Friday Update October 07, 2011

Friday,
October 7, 2011

Raccoon kits try and stay cool during
one of the hot days we experienced this
summer.

Courtesy
Patricia Pratt

It looks as though the Columbus
Day long-weekend will be absolutely beautiful
outdoors.  For those residents with
projects yet to complete around the yard,
this may be one of the last chances to get
them done in 80 degree weather for some time!
 Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown.
 The Sandwich Fair runs through the
weekend.

TOWN OFFICES
CLOSED - COLUMBUS
DAY

A final reminder that all Town offices
will be closed for the Columbus Day holiday
on Monday, October 10, 2011 and will reopen
for business on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at
8:00 AM. Please note that there will be
NO CHANGE TO THE REFUSE AND RECYCLING
COLLECTION. All items must be out by
7:00 AM.

DURHAM POLICE CRUISER STRUCK BY
DRUNK DRIVER
This past Saturday night was another
challenging evening in terms of arrest
activity in the downtown area culminating in
Captain Holmstock’ s police vehicle
being struck by a drunk driver. 
Luckily, Captain Holmstock and Sergeant
Dalton, who were standing next to the
vehicle, were able to jump aside nearly being
struck.  Per Durham Police Department
policy, the New Hampshire State Police is
handling the prosecution, accident report,
and subsequent investigation of the incident
by this non-student.  Our vehicle is
currently at Ben’s Auto in Portsmouth
with extensive front end damage awaiting an
estimate for repair. 

BATH SALTS AND SYNTHETIC
MARIJUANA PROBLEMS IN
DURHAM
The Police Department has begun to encounter
and arrest individuals in Durham utilizing so
called bath salts and synthetic marijuana,
commonly referred to as K2.  For more
information regarding synthetic marijuana, go
to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_cannabis

FIRE AT GABLES NORTH FRIDAY
MORNING
This morning, 10/7/11, a fire broke out in a
bedroom on the 6th floor of the Gables North
on the UNH campus.  The fire created
heavy smoke and heat which triggered the
activation of the affected area’s
sprinkler system knocking down the
Fire.  The Durham Fire Department
responded and had quite a lot of work
addressing smoke-related issues and water
from the sprinkler
system. 

DURHAM FIRE DEPARTMENT’S ENGINE 1
AND TANKER OUT OF SERVICE FOR SEVERAL
DAYS
The Fire Department’s primary response
attack engine, Engine 1 (E-1), was out of
service this past week due to an electrical
malfunction.  It has since been
repaired.  Unfortunately, last evening
the Tanker’s brake pedal malfunctioned
and had to be taken out of service for
several hours.  Fortunately, it too has
been repaired. 

ORCSD Working Budget Document
Available at Durham Town Office

Courtesy, Todd
Selig

OYSTER RIVER COOPERATIVE SCHOOL
DISTRICT 2012-2013 WORKING BUDGET AVAILABLE
FOR REVIEW AT DURHAM TOWN
OFFICE
The Oyster River Cooperative School District
has forwarded copies of its 2012-2013 Working
Budget along to the Durham, Madbury, and Lee
Town Offices for public review.  A copy
of the document has also been placed in each
Town Councilor's mailbox at the Town Office.
 To view an article from
Foster’s Daily Democrat
regarding the district’s Working
Budget, increases, decreases,
etc., click HERE.

ORCSD SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR
ADVISORY BUDGET
COMMITTEE
The Oyster River School Board is looking for
new volunteers for its Advisory Budget
Committee.  This commitment can be
time-intensive.   The purpose for
the committee is as follows: "To form an
advisory committee that becomes educated
about the ORCSD budget and provides budget
recommendations to the School Board.
‪These recommendations put the needs of
the students first and will be fiscally
responsible to taxpayers."  Any
interested persons from the Oyster River
School District should send along a letter of
interest with qualifications to wdifruscio@orcsd.org, or mail to
ORCSD School Board, c/o Wendy DiFruscio, 36
Coe Drive, Durham, NH 
03824.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY PARTY
AFFILIATION AND VOTER REGISTRATION
INFORMATION FOR DURHAM RESIDENTS - FROM THE
SUPERVISORS OF THE
CHECKLIST
As residents may be aware, New Hampshire will
have have a Presidential Primary
sometime in the next few months.  By law
it has to be on the second Tuesday in March,
but it also has to be the first in the
nation!  The date has not been set yet,
but, like four years ago, the state is
concerned that it may actually be before
January 1.  Yikes!

