion instruments, generally as part of an orchestra. His favorite instrument is the timpani – also known as “kettledrums.”

Cohen teaches private music lessons and is an instructor at the Upper Valley Music Center (UVMC). On top of these jobs, Cohen is also involved with local theatrical performances such as Lebanon High School’s performance of The Addams Family, running Friday, December 2 through Sunday, December 4 at the Lebanon Opera House, and Hartford High School’s fall musical, Footloose. 

Cohen says that his involvement with music has helped create a balance in his life. “Working as a police officer, one can inherit a cynical attitude towards the world. As an officer, you tend to see people at their worst,” he said. “Music can help balance those negative experiences out.” 

Working with teenagers as a music teacher, the ability to see how talented local youth are is thrilling, Cohen said. He’s also worked with many adult performers at places such as the North Country Community Theater (NCCT), some who have even performed on Broadway.

His favorite part about working with all of these performers is that they are kind and genuine people. Cohen sees beyond peoples’ flaws when they are playing music, which serves as a reminder that even though people make mistakes, they’re still good and talented people, a lesson that has been helpful to Cohen not only as a musician but also as a police officer. 

As a part of his police training, Cohen trained at the FBI National Academy for ten weeks in 2002, which is one of his favorite life experiences. One fun connection that Cohen made from this is to the movie The Silence of the Lambs. The obstacle course that main character Jodi Foster runs in the movie was an actual obstacle course at the academy, which he completed himself during his training there. 

Cohen has also been able to work with K-9’s (police dogs) as a police officer. He’s handled two different dogs throughout his career and says that their ability to use their senses – such as smelling and hearing – is simply incredible.

Another favorite experience of Cohen’s was visiting Hollywood in 1986. During his spring break in college, he flew out for the recording of a song that he had written, which was being performed on a popular show from the 1980s, Star Search. Seeing this whole other world that he was able to be a part of – even though for a short period of time – was exciting for him. 

In general, Cohen enjoys knowing that some of the music he has composed has been played by many different orchestras and bands, including NH Philharmonic, Great Western Rocky Mountain Brass Band, Upper Valley Community Band and Kearsarge Community Band.  Getting the chance to play up and down the East Coast with many different musical groups has also been a rewarding experience for him. 

Much of the time that Cohen is playing in an orchestra, he’s in the “pit” – an area inset below the stage often not visible from the seating area. “Being in the pit, you tend to wear black,” Cohen says. It is common for members of the orchestra to wear darker colors so the audience’s attention is directed to the performers. In fact, it has become something that the Lebanon police officers tease him for.

Working with officers in Lebanon for 16 years, his coworkers have gotten to know him well and always comment on his all-black attire. With the busy schedule that Cohen keeps, he generally works as an officer until about five-o’clock in the evening before heading to a performance at a local theater or to teach. Without much time to change, he wears a lot of black so he’s always prepared for his performances. Sometimes, he even keeps his drums in his car since he has to commute for different events and students. 

Living locally for the past 30 years or so, Cohen has fallen in love with the Upper Valley. “I grew up on a beach [in Cape May], but I’ve been here half my life and it feels like this is home,” Cohen said.

“A big part of this feeling is the community,” he added. Having welcoming neighbors and really good friends makes a huge difference, he said. “I love how much I trust the neighborhood – the ability to leave my drums somewhere overnight and not worry about someone taking them is great.”

 Cohen values the sense of community and belonging that he’s found in Lebanon and the surrounding area, which inspires him daily. Between the hours he puts in serving Lebanon as a police officer and the time he spends working as a musician, Cohen has learned the importance of balance – a life lesson he’s put to use in Lebanon and beyond.

Each year, drug and alcohol problems among employees result in the loss of productivity, profits, and a positive working environment for businesses and organizations. In the past, employees dealing with these issues might incur severe consequences from their employers, frequently resulting in termination, which often led to a further downhill spiral in their lives. However, in recent years, many forward-thinking companies and organizations are trying different approaches to support employees facing addiction problems.

