Friday Update September 02, 2011

Friday,
September 2, 2011

Rainbow over Oyster
River High School - Courtesy Heather
Case

The last week was an extremely busy one
in Durham as a result of the challenges
associated with Hurricane Irene. 
However, we were VERY lucky here compared
with other parts of the Northeast,
particularly VT.  My 4 year old daughter
may have put it best Sunday evening when she
exclaimed, “There were no
“tormatoes” in
Durham!”

LABOR DAY
HOLIDAY

A final reminder that all Town
offices will be closed for the Labor Day
holiday on Monday, September 5th. However,
there will be NO CHANGE to
the refuse and recycling collection routes
during the holiday week. As always, please
have all items out by 7:00
AM.

MADBURY ROAD TRAFFIC CHANGE
PILOT PROGRAM
UPDATE
Last summer, the town moved forward with a
traffic enhancement pilot program along
Pettee Brook Lane reducing two lanes of
traffic to one and adding a designated
bicycle lane, twenty-one additional parking
spaces to service the downtown core, and
various traffic calming measures.  The
pilot program proved quite successful and was
made permanent.

This
summer the Town moved forward with Phase II
of our downtown traffic enhancements focusing
on changes through the Madbury Road corridor
from Main Street to Garrison
Avenue. 
 

The primary goal of this summer’s
pilot program is focused upon bicycle lanes,
traffic calming measures, pedestrian
friendliness, safety enhancement, and
additional convenient downtown parking to
support our commercial core. In fact, making
the corridor safer for middle and high school
children living in the Faculty Neighborhood
was a primary objective of the
alterations.  Changes
included:

• Installation of new bicycle lane,
  eight new parking spaces, and the narrowing
  of two lanes of traffic to one between Main
  Street and Pettee Brook
  Lane;
   
• Installation of new stop sign on Main
  Street at Madbury Road causing vehicles
  traveling west and entering Madbury Road to
  come to a stop at the traffic island;
  and
   
• Installation of new bicycle lanes on
  both sides of Madbury Road extending from
  Pettee Brook Lane to Garrison Avenue,
  narrowing of vehicular traveled lanes, and
  the elimination of largely unused parking
  spaces on the east side of Madbury
  Road.

The Traffic Safety Committee has been
monitoring the changes closely.  One of
the major focus areas for this altered
traffic pattern is the stop sign at Main
Street and Madbury Road.  This was
viewed as critical for easing traffic
merging, pedestrian crossing, and bicycle
conveyance through this difficult area. 
Historically, the area in front of the Post
Office has been perceived as a pedestrian and
bicycle-unfriendly raceway with high-speed
automobile mergers and entering traffic from
each side of the roadway in multiple
locations. 
 

There was concern expressed by the
committee regarding the possible detrimental
effects of traffic backing up at the new Main
Street/Madbury Road stop sign when UNH
resumed classes.  Except for the first
day of classes on Tuesday August 30th and
during homebound commuting traffic that
evening, there were no overly significant
issues that would cause an immediate reaction
to remove the
sign.  

In
addition, while we have received both
negative and positive feedback from residents
regarding the traffic reconfiguration, a good
many residents who initially expressed
concern have conveyed that after some time
they have come to support the
changes.
 

We do plan to carefully observe the
pilot program for a more extended time to
ensure that this stop sign and the
accompanying parking strategy is successful
in creating a safer pedestrian, vehicular,
and bicycle friendly area.

DURHAM POLICE CONDUCT ALCOHOL
SALES COMPLIANCE CHECKS – 100% OF
ALCOHOL PURVEYORS
PASS
The Durham Police Department routinely
conducts compliance checks for businesses
that are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages
in Durham.  Last Friday evening, another
such check was performed with an underage
student, working in conjunction with the
Durham Police Department and the New
Hampshire Liquor
Commission. 