Supervisors of the Checklist must hold
a public session just before the start of the
two-week filing
period. VOTERS CANNOT
CHANGE THEIR PARTY AFFILIATION AFTER THAT
DATE.  On October
1, Supervisors across the state were
informed that this session will be on Friday
October 14, 2011, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at the
Durham Town Hall (we are actually extending
the session beyond what is
required).  

It was the intention of the Durham
supervisors to warn local voters about this
possibility ahead of time in order to give
people a chance to check how they are listed
on the current checklist, but we were not
fast enough.  A fairly new
(mid-September) updated Voter Checklist has
been posted at both the Durham Town Hall
(Town Clerk’s office) and the Post
Office.  This checklist includes current
party affiliation.  If a voter is listed
as “Undeclared” (also known as
“Independent”), that person can
CHOOSE the ballot s/he wishes to mark at
the Primary.  S/he will then be
considered a member of that party until the
voter officially changes parties again, which
may be done at the polling place immediately
after voting at the Primary, or any time
thereafter. 

There are always a few situations where
a voter is POSITIVE s/he is registered in one
party or the other and is quite upset to find
that they voted in a different party at the
last Primary and forgot to change back. 
If you believe there is any chance you could
be in that situation, PLEASE check the
checklist SOON and make sure you are
registered the way you wish to be.  You
may change your party affiliation at the Town
Hall ANY TIME during office hours (8-5 M-F)
or during the Public Session listed
above.  There will be NO PARTY CHANGES
after 7:30 PM on October
14.

ENERGY EFFICIENT STREET LIGHT
REPLACEMENT PROGAM IN DOWNTOWN DURHAM UNDER
WAY!
The Town of Durham competed for and was
successful in obtaining an Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Block Grant for street
lighting upgrades. The grant is sponsored by
the New Hampshire Office of Energy and
Planning and is a component of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The
grant, valued at $167,310, will reimburse the
Town 100% of the cost of retrofitting all of
the ornamental street lighting along the Main
Street corridor and intersecting roadways.
The grant does not require any kind of a
match. The grant was only eligible for New
Hampshire Municipalities but offered the
opportunity to partner with other
municipalities, private industries, and
commercial properties to maximize the overall
energy savings. Because the Main Street
lighting corridor runs through the UNH campus
it made sense to partner with the University
to provide a consistent lighting
pattern.

The
Office of Energy and Planning had available
$6,600,000 of funding from the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Black Grant
program and received 270 grant applications
totaling over $21,000,000. The grant will
reimburse Durham for replacing the existing
175 watt, Metal Halide Lighting and
accessories with a Light Emitting Diodes
(LED) retrofit kits within our current
municipal street lighting fixtures. The
benefit of this energy grant will be the
following:

• Replacing inconsistent lighting
  patterns of multiple
  colors
• Upgrade 234 less efficient street
  lights
• Projected savings of 70.2 metric tons
  of CO2
• Avoid future energy and lamp costs of
  $239,089
• Estimated MMBTU savings
  18,053
• Proposed Energy Savings 1,756,212
  (kWh)
• Simple payback is 4.5
  years
• Estimated 650 hours of jobs
  created
• Lower operating fixture wattage from
  175 to 38
• Increase longevity of lamp from 2.8
  years to 12 – 15
  years

DURHAM POLICE
DEPARTMENT RENEWS EXPLORER
POST

The Durham Police Explorers is a
program for fourteen to twenty year
old students who may have an interest in
a law enforcement career. Explorers
participate in a variety of activities
throughout the year, including law
enforcement training, competitions, and
community service activities. The post is
sponsored by the Durham Police Department and
Explorers are allowed to participate in
ride-alongs with police officers after
meeting training
requirements.