One such company in the Upper Valley is the well-respected Hypertherm Associates. Stacey Chiocchio, the community citizenship manager at Hypertherm Associates, explains how this move towards assisting employees with addiction issues, termed a “recovery-friendly workplace”, began at the firm.

“Oftentimes, the way things start is with our associates,” says  Chiocchio. Associates (employees) realized that with the burgeoning opioid crisis affecting so many in New Hampshire and Vermont, the company needed to be proactive in response. So in the mid-2010s,  progress toward a recovery-friendly workplace was underway.

Removing the stigma associated with drug and alcohol problems and building a safe space for recovery at the company was the goal when they first addressed the issue, says Chiocchio. In doing this, the company sought outside support in the process, which included ideas from the Dartmouth Hitchcock Community Health team. Also playing a  major role in this effort is Hypertherm’s own HOPE Foundation. The Hypertherm HOPE Foundation continues to fund nonprofits in this space with programs focused on education to remove stigma and help support recovery.

Though the process of establishing a recovery-friendly work environment began in 2015, it continues to grow and evolve, Chiocchio says. “Every year we’ve added more and more strengths to the (effort)…it’s a journey.”

One key initiative at first was looking at past policies and protocols regarding employees with substance use disorders and then adapting them. In the past, when an employee was experiencing drug or alcohol problems related to work, “often it led to termination,” says Chiocchio. All agreed that this could no longer be the main option; “We needed to do better.” 

Doing better meant supporting these employees going through difficult times. That support includes helping the individual connect with a  licensed alcohol and drug counselor to create a plan. 

Many other company supported assets are now in place to help,  Chiocchio says. These include resource cards found in all of the restrooms, providing employees with a private space in which to learn about their options. The company has also trained associates, termed “champions,” within the company to provide information and resources for those in need. Recently, the company has installed a resource called a “Naloxbox” throughout each of their facilities. When opened, it notifies all that there is a lifesaving measure occurring. The box contains Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. Any associate is able to open the box to administer this lifesaving drug.

“Through the actions we took, we created a recovery-friendly  workplace,” says Chiocchio.

The goal of creating a recovery friendly work environment is not unique to Hypertherm Associates. After Hypertherm began this program, the State of NH began its Recovery Friendly Work Initiative. According to information on the State’s website, “Untreated addiction costs New Hampshire’s economy $2.36 billion. 66% of that cost ($1.5 billion) is incurred by businesses in the form of impaired productivity and  absenteeism.”

The State site goes on further to say, “The Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative gives business owners the resources and support they need to foster a supportive environment that encourages the success of their employees in recovery.”

The State recognizes Hypertherm Associates as a partner in the  Initiative, along with many other companies and organizations throughout NH. The response to Hypertherm’s recovery friendly effort and initiatives among the staff has exceeded expectations, says Stacey Chiocchio. “This (effort), more than any other, has had such a dramatic effect in a positive way.”

Having this recovery based effort has to some extent changed the  culture at the company, Chiocchio points out. “We like to celebrate  milestones,” she says, such as employees reaching

25 years of service.  Though in the past, those celebrations would often take place at an  establishment where alcohol was served, such as a brewery. Changes to this were inevitable; “That doesn’t feel like it’s supporting all our associates,” says Chiocchio. In response, she says this year’s celebration took place at VINS as an alcohol free event, making it a more comfortable occasion for those in recovery. “We’re really proud of that pivot,” says Chiocchio.

Not only employees at the company benefit from this recovery initiative – family members do as well. “Some (employees) have family  members struggling, they feel supported, and they now feel that they can ask for help for those family members,” says Chiocchio.

Though many companies are realizing a recovery friendly work  environment is important, many more have yet to make that commitment. When asked what companies contemplating a move towards a recovery friendly workplace should do, Stacey Chiocchio offers blunt advice. “Be honest with yourself; don’t be in denial that you have substance abuse within your walls.” 

