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 NEWS AND HAPPENINGS ...
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"It's a Small World" in Disneyland, California. Courtesy Todd I. Selig
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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MOMENTUM CONTINUES ON OYSTER RIVER INITIATIVE: AMBER ACRES FARM CONSERVED
The Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire is pleased to announce that the scenic views and productive farmland of Amber Acres Farm were permanently protected through the purchase of a conservation easement on the 39-acre farm in late December. This success adds momentum to the effort to conserve 211-acres along the Oyster River, a cooperative partnership between the Southeast Land Trust, the Trust for Public Land, and the Town of Durham, known as the Oyster River Initiative.
"Thank you to the community of Durham for its outpouring of support for Amber Acres Farm - it was terrific and inspiring," explains Brian Hart, Executive Director of the Southeast Land Trust. "In the last few weeks of the year, we raised the necessary funds to acquire the conservation easement and ensure the long-term protection of these 39 acres of open spaces."
With Amber Acres Farm completed, the partnership's focus remains on completing the protection of the adjacent 172-acre Sprucewood Forest. Momentum on the private capital campaign began to build late last summer. To date, the project partners have raised three million six hundred twenty-two thousand (3,622,000) dollars, leaving four hundred sixty thousand (460,000) dollars to be raised. In recognition of the tremendous progress made, and strong community support for the project, the landowners have agreed to short extension until March 29, 2013, providing additional time to wrap up pending opportunities and make the final push for success!
Donations-large and small-may be made through the Trust for Public Land, Durham's nonprofit partner, via a donation form. Every donation demonstrates community support.
To learn more about the Sprucewood Forest, view photographs of the property, and download a donation form, go to the Conservation Commission's web pages or pick one up at the Town Clerk's Office.
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ARREST DATA
On a number of occasions, Chief Kurz has explained that data focusing upon arrests in Durham is very unique and deserves a detailed explanation. In years past, inquiries from Town Councils about the demographical information of those arrested in Durham (i.e., are they UNH students or not), caused the Durham Police to assimilate data in three separate categories. In the first instance, arrest statistics are accomplished by weekly activity, secondly by the UNH academic year and finally, by the calendar year mirroring the Town’s financial budget. Each category allows for a better understanding of the demands facing the department during these periods. The information below is reflective of all 2012 arrest data:
Durham Police: 509 – 57.5%
UNH Police: 375 – 42%
State Agencies: 3 – 00.5%
Total: 887 – 100%
Students: 535 - 60%
Non-Students: 352 - 40%
Total: 887 - 100%
Due to the economic challenges facing the New Hampshire State Police, no trooper has been assigned to Durham for the past three-years. However, the New Hampshire Liquor Enforcement has continued to monitor alcohol sales, misrepresentations and other specialty violations in Durham therefore augmenting Durham Police staff during peak weekend periods especially in the Fall at the beginning of the academic year. Albeit significantly curtailed, these resources often allow the Durham Police to focus upon the impacts of the alcohol abuses in residential neighborhoods.
The Durham Police focus upon those alleged to have committed a criminal violation and status as a student or not is irrelevant as to whether an arrest is made. Each week, Durham provides UNH with the names of ALL persons arrested and the Vice President’s Office determines student status. When compiled, UNH officials schedule meetings with the students arrested and reinforce their obligations as students and responsible residents of Durham. This strategy has demonstrated success as recidivism is virtually non-existent.
With the commencement of 2013, the arrest statistics for the calendar year begin anew. The chart below represents all arrests within the jurisdictional boundaries of Durham to include those occurring on the UNH campus during the calendar year 2012.
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POTENTIAL STOP SIGN AT FACULTY ROAD AND GARDEN LANE
The Traffic Safety Committee is designed to offer suggestions and recommendations to the Town Administrator regarding items of safety that relate to the roadway infrastructure of Durham. At its November meeting there was discussion that centered upon the concept of a stop sign at the intersection of Faculty Road and Garden Lane designed to calm traffic and essentially creating a three-way stop intersection. As Chairman of the Traffic Safety Committee Chief Kurz asked that anyone interested in offering an opinion contact him with a brief “I’m for this stop sign, or I’m against this stop sign”! While many took the opportunity to expound upon their view of “too many stop signs in Durham” to “yes most definitely a good spot for stop signs”, the tally resulted in 53 people offering their opinion. The final tally was 13 (25%)
to add a three-way stop and 40 (75%) against adding stop signs! This information will be discussed at a future Traffic Safety Committee.
