Residents and visitors have likely noticed the existing sculpture and mural installations in the Downtown Lebanon Tunnel, providing public art for the enjoyment of pedestrians and cyclists using the path between the Northern Rail Trail and the Mascoma River Greenway. These installations have been created by local artists and supported by Lebanon ArtWays, the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of Lebanon. Before long, additional installations will join the first four, adding vibrancy throughout the tunnel and expanding the public art offerings in Lebanon.

The goal of commissioning art installations in the tunnel, says Recreation, Arts, and Parks Department director Paul Coats, is to “have Lebanon stand apart as a municipality in the Upper Valley because of our devotion to public art” and also “to make that tunnel more attractive” as a recreational space. Artistic, aesthetically pleasing spaces attract development, tourism, and recreation, while also discouraging less attractive graffiti such as tagging. The effort also enlists local artists and provides fair compensation for their work.

Earlier this year, Lebanon ArtWays presented a Request for Proposals for installations to fill the tunnel with art, owing to the availability of TIF district funds to provide stipends and materials reimbursement to artists. In May, the commission reviewed and recommended approval of five proposals, covering a range of styles, formats, media, and subjects. This was followed in July by a site visit to consider the locations and sizes of each proposal. Lebanon’s Heritage Commission is also involved in the process, intending to support art that highlights the history of transportation locally.

What can viewers expect to see in the coming months? Here is a preview:

Emily Battles has proposed an interactive, three-dimensional installation consisting of hundreds of wooden blocks attached to a grid and painted in varying hues and shades. Emily’s intention is to allow viewers to engage with the installation by rotating the blocks and changing the appearance of the wall. This incorporates viewers into the generation of art, giving passersby the opportunity to create a unique display from the positioning of the blocks. To better engage younger members of the community safely, this installation will be affixed to the northern wall of the tunnel, farther from the section used most frequently by cyclists.

Julio Muñoz Uribe, also known as Ragko, created the recently-completed community mural that adorns the building of COVER Home Repair in White River Junction. His proposal for Lebanon superimposes a collection of images that evoke a sense of place for those in the tunnel: a mountainous backdrop above a map of the City; the distinctive cupola of Lebanon City Hall, and brightly colored fish to represent the river that flows beside the trails. The proposal plays heavily on the concept of confluences, as the images combine in the space between the restored stone wall of the tunnel, in a space that connects two trails that bring riverside nature to a municipal downtown area. Additionally, the colors of this mural will, Julio hopes, complement the colors of the sculpture installation beside it.

Marley Dube mural proposal – Mother Nature

John Garoutte in 2023 painted “Patchwork,” which he describes as “a giant quilt, with patches that depict scenes from Lebanon both past and present,” as an homage to the textile industry of New England. The piece currently resides near the western end of the tunnel’s south wall. His latest proposal expands this mural eastward, incorporating more seasons alongside the estival images tunnel users already enjoy. John notes that “the seasonality of New England is unique and beautiful in so many ways, and I wanted to contrast the warmth and energy of the summer with the cool quiet of the winter.” John’s art is inspired by his snowboarding and his work as a stone wall builder; his love for public art emerges from the idea that it “humanizes the built environment and has the ability to transform and invigorate spaces in ways that make public space so much more inviting and comfortable,” and “it can provide everyone in the community direct and ongoing encounters with art.”

Nicholas Cain is working with Kay Curtis and a team of four volunteers on what he describes as “a parade through the tunnel, playfully illustrating Lebanon’s culture and activities using many of the iconic Lebanon landmarks.” The larger-than-life mural will consist of two stacked panels, sixty feet long and each measuring seven feet high for a total of fourteen vertical feet looming over the tunnel’s visitors. The project sketches show animated figures, evocative of cubism and engaged in activities of celebration and daily life.

Marley Dube is a graduate of Lebanon High School, and in 2019, she painted a mural in the school, so she is familiar with public art. Her submission is titled “Mother Nature” and, like John’s “Patchwork,” depicts the seasons of the region. Marley’s mural leans heavily into organic imagery, including leaves and stars and water in a semi-abstract design embodying the natural environment that draws so many people to the community and its many offerings. Positioned in the western part of the tunnel near to the Mascoma River, “Mother Nature” is sure to evoke in viewers an appreciation of the trails they are enjoying.

In early 2022, Lebanon may be able to provide greener energy to its residents while saving them money through an electric aggregation plan called Lebanon Community Power (LCP). The project, which has been spearheaded by Assistant Mayor Clifton Below, takes advantage of a state law that allows municipalities to become electricity suppliers, negotiating lower electricity rates, and clean, sustainable energy on behalf of their communities.

Keene became the first municipality in New Hampshire to adopt a Community Power Plan in May of this year; since then, Hanover and Harrisville have adopted their own plans, and Derry, Dover, Exeter, Nashua, and Portsmouth are in the process. In September, the Lebanon City Council will consider whether to adopt Lebanon’s plan. There appear to be no downsides to adopting the plan; there’s no cost to join the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, the Joint Powers Agency formed to share administrative and electricity procurement services between municipalities in the state, and the plan explicitly states that LCP will not launch unless it can provide rates that are competitive with or lower than those currently available to residents. Liberty, the current default supplier, will still provide and maintain the power grid, so there is no need to build additional infrastructure. Further, the program is voluntary, allowing residents to opt out for any reason.

