Our speaker today was Tim Cox. He was accompanied by Kevin Purcell.
Tim Cox
Kevin Purcell
Tim and Kevin joined us to share information about West Lebanon and Hanover Greenway(WaHG) Trail. There have been discussions about building a three-mile non-vehicular trail from the Lyman Bridge in West Lebanon to the Ledyard Bridge in Hanover dating back to 1997.
Since launching in 2019, the Rails to Trails Conservancy has worked to develop a New England Rail Trail Network extending from northwestern Vermont, south through Maine and New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It envisions sprawling multi-use pathways connecting cities and states across 1,000 miles of open trail through the entire region of New England. The goal is to complete key corridors/”spines” and adjoining systems and trails that unite the six states. There are opportunities to link smaller systems to the spine trails along the priority corridors, such as the MRG and the WAHG.
$60,000 of $70,000 has been raised to begin the next phase of planning the trail. The goal is to outline the the trail and get to the point that it is "shovel ready" to begin construction.
The completion of this path will allow safe access between West Lebanon and Hanover and help "close the loop" for walk and bike access creating a network with the Mascoma River Greenway and Mt. Support shared use path.
The belief is that if the trail is built there well be many who will choose to use it. In other communities it has been estimated that the return on investment is 5:1. A 2022 University of New Hampshire study assessed nine rail trails and found an economic contribution of approximately $18.7 million to the state's economy.
President Ernst rang the bell at 12:01 pm to call the meeting to order
John Yacavone led us in a recitation of the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think Say or Do.
President Ernst accompanied us on piano for the Rotary Welcome Song and The Band Played On
Birthdays: John Yacavone who was born in 1937 at 7:03 AM. He is donating $88.00 dollars to Charities in honor of his birthday.
Rotary Anniversaries: Ron Bedell — 32 years; Marilyn Bedell — 31 years
Thought of the Day: Ernst Oidtmann shared that he went to a play at the Briggs Opera House. The play, The Man of No Importance, was loosely based on Oscar Wilde works. This led to Ernst sharing that Wilde had Dutch grandparents who resettled to Ireland, and Oscar developed strong Irish roots there. He then shared famous quote from Oscar Wilde:
Some causes of happiness wherever they go, other whenever they go.
To love one’s self is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking to the stars.
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.
Experience is simply the name we give to mistakes.
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.
True friends stab you in the front.
Live is never fair, and perhaps a good thing for most of us that it is not.
And last but not least….The Importance of Being Ernst (his most important play),
Then it was on to our luncheon buffet.
After lunch:
Our Speaker, Tim Cox and Kevin Purcell gave us an update on the West Lebanon Greenway Plans. See story above.
Bill Secord presented the books in honor of our speakers that is going the the Children's Collection at the Kilton Library.
Bear's Lost Glassesby Leo Timmers (Author, Illustrator)
Bear can't find his glasses. He must have left them at Giraffe's house. On the way over, Bear sees all kinds of animals he didn't notice last time: an elephant, a crocodile, a flamingo, a deer. And who's this long spotty snake lying on Giraffe's deckchair? The patient Giraffe finds Bear's glasses―right where glasses always get lost, perched on his head. Then Bear takes Giraffe to meet these wondrous animals that he found on the way.
Leo Timmers' details are full of expression and humor―the angle of Giraffe's neck and lift of his eyebrows, hiding his skepticism as he helps his friend, the dear, artless bear.
Through an ingenious telling of this classic comical situation, Leo Timmers shows us how to enjoy the world through different eyes.
Oak: The Littlest Leaf Girl by Lucy Fleming (Author, Illustrator)
Facing big changes is easier when loved ones are by your side in this story of a tiny leaf girl told by a New York Times best-selling illustrator. High up in the leafy branches of a tree lives a leaf girl named Oak and her family. Oak loves nothing more than playing with her animal friends of the forest—dancing with Squirrel and holding toadstool tea parties with the bumbling bugs. But as the season begins to change, and a slight chill fills the air, the usual bustle of the tree begins to slow. As winter approaches and the family prepares to make their annual move from the tree to an acorn on the forest floor, Oak doesn’t feel ready to leave and stubbornly clings to her branch. But soon the glowing light from the acorn below beckons, and she realizes that change is just an opportunity for new adventures—and that the meaning of home is wherever loved ones are.
Announcements
Golf: 32nd Annual Bedell Classic will be on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at Eastman Golf Links in Grantham. 10 AM Shot Gun Start. Please start recruiting players and finding sponsors for this important fundraising event.
Club Leadership for 2026/2027: Bruce Bergeron announced that he and Jim Damren will be co-presidents for the 2026/2027 Rotary Year.
