Alex Hanson
Valley News
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Past articles by Alex:
Summer arts preview: Musicals and plays take the stage at Upper Valley venues
Maybe it’s something to do with the newfound ease people are feeling about the coronavirus pandemic, whether warranted or not. This summer, theater companies are lofting music into the air.New London Barn Playhouse is celebrating its 90th summer by... → Read More
Art Notes: Panel of playwrights talks creative process at JAGfest
Pre-pandemic, the annual JAGfest took place in February, when people were starved for connection and eager to come out and discuss African American theater.On Tuesday evening, the opening panel discussion of JAGfest 6.0 was in competition with a... → Read More
Art Notes: Trio of artists bring dreamlike exhibitions to AVA Gallery
Childhood is a dreamy time. There’s too much coming at us to absorb all at once. Events blur together, a smear of colors, scents, song and cool evening air.In “Book of Sons,” an exhibition of photographs at AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon,... → Read More
Lack of water closes Thetford Elementary School
THETFORD — Thetford Elementary School was closed Friday due to a lack of water on campus, the superintendent said.School officials were looking into why the water level was insufficient to reach the pumps, Orange East Supervisory Union Superintendent... → Read More
Budget cut looks bleak for schools after Croydon meeting
CROYDON — Around 50 residents met Friday night to talk about the proposed $1.7 million school budget that was tossed out on March 12 and how to get it reinstated.And after Friday night’s public hearing on the budget, the Croydon School Board discussed... → Read More
Upper Valley towns sitting on a pile of American Rescue Plan money, waiting to spend it
Between last year and this one, Enfield is slated to receive two payments of American Rescue Plan Act money totaling $474,349, Town Manager Ed Morse said.Town officials were unsure what they could use the federal coronavirus economic relief funding... → Read More
Art Notes: Women take the spotlight in AVA Gallery exhibitions
If the point of Women’s History Month is to highlight women’s stories, AVA Gallery and Art Center is doing its bit.While most of the artists the nonprofit visual art center will exhibit this year are women, the current set of exhibitions showcases... → Read More
Book from Meriden boy and his mom tells story of hope
MERIDEN — Who in the past 10 months hasn’t dreamed of floating away, above the pandemic gloom and to a soft landing in a sunnier, happier place? A full escape from the global pandemic is impossible, at least in the short term. But from one day to the... → Read More
A Life: Merle Schotanus’ ‘wheels were always turning’
GRANTHAM — In more than four decades in the Upper Valley, Merle Schotanus seemed to live several lifetimes.He ran Sugar Springs Farm, a fruit and maple sugar operation in Grantham. He served as town moderator for 20 years, won seven terms in the state... → Read More
As remote learning falls short for some, families formulate own plans
In the spring, when schools closed up and went to remote learning, it wasn’t an unqualified success. Educators, parents and policymakers were aware that learning via internet wasn’t going to suffice for all, or even most students, and that some would... → Read More
After writing her way through the pandemic, her work is taking the stage — or the stream
An hour’s conversation with playwright Marisa Smith leaves an interviewer with the impression that she personifies a word not much in use today: heterodox.The dictionary definition is fussy and technical: “not conforming with accepted or orthodox... → Read More
Dartmouth professor: ‘Damage to our democratic norms is real’ after Trump’s election reaction
HANOVER — As the steady, deliberate counting of votes moved former Vice President Joe Biden further ahead of President Donald Trump on Friday, the nation waited to see whether the long campaign was at an end.At the same time, a group of... → Read More
Tunbridge World’s Fair, North Haverhill Fair canceled for 2020
TUNBRIDGE — For the first time since World War II, the annual World’s Fair has been canceled.The board of the Union Agricultural Society, the Tunbridge nonprofit that operates the fair and its grounds, had planned to meet next week to decide whether... → Read More
White River Unified School District Budget Passage Marks New Era
Bethel — Voters from Bethel and Royalton approved a budget for their new unified school district by a wide margin and marked the end of an era for education in their towns.After an inconclusive voice vote, seven people stood to request a paper ballot.... → Read More