Jon Chaffee, a member of the Lebanon Energy Advisory Committee (LEAC), is excited about the opportunity the plan provides. “There’s a geek factor,” he says, of the many reasons to support LCP. The possibility of supporting the development of numerous regional renewable sources of electricity is a substantial draw. “The utilities can’t do that, but community power can actively support renewable generation.” Opportunities abound, such as the project currently underway that hopes to convert methane gas emissions from the landfill to electricity that would help the city to meet its emission reduction goals in the energy chapter of the Master Plan. Buying power from regional generators helps the local economy, makes the grid greener and more resilient, and lowers the cost of transmitting electricity from distant fossil fuel powered generators. Transmission charges are a significant portion of the electric bill and savings benefit all rate payers. 

Two other great opportunities, Jon says, are that LCP can offer simplified Community net metering, and LCP can offer an optional pilot of time-of-use (TOU) rates – a long-standing aspiration shared by Jon and other members of LEAC, as well as other residents. With TOU rates, customers can save electric costs by limiting their use during peak hours and shifting that burden to other times when the demand for electricity is lower. 

The idea of TOU rates may sound minor, but it’s not: the City of Lebanon has saved tens of thousands of dollars per year by paying attention to its peak usage and reducing its capacity charges – the charge in everyone’s electric bill that provides the generation capacity to cover peak power usage. Meanwhile, the capacity charges on all NH ratepayers’ bills are going up year after year because of lack of attention to reducing the NH share of electricity use, compared to neighboring states, on the one peak use day of the year that is the basis for calculating the capacity charge. As such, by providing residents the opportunity to see when their electricity consumption is more costly, LCP can not only help them to reduce their costs but help all rate payers in the state by decreasing peak usage. Jon mentions that Lebanon has reduced its capacity significantly by shutting down its water treatment and wastewater pumps at peak times, running them when usage is low otherwise, and is planning to install air conditioners that chill during off-peak hours. “We want to give those benefits to people more broadly,” he says, by allowing users to opt in to TOU rates.

LEAC is confident that community power can provide a better product for Lebanon’s residents. In a pair of public hearings over the summer, Clifton Below and LEAC member Meghan Butts explained the plan and answered questions. “Think of it as a buying club for electricity,” says Meghan: the statewide coalition will be able to leverage the needs of multiple communities to procure electricity at competitive rates and incorporate renewable energy at levels set by the municipalities themselves. For LCP, Clifton envisions a tiered system, starting with a base product that provides cheap rates and a moderate amount of renewable energy that’s still greater than what the existing default supplier provides. For an additional cost, bringing the price in line with or above that of Liberty’s supply, a customer can increase the percentage of renewable energy, up to 100% renewable. This system would allow LCP to meet the needs of a variety of consumers while supporting real renewable energy.

How will community power beat the rates of existing suppliers?

Again, the answer lies in the locally controlled coalition. Rather than going to bid twice a year, locking in rates for six-month periods with a buffer to hedge against volatility during that long window, the plan will build a rolling portfolio of short-term contracts while procurement professionals seek out good deals and evaluate the risk and return of longer term options. Rather than increasing volatility, Jon believes the shorter contracts will stabilize rates for customers by decreasing the length of a price increase and allowing LCP to cover short-term changes with a reserve fund. And with the expertise of those professionals, the buying power of the coalition can ensure LCP caters to the needs of its customers. Hundreds of businesses and residents already buy their power from competitive suppliers and commercial brokers; as Jon says, “it’s been an advantage for the businesses that can afford it, so we’re offering those advantages to the 6000 residential and 1000 business customers that still use Liberty default service.”

Community power will be a great opportunity to support grid modernization. The existing system relies on massive peak generation capacity, much of which is only used in a very small time slot over the course of a year but still needs to be available for that time. By coordinating usage and production regionally, we can balance the needs of Lebanon effectively and sustainably. Lebanon Community Power will perform the analysis of rates, products, and contracts for us, getting us the energy we need, and doing it with our interests in mind.

Hi, I’m Devin, and I’m a community organizer. That’s how I usually introduce myself these days. If someone had told me when I first moved to Lebanon that I would soon lead multiple local organizations, plan various independent political advocacy demonstrations and actions, and serve on a housing board, two task forces, a commission, and (hopefully soon) Lebanon City Council… well, I can’t say I would have believed them. Nonetheless, less than a decade later, this is my volunteer résumé. I share this not to brag, but rather to encourage everyone with an interest in community – the way it functions, the opportunities to be found therein, or simply the people to meet – to get involved. The process is simple, the barriers to entry are impressively low, and the insights and connections I’ve gained are absolutely worth the time.

In 2015 I lived in a condominium in West Lebanon with a few friends and worked in a small office in Hanover, and I generally only interacted with those two communities or the ones I had developed in school or in previous jobs. When a friend-of-a-friend invited me to join a now-defunct volunteer project, I resisted but eventually relented, albeit without much expectation. My typical assumption had been that most people involved in these projects already knew one another and knew what they were doing, either through their work or through some long-standing commitments.

