Greetings as we welcome 2017.

The Hopkins Center for the Arts (Hop) will be welcoming a new director, taking over sometime in the spring. Mary Lou Aleskie has managed the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut, since 2005. It is interesting to know that the Hop has a $7.8-million operating budget and presents more than 500 programs a year.

The Hanover planning board denied the College a permit for the proposed new 70,000-square-foot indoor athletic facility, claiming it would have an adverse impact on the adjacent neighborhood. The College feels strongly that they need such a facility to be within walking distance for the athletes. Expect to hear more about this.

We have been advised of the death of James D. Rolfe, October 28, and send our sympathy to the family. He is survived by his five children Stuart ’75, David, Greig, James and Laurie, as well as nine grandchildren, including Alex ’02. Doc served on the naval destroyer USS Haraden in the Pacific. He returned to earn a J.D. from the University of Washington Law School.

I look forward to hearing from you.

—Shirley Robinson, 80 Lyme Road, #253, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-2203; shrobinson@kahres.org