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STOP SIGN AT MILL ROAD AND MCDANIEL DRIVE
At its June meeting, the Durham Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) reviewed a request to investigate the potential of establishing Mill Road at McDaniel Drive as a three-way stop sign intersection. The committee noted the following:
There have been a number of concerns expressed by neighbors in the area, centering on sight distance and speeds of vehicles. While the accident rate at this intersection is low, there is significant traffic from UNH as staff, students, visitors and deliveries frequent the area. Public Works Director Mike Lynch indicated that it is not one of our better intersections and suggested that a three-way stop may be warranted at this location. After much discussion, the TSC voted unanimously to request that Durham Public Works installs stop signs at this location on a trial basis and garner feedback from residents and Town staff on their permanency. Town Administrator Selig concurred and requested that this item be placed on a future agenda for review.>
At the November meeting of the Traffic Safety Committee, Chief Kurz was instructed to present a proposal to the Durham Town Council for their consideration to amend the current Town Ordinance to reflect a three-way stop sign at this location. So that interested residents will be informed of the process required to make an amendment to existing Town Code there is a structured procedure that includes two phases. At the “First Reading” of the proposed ordinance amendment, the Town Council discusses the change and has an opportunity to make minor adjustments. While they do not routinely invite public input at this phase, anyone can address the Council on any subject during the public comment portion of the meeting. This is the first opportunity to express concerns or endorsement of the proposal. The second phase is the “Public Hearing” which
is specifically designed for community input prior to the Council taking a vote on the amendment to the Town Code.
The schedule for the Durham Town Council on this matter is:
First Reading: January 7th
Public Hearing: January 28th
All Council meetings are at the Durham Town Hall and begin at 7:00PM. The Durham Town Council places significant weight on the desires of the residents most affected by this action. Therefore, persons are encouraged to share opinions regarding this change at the Public Hearing scheduled for January 28, 2013.
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Open field at Sprucewood Forest. Courtesy Robin Mower
SPRUCEWOOD FOREST
On November 5, 2012, the Durham Town Council voted unanimously to accept title to the property known as the Sprucewood Forest, subject to an easement that will be held by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Now it all hinges on a private fundraising campaign. For more information regarding this campaign effort, click HERE.
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WEEKLY INFORMATION FROM ORCSD SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. James C. Morse, Sr., Superintendent for the Oyster River Cooperative School District, wishes to share with the residents of Durham each week events that are occurring within the district. Subject areas will vary weekly depending on what might be a "hot" topic that particular week. To view this information, click HERE.
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DURHAM’S FRIDAY DEALS
Friday Deals are offered by Downtown merchants. Click HERE to see the deals on food, health, and services that are being offered. Shop locally and support area business. Money spent locally stays local.
If your business has a Friday deal to offer please send it to Ken Entz at sentz@comcast.net.
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GREAT BAY: THE STATE OF OUR ESTUARIES
Every three years, the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) holds a conference on the "State of Our Estuaries." Heightened public awareness of pollutant issues in our Great Bay and pending EPA regulations contributed to an attendance of well over 200 at the December 7th meeting. The related "State of Our Estuaries" report details information on the status and trends of environmental indicators from the Piscataqua Region watershed and estuaries. It provides PREP, state natural resource managers, local officials, conservation organizations, and the public with information on the effects of management actions and decisions. The main report, guides for policy makers and citizens, and presentations from the conference may be viewed online at http://www.stateofourestuaries.org/
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INVITATION TO THE FIRST PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP - PROPOSED DURHAM/UNH OYSTER RIVER INTEGRATED WATERSHED PLAN JANUARY 24th, 2013
If you live or work in and around the Oyster River watershed, please join us for the first public informational workshop hosted by the Town of Durham and UNH partnership to discuss the proposed study elements of the future Oyster River Integrated Watershed Plan (ORIWP). On January 24th, two workshops will be held to provide an option of attending an afternoon or evening session. The afternoon workshop will be held at 3:00 pm at the Lee Safety Complex off of George Bennett Road in Lee and the evening workshop will be held at 7:00 pm at the Madbury Town Hall. The primary purpose of these workshops is to inform watershed residents, community officials and other stakeholders of the proposed study elements of the ORIWP to be initiated in 2013 as well as to gain insight, comments and information from residents that have relevant knowledge of the watershed conditions and activities. This integrated watershed approach seeks to combine knowledge, planning and implementati
on efforts with other watershed stakeholders to develop effective and sustainable solutions to reduce pollutant loading, including nitrogen, within the watershed. For more information contact Town Engineer Dave Cedarholm at dcedarholm@ci.durham.nh.us , or call the Department of Public Works at 603-868-5578.