The
Durham Police Explorers are currently seeking
interested individuals to join the
program!  No matter which branch of law
enforcement the student is interested in -
local, state, or Federal, he or she can
develop a dynamic perspective of the life of
a law enforcement officer. Police Exploring
also allows the student to become one step
closer to his or her goal of starting a
successful law enforcement career.  A
few Durham Police Department employees
actually began their law enforcement
activities as a Durham Police
Explorer!

Please join us on
Wednesday
October 26th from 6:00PM-8:00PM at the Durham
Police Department (86 Dover Road) for an
informational night about the Police
Explorers Program. Free pizza and soda
will be served. You can also contact the
Durham Police Department at (603) 868-2324
for more information.

Construction Under Way at the Wiswall
Bridge - Courtesy Dave Cedarholm

WISWALL
BRIDGE

Despite the difficult time Reed &
Reed has had this week with the rains and
increased river flows, they are
making good progress. The photograph
above shows the ledge all prepared below
the new gate structure and the workers
installing the rebar for the footing. They
hope to be ready to pour concrete for the
gate structure footing Monday
afternoon.

Speed
Table on Edgewood Road - Courtesy Todd
Selig

SPEED TABLE AND RAISED
CROSSWALK INSTALLATIONS COMPLETE -- BAGDAD
ROAD AND MADBURY
ROAD

After a great deal of discussion at the
Traffic Safety Committee over many months,
the Public Works Department this week
installed a new speed table application on
Bagdad Road as well as Durham’s first
raised crosswalk to provide greater
visibility to school children crossing
Madbury Road.
 
These installations are a continuation of the
pilot speed table application which was
installed on Edgewood Road between Madbury
Road and Emerson Road last fall.
 
The raised crosswalk was installed along
Madbury Road at Maple Street.  Residents
along Madbury Road had been requesting a
speed table application since last
year’s installation on Edgewood Road
was completed.
 
A new speed table along Bagdad Road was
installed between Strout Lane and Nobel K.
Peterson Drive to slow traffic along the
Bagdad Road corridor in what is a wide
straight of way.  Last season, the
traveled way in this area was narrowed and
bicycle lanes were added.

At this time, the Town is also planning
to move forward next spring with the
installation of two speed tables and a raised
crosswalk along Coe Drive utilizing Safe
Routes to School grant
funds.

To view a Foster’s Daily
Democrat article on the newly installed
speed tables, click HERE.

Construction Under Way along Route 4 at
Morgan Way - Courtesy Todd
Selig

MORGAN WAY/ROUTE 4 INTERSECTION PROJECT
UPDATE

In May 2011, the Town Council approved a
State Aid Highway Program Municipal Agreement
for the Route 4/Morgan Way intersection
improvement project.
 
As part of the 2010 and 2011 Capital
Improvement Plans, the Town of Durham
allocated a total of $545,863 for the
improvement of the Morgan Way/Route 4
intersection with funds to be bonded as part
of the State Highway Aid Program. The State
Highway Aid Program funds 2/3 of local
highway projects with Durham covering 1/3 of
the total project cost.
 
Residents driving the Route 4 Corridor will
notice that municipal construction work is
well under way as part of the
project.

PUBLIC
MEETINGS: SCHEDULE AND VIDEO ON
DEMAND

The following public meetings are
scheduled for the coming week  All
meetings begin at 7:00 PM and are held in the
Council chambers at the Durham Town Hall
unless otherwise indicated below. To view the
agenda for the meetings listed below, please
click HERE.

All meetings recorded on DCAT are
available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.

VIDEO ON
DEMAND: Meetings can
also be viewed via Video on Demand.
Interested viewers can access the streaming
site from the Town’s website at
http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/ by
clicking the DCAT on demand logo, or directly
at http://dcat.pegcentral.com/.

Durham Energy
Committee - Tuesday, October
11, 2011 (7:00 PM at the Durham PD Community
Room)

Zoning Board of
Adjustment - Tuesday, October
11, 2011

Planning
Board - Wednesday, October 12,
2011

Durham Agricultural
Commission - Thursday, October
13, 2011 (7:00 PM at the Durham PD Community
Room)

Conservation
Commission - Thursday, October
13, 2011

Oyster River School Board meeting
schedule, please click HERE. 