The
student attempted to purchase alcohol at
every local establishment where alcohol is
served including The Three Chimney’s
Inn, as well as at convenience stores such as
Irving, Tedeschi, and the former
Gibbs. 
The young person is fully trained and is not
attempting to fool the establishments by
saying anything that is not truthful or by
presenting false identification.The student
simply provides a personal NH Driver’s
License that indicates s/he is in fact under
the age of 21, which should result in an
immediate refusal by the
establishments. 

The goal
is to confirm that the businesses in Durham
are properly requesting the young
person’s identification and when
provided, are ensuring that the
identification confirms the young person is
in fact of legal age to purchase
alcohol. 

The Town
takes this additional step to remain vigilant
in the area of alcohol sales where there is
such a young resident population in
place.  We know from experience that
virtually every criminal action the Durham
Police Department investigate has some
foundation in alcohol consumption. 
Consequently, it is important ensure
businesses are properly confirming the age
and identify of those persons attempting to
purchase alcohol. 

We are
pleased to report that all Durham alcohol
purveyors passed.
A letter was subsequently sent to local
businesses selling alcohol congratulating
them on their vigilance in this
area. 

HURRICANE IRENE COSTS FOR
DURHAM
The Town’s public works, police, and
fire departments worked proactively to
prepare for the arrival of Hurricane
Irene. Over the course of the day
Sunday, there were over 70 calls for service
for downed limbs and power lines, blocked
roadways, smoking/burning trees and branches
on or tangled up with electrical lines, calls
regarding isolated flooding,
etc. 

The total cost associated with
Hurricane Iren for Durham was
$19,729.49.  Expenditure
information has been compiled and forwarded
to the NH Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management to determine whether
FEMA disaster relief reimbursement funding
might be made available to the Strafford
County region. 

Compared
with other areas of NH and New England,
Durham weathered the storm very
well. 

At the same time, we thank everyone for
their cooperation as part of the last week in
restoring power to neighborhoods, unblocking
roadways, etc.
 

TASER TECHNOLOGY AT DURHAM POLICE
DEPARTMENT
The staff and administration at the Durham
Police Department have been monitoring the
development of Taser technology from a
variety of perspectives for many years to
ascertain the viability of and the potential
need for such a system here.  A Taser is
an electric-shock weapon that uses electrical
current to disrupt voluntary control of
muscles.  Tasers are now a commonly
issued system for police officers nationally
and across New Hampshire.

The use
of Tasers by law enforcement agencies is not
without controversy due in large part to the
fact that during the early deployment of the
tool, policies were either non-existent,
badly conceived, police officers were poorly
trained, and most importantly, there was
inadequate oversight and control by
management concerning proper use of the
tool.  The National media fairly
commonly reported upon stories of abuse by
police officers using Tasers.  In
Durham, I have shared such stories with Chief
Kurz over time to ensure he has been aware of
these issues. 
 

As a result of this additional
scrutiny, police agencies nationwide have
improved protocols for the use of Taser
technology with excellent results. 
There have been marked reductions in
officer-involved shootings, the creation of
early warning systems to detect possible
excesses in individual officer use of force
issues, and training of officers to
de-escalate situations when possibly using
verbal techniques and other nonlethal methods
can control an
incident.  
 

In Durham, the Police Department staff
work hard to screen and hire outstanding
candidates to fill police officer
vacancies.  In addition, we are
fortunate to have an active and engaged
command structure and a nationally accredited
department through the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies
(CALEA). Accreditation ensures that not only
are nationally accepted best practice
policies in place here in Durham, but these
policies are routinely followed at the
department by individual
officers. 

The issue
for the Durham Police Department centers
around the options for less-lethal force that
are at the disposal of individual
officers.  The ASP, an expandable metal
baton issued to all Durham officers, is
essentially the equivalent of a steel club
… and with it all of the same crudeness
and injury to those struck by this
tool. 
 