Styrofoam April 12: looking for volunteers to work 9-11 am at LHS.
Event Details: Saturday, April 12, 2025, 9-11 am at the Hanover Street School parking lot at 193 Hanover Street in Lebanon. Rain, snow, or shine.
2025 Household Foam Collection Day in Lebanon, NH
Sustainable Lebanon is once again partnering with the Lebanon Rotary Club to offer a polystyrene (Styrofoam) collection day on Saturday, April 12, from 9 - 11 am at the Hanover Street School parking lot at 193 Hanover Street, Lebanon. The event will take place rain, snow, or shine, and is open to residents of the Upper Valley.
We will be collecting clean rigid polystyrene #6 (EPS) and #6 food service foam which will be driven to the Gilford, NH recycling facility. Examples of EPS include packaging foam used for TVs and appliances as well as styrofoam coolers. Examples of food service foam include clean food containers, trays, cups, and egg cartons. It is important that all tape and labels be removed and all collected foam is clean, dry, and free of food residue or other debris. We will NOT be collecting #4 EPE or #6 XPS foam insulation board at this event.
Please review these examples of acceptable and unacceptable types of foam
As usual, foam peanuts should be brought directly to the UPS Store or Hanover Transfer and Storage.
An educational handout will be provided explaining the chemical content of polystyrene foam, how you can encourage companies who use foam packaging to transition to eco-friendly packaging, and suggestions on how to shift to a plastic free lifestyle.
There is no fee to participate, but donations are welcome to support the costs associated with this event. Donations can be made at the event via cash or check (payable to Sustainable Lebanon). Thanks in advance for considering a donation!
For more information and to volunteer on April 12, please contact Cindy Heath, 603-543-1307, cheath58@gmail.com.
District 7850 Team Training Seminar: April 12th at Northern Vermont State College, Lyndon. If you can't help with styrofoam, consider joining Marilyn Bedell at the District Team Training Seminar.
Civic Memorial Park Build: Building the new park will happen on April 24, 2025. Bruce encouraged everyone to consider signing up to help. We are looking for members to volunteer in 4-hour blocks of time. Our club will be providing food for the event. Come help install our Alpine Slide element in the park!
Social Gathering at Salt Hill: Rotary Club of Lebanon...Social Gathering 3rd Monday of Every Month
Not able to make our lunch meetings?
Want to learn more about our club and what we are doing in Lebanon?
Want to visit with friends and colleagues?
Here's an opportunity to join Lebanon Rotary Club members on the 3rd Monday of every month at Salt Hill in Lebanon. We will look forward to seeing you starting April 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
Here is what Ahmad Hadari has arranged with the staff at Salt Hill..."This is to confirm that the Rotary Club of Lebanon will take the room (Galway Room) 3rd Monday of every month starting on April 21 from 5:30-7:30 for beverages, meals, social gathering, meetings, etc. We will have members, and their partners, friends and colleagues drop in and order from the menu and each will pay for their own tab. Let's try this and as the group grows, we will work with you to say a predefined set of appetizers for the group and arrange for the meal orders to be placed with your staff as close together as possible so your team can manage things in a more organized and predictive way. " I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions. Ahmad
Clean Up Day in May: Ernst indicated he has suggested May 17, 2025 for this event...so save the date.
Club Change Over Celebration: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM SAVE THE DATE. Location being worked on. Stay tuned for details.
2025 Brew Fest: Planning is underway for Brew Fest! It will be on Saturday, August 30th at Colburn Park in Lebanon. We hope everyone who can will be there to volunteer, and work to find sponsors for the event. Tickets will be available on Event Brite.
Happy/Sad Dollars
Ron Michaud asked us not to worry if we see him walking with his luggage and golf clubs in Lebanon. He is still planning to go to Scotland to play golf, but wants to make sure he can handle his luggage and his golf clubs. At 90 years of age, he is looking forward to playing golf even if his drives are about the length of a 9 iron.
Marilyn Bedell suggested to Ron that he needs to hire a sherpa. In addition, she is very happy that we have or CLub's leadership plan for 2026/2027.
Steve Grant let us know that his very accomplished niece who attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and was a triple threat athlete in Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and went on to Wesleyan College,d quit her job in insurance and has enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Marines.
RAFFLES
Steve Whitman who pulled the three of hearts.