Durham Public Library Board of Trustees
meeting schedule, please click HERE.

DCAT Programming Schedule, please click
HERE.

DOWNTOWN DURHAM’S PORTSMOUTH
ATLANTIC INSURANCE AGENCY GOES
GREEN
The Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance Agency is
located on Jenkins Court in downtown
Durham.  It was started by Jon Merwin in
2005 after Mr. Merwin graduated from
UNH.  The agency began with no customers
but has grown to serve almost 2,000 customers
today through referrals and word of
mouth. 

The
agency joined the Green
Alliance http://www.greenalliance.biz/ in
March of this year and according to Mr.
Merwin, it is the only insurance agency in
the Green Alliance.  A link to their
profile on the Green Alliance web site can be
found at http://www.greenalliance.biz/business/portsmouth-atlantic-insurance.

The agency has switched over completely
to soy based ink over traditional
petroleum-based ink.  In addition, they
are a member of Seacoast
Local

http://www.seacoastlocal.org/.

Mr. Merwin promotes artwork for UNH
students and alumni with a “UNH Artist
of the Month” program that features a
different UNH art student/alumni’s
artwork in one of our window displays on a
monthly basis.  For more information,
call Jon Merwin at (603)
431-4020.

RESIDENTIAL
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY SYSTEMS REBATES FROM NH
PUC:  GOOD
NEWS!

Funding is once again available from
the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
for the rebate program for residential
renewable electricity systems (typically
solar electric panels or wind turbines) under
5 kilowatts in capacity. Funding will be
disbursed both for new applicants and for
those who have previously submitted
conforming Step 1 rebate applications and
have been in the queue for
funding.

The
rebate for this program is $1.25 per watt up
to a maximum of $4,500 or 50% of the system
cost, whichever is less. The rebate
application can be found on the
Commission’s website at http://www.puc.nh.gov/Sustainable%20Energy/RenewableEnergyRebates.html.

For more
information, contact Jon Osgood, Director,
Sustainable Energy Division, at jon.osgood@puc.nh.gov, or
271-6306.

VACANCIES ON
VARIOUS TOWN BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND
COMMITTEES

The Durham Town Council is seeking
interested residents of the Town of Durham
who have the ability, desire, and time needed
to fill the vacancies on its various Town
boards, commissions, and committees listed
below. 

Citizens interested in board
appointments should contact the Town
Administrator's office at 868-5571 and ask
for a board application form, or stop in at
the Town Clerk's office located on the first
floor of the Town Hall, 15 Newmarket Road,
and complete an application. 
Applications are also available on the Town's
web site at http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/ on
the right-hand side in
blue.

Completed applications may be mailed to
the Town Administrator's office, or submitted
via email to jberry@ci.durham.nh.us.

Conservation Commission - (1 alternate
vacancy)

Durham Cable Access Governance
Committee - (2 regular vacancies; 1 alternate
vacancy)

Durham Energy Committee - (1
vacancy)
Historic District Commission - (1
vacancy)
Integrated Waste Management Advisory
Committee - (1 regular vacancy; 1
alternate vacancy)
Parks and Recreation - (1 alternate
vacancy)
Planning Board - (1 alternate
vacancy)

Rental Housing Commission - (1
neighborhood representative vacancy)
Strafford Regional Planning Commission &
MPO Policy Committee - (1
vacancy)   
Zoning Board of Adjustment - (1 alternate
vacancy)

DURHAM PARKS
& RECREATION PROGRAMS AND
EVENTS

NEW
PROGRAMS:

Parents & Preschoolers Exercise
Class for Infants to 5 year olds along
with a parent. Class begins soon and will be
held on Thursdays 9am – 10am at the
Durham Parks & Recreation
Building.

Prenatal Yoga begins in
November. Connect with other moms-to-be and a
great relief from common physical discomfort.
Class will be held on Tuesdays 5pm at Durham
Parks & Recreation
Building.

Kid’s Yoga has a new
session beginning Oct. 10th for ages 9
– 12. Class meets Wed. 4:30 –
5:30pm at the Durham Parks & Recreation
Building.