Durham police officers often have to
take into custody violent persons who are
under the influence of alcohol, a stimulant,
or some other illicit narcotic. Durham
officers are trained to use techniques such
as verbal Judo, wristlocks and other forms of
joint manipulation, OC pepper spray, striking
with the ASP, and ultimately the utilization
of a firearm.  A challenge to offices is
that many illicit narcotics consumed by the
strong 18-24 year old individuals Durham
police encounter are painkillers and/or
alcohol intoxication, both of which numb the
body’s reactions and as a result,
standard subduing techniques are frequently
much less effective at brining a combative
person into compliance.  During the
hours of 10 PM and 3 AM, the behavior of
intoxicated young people is often quite
different from their behavior during the
workday.

Taser
technology offers a new tool which would: a)
temporarily disable even the largest, most
determined individual regardless of the
influence of alcohol and/or drugs; b) ensure
the strong likelihood of not causing serious
injury to anyone involved; c) ensure there is
a tool that could be utilized without the
officer being dependent upon causing pain to
obtain compliance with a lawful order; d)
work reliably; and e) be capable of being
used from a safe distance so that an
arresting officer need not come within range
of a suspect’s blows.  Ideally,
the mere display of  Taser technology
would ensure it would not need to be utilized
at all. 

Chief
Kurz approached the Administrator earlier
this year with a proposal to 1) develop and
implement an appropriate policy governing the
use of Tasers by Durham police officers; 2)
select two officers for instructor training
in the Taser system; 3) determine the type of
Taser to be utilized; 4) train/certify each
Durham officer in the use of Tasers; and 5)
issue a Taser to all sworn officers at the
department. 
 

The Administrator has been very
cautious regarding embracing Taser technology
for Durham over the last several years but
understands the merits of the tool for Durham
officers. 

Consequently, Chief Kurz has been
authorized by the Administrator to move
forward with a modified, more tempered
approach.   Steps 1-3 have been
accomplished to date.  However, rather
than issuing Tasers to all Durham police
officers, only Sergeants would be issued this
new technology for a number of
reasons:

• Sergeants by definition are highly
  knowledgeable patrol officers with
  supervisory
  responsibilities;
   
• They have a great deal of experience
  in dealing with confrontational
  situations;
   
• If
  they are responding to an officer needing
  assistance, the mere presence of additional
  staff may diminish the need to employ
  less-lethal force;
   
• Further evaluation of the Taser
  system in Durham can be accomplished with
  limited, yet highly trained and experienced
  personnel from the department being
  equipped.

The training for the Sergeants will be
comprehensive and will include
manufacturer’s requirements, Police
Standards and Training Council
recommendations, as well as a thorough review
of Durham Police Use of Force policies and
procedures.  No Sergeant will be
assigned a Taser until these criteria are
met.  End of year use of force
statistics will be kept regarding Taser
use.  Taser technology internally
records deployment for after action review
and analysis. 
 

The cost to equip the five Sergeants
with one Taser each is
$7,568.20. 

RIGHT-TO-KNOW LAW
EDUCATIONAL SESSION SCHEDULED FOR BOARD
MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY - MONDAY, OCTOBER 31,
2011

The members of the Town of
Durham’s boards, committees,
commissions, Town Council, and Library
Board of Trustees serve as members of
public boards and are therefore responsible
to act in accordance with the Right-to-Know
law in the State of New Hampshire. The
Preamble of the Right-to-Know law
reads:  “Openness in the
conduct of public business is essential to a
democratic society. The purpose of this
chapter is to ensure both the greatest
possible public access to the actions,
discussions and records of all public bodies,
and their accountability to the
people.” 

In order to ensure that the members of
Durham’s public boards are given the
resources they need to act in accord with RSA
91-A, a Right-to-Know law educational session
has been scheduled for
Monday, October 31, 2011
beginning at 7:00 PM in the Town Council
chambers. 

Attorney Christine Fillmore from the
Local Government Center will be present to
provide an overview of the Right-to-Know law
and to answer any questions that board
members may have. The general public and Town
department heads are invited and encouraged
to attend the session, or to view it on
Durham Community Access Television (Channel
22).  Oyster River School Board members
are also invited to attend, as well as the
Selectmen and board members from the
communities of Lee and
Madbury.