That assumption could not have been further from the truth. What I found upon joining that project was a welcoming, enthusiastic community of former strangers, often transplants to the Upper Valley, brought together by a common cause. They shared information, sought ideas from one another, and invited me in whenever I felt I could contribute, even by sharing my opinion. Through that group, I learned of an opening in the leadership of Lebanon’s Democratic Committee that introduced me to the City’s State Representatives and county officials. I also learned about the needs of a local community for volunteer board members, overseeing such tasks as economic development, cemetery maintenance, expanding walking and bicycling routes, and improving energy efficiency.

One of Lebanon’s valuable and often-overlooked assets to community education is its Citizens Academy. The twelve-week course is free to residents and provides tours of and information on the City’s resources, from municipal government to public safety to public works. Though the course is cancelled for 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, outlines and CATV video are available on the City’s website for anyone interested in a brief overview. Among other topics, the session on boards and commissions caught my attention when I attended in 2017: there seemed to be a volunteer group for nearly any municipal interest to be found. The opportunities were broad, but I didn’t know how to access them.

Later that year, I found an opportunity to put my newly-acquired insights to use. When Lebanon’s City Council began reviewing an ordinance the content of which I felt was not representative of the community in which I wished to live, my volunteer comrades and I mobilized. We reached out to our friends and neighbors. We held signs. Perhaps most consequentially for me, we wrote letters to the Councilors in question. I learned that these decision-makers, whom I had previously perceived as some great “other” acting in predetermined capacities as part of their professional experience, were in fact members of the community just like me. They were volunteers who wanted to help their community to flourish, and they were happy to talk and to listen to our thoughts and concerns.

In 2018, Lebanon established an Arts & Culture Task Force, for the purpose of considering an arts district and more generally evaluating the City’s involvement in the arts. This fit in perfectly with my personal interests and my work as a book publisher, and I hoped to contribute a literary perspective alongside the valuable interest in visual and performing arts that the topic generally attracts. The process was simple and painless: I visited the City’s website and filled out an application listing my basic contact information and reasons for applying, and before long I was contacted to set up an interview. The task force came together quickly, and after a fun and informative summer of meetings and discussions, the Arts & Culture Commission (now called Lebanon Artways) resulted, and I had become a member.

Community involvement can happen intentionally or incidentally; in the summer of 2019, as international students were moving in to Dartmouth College, the US federal government planned and executed a border patrol checkpoint in Lebanon, about 100 miles from the border with Canada. The community was outraged at this action that served no clear purpose, and disappointed that the Lebanon Police Department had known about the plan beforehand and had not shared the information with the community, but had been present at the checkpoint nonetheless. Very quickly, a group of community organizers, churchgoers, and service providers gathered to discuss this concern. Though we could not prevent the checkpoints from happening, we could ensure the City, including police, acted quickly to share news of the plan and to support the community. After hours of collecting hundreds of signatures and a City-wide vote, we passed the Welcoming Lebanon Ordinance and I found myself on another task force, this one joining members of the public to hear input from all involved parties before providing a version of the ordinance that could be accepted widely. Though a few years ago I had no idea how municipal government functioned, I found I was able to engage enthusiastically and work effectively with the rest of the task force and other members of the community, and I am proud of the consensus recommendation that emerged from our deliberations and went into effect on January 1 of this year.

As I recall the trajectory of my involvement in municipal government, I do not see anything particularly outstanding. I have had the privilege of free time to join these initiatives, but I had no specific training or access. Though there are still some barriers to access for a few members of our global community, many of us are working to erode those barriers, and already it has clear effects. Mine is a path that I believe many others can and should follow to become engaged in the decisions being made around them that will affect their lives significantly. When Lebanon Times publisher Jen MacMillen asked me to write this piece without knowing I was planning to run for City Council, I worried it might be seen by some as a campaign speech, but upon discussing this, we decided that the value of encouraging others to get involved outweighed that risk. Tip O’Neill once stated that all politics is local, reminding his listeners that an engaged populace can have a powerful impact on all levels of governance in their community; from my experience, I know this to be true.

Community engagement can mean many things, from taking an active role in governance to connecting with neighbors. For one group of Lebanon residents, it means that and a whole lot more. For more than a year, the Welcoming Lebanon Ordinance has been a substantial focus of their time and energy. Following up on the city’s 2019 Resolution for Inclusiveness denouncing “all ideologies based on hatred and intolerance,” and affirming a “commitment to protecting its citizens, residents, and visitors against discrimination,” the ordinance clearly and explicitly rejects discrimination and protects those in the city who may be vulnerable to harassment by unjust federal immigration policies.

Kathy Beckett (below), a resident of Lebanon, has been the driving force behind the ordinance from its inception. Early in 2019, she explains, “Migrant Justice led a meeting with Upper Valley community members who were interested in prohibiting local police from aiding or participating in enforcement of federal immigration law.” From there, the petitioners’ committee began to take shape. On October 15 of that year, the committee filed a petition for a Citizens’ Binding Initiative to the City Clerk; this would allow them to collect signatures in order to place the ordinance on the ballot for the March 2020 election. “Only Lebanon voters could be on the Petitioners’ Committee,” Kathy recalls. “We started as a group of five Committee members, including some individuals who were present at the Migrant Justice meeting, and through personal contacts, our numbers gradually grew to include a total of 24 registered Lebanon voters who were certified to collect signatures. Sixteen of the 24 petitioners were seniors.”