In 2021, the City of Lebanon commissioned the West Lebanon Revitalization Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the City Council on priorities for improvements in West Lebanon. West Lebanon has been thoroughly studied and surveyed over the years, so the committee built on this work with a plan for action. (Read the Action Plan for West Leb on the City’s website or at westleb.org). 

Out of this committee grew an informal collection of residents and business owners who work in an upbeat and positive way towards the goals outlined in the Action Plan. The West Leb Civic Action group began meeting a few months ago and we are excited about the possibilities for beautification and improvements in our neighborhood, and we’re committed to making those plans a reality. 

Our work runs on two tracks (railroad pun intended, read on to find out more about our Westboro Rail Yard project): We prioritize small projects that have an immediate positive impact while also advocating for significant longer-term changes. In particular, we believe outdoor recreation and connectivity (namely, walking and cycling trails) have a significant impact on the local economy and the quality of life in Lebanon. We aim to bring our neighbors together to enjoy each other and our beautiful area and to catch the vision for what West Lebanon could be like in the future.  

Immediate Impact

We believe that small actions create big impact. During the 2021 holiday season, one WLCA member worked with Devon Blanchard of DB Lights to bring cheer to some West Lebanon businesses, decorating them with lights as a part of our “Light Up West Leb” initiative. We are working to expand on this effort in 2022!

The pocket park next to the Lyman Bridge – currently nicknamed Bridge Street Park – is the gateway to Lebanon from Vermont. In 2021, through the efforts of a few inspired neighbors, it was transformed from an overgrown and trash-littered eyesore to a scenic spot to sit and enjoy the river from.

Small Actions Spark Big Change

These small steps inspired momentum and in October 2022, over 100 neighbors joined in on the action in West Lebanon. The WLCA crew teamed up with the Lebanon Recreation, Arts, & Parks Department to host a “Cleanup and Green-up Day” at Bridge Street Park, where neighbors gathered for a work project followed by a community party.

Volunteers planted trees and installed signs featuring historical photos of West Lebanon and renderings of the Westboro Greenway and downtown revitalization efforts planned by the City. These are the first installments of an envisioned “Story Walk” for a future waterfront path in Westboro Park and River Park.

Chalk art was provided by Jennifer Chambers of the New England School of Arts, music by Bruce Freeberg and Steve Glazer, and cider pressing by West Lebanon neighbor Erik Endrulat. Also spotted that day were Mayor McNamara (did you know he grew up in West Lebanon?) and multiple current and former City Councilors. We appreciate the City leadership’s support for our efforts.

Paul Coats, director of Lebanon Recreation Arts and Parks, summarized the day well in a thank you to volunteers: “You came with shovels, rakes, pruners, wheelbarrows, gloves, muscles, and determination. We needed all that stuff, plus some good cheer, which you brought also. We dug holes, busted through rotting roots, collected litter, dug a wider hole, built signs, chalked a sidewalk, expanded holes, planted trees in holes, watered trees, moved trees, and, yup, dug another hole. We also tuned up bikes, learned a bit about trees, embraced new art, painted faces, twisted balloons, got a new West Leb shirt, pressed apples for cider, flipped burgers and dogs, enjoyed good live music, and gelato, and had an all-around good time. You were there to represent your street, West Lebanon, the City of Lebanon, Christ Redeemer Church, the Tree Advisory Board, Leb Rec, Conservation Commission, or more than one of these at the same time. Kudos to each of you for showing up, for loving your community,” he said. 

The goal of this event was to further develop this gateway park and to draw attention to City efforts along the Connecticut River Waterfront. Bridge Street Park is important not only because it is the gateway to our City, but also because it is adjacent to West Lebanon’s biggest asset.

West Lebanon’s Hidden Treasure: Our Beautiful Connecticut River Waterfront

Many residents don’t know that there is a stunning riverfront property hidden behind Main Street! West Lebanon has a history as a thriving railroad town, but for decades (and despite several attempts by the City to gain control of the property from NH DOT), the 17-acre Westboro Rail Yard sat mostly vacant, its historic brick buildings slowly disintegrating.