The Enfield car wash went to Steve Grant
At 1:17 pm, the Rotary bell was rung and we closed with our motto:
One Profits Most Who Serves Best
Attendance:
Rotarians in attendance:
Bill Babineau, Marilyn Bedell, Ronald Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Phil Bush, Dean Cashman, Hank Clarke, Dave Crandall, Jim Damren, Mila Dela Pina, Steve Grant, Tim Guaraldi, Ahmad Haidari, Max Jovanovich, Will Koppenheffer, Jane Mason*, Christian MacDonald, Angela Nelson, Dan Nash, Ron Michaud, Dan Nash, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, George Wenz, Steve Whitman, Cal Wolfe, John Yacavone
Guests: Andy Jones, Prospective member, Valley Vision; and James Carroll, Dean Cashman’s guest from the Upper Valley Senior Center, Marketing
FUTURE MEETING PROGRAMS/SPEAKERS
Apr 10:Committee Updates Apr 17:Art and Community at AVA Gallery – Claire Geno Apr 24:Open Democracy: Strengthening Voter Participation – Autumn Raschick-Goodwin
May 1:Legalized Marijuana: Risks and Benefits – Bob Lyon May 8:The Sweet Story Behind Katie’s Cookies – Katie [Last Name?] May 15:Understanding the Economy – Dartmouth Professor Charlie Wheelan May 22:Infrastructure and Public Works Update – Jay Cairelli, Director of Public Works May 29:Lifelong Learning at Osher – Osher Presentation (at Osher offices, organized by Hank
Note: David Crandall will be scheduling programs January through June 2025
Standing Meetings
Membership Meetings: Second Tuesday each month at 3:30 PM at Downtown Lebanon Library and via Zoom.
Contact: Ahmad Hadari
Youth Services: Second Wednesday of the month at Noon
Contact: Christian MacDonald
Charities: Third Wednesday of the month at 1:00 p.m.
Contact: Bruce Pacht
Board Meeting: 4th Tuesday of every month at 4:00 PM via Zoom.
Contact: Ernst Oidtmann
Golf: 2025 schedule to be announced
Contact: Bruce Bergeron
Brew Fest: The 2025 Schedule to be announced
Contact: Marilyn Bedell
Rotary News
Waste Not: The real reasons we still trash so much food and what it will take to change
By Carolyn Beans
It happens every year. Apple cider appears at the grocery store and I immediately start planning. My family will carve pumpkins and host outdoor movie nights and sit by firepits. For all these activities, we’ll need warm apple cider, and lots of it. I buy a gallon. On my next trip, I buy another. I can’t be caught short during cider season. But inevitably, we tire of apple cider, and the remainder turns vinegary in the back of the refrigerator before I pour it down the drain.
No one feels good about wasted food. But once tossed, it’s all too easy to forget. All the while, rejected food piles up in landfills. In the U.S., nearly a quarter of the solid waste inside those huge mounds is food, mingled with discarded furniture, packaging, electronics, and clothing. As it rots, food releases methane, the supervillain of greenhouse gases that, while shorter-lived than carbon dioxide, is far better at trapping heat during its 10 or so years in the atmosphere. That’s why reducing food waste throughout the supply-to-consumption chain is recognized by nonprofit Project Drawdown as one of the single most effective ways we could slow our planet’s heating.
For Rotary members and others who work to rescue food before it ends up in the trash can or down the drain, other motivators are cost savings and the desire to waste less when so many people go without enough to eat. That drive has taken on new urgency in recent years with inflation ballooning grocery bills in much of the world, to the point that some people can’t afford enough nutritious necessities. Reducing food waste is one concrete action we can take as individuals at home to contribute to solutions for this unwieldy world problem. Then, collectively, Rotary members and others band together to recover uneaten food at club meetings, in schools and other community institutions, and beyond to multiply the results.
The potential impact is huge: A third of food that’s sold in the U.S. goes to waste, and about half of all wasted food comes from our homes, with the rest from restaurants, factories, farms, and other sources. For years, I’ve been on my own mission to reduce my family’s food waste. I’ve made real progress — I don’t remember the last time I threw away an overripe banana. And yet, I still make missteps that leave me staring into the garbage bin and thinking, “How did I do this again?”
In search of answers, I asked food waste experts and Rotary members who lead on this issue for their take on the real reasons so many of us still throw away food — and what it will take to break the habit. “The food waste issue is so glaring in this country,” says Joe Richardson, a member of the Rotary Club of Southern Frederick County (Urbana), Maryland. “It’s no longer OK not to act.”
Understand the costs
To rescue more food, it helps to understand the cascade of negative effects from tossed leftovers and unused groceries. Decaying food produces nearly 60 percent of the methane released by U.S. landfills. Food and drinks sent down the drain generate methane as they decompose in sewers on the way to treatment plants. Ultimately, this waste may end up in landfills too, depending on communities’ wastewater processing.
Growing food that is never eaten uses up significant cropland and fresh water. Then there’s the cost to consumers. The average American family of four forks over $1,500 every year for food they never eat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.
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