The committee drafted the Welcoming Lebanon Ordinance and collected more than the 611 signatures needed to secure the ballot item. Along the way, the committee met with their neighbors and colleagues to garner support, address concerns, and work together with the community to secure popular support for the ordinance. “It was made clear that each person’s contribution to the effort would be appreciated, regardless of the amount of time the individual could dedicate to the work,” notes Kathy. The results of this effort were apparent when the ballot item passed, ensuring the ordinance would go into effect in the city in 2021. “When we received the official word on election night,” Kathy remembers, “I was thrilled, and grateful to the people of Lebanon for showing support for our immigrant neighbors and others who would be affected by the Ordinance. A very moving moment that evening occurred when a young woman who receives DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) stated that for the first time, she felt safe in the Upper Valley.”

Following the vote, Mayor Tim McNamara established a task force; citing the need to “turn our policy into an ordinance that reflects the wishes of the voters,” he appointed members of the City Council, the petitioners’ committee, and the general public to serve on the task force. On May 28, the seven members began the months-long process of ensuring the ordinance was enforceable and clear, while ensuring the voter-passed ordinance’s intent remained. Karen Liot Hill, a City Councilor who served as the chair of the task force, has been invested throughout the process in ensuring these conditions are met. “I believe when it comes down to it that most people share the same values, they want the same things for our community,” she says. “Disagreement comes from how to achieve things like safety, security, health, and happiness.”

“My belief is that the reason so many people signed the petition is because they want everyone who lives in the city, who works here, and who travels through Lebanon to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality while they are here,” Karen says. “We’ve had a really collaborative process that resulted in something that, while it may not have met all the participants’ goals, does reflect our shared values, and does reflect progress for advancing justice and equality in the City of Lebanon.”

Along the way, the task force worked with legal counsel from the city and from the petitioners’ committee to find and address issues within the ordinance and elsewhere in the city’s codes in order to best protect the entire community.

Kathy, who also served on the task force, is optimistic about the future of the ordinance. “My hope is that this Ordinance will prove to be one piece of an effort to ensure fair and just treatment of all persons in Lebanon, and that its adoption encourages immigrants, members of the BIPOC community, and other individuals protected by the Ordinance to live in Lebanon and to fully participate in the life of the City without fear.” We’re heading in the right direction.

When J. Barrie Sellers received a call in 1974 from an old Sheffield University friend, Ivor Hawkes, inviting him to come to New Hampshire from his job at Terrametrics in Colorado, he jumped at the opportunity to co-found a new company for the manufacture and sale of vibrating wire devices. Though the company the two men (along with a third, mathematician David Wright) established on Parkhurst Street lasted only three years, Barrie’s subsequent project, GEOKON, has survived and thrived, and is this year expanding its modest footprint on Spencer Street with a new office complex currently being constructed across the road from their current location. Given GEOKON’s reputation as a great company to work for, buy from, and live near, this is undoubtedly good news for Lebanon and the Upper Valley as a whole.

GEOKON employee group photo

Even if you’ve lived in Lebanon as long as GEOKON has been here, there’s a chance you don’t know about the company. Of course, if you read the article that appeared in these pages a year ago, you know that it’s a world leader in vibrating wire technology – it’s exactly what it sounds like, and it can be used to measure force, pressure, temperature, and so on with a high degree of accuracy and stability – with international renown. You also know about the new construction, and you met Director Chuck Chamley, who shared his excitement for the project along with some statistics, including the low employee turnover rate the company enjoys, with more than a third of their 110-plus employees celebrating 15 years or more of service. Unsurprisingly, Chuck is still at GEOKON, and he’s still excited about the company and its faithful employees. Sitting in a conference room whose large window provides a clear view of the new construction, Chuck shares this optimism with fellow Director Colin Judd and Manager of Sales and Marketing – Clayton Gould. “After so many years,” Chuck muses, “you just sit back and ask yourself, how can you improve? We realized when we asked this that we were running out of space.”

Craig Lavalla (Welder)

The company, which in 1986 outgrew its Central Avenue location in West Lebanon and moved to its current address, has expanded its premises five times in the last 33 years. The latest addition – the two-story “L” that comprises a decent chunk of its current footprint – has been in place for a decade now and is filling up. GEOKON’s team began looking for other property to purchase, noticing what they and many other locals likely already know: land in the Upper Valley is expensive. They didn’t want to leave the area, though, because there’s a reason for that price tag: it’s a great place to live and work. The aforementioned long-term employees are mostly concentrated in the area (though a few drive as much as an hour for the opportunity to work at GEOKON), and many have families here – some even work with them at the company! City Councilor and Mayor-at-the-time Suzanne Prentiss met with GEOKON to offer another proposal, and before long they were purchasing the property adjacent to the current building , which had once been the site of the city’s Department of Public Works.

The new property acquisition is a boon for both GEOKON and Lebanon. “In the Master Plan, Spencer Street is highlighted as an area for growth,” says Colin. “We want to be a part of that.” In addition to showing that a high-tech company can survive within the city limits – and especially so close to the center of downtown Lebanon – Colin sees this expansion as an opportunity to confirm GEOKON’s stance as good stewards of the community, and also of the environment: the new building will be covered in solar panels. “At this point, it’s a no-brainer,” he muses.