In November 2021, something exciting happened! After decades of advocacy by the City and by Lebanon’s representatives in Concord, the collapsing and contaminated structures were removed, clearing the way for a new life in this space. This demolition effort was enabled thanks to funding secured through Governor Chris Sununu’s office by the Lebanon Congressional Delegation, the City of Lebanon, and executive councilor Joe Kenney. Governor Sununu even took a turn in the excavator on demolition day!

WLCA members continued to encourage our City officials to advocate for control of this land so that these longstanding dreams of a waterfront park could be realized. In August of 2022, again after extensive advocacy, the City of Lebanon and the State agreed on terms to transfer ownership of seven acres of the Westboro Rail Yard to Lebanon, a process that is expected to take one year. This land control will finally unlock West Lebanon’s waterfront and allow for the development of a waterfront path and park.

Advocating for Big Progress

This month we are reading the City’s capital budgeting plans and speaking to our City councilors to make sure important West Lebanon projects are included, such as streetscape improvements on Main Street, and design work for Westboro Park. We want to keep the momentum going!

Streetscape improvements are slated for 2023, design work for the waterfront path is almost complete, and we hope that by the end of 2023, land control and design work for the Westboro Park can be completed so that funding can be sought.

Be part of the action!

• West Leb Civic Action holds an open monthly meeting to discuss initiatives underway. Join the conversation on Zoom every first Friday at noon: us06web.zoom.us/j/82761032200
• Add your name to our email list to hear about upcoming events, such as lighting work on Main Street and a mid-winter gathering at River Park.
• If you or someone you know are interested in sponsoring or volunteering to hang lights for “Light Up West Leb,” we’d love to hear from you. 
• Shop local! Studies have shown that every dollar spent in a locally owned business circulates three times more revenue into the local economy than the same dollar in a chain store.
• Visit westleb.org for Westboro Rail Yard history, recent West Leb updates, and images of the future we’re working toward.

The holiday season is upon us, and for millions of Americans, that means food, friends, and family – and sometimes uncomfortable conversations deftly avoided by offering another serving of apple pie. In Lebanon, the City government is bucking that trend: a recent visit to City Hall by Braver Angels – a nonprofit dedicated to bridging partisan divides and finding common ground – is part of a series of moves meant to help the City come together during a time of increasing polarization.

When former state legislators Doug Teschner and Patricia Higgins sat down with Lebanon’s City Councilors and other City officials in late September, it was as a part of an initiative called “Braver Politics.” Unlike those of us sitting around the dinner table, our elected officials aren’t able to simply change the subject when the conversation gets uncomfortable – it’s their job to meaningfully engage with the concerns of their constituents, after all – but the lessons offered by the seminar could be useful to everyone. Higgins, a former Democratic state representative, stressed the importance of making people feel heard before trying to make your point. Teschner, her counterpart (a former Republican representative), directed participants to large, bold words printed on a handout next to the phrase “The Prime Directive: connect first, then explain your view.”

Over the course of two hours, the Councilors and officials broke into groups to practice the various steps, which included acknowledging others’ points, appreciating where they’re coming from, and agreeing wherever possible before making one’s own point, but much of it boiled down to the difference between listening to understand as opposed to listening for the most controversial points – the best ammunition to use to return fire. For City Manager Shaun Mulholland, who arranged the seminar, the invitation was part of a broader strategy to build a “skill base” that’s needed for a fast-growing city like Lebanon.

In an interview in October, Mulholland explained that these moves began with the New Hampshire City Manager’s Association “challenging managers to take action” in response to the national conversation taking place on race and equity, but he also stressed the preventative nature of these moves.

“We don’t have a particular circumstance…we do not have a crisis here [in Lebanon]. We don’t want one, either. We want to get ahead of this,” he said. A part of that, he added, is bringing programs like Braver Angels to Lebanon, “so we have the skills when we need to have difficult discussions.”