Please check out our Fall/Winter class
schedule which provides recreation for the
whole community. To view the schedule, click
HERE.

Exercises with Kathy for a Cure October
15th at Oyster River High School anytime
between 8am – 3:15pm. To view the
schedule, click HERE.

For more
information on any of these events, please
contact P&R Director Sandy Devins at
603-817-4074, sdevins@ci.durham.nh.us  Also
check out our new Facebook account on
“Durham Rec”.

FRIENDS OF
THE DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL FALL BOOK
SALE

The Friends of the Durham Public
Library Fall Book Sale will kick-off at the
Durham Public Library on Thursday, November
3rd from 6pm to 7pm with an Early Bird
Preview--admission to this special one hour
event is $10.

The sale opens to everyone from 7pm to
8:30pm Thursday evening. The sale will
continue on Friday, November 4th from 10am to
5 pm and on Saturday, November 5th from 10am
to 2pm.

Book prices are $2.00 for hardbacks,
$1.00 for paperback, and $0.50 for children
books. DVDs, CDs, and books-on-tape are
$1.00. VHS tapes are $0.50.

All proceeds from the Friends Fall Book
Sale support Durham Public Library
programs.

DURHAM PUBLIC
LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND
EVENTS

New Library
Campaign
The new Durham Public Library is an
investment in the quality of life in our
town, and a gift to future generations. The
New Library Campaign goal is to raise
$900,000 in additional donations as the
private share of the public-private
partnership with the Town for a new facility.
These funds will be added to the $1.2 million
already raised by the Trustees over the years
specifically for a new library. A successful
campaign means the Trustees and the community
will contribute a total of $2.1 million
toward the new library.

To date,
$657,570 of the $900,000 has been raised! But
we need an additional $250,000 to meet our
goal and we’d like your
help.

We are
making all of our campaign information
available on our website http://www.durhampubliclibrary.org/durham/.
Learn more about the campaign, find out how
you can help, print out a donation form, and
have your questions answered.  Help make
the long-awaited new library a reality. Your
donation will make a
difference!

Preschool Storytimes -
Tue., Oct. 11th and Thu., Oct.
13th, 10:30 a.m. This
week: Spaghetti/Pasta. All are welcome
to enjoy stories, songs, fingerplays,
feltboard, and a craft.

The Art and History of
Porcelain Doll Making, Tue. Oct.
18th, 6:30 p.m. Priscilla Nickerson, Doll
Artisan Guild Grandmaster, will present a
program detailing the history of porcelain
doll making.

Bookeaters, Middle School Book
Group: Wed. Oct. 19th, 2:45-4:00
p.m. Join the Bookeaters.This month’s
book is Frozen in Time by Ali
Sparkes.  Books are available in the
library.  Pizza is
served.

Pajama Storytime
begins on Tue., Oct. 25th, 6:30
p.m. Join ORPP and the library for our
pajama storytime. All are welcome. The
theme this month is Halloween.  We will
read stories about Halloween and make a
Halloween craft.  Wear your Halloween
costume and trick-or-treat at the
library.
ORHS Poetry Night, Wed. Oct.
26th , 7:00-8:00 p.m. Join Oyster River High
School Students for a night of creative
poetry readings as well as the announcement
of the Oyster River High School new Poet
Laureate.  Refreshments will be served
and all are welcome!
Humanities Discussion,
Fri. Oct. 28th, 10:30 a.m. Join the
discussion of Elizabeth Bowen's Death of
the Heart, facilitated by Jennifer Lee.
Copies of the book will be available at the
library prior to the talk. Paid for by a
grant from the New Hampshire Humanities
Council.

Raccoon Readers (2nd
-4th grade Book Club) - Tue., Nov
1st, 6:00-7:00 p.m. This
month’s book is your Mystery choice.
Read either The Sherlock Files: The 100
Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett or a
Mystery book of your choosing. We will
discuss the book(s), author(s), play games,
and make a craft. We will also solve
some mysteries. Books are available at the
library.