Clayton agrees: “We’re excited to serve as an anchor for the revitalization of Spencer Street.” The building will adhere to the company’s new look: bright, sustainable, modern, minimalist. It will house a training center, too – not just for employees and partners, but for local school groups. GEOKON provides something of a “vibrating wire 101,” complete with information on the education and experience needed to work for them, and how to get it. They also hope to host the Chamber of Commerce for their successful Business After Hours series.

A rendering of GEOKON’s new building

Perhaps one of the greatest assets GEOKON has is its employee-centric environment. Clayton interviewed employees throughout the company in preparation for the recent rebranding project , asking them what GEOKON meant to them and what they hoped to see. “It’s not just a handful of us in the room deciding what to do,” he says. “We rely heavily on collaborative decision making.” Per Barrie’s wishes, there are no time clocks: the company relies on the honor system, and the tradition of honest New England work ethic, to ensure work gets completed. “Our advantage is our culture, our people, their dedication to the customers. If we don’t have the people, we don’t have this. We’re growing, but we still try to bring in people who share the same values we have.”

In keeping with these values, GEOKON provides its employees with paid time to venture outside its campus and engage in community service work. From volunteering at the humane societies to Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s annual CHaD HERO event to the Prouty, employees are taking advantage of this program to support initiatives that matter to them. “It’s a chance

Jack Taylor (Director), Adam Webster (Quality
Assurance Manager) and Tommy Bauch
(Manufacturing Process Engineer)
in support of the CHaD Hero

for employees to give back,” says Chuck, “but it also puts GEOKON on the radar. It’s a form of recruitment.” It also serves as a catalyst for employees who may not otherwise be considering volunteer work to explore options. There’s no defined list, either: employees are free to seek out their own charities, or to solicit ideas from colleagues, or to build volunteer teams – for races, golf tournaments, even building birdhouses!

Jon LaFlam (Mechanical
Designer) helping build a
children’s play structure on the
Lebanon Green with Lebanon
Recreation and Parks

What’s next for GEOKON? “We plan to be in the new building by November,” says Clayton – or maybe it’s Chuck, or Colin: at this point the three are united in their aspirations for the future of the company they believe in. Sales, marketing, and a few other departments will move over to the new building, but the lunch room will stay in the current building, to reinforce the cohesiveness of GEOKON as a single, unified community. As phase two of the expansion, the existing building will be renovated and the current lot in front of the building will be turned into a green space. And they’re eying other underused parcels nearby for their next expansion.

“Ultimately, sensor tech is very low tech,” says Colin. “The changes are on the tech around the vibrating wire.” This is why GEOKON forms partnerships with other high-tech companies for some of its work, quality sensors. “Even when they have their own system, customers will still go out of their way to find a GEOKON sensor.” The sensors are reliable, but so are the people. When a failure happens (it’s rare, but it happens with every type of tech), GEOKON’s team don’t argue. “We fix it. Sometimes the customer is 4 hours from their

Coreen Macie (Assembler, Electronics)

site, and if they need a part in hand, we send it. The customer is what’s most important.”

“The environment is changing,” adds Chuck. “There are more competitors getting more sophis­ticated. We need to change too, but not lose the culture of who we are. The people are proud to work here and proud of the work they do.”

As New Hampshire’s population grows older – and is expected to keep following that trend – the older residents, their families and friends, and the community as a whole seek ways to help them manage their lives in a variety of ways. Fortunately, the Upper Valley hosts no shortage of services and programs to assist in this effort. The state’s largest hospital and employer, of course, is involved in supporting the region in a big way.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Aging Resource Center is committed to improving the minds, bodies, and spirits of older adults in the Upper Valley, helping them to become more active, connected, and supported. At the center’s main office at Centerra Parkway, and in the annex at the Upper Valley Senior Center, they offer educational classes; exercise and balance programs; opportunities to explore creativity through art and writing; support groups; assistance to complete Advance Care Plans; and support and education for people with dementia, their families, and caregivers. Event registration is available on the center’s website or by phone, email, or walk-in. Upper Valley residents do not need to be patients at the hospital in order to join events or use any of the Center’s services; the Center is open to all.

Program Leader Lori Fortini, MEd, herself a Lebanon resident, has been working at DHMC since 2001 and moved from the Office of Care Management to the Aging Resource Center in January 2016. “It has been the perfect fit bringing together my love of working with people, my appreciation of the experience and wisdom of our elders, and all of my training and skills,” she says. “The Aging Resource Center is a very special place.  Every day is a joy to work with the dedicated and talented staff here.  And of course, the people who come to our Centers are so appreciative for our help.  We learn so much from them and we receive much more than we give.”

Gladys Gerendler from Lebanon participates in the Aging Resource Center’s Gentle Yoga for Older Adults class which meets at the ARC Annex. Despite being billed as ‘gentle,’ Gladys says the class is still challenging, but she feels much better after joining. Gladys originally started with a more basic beginner class called A Matter of Balance, and she has now moved up to a more advanced program called Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance.  She says that the combination of falls-prevention programs and Tai Ji Quan worked. She is happier and more confident now, saying, “I am no longer the person that you knew. I am different!” She notes that her health and balance have improved noticeably as a result of the programs.