MASTER PLAN
UPDATE
The Town of Durham is preparing to update the
2000 Master Plan and will be holding a series
of meetings over the next several months
beginning in September.  We will be
updating the Commercial Core, Environmental
and Cultural Resources, Economic Development
(Tax Stabilization), and Land Use
Chapters.  In addition, a new Energy
Chapter will be added to the Master
Plan. 

The Director of Planning &
Community Development and the town's
consultant will be meeting with the Energy
Committee on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 to
discuss the Energy Chapter.  The
following eveing, Wednesday, September 14,
2011, Charlie French, a staff member from the
UNH Cooperative Exension, will be meeting
with the Planning Board to discuss the
summarized and tabulated results from the
Master Plan Survey.  The results of the
survey will be posted in the Town's website
and will also be available at the Planning
& Community Development
Office.

The Town is also looking for volunteers
to be on the Master Plan Advisory Committee
(MPAC).  This Committee will lead the
Master Plan Update, working with a consultant
that will help write the amendments, 
keep the process moving forward, and will
report to the Planning Board.  For more
information about joing the MPAC,
please contact Jim Campbell, Director of
Planning & Community Development at
603-868-8064, jcampbell@ci.durham.nh.us. We look
forward to working with you on these
important updates to the Master
Plan.

NO FARMER'S
MARKET ON LABOR
DAY

There will be no Durham Farmer's Market
on Monday, Labor Day, September 5th. The
Farmer's Market will continue the following
Monday, September 12th at the Pettee Brook
Parking Lot.

ADMINISTRATOR TO ATTEND ICMA CONFERENCE
INMILWAUKEE,
WI

Administrator Selig will be
attending the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA) annual
conference from September 16th - 21st, this
year to be held in Milwaukee, WI.
 Scheduled courses/field demonstrations
include:  Rapid innovation, tour and
orientation regarding the success of
Milwaukee's historic Third Ward, LEED,
addressing urban food deserts in a
sustainable way, and more.  During this
time, he will be available by phone and email
if needed.  For more information
regarding ICMA, go
to http://icma.org/en/icma/home.
 

MEMORIAL UNION BUILDING UPGRADES THE
PROJECTION SYSTEM IN THEATER
2

Over the summer the film projection
system in the UNH MUB's Theater 2 was
upgraded to a digital system that can play 3D
movies. As always all community members
are welcome to attend movies in the
MUB. 

The first
3D movie will be THOR and will play on
Thursday, September 15th.  The rest of
the movie schedule and ticket information can
be seen at http://www.unhmub.com/movies/.

SEPTEMBER IS "NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS
MONTH"

The month of September is
“National Preparedness Month”, an
event founded after 9/11 to increase
preparedness in the United States. The Durham
Police Department is currently partnering
with the Health & Safety Council of
Strafford County as we participate in a Joint
Information Virtual Exercise (JIVE). Over the
course of the next week, we will be tasked
with posting messages using “social
media” services such as the Town of
Durham “Friday Updates”. The
first task assigned is the following
message:

This September will mark the ten year
anniversary of the September 11th attacks and
we ask you to take time to make sure you are
prepared for future emergencies. National
Preparedness Month has been held each
September since 2004 to increase preparedness
in the U.S. It is a time to prepare yourself
and those in your care for an unexpected
emergency.

This September, please prepare and plan
for emergencies of all types that may cause
you to:

• Have to stay in your
  home for three days without access to
  electricity, water, stores, and other local
  services.
   
• Have to leave your
  home quickly.
   
• Have to connect with
  your friends and family when communications
  systems may be down or
  overloaded.

For more information on how to prepare
for an emergency, whether you need to stay,
leave, or connect, visit ReadyNH at http://www.nh.gov/readynh/index.htm.

MCGREGOR MEMORIAL EMS
VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE OVER 400 HOURS LAST
WEEKEND
This past weekend was a very busy one
for all public safety agencies in Durham and
surrounding areas. Between UNH move-in
and Hurricane Irene, resources in many areas
were stretched thin.  Volunteers,
including local residents and UNH students
from McGregor EMS, volunteered over 412
hours, staffing as many as three ambulances
and handling 20 emergency calls for
service throughout the
weekend.

