Friday Update November 28, 2008

“FRIDAY
UPDATES” (On Tuesday)

Tuesday,
November 25, 2008

The Sullivan Monument

A final reminder that all Town
Offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday,
November 27 and 28, 2008.  All offices will reopen for business on Monday,
December 1^st at 8:00 AM. Residents
whose regularly scheduled pickup day for trash and recycling is Thursday should
put their items out on Friday morning by 7:00 AM instead.  There will be no
commercial pickup of recyclables on
Friday. 

2008
Tax Rate Set

On Monday of this week, Business
Manager Gail Jablonski met with a representative from the State of New Hampshire
Department of Revenue Administration to set the official tax rate for 2008 for
the Town of Durham.  The following is a breakdown of
the 2008 local tax structure.

On Monday evening, December 1, 2008,
the Council will be asked to approve the official tax warrant utilized for the
sending of the 2008 tax bills. The Town Clerk-Tax Collector anticipates mailing
the 2008 property tax bills to property owners on Friday, December 5, 2008.

Valuation figures used for setting
the 2008 tax rate were derived from the Town’s recently completed revaluation.
To view information explaining the 2008 revaluation process and new values,
click HERE.

DCAT
Broadcast of "Creating an Energy Vision for the Master Plan" - Wednesday,
November 19^th at 7:00 PM

On November 19 the
Durham Energy Committee (DEC) sponsored a meeting
with Durham residents to discuss actions
they would like to see Durham take to steer the town towards greater
energy efficiency and independence. Bill Schoonmaker and Walter
Rous facilitated the meeting, taking the first step in developing an Energy
Chapter for the Town’s Master Plan. Durham Cable Television (DCAT) will
broadcast its recording of the meeting on channel 22 this Wednesday, November
26, at 7:00 PM. The DEC is planning the next step in the process, and a
follow-up public forum is anticipated sometime in January. Stay tuned for
details.

Vacancies
on Town Boards

The following is a list of vacancies
that currently exist on various Town boards, commissions, and committees.
Residents interested in being appointed to any of these boards may obtain an
application form by clicking HERE. 
Applications are also available at the Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s Office.
Completed applications may be submitted via email to jberry@ci.durham.nh.us, or mailed to
Jennie Berry, Town of Durham, 15 Newmarket Road. To view the
charges/duties for the various Town boards, commissions, and committees, click
HERE.

Conservation Commission – (1
vacancy)

Planning Board – (1 alternate member
vacancy)

Zoning Board of Adjustment - (1
alternate member vacancy)

Durham Cable Access Television
(DCAT) Governance Committee - (2 vacancies)

Durham Energy Committee (2
vacancies)

Integrated Waste Management Advisory
Committee - (1 vacancy)

Strafford Regional Planning
Commission (MPO Policy) - (2 vacancies)

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

The following public meetings are
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.

Town Council – Monday, December 1,
2008

Historic District Commission –
Thursday, December 4, 2008

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

To view the Oyster River School Board
meeting schedule, click HERE. 

To view the Durham Public Library Board of
Trustees meeting schedule, click HERE.

Turkey
Trot – Hosted by Durham Parks and Recreation &
ORPP

Durham Parks and Recreation Committee and Oyster River Parents
and Preschoolers invite you to join them for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving
Morning - Thursday November 27th from 9:30-11:30 AM. Enjoy a nice downhill hike
to the water at Wagon Hill Farm before your Thanksgiving festivities. Children
can look for colorful turkey feathers along the way and all ages are welcome to
enjoy hot chocolate and donuts beside the water. What a nice way to connect with
our community and give the cook some much needed time alone in the
kitchen!

durham
public library – food for fines
program

The Durham Public Library will be
open for regular hours on Saturday November 29, 2008, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
 This is the last day to participate in our Food for Fines program. 
Since this is the last week of the month, the library is accepting donations for
the Friends of the Library book sales.  For a list of our programs, please
visit  www.durhampubliclibrary.org and click on
Calendar.