For people diagnosed with or caring for someone with dementia, dealing with the disease can often be overwhelming and exhausting. The Aging Resource Center has caregiver support and engagement programs that teach coping strategies, and provide a bit of respite from the daily routines of older residents. One Saturday per month, the center sponsors the Upper Valley Memory Café at the Howe Library in Hanover, which provides breakfast, music, exercise, activities, and a chance to socialize in a safe, stress-free space with students from Dartmouth College, Geisel Medical School, and local high schools. Lori mentions the program enthusiastically, saying, “It is a time to just be yourself and know you are among friends with no judgement or expectations.”

Liz Downs, also from Lebanon, participates in many of the Center’s programs, and is grateful for the support she received from the bereavement support group, facilitated by their chaplain, after losing her husband. When asked about the Aging Resource Center, Liz stated: “Where do I start?  It feels like my second home. Every time there is a need, you meet it.”

For more information about the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Aging Resource Center, you can visit their website at www.dhaging.org, call them at 603-653-3460, or send an email to agingcenter@hitchcock.org.

This hasn’t been a city project, and it hasn’t been a state project. It’s been a community project.

That’s Frank Gould at the July 21 grand opening of the Mascoma River Greenway. The 2.1-mile trail connecting Lebanon to West Lebanon has been more than a decade in the making, and, thanks to the enthusiastic work and support of hundreds of leaders and volunteers in Lebanon, it is finally a reality. In fact, the Mascoma River Greenway had support extending beyond the city limits: “It’s an incredible project for the Upper Valley – not just Lebanon, but the whole community – that shares a singular identity,” says Frank, speaking to an audience of more than sixty people gathered on the Alice Peck Day Homestead lawn. Mayor Suzanne Prentiss echoes this sentiment, calling the project “a source of pride for the community” and listing its wide-ranging benefits to health, economic development, community cohesion, and conservation. A letter from State Senator Martha Hennessey lists bikers, runners, and art enthusiasts among the beneficiaries of the Greenway before affirming also that “all members of the Lebanon community can take pride in this day because this trail symbolizes and builds community connections.”

Community leaders Cindy Heath, Mayor Suzanne Prentiss,
Frank Gould, and Paul Coats at the Greenway opening

One argument is clear throughout the presentations: this is the result of a massive collaborative effort. Twenty-two years have passed since the state purchased the right-of-way formed by the Northern Railway 1847 to produce the Northern Rail Trail, which runs from Boscawen, NH to the trailhead at the CCBA in Lebanon. In 2008, the name Mascoma River Greenway was coined to envision a four-mile continuation of this trail into West Lebanon, and planning and fundraising began to make the Greenway a reality. Though the terminal stretches on either side of the Greenway have yet to be completed, the main stretch is now open to non-motorized traffic (aside from perhaps the occasional electric wheelchair, Frank suggests) seeking a safe route from the Mascoma Street-High Street intersection to the Miracle Mile end of Glen Road.

Of course, the crowd hasn’t gathered simply to listen to speeches and then go home – the bulk of the grand opening event is designed to be spent enjoying the fruits of labor. Three groups form: one for cyclists to enjoy the newly paved passage, a second for a leisurely stroll along a short portion of the trail, and the third with the goal of walking the entire completed segment. Frank leads this third group as tour guide. The project has been dear to him since he left his position as a state legislator in 2012. “I wanted to stay involved,” he recalled. “I walked up to Paul [Coats, director of Lebanon Recreation and Parks] and asked him what we needed to do to get started, and he showed me the beginnings.” Frank took the lead from that point forward, co-chairing the project with Paul Coats.

Lorraine ‘Rainie’ Kelly, who has been involved since 2013, tracked funding for the project. “When I started, all the large donations had been secured,” she said. “My focus was on meeting the neighborhoods, to make sure there was support from everybody, and not just a few big donors.” Rainie says there were 248 donations of varying sizes, from small individual contributions to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Among more substantial tasks like clearing the trails, constructing guardrails for bridges including the footbridge over I-89, and paving the trail for accessibility, the work has included aesthetic enhancements. Two sculpture installations have been added along the trail: Steel Umbrella by artists Margaret Jacobs and Justin O’Rourke, and Wheels by artist Susan K. Johnson. Benches are planned along the route to give the tired an opportunity to pause; one will be dedicated to Frank and Paul. And at the end of the presentations and before the walking and cycling groups formed, volunteers handed out cups of wildflower seeds to be strewn along the edges of the trail. Attendees carried the cups with them, sprinkling seeds one at a time over clear patches of soil, allowing residents yet another instance of ownership of the Greenway.

Public response to the Greenway is overwhelmingly positive. Darla Bruno, a resident of Lebanon, likes that the trail is wide, leaving plenty of room for bicycles alongside pedestrians. “They did a terrific job,” she notes of the leaders and volunteers who have made the project happen. “I’ve never been to the [Glen Road] end, so I’m excited to see it today.” Nick Warren, who lives on Mascoma Street along the Greenway, says that he and his wife “enjoy easy access from our backyard to walk to the Lebanon Green or the woods behind Alice Peck Day. It’s great to be in a mini-forest instead of walking next to busy roads, especially with the construction going on. We even go for walks down to the bridge over the White River. It is probably the best view of nature inside the City and I didn’t even know it was there before the Greenway project.” Samir Soneji, while walking along the trail while his two young daughters cycle, quips: “This is the farthest we’ve gotten, and we love it. It’s revolutionized our toddler biking experience!” Samir and his family are leaving Lebanon soon for North Carolina, and he reflects that “this is one of the things we’re really going to miss.” Jennifer Rataj, another Greenway neighbor, appreciates the wildlife she’s seen along the trail, citing both a red fox and a heron she saw recently at a small pond. “Even with the pavement, it does still feel very quiet, and everyone there is really friendly. It’s really nice for the community. It doesn’t matter where people live; they still come down to the trail.”