DURHAM PUBLIC
LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND
EVENTS

Preschool Storytimes
begin Tues., Sept. 6th and Thurs.,
Sept. 8th, 10:30 a.m. - This
week: Ducks. All are welcome to enjoy
stories, songs, fingerplays, feltboard, and a
craft.
Join the Patch Program,
a 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 the New Sign at Our
Future Home - If you've driven down
Madbury Road lately you may have seen our new
sign designating the future home of the
Durham Public Library at 49 Madbury
Road.

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 in September for a
session.
Loving Hannah:
Childhood Cancer Treatment from the Other
Side of the Bed - Tuesday,
Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. Carol Glover speaks about
her book Loving Hannah. In the
author's words: "Just the word cancer evokes
fear. When that word is applied to someone
you love, fear turns to terror.” This
book is a memoir of months of chemotherapy,
complications, and hospitalization at Maine
Medical Center in Portland, Maine, as seen
from the patient/family view by a health care
provider. This book is available at the
library for checkout. A portion of the
proceeds from the book, sold at the program,
will be donated to cancer
programs.
Bookeaters, Middle School Book
Club begins on Weds. Sept. 21st at
2:45-4:00 p.m. Come and discuss this
month’s book Hide and Seek by
Katy Grant with other Middle Schoolers. 
Copies of the selected book are available at
the library. Pizza is served.
An Evening of Adventure with
International Motorcycle Traveler Ben Slavin,
Wed, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. In October 2009, Ben
Slavin left his home in Hooksett, NH in
search of adventure. Over the course of 6
months he rode his motorcycle 23,000 miles
through 15 countries until he reached the
southernmost city in the world - Ushuaia,
Argentina. He documented the journey on his
blog http://afewmoremiles.com/

Humanities Book
Discussion, Friday, Sept. 23,
10:00 AM. Funded by the NH Council for the
Humanities. Discussion Leader: Jennifer
Lee.  The short stories of Anton Chekhov
(1860-1904) Much is in the
details. We will focus on the following
stories: The Lady with the Pet/Little/Lap
Dog, Gooseberries, The Kiss and The
Darling. Your copy awaits you.
Pajama Storytime begins on
Tues., Sept. 27, 6:30 p.m.   Join
ORPP and the library for our pajama
storytime.  All are welcome!  
The theme this month is
Superheroes/Heroes.  We will read
stories about superheroes and heroes and make
a superhero craft. 
Raccoon Readers (2nd -4th
grade Book Club will begin on Tues. Oct. 4,
6:00-7:00 p.m. This month’s book
is Mr. Popper’s Penguins by
Florence and Richard Atwater. We will discuss
the book(s), author(s), play games, and make
a craft.  Books are available at the
library. 
Seacoast Reads (UNH Reading
Buddies) and a possible Lego club in
October. Will have more information to
come.  Check out our website http://www.durhampubliclibrary.org/durham/ for
more information. 

COMMUNITY
PROGRAMS AND
EVENTS 

Presentation
by Professor of English at UNH Tom
Newkirk - Thu., Sep 8, 2011, 7:30
PM, Oyster River High School. Professor of
English at UNH, Tom Newkirk, will present a
talk titled "Teaching and Learning in Modern
Times: the Reform Movement in Education and
What it Means for our Children". This talk
will be followed by a discussion and is being
sponsored by Friends of Oyster River
Education (FORE).

The Durham
Community Church is Opening a Thrift
Shop - ECHO Community Thrift Shop
will open on Sat., Sep 10, 2011, from
8:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Hours:  Wed,
10am-5 pm; Thu, 10am-7pm; Fri, 10am-5pm; Sat,
10am-2pm. The Thrift Shop entrance is at the
back of the Church in the lower parking lot.
For more information, contact 603-868-1230,
mailto:offfice@durhamcommunitychurch.org.

