ENFIELD — Philip Neily has been selected as the new fire chief for Enfield.
Neily, who is currently deputy fire chief in Canaan and has worked in fire services for nearly 20 years, will start in mid-July, according to a news release from interim town manager Jack Wozmak. He replaces Fred Cummings who stepped down in March after serving as chief for two years.
“Training and the continuance of training has been one of my primary focuses during my time in the fire service and I look forward to helping the Enfield Fire Department achieve new goals and help with the future planning of the fire department,” Neily said in the release.
LEBANON — The Coop Food Stores will lift mask mandates for customers at all of its stores July 1.
The announcement comes as towns where there are Coop locations — Hartford, Lebanon, Hanover and Lyme — lift mask mandates. Co-op employees and vendors will continue to be required to wear masks “until we have reached an internal vaccination rate similar to our surrounding states,” Coop manager Paul Guidone wrote in a blog post.
While customers will no longer be required to wear masks, Guidone is encouraging customers to continue to do. If there is a rise in COVID-19 cases in the Upper Valley, or the number of variants including the Delta variant, come to the area, the mask mandate will be reinstated.
“Wearing a mask while you shop — even if you are fully vaccinated — is the cooperative way to protect our employees as they serve you,” Guidone wrote.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Twenty-four people graduated from Vital Communities’ Leadership Upper Valley program.
The 10-month program aims to help participants “build the skills, knowledge, and personal networks to be effective leaders in the Upper Valley,” according to a news release from the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization. This year’s class participated in a mix of virtual and in-person events. Their graduation ceremony took place June 8 at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.
This year’s graduates are: Jane Clifford, Mascoma Bank; Jessica Clow, West Central Behavioral Health; Zachary Conaway, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health; Janet Couture, Hanover Consumer Cooperative; Kathy Dunham-Bellavance, Geokon; Leon Dunkley, North Universalist Chapel Society (North Chapel); Kimberley Gibbs, Dartmouth-Hitchcock; Susan Goodell, Otto & Associates, Inc.; Lynne Goodwin, City of Lebanon; Daynia Langlois, Dartmouth-Hitchcock; Nancy Lindahl, BAYADA Hospice; Jill Marshall, Jill Marshall Consulting (self-employed); Ashleigh McFarlin, Claremont Savings Bank; Davis McGraw, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Shari McLaughlin, Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LLP; Steven Monteverdi, Hypertherm; Melissa Norton, Spark! Community Center; Rebecca Owens, City of Lebanon; Amanda Roberts, Mascoma Bank; Tamara Rockwell, Dartmouth-Hitchcock; Valerie Thompson, LISTEN Community Services; Celeste Wetherell, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Ashley Wood, Upper Valley Haven; and Terra Wheeler, Red River.
HANOVER — Hanover’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Hanover Conservancy kicked off its annual trails challenge program last Monday.
The program, now in its eighth year, encourages Upper Valley residents to explore different conserved properties throughout Hanover.
This year’s challenge includes nine hikes on eight properties.
People can register at hanoverrec.com. The challenge lasts through September. Those who complete six of the nine hikes will be entered into a raffle to win prizes from area businesses.
For $6, participants will receive a booklet with hikes, directions and descriptions. There will also be room to draw an image of a marker that can be found on each of the hikes.
It costs $6 to participate, with $2 of each registration fee going to the Trails Stewardship Fund. Families of four or more can register for $20 and children age four and younger are free.
Proceeds will go toward replacing a log bridge at the Mink Brook Nature Preserve, according to a description on the Hanover Parks and Recreation Department webpage.
HANOVER — As of June 26, the Hanover Community Kitchen will begin offering free takeout meals from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Friday at Our Savior Lutheran Church at 5 Summer St.
For more information, email hanovercommunitykitchen@dartmouth.edu.
WOODSTOCK — Elijah Lemieux has been promoted to director of public works in Woodstock, where he will oversee both the highway and wastewater departments.
Lemieux began working for the town’s highway department in 2013, according to a news release from the town.
In 2017, he became part of the wastewater department, where he completed the state examinations required to manage the facility.
LEBANON — Physician-researcher Dr. Amber Barnato has been selected as the new director of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She begins July 1.
Barnato, who is the inaugural Susan J. and Richard M. Levy 1960 Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery at Dartmouth College, joined Dartmouth in 2017, according to a news release.
She has also served as a professor of The Dartmouth Institute and of medicine at Geisel School of Medicine.
As director of The Dartmouth Institute, Barnato will lead a team of scholars, researchers, clinicians, students, and administrators.
The nonprofit organization works with people and organizations around the world to study and improve population health, along with creating health care systems.
“My interest in a career in health services research, and in particular studying variations, was sparked by the Dartmouth Atlas and the research of Jack Wennberg,” Barnato said in the release. “So, it is profoundly meaningful to me that I will be the new director of TDI.”
Barnato has long studied “variations in end-of-life ICU and life-sustaining treatment use,” according to the release. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of California at Berkeley, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, a master’s degree in health policy and administration from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s degree in health services research from Stanford University.
“The goals of the institute to improve population health and reduce disparities could not have been brought into sharper focus during the pandemic over the past year. This is an important juncture for our health system, and I am excited that Dr. Barnato will be leading our academic efforts to improve our systems of care,” Duane Compton, dean of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, said in the release.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — After presenting their community-based climate action projects, 18 people graduated from the Climate Change Leadership Academy earlier this month.
Now in its second year, the program — which was started by the Upper Valley Adaptation Workgroup and Vital Communities — included seven virtual sessions held from the March to June. Participants discussed the science behind climate change and projects they can create in their communities to help the environment.
“Our graduates this year include high school students, retirees, and everyone in between,” Sarah Brock, the academy’s coordinator at Vital Communities, said in a news release from the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization. “These are regular people who already care deeply about climate change, we are simply giving them the tools, context, and confidence to lead projects and create positive change in our communities. We hope their efforts will inspire others.”
The 2021 graduates are: Alyssa Graber, of Lebanon; Amanda Porter, of Springfield, Vt.; Barbara Slaiby, of Lebanon; Chris Kennedy, of Hanover; Cindy Heath, of Cornish; Georgia Michalovic, of Lebanon; James Graham, of Lyme; Jim McCracken, of Thetford; Jim Nourse, of Lyme; Judith Howland, of Hartland; Kristina Harrold, of Lebanon; Liane Avery, of Lebanon; Louisa Spencer, of Lebanon; Lydia Hansberry, of Hanover; Melody Johnson, of New London; Miranda Moody Miller, of Corinth; Sandra Bravo, of Bradford, N.H.; and Steven Zubkoff, of Hanover.