At a recent City Council meeting, a public hearing addressed the future of the tunnel that would connect the Mascoma River Greenway to the Northern Rail Trail. City Councilor Karen Zook summarizes: “The citizen response – both at the meeting itself and in contact I have personally had with residents – strongly supports connectivity, so I’m pleased that’s the direction this seems to be moving. The Rail Trail and now the MRG are both assets to this city and, as we look toward an increasingly walkable future for Lebanon, this connection will only increase their value to the community.” With such strong community support, It’s hard to imagine anything else.

If you live in New Hampshire, there’s a good chance you know someone who has been affected by opioid addiction. The opioid crisis has been a long time in the making, and by 2014 Jeff De Flavio, then a medical student at Dartmouth College, had noticed an unsettling trend: despite the prevalence of addiction, treatment providers either weren’t addressing the problem adequately, or their programs were prohibitively expensive, with intake appointments alone costing as much as a thousand dollars. Sometimes, even with the high cost, the programs were full, leaving those struggling with addiction to wait on long lists to receive help. So in February of 2014 Jeff opened the first office for Groups in Claremont, his childhood friend Silas Howland, joining him a month later; shortly thereafter, the next office came to West Lebanon. Four years in, Groups has grown to eight offices in New Hampshire and nearly 60 offices in six states, serving about 3500 members weekly.

Silas explains that joining Jeff in founding Groups was an easy decision. “Jeff and I grew up together; he’s somebody I looked up to and learned from,” he shares. “When Jeff explained the concept to me, I came up to Claremont, met with Jeff, saw the office, and fell in love with the program and the people we serve.” Silas, one of three co-founders, had previously worked at a clean energy software startup and at a data storage company, but he wanted to be more closely involved with caring for marginalized people, and Groups gave him the opportunity to do just that. “ I looked at the project and I said, this is incredible. It’s a straightforward way to help people.”

The structure of the Groups program is simple: an individual suffering from addiction can call a hotline to schedule an intake appointment with a counselor to determine whether the individual is a good fit for the program. After that, the client meets with a physician who can prescribe Suboxone, which both prevents withdrawal symptoms and controls cravings, allowing the individual to participate productively in the recovery process. Groups will then try to get that person into treatment within seven days, covered by insurance–Medicaid coverage will be available soon for those with Ambetter and NH Healthy Families–or for a low (currently $65) weekly cost. It is much less expensive than other programs, Silas points out, because Groups believes that everyone is entitled to accessible, affordable care. After the intake process, group therapy can begin, with weekly one-hour meetings facilitated by a licensed counselor. The standard of one-on-one treatment, Silas muses, is reflective of a system which seeks reimbursement from a fee schedule, but lacks the benefits of community-based group therapy, which “shows people they’re not alone, helps them to build bonds, to feel less ashamed.” It also solves ancillary problems such as transportation, allowing patients to carpool to meetings. And the results are clear: weekly attendance is around 90%, which is nearly unheard of! Silas mentions, as a final thought: “if you or anyone you know is struggling with opiate addiction, please know there are people who care about you and want to help you recover!”

Evan Stuart joined Groups last summer as the Regional Manager for New Hampshire. An Occupational Therapist by trade, Evan is no stranger to advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves or who may not otherwise have advocates. While between jobs in Texas, he received a call from Groups, and “jumped at the opportunity” to be a part of the organization back home in New England. (Like Silas and Jeff, Evan is originally from Massachusetts.) “At my previous work, I was giving lives back; now I’m keeping them alive,” he notes. “What I do, it’s consistent chaos, intensely long workweeks, and I never come home unhappy with what I’ve done that day. It’s the most enjoyable position I’ve had.” Part of what Evan loves about Groups is the consistent reiteration of mission: “this organization, whereas others are focused first on money, tells us to keep things running well, but to keep clients and employees happy above all else. When an employee comes up with an idea, the CEO takes it seriously, and often runs with it,” he reflects. Monthly web meetings between counselors, managers, and founders keep everyone in mutual contact and keep ideas flowing.

In an increasingly connected world, the spread of the opioid epidemic seems ubiquitous. Fortunately, so too does the reach of helping hands and of networks aiming to assist the victims of addiction. Thanks to Jeff, Silas, Evan, and the rest of the team at Groups, one more solution is now widely available in the Upper Valley and beyond.

Are you in the parking lot? I’ll come to the door.

That’s Sangwook ‘Sunny’ Nam – the Grammy-nominated mastering engineer – as I call him from the East Wilder Road parking lot of his studio, Jacob’s Well Mastering. Situated yards off the bank of the Connecticut River, the elegant but nondescript building has been the home of Sunny’s studio since 2012. As he opens the door and introduces himself, I step into a cozy, inviting meeting room. Sunny leads me around the corner into his studio and then steps to the side so I can admire his workspace. It’s certainly a space worthy of admiration: professional-quality speakers are built into the wall to my left on either side of a window overlooking the river, while Sunny’s custom console fills the space to my right, boasting a vast array of displays, knobs, sockets, and lights. His chair is in the middle of the room, clearing any obstruction to the sound while he works – even if this means he needs to turn around to listen closely as he’s working.