DURHAM
PUBLIC LIBRARY Holiday Closing
Schedule

Wednesday, November 26  -
          5:00 PM Early
Closing

Thursday, November
27      
-           Closed for
Thanksgiving

Friday, November
28           
-           Closed for
Thanksgiving

Reopen on Saturday, November 29 with
regular hours, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

UNH
Community Skating Party

The Annual UNH and Durham Holiday
Skating Party "Holidazzle" will be held Thursday, December 4th at the Whittemore
Center Area between 3:30 and 7:30 PM.   Durham residents are encouraged to enjoy a
night of skating, activities, games, and food along with a silent auction in the
sky box lounge.

Annual
Light Up Durham
Celebration

The annual “Light Up Durham”
celebration, sponsored by the Durham Business Association, the Town of Durham,
Durham It’s Where U Live (DIWUL), the New England Center, Colonial Durham
Associates, Ocean National Bank, Wings Your Way and Federal Savings Bank, will
take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, December 4, 5, and 6, 2008.
Throughout the weekend the public is invited to enjoy the Downtown Merchant/UNH
sorority and fraternity holiday light competition. The schedule of events is as
follows:

Thursday
Events

           
10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Evergreen Crafts Fair at the UNH Memorial Union Building

Friday
Events

           
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Evergreen Crafts Fair at the UNH Memorial Union Building

           
4:00 – 6:00 PM, Business Holiday Open House – Durham businesses

           
4:30 – 6:00 PM, Wine and cheese party at the Three Chimneys
Inn

           
4:30 – 6:00 PM, Spaghetti dinner at Young’s Restaurant ($7/person; $5 under
12)

           
4:30 – 5:30 PM, Huddleston Hall Events:  Visit with Mrs. Claus, Holiday
Storytime, and Wayne from Maine

5:45
PM, Tree Lighting Ceremony with
Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Main Street stage (in case of inclement weather,
Santa and the Main Street Stage events will take place at Huddleston
Hall)

           
6:00 – 6:30 PM, Main
Street entertainment at the Main Street
stage

           
6:45-7:00 PM, Bonfire and dessert at the Mill Plaza

Saturday
Events

           
8:00 – 10:30 AM, Pancake Breakfast at Durham House of Pizza and JP’s Eatery
($5/person, children under 3 FREE)

           
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Fair Day in Durham at area
churches

           
1:30 PM – Shawn the Storyteller in MUB Theatre 2

2:00 PM –
Holiday Movie, “The Polar Express”, in MUB
Theatre 2

Ornament
Sales

This year’s limited edition ornament
with 2008 artwork will be available for $10.00 at Ocean Bank(s), Durham
Marketplace, Town Hall, The Outback, Emery Farms, Town & Campus, and Federal
Savings Bank.

CHRISTMAS
FAIR DAY

Saturday,
December 6, 2008 is Christmas Fair Day in Durham.  The Fair runs from 10:00 AM to
3:00 PM, and Durham's four downtown churches participate
simultaneously in an ecumenical tradition which dates from 1958.  Fairgoers
can visit St. Thomas More, St.
George's, Community Church of Durham, and the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship.  Each venue features unique
items.

Some
Good News for Oyster Populations: Restoring oyster reefs in the Great Bay
Estuary

Oyster
populations in many coastal areas have suffered drastic declines in recent
years. On Thursday,
December 4, 2008 beginning at 6:00 PM in the Levenson Room at the Portsmouth
Public Library (first floor), Dr. Ray Grizzel, Zoology Professor at the
University of
New Hampshire will give an
update on the local oyster population and report on collaborative efforts making
progress in the Great Bay Estuary. This event is open to the public and is free
of charge. This is the fourth and final
program in the Piscataqua Gundalow Fall Contemporary Coastal Issues Series.
This series was funded by NHDES and NOAA’s office of Ocean and Coastal Resource
Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act in conjunction with the NH
Coastal Program. For more information please contact the nonprofit Gundalow
Company at (603) 433-9505 or info@gundalow.org

BOY
SCOUT TROOP 154 ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE SALE

Durham Boy Scout Troop 154 will be
selling Christmas trees and popcorn at the Durham Market Place plaza again this
year.  Trees are available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
each day.  This is Troop 154’s major fundraiser of the
season.

FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976

“1848 – Congregational Church on
Main
Street cost $3,325. Enlarged in 1893 and remodeled in
1923, adding Community House. Name changed to Community Church with 19 denominations as members.
Brick
Education Center built in 1963 and sanctuary
remodeled and new organ in 1976.”

Have a safe and Happy
Thanksgiving.

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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