Seacoast Mystery Writer KD
Mason to speak, Tues. Oct.
11th,  6:30 p.m.: Rye mystery novelist
KD Mason will speak about his books,
including Harbor
Ice
Young Adult Writing/Blog
Group, Tue., Nov
1st, 7:00-7:45 p.m.  Like to
write?  Join us for this Young Adult
writing/blogging group that will meet once a
month.
Join our Lego Club,
Thu., Oct 13th, 3:45-4:45 p.m. for
1st-5th graders.  Like to build
Legos?  Come to the Lego club in the
Children’s Room to start
constructing.
Concert - All Together Now For the
Durham Public Library,
Sun., Oct 9th, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Beatles
tribute band "All Together Now" performs at
the Mill Plaza as we kick off the Durham
Public Library's new library building
campaign. Come enjoy the Beatles timeless
music and show your support for the Library.
This concert is free and open to all.
Registration for Tales for
Tails has begun. Have a young reader
who could use some non-judgmental
encouragement for reading aloud? A Delta
Therapy dog is waiting for your child. Sign
up at the library.

Sign-ups have started for
Seacoast Reads (UNH Reading
Buddies).  Have a child in 1st through
3rd grade who could use some help
reading?  Sign your child up for a UNH
Reading Buddy.  Weekly sessions hope to
start mid-October.
Join the Patch Program, our
reading incentive program for children aged
2-12 years. Children earn patches for minutes
read or being read to as well as a Durham
Library book bag. If new to the program, stop
by and register.  Thanks to the Friends
of the Durham Public Library for their
continued support of this program.  We
have new patches!

Check out our website www.durhampubliclibrary.org for
more info.

COMMUNITY
PROGRAMS AND
EVENTS 

Solar Furnace Workshop: Build
your own solar Furnace - Sunday, Oct
9, 2011, 10:00 AM, 30 Long Pond Drive,
Durham. Learn how to build a solar
Furnace (or beer can solar heater) for under
a hundred dollars or less using common hand
tools. The Solar Furnace heater will be made
of aluminum cans. Approximately 2-3 hours to
build.

Durham Garden Club
Meeting - Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011,
6:30 PM, St. George's Church. Guest Speaker:
Dianne Mrak, renowned Day Lily and Daffodil
expert, will speak on Daffodils. All are
welcome; no membership
required.

Red Carpet Flower Shop Fall
Open House - Wednesday, Oct 12,
2011, 5:00 - 8:00 PM. For more information,
visit http://www.myredcarpetflorist.com/ or
call 603-868-7021.

Oyster River Youth Association
Fund-raiser, Oct 12, Nov 10, and Dec
10, 5:00 - 11:00 PM - Margarita's Mexican
Restaurant in Dover and OR Hockey will host
games and random drawings.5% of evenings'
gross will be donated to the hockey
program.

Big Green Bus Stop
Event, Saturday, Oct 15, 2011 -
Hosted by the Oyster River Sustainability
Coalition. For details, click HERE.

Family Program Offered at
Museum of Art, UNH:  Lions,
Tigers and Animals Galore!, Sunday, Oct 16,
2011, 2:00 PM. The program will include
a look at the animals found in the paintings
of renowned Maine artist Dahlov Ipcar with
ecologist Michael Palace, as well as a
reading of Dahlov’s beloved
children’s book, The Calico
Jungle. FREE to the
public.

Durham Trick Or
Treating - Sunday, October 30, 2011,
5:00 - 7:30 PM.

WEEKLY ARREST
REPORT

A BIT OF
DURHAM HISTORY - FROM A 1912 ANNUAL TOWN
REPORT

The following is an excerpt from a 1912
Annual Town Report, courtesy Dr. Bruce
Bragdon:

"AN OUTBREAK OF TYPHOID FEVER. Early in
December last, the State Board of Health was
notified of an outbreak of typhoid fever in
the town of Durham, and an investigation of
the cause was immediately instituted. The
history of the case is interesting, in that
it shows an unsuspected pollution of a water
supply, which was responsible for nineteen
cases of typhoid fever that developed within
a short time after the contamination of the
supply."  Residents will note that the
location on the map is what was once the site
where the Town Offices now
stand.

To view the entire report, click
HERE.