Grammy-nominated mastering engineer, Sunny Nam

Sunny grew up in Seoul, Korea, where he discovered a passion for numerous styles of music from the time he began learning both guitar and piano at age five. As a teenager he sang and played guitar in a rock band while also developing his skills as a classically trained choir singer and pianist. In Seoul National University he received an undergraduate degree in computer science, then returned to the Graduate School of Music to study music composition and theory.

In 1998, Sunny began his career in recording; within a few years he had established himself as a prominent producer and recording engineer in Korea, working with numerous well-known musicians and orchestras (he gives me some names: Young Ok Shin and Daejin Kim, as well as Polish National Radio Symphony and Nashville Symphony). This also exposed him to the mastering process, which drew his attention. In 2005 he began a mentorship with Doug Sax, the founder of The Mastering Lab in California, whom Sunny exalts as a “legendary mastering engineer.” Seven years later, after his wife accepted a position at Dartmouth College and he grew tired of the commute from family to work, he left The Mastering Lab and founded Jacob’s Well Mastering after finding a perfect building for his vision, right next to the river bank.

Even for audiophiles (of which Sunny is certainly one of the most dedicated), “mastering” may not be clear. Mastering is more than just “a process to make the music loud” so that it can be heard through headphones. Nor is it simply the conversion from professional media (which can be digital or analog) to consumer media. But those are both substantial elements of the entire process.

“Because each media has its own idiosyncrasy including the environment in which it is used, the mastering process needs to represent the idea of the artist or the producer at its best on different media,” explains Sunny. “For example, a song will be produced and mixed in a quiet and acoustically treated room on a high-quality media format. But audiences will listen to the music on the street, in the car, or even at the gym, through small ear buds. They are using media that compromise the quality. On this media, a full orchestra, for which the artist spent a fortune, might not be heard as intended unless the mastering engineer adjusts it so that it is represented well on that low-quality media in a very noisy environment.”

Sunny explains that this means he might master a track differently if it is destined for vinyl, or for iTunes download, or for CD. Thus, there will be multiple outputs for the same recording, which Sunny expertly fine-tunes to the expected listening environment and circumstances of its format. But that doesn’t mean he spends months on a single album. “When I worked in recording,” he says, “we would have the same artist come in sometimes for three months. With mastering, we can finish a project in a day or two.” In fact, this is part of what drew him to mastering: the quick turnaround time, coupled with the variety of projects seeking his service.

The arrangement of the room removes any interference between the speakers and
Sunny while he’s working.

The studio’s name comes from the Biblical location where Jesus has a conversation with a Samaritan woman; Sunny, a Christian, hopes to interface his faith with other people, and also to connect the various genres he enjoys by the common thread of his work. “I’ll listen to anything: classical music, rock, country… even metal.” Having new projects every day gives Sunny the opportunity to work within the full scope of these interests. His client list is no joke, either: from Alison Kraus to Paul McCartney to Sarah Jarosz to Ray Charles, Sunny has an impressive résumé.

His custom console is partly to thank for that. “Before the 1980s, all the studios built their own stuff,” he tells me. “That’s what we did.” The console in front of me is entirely custom made, designed by Sunny and built by Josh Florian of JCF Audio. The equipment, too, is from the ’60s and the early ’70s – the pinnacle of the audio industry. “You can call it vintage,” he muses, “but the reason I’m using it is that it’s just a better sound.” It’s certainly a part of his signature – his work has been cited by numerous professionals as producing the best sound quality in the States. He tells me that the main goal is to achieve the cleanest signal path, and that all the equipment – resistors, capacitors, wires, and switches – serves that one purpose. Sunny thanks his colleague Bill Schnee for assisting him in evaluating components for his console: “Whenever I was ready to do an evaluation, I flew back to L.A. and assessed the parts that I gathered with him.”

So what’s Sunny’s favorite project? To answer this, Sunny cites his “Catholic tastes” – he avoids taking a stance. “Whatever comes in the door is my favorite genre,” he quips, “as long as they pay!” He eventually cites a few projects, though, as being noteworthy – Sarah Jarosz’s “Follow Me Down” resulted in a Grammy nomination in the “Best engineered album” category, which is the only one that acknowledges all the engineer’s efforts. And “Giving It Up” by George Benson and Al Jarreau – another Grammy nominee. Sunny reflects: “Since we lost Al this year, this album stayed for a while in my playlist recently.”

When he’s not at Dartmouth College (he also teaches there, for the past three years) or in the studio, Sunny likes to play sports with his kids: skiing in the winter, baseball every other season, and PlayStation sports games when the weather keeps them inside. He loves food, too: Three Tomatoes Trattoria on the Lebanon Mall is his go-to for Italian, and Four Aces Diner is his top breakfast spot. And he attends various shows at the Lebanon Opera House when he can, he tells me, as he recalls in particular last year’s rendition of “Clara’s Dream: A Nutcracker Story” presented by the City Center Ballet. Despite his many other interests, music remains a significant passion for Sunny, and Jacob’s Well is his testament to that, mastering music from around the world in his studio in Lebanon, New Hampshire.