Yoga
classes - Thursdays, 12:00 noon
at Wagon Hill Farm with Hannelore
Moebius. Classes are FREE. Please contact
Hannelore Moebius at yoga@moebiusyoga.com with any
questions.

Annual Church
Yard Sale - Saturday, Sep 10,
2011, 8:30 AM-2:00 PM. Sponsored by and
located at Community Church of Durham, St.
George Episcopal Church, and St. Thomas More
Church. For more information, contact Audrey
Drogseth, 603-868-1230. office@durhamcommunitychurch.org.

Museum of
Art, UNH Opens Two New Exhibitions -
Two new exhibitions
featuring the paintings of noted Maine artist
and author Dahlov Ipcar as well as 38 works
by 18 members of the Boston Sculptors Gallery
will be presented at the Museum of Art,
University of New Hampshire, beginning
September 10, 2011. Full Circle: Dahlov
Ipcar's Circle Paintings, with a Round of
Marguerite and William Zorach features the
artist’s colorful,
animal/ecology-related series created over a
span of 22 years. Selected Works from the
Boston Sculptors Gallery includes indoor and
outdoor contemporary sculpture showcasing a
diversity of styles, subject matter, and
media.For more information, call
603-862-3712 or visit http://www.unh.edu/moa/.

Trot 4 Kids
5k Charity Run (rain or shine) -
Saturday, Sep 10, 2011, 20 George Bennett
Road, Lee, NH. Registration begins at 7:00
AM; road race begins at 8:30 AM; walkers
begin at 8:15 AM. Registration is $20 online,
$25 on race day. For more information,
contact Caren at crossi@leenh.org,
603-659-6783.

A Call for Healing and Hope -
10th Anniversary Commemoration of September
11 - Sunday, Sep 11, 2011, 4:00-6:00
PM; Friday and Saturday, Sep 16 and 17, 2011,
7:30-9:00 PM, Community Church of
Durham, UCC, 17 Main Street. For more
information, call 603-868-1230, offfice@durhamcommunitychurch.org.

Active
Retirement Association General
Meeting - Tue., Sep 13, 2011, 1:00
PM, Durham Evangelical Church. This meeting
is open to the public. For more information,
visit http://www.unh.edu/ara/ or
contact Carol Caldwell at
603-343-1004.

Great Bay
Academy of Dance Fall Ballet Classes
- Wednesdays starting Sep 14-Dec 14, 2011.
Pre-ballet: 4:30-5:15 PM (Ages 4 & 5)
Ballet I:  5:15-6:15 PM (Ages 6-8). For
more information, call 603-433-4200,
http://www.gbadance.com/

Museum of Art, UNH
- Portsmouth Poet
Laureate John-Michael Albert and jazz pianist
Michael Annicchiarico, Thursday, Sep 15,
2011, 7:00 PM. For more information, visit
http://www.unh.edu/moa/

Turf
Management Workshop - Hosted by the
Seacoast Stormwater Coalition, Mon., Sep 19,
2011, 8:15 AM-12:00 noon, Portsmouth Public
Library, 175 Parrott Avenue. This workshop is
FREE. Register by emailing Cathy Coletti at
catherine.coletti@des.nh.gov
or calling
603-559-0024.

One World
Language School - Early Language
Education Opportunities. 
French, Spanish, German, and Chinese classes
for children in ages 3-14 on Wednesday
afternoons at the Moharimet Elementary
School.  Information and Registration
Night at Moharimet on Wednesday, Sep 14,
2011, 5:00-6:30 PM.  For
information, contact Julie Reece at julie.reece@oneworldlanguageschool.org, 603-866-0364.
To learn more about programs,
visit http://www.oneworldlanguageschool.org/.

Great Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve -
Help us
get growing on the wild side! Developing a
community garden for you and wildlife. For
more information or to sign up, contact
Shannon O'Brien at 603-778-0015, shannon.obrien@wildlife.nh.gov.
For questions regarding this project, contact
Rachel Stevens at rachel.stevens@wildlife.nh.gov.