Friday Update August 29, 2008

“FRIDAY
UPATES”

August
29, 2008

Oyster River Dam at Mill Pond

Courtesy Andrea
Bodo

After a stormy and wet start to the
summer, the prediction for the Labor Day weekend holiday is for mild and sunny
weather. The Durham Town Offices will be closed on Monday, September 1, 2008, in
observance of Labor Day. All offices will reopen for business on Tuesday,
September 2, 2008. Although this is a holiday weekend, there will be no change to the refuse or
curbside collection schedule.  The Durham Transfer Station and
Recycling
Center will also be open on
Saturday from 7:30 AM to 3:15 PM, as regularly scheduled.

CONFINED
SPACE TRAINING

This week the Durham Fire Department
participated in a department-wide refresher course in confined space
training.  This presented the opportunity to evaluate the current equipment
and procedures in place for preparation of emergency situations involving
workers confined in locations underground.  Below, members of the fire
department pull "rescuers" up from the confined space at the Water Treatment
facility. The department wishes to thank the Water Treatment Facility and
the Grant House for allowing the use of their facilities to complete the
training exercise.

Tree
City
USA

The Town of Durham has been named a Tree City
USA town for the 30^th
consecutive year. We are proud to hold the record for the longest running
recipient of the Tree City Award in the State of New Hampshire.  The
Tree City USA award is a national awards program that
recognizes towns and cities across the United States with a documented
commitment to an outstanding, comprehensive urban forestry program. The awards
program is sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation, the US Forest
Service, and the National Association of State Foresters. There are over 3000
Tree City USA communities in the United
States. A small celebration and formal
presentation of the award is being planned with the participation of Governor
John Lynch. More information on the event will
be published in a future “Friday Update”.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS
WASTE DAY

On Saturday,
September 13, 2008, the
annual Household Hazardous Waste Day
will be held at the Department of Public Works facility located at 100 Stone
Quarry.  As in the past, all hazardous waste will be collected by
appointment
only.  There are still appointment times
available.  To register, you must call the Department of Public Works at
868-5578.  Remember, the maximum collected per resident is five gallons. 

HANDICAP
PARKING AWARENESS MONTH

The Durham Traffic Safety Committee
would like to inform residents that the State of New Hampshire has declared October as Handicap
Parking Awareness Month.  We believe the community does a good job of
identifying and locating accessible parking areas throughout Town, as well as
meeting all State and Federal guidelines. 

Beginning
of 2008/09 UNH Academic Year

As UNH students return for the fall
semester, the Durham Police Department is implementing a strategy that will
ensure it can respond to emergencies, provide a safe environment, and prevent
widespread misbehavior, particularly in the late evening/early morning
hours.  In essence the police department is challenged with creating a safe
environment where the UNH students and friends who visit them have some
flexibility to gain life experiences while ensuring that the peace and
tranquility demanded by Durham’s permanent residents remains the
primary goal.  In past years the strategy for the 19-member department
involved placing a number of additional officers on patrol to create this
environment.  This summer, with the resignation of two officers and three
other officers excused due to illness and injuries, the department is attempting
to fill the void of 25% of the agency being unavailable for work.  While
the police are actively recruiting to fill the two vacant patrol officer
positions, the selection process is long and arduous ensuring that the right
persons are selected to serve the Durham community.  In the interim, Chief
Kurz has moved key personnel to fill the voids by shuffling detectives and
administrative personnel to patrol duties. As an example, for the short-term,
Sergeant Ed Levesque the School Resource Officer will be reassigned to supervise
a midnight patrol shift.  Durham residents should be assured that
emergency personnel will always be ready to respond to any emergency even during
this period of depreciated staffing.

FROM
THE DURHAM
SUPERVISORS OF THE CHECKLIST

September is almost upon us, and
many students who graduated from high school in June will be heading off for
college.  Now is a good time to talk with them about voting.  Not who
they will vote for this fall, but where they will vote.  College students
have the right to vote in the town where they are attending college or in the
town they call “home,” where their parents still reside.  Some states and
some individual towns make this process easier than others.  It might be a
good idea to find out about the process of registering and voting in the
state/town where your son or daughter will be this fall.  UNH gives out
information on how to vote at freshman orientation. Other schools probably do,
too. Your student should at least be aware that New Hampshire is one of only a very few states
that allows registration at the polls.  If he or she decides it would be
easier to register in Durham and then vote absentee, encourage
him/her to register before heading off.  Registering in person at the Town
Hall during normal business hours is much easier than registering by mail. 
A driver’s license or piece of mail with the home address and a birth
certificate or a passport makes the process even
easier.

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

The following public meeting is
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office and will begin at 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated
below.

Historic District Commission –
Thursday, September 4, 2008

To view an agenda for the meeting
listed above, please click HERE. 
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.

DURHAM CHURCHES HOLD
ANNUAL 700-FAMILY YARD SALE

On Saturday, September 6, 2008 from
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, the Durham churches of St.
George Episcopal Church, Durham
Community Church, and St. Thomas More Church will hold the annual 700-family
yard sale. Come search for possible treasures in electronics, toys, furniture,
house wares, books, and more. Enjoy baked goods and coffee or a delicious
BBQ on the lawn. Bring a friend and shop, Rain or
Shine

ENERGY
SAVING TIPS

ü     
You’ll save on
electricity spent on lighting AND A/C, and your house will stay cooler if you
turn off unnecessary lighting and use task or
desktop lamps with CFLs instead of overhead lights. 

ü     
Cleaning or replacing room air
conditioner filters monthly will save fan motor energy. Dirty filters reduce the
efficiency of air conditioners.

DURHAM
DAY 2008

It’s getting close! Durham Day 2008
will be held on Sunday, September 14, 2008 from 12:30-4:30 PM at Wagon Hill
Farm. Residents interested in assisting with this annual event should
contact Durham Day Coordinator, Nicole Moore, at 868-6775 or e-mail durhamday3@yahoo.com.

UPCOMING
EVENT AT THE MILL
POND CENTER FOR THE
ARTS

Tickets are
available by calling the Mill Pond at 603-868-8999, or by visiting the Durham
Marketplace (Customer Service Desk), RiverRun Book Store in Portsmouth, NH, and
The Big Bean Cafe at 118 Main
Street in Newmarket, NH.  (Hours for the Big Bean are Mon-Fri
6 am - 2pm, Sat & Sun 7am - 2pm
(603-659-8600).

FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976

“1809 – A vendue at the house of
Joshua Ballard to let out to build a Stone Pound; said Pound to be 30 feet
square inside, 3 feet think at bottom and 6-1/2 feet high and handsomely faced,
to be built on or near site of old Pound. Struck off to Joseph Chesley
3^rd for $94.50.” Receipt on Dec. 8,
1810.

Have a safe and nice Labor Day
weekend.

Todd

Todd I. Selig, Administrator

Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us

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