Other parts of this broader strategy have included steps like Race, Equity, and Leadership (REAL) training through the National League of Cities, and the recent creation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission for the city.

The DEI Commission is composed of City Councilors and volunteers. It was created late last year “to enhance the City’s support for a welcoming environment by encouraging cooperation, tolerance, and respect among those living, working, and visiting the City.” It serves primarily as an advisory board for the City Council, while also helping to organize events, like multicultural elements of the Lebanon Opera House’s Nexus festival this past summer. They have also reviewed the City Code and Charter for gender-neutral language and recently weighed in on the housing situation in Lebanon, encouraging support for more affordable housing in the area.

The commission is currently running a survey on people’s experiences with discrimination in the city (which can be found at tinyurl.com/DiscrimSurvey), in an attempt to gather information on where their efforts are best directed. The survey asks whether the people living and working in Lebanon feel they have been treated differently than others – and if so, why? In a recent interview, Bise Wood Saint Eugene, vice-chair of the commission and family services coordinator at LISTEN Thrift Stores, explained that fact-finding is an important first step for the DEI Commission: “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist,” he said, adding that “without people sharing their stories, we can’t assume anything.” He also stressed that the survey isn’t exclusively about race, but about all forms of identity, including income, disability, gender, and more. He wants respondents to think about their identities as things that overlap, “like being a single mom or dad with multiple kids in the Upper Valley (where daycare spots can be really scarce and exorbitant when available),” or being someone “without a college degree.”

“We ask about people’s experiences with discrimination,” said Emily Walton, the Commission’s chair and associate professor of Sociology at Dartmouth College, “and then a follow-up question that is, ‘what do you think that discrimination is based on?’ It could be something like your ancestry, gender, age, accent, sexual identity, a disability…those are things that we can all relate to.”

The point of the survey is to build a greater understanding of the concerns of the people who live and work in Lebanon, to learn about their shared struggles in an effort to build trust and empathy. “If you can relate” when you hear someone else’s story, says Saint Eugene, then “take a moment to think about it and say wait a minute, ‘this is my story,’ something might click.”

Another example of Lebanon’s efforts toward empathy and community was seen on the 19th of June, during the city’s first Juneteenth celebration. Though it only became a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has long been a day for celebration in the country’s Black communities, marking the day in 1865 when Union forces arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce that all those who had been enslaved up to that point were now free. While many Americans are taught that slavery ended with the Emancipation Proclamation, in reality, it took time for the law to be enforced. For this and other reasons, the Juneteenth Steering Committee wanted the event to be “as educational as possible,” according to Alisha Robinson, who, in addition to being a member of the DEI Commission, also serves as the DEI program coordinator at Alice-Peck Day Memorial Hospital and as chair of the BIPOC employee resource group for Dartmouth Health.

According to Robinson, they wanted to bring the community into the special day together with a common understanding, explaining to everyone, “this is why this celebration is important to the Black community, and this is what it means.” Tia Winter, a clinical social worker based in Lebanon and member of both the DEI Commission and the Juneteenth steering committee, added that they wanted people to feel more connected to their own, local history, inviting Lebanon’s City historian to give a talk about the day in relation to the city’s past.

They “really wanted it to be celebratory,” she added, “without any feelings of shame.” “It was great to see how interested the community was,” said Robinson. She noted that while there weren’t any official crowd counts, the New London Hannaford donated cake and drinks – and Hannaford staff donated their time to serve them – for 150-200 people, and there wasn’t any left at the end of the event. “It shows that our community is working together on these issues and that it’s important to all of us,” she said.

At the heart of all these efforts is the idea that empathy, education, and meaningful engagement are integral to the building and maintaining of a community. So this holiday season, whether it’s in Lebanon’s City Hall or at your own dining room table, remember that as the Braver Angels say, it’s important to “connect first.”