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The library is acquiring it’s outer layer of porches and arcades, making it a friendly building. Other stories: exterior insulation board, installation of windows, fighting snow, and the start of insulation on Saturday. Courtesy Walter Rous
DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
The past weeks have seen significant work completed on the library. Many of the first floor and basement walls have been framed. Roof sheathing is complete and the asphalt shingling continues as the weather allows. Prior to Christmas, rain was the inhibiting factor and then there was the snow storm on December 27! Thankfully, because the library was mostly enclosed, the storm had a marginal impact on the building interior. The impact on the exterior and the site was a different manner. However, this being New England, construction continues despite the weather. Time spent digging out is a nuisance but also a necessity and certainly not unexpected.
Additional work has included installing rigid insulation on the exterior walls (there will be additional insulation added to the interior of the wall cavity), the initiation of window installation on the north and west elevations and completion of the rough framing and sheathing of the stair tower.
One of the most visually compelling aspects of the recent work has been the installation of the columns that will support the roofs of the south and west facing porches. These porch arcades lead from the parking lot to the front entry and, as Walter Rous observed, provide “a feeling that the building is embracing you even before you enter the library”.
Courtesy Walter Rous
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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.
Town Council - Monday, January 7, 2013. For agenda and other information, click HERE.
Zoning Board of Adjustment - Tuesday, January 8, 2013. For agenda and other information, click HERE.
Durham Energy Committee - Tuesday, January 8, 2013 (7PM at Durham PD). For agenda and other information, click HERE.
Planning Board - Wednesday, January 9, 2013. For agenda and other information, click HERE.
Conservation Commission - Thursday, January 10, 2013. For agenda and other information, 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://ci.durham.nh.us/ by clicking the DCAT on demand logo, or directly at http://dcat.pegcentral.com/.
Durham Public Library Board of Trustees meeting schedule, please click HERE.
DCAT Programming Schedule, please click HERE.
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PARKS AND RECREATION PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Alternate Member Needed on Parks and Recreation Committee
The Parks and Recreation Committee is searching for an alternate member. If you are interested in learning more, please email Nate Trauntvein, Chair, at neh34@unh.edu
Volunteers Needed for Winter Carnival
Parks and Recreation is currently looking for volunteers to help out with its Winter Carnival taking place in February. Don’t miss out on this FUN event! Contact: sfrazee@ci.durham.nh.us
Sign up NOW for Coyote Club!! New session starts Monday, Jan. 7th. For more information, click HERE.
To view the schedule of classes for January, click HERE.
For more information regarding any of the classes or events offered by Parks and Recreation, visit the P&R web site at https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_parksrec.
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DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
DPL Online Catalog Will be Offline on Monday, January 7th for repair. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Interested in EBooks? Please Take Our Survey! Please take a minute to complete a short survey on our website www.durhampubliclibrary.org to help us determine our patrons' interest in borrowing e-Readers from the library. We own a Kindle and a Nook that can be checked out just like books. Each reader is loaded with at least a dozen titles selected from bestseller lists. We also have free eBook downloads through our website to your device. Please answer a few short questions about your eBook use so that we can better serve you. Thank you.
Pre
school Storytimes, Tues. Jan. 8th and Thurs. Jan. 10th at 10:30 am – This week: Feel Better/Doctors. Join us for stories, fingerplays, songs, feltboard and a craft. All are welcome.
Raccoon Readers (2nd-4th grade book group), Tues. Jan. 8th 6:00 p.m. - Join us for our 2nd-4th grade book group. This month's books are "Magical Kids" by Sally Gardner and/or "SOS Files" by Betsy Byars and/or "Bigger Than a Bread Box" by Laurel Snyder. Come discuss the book(s), authors, play some games, and make a craft. Copies of these books are available at the Circulation desk. All are welcome!
Young Adult Writing/Blog Group, Tues. Jan. 8th 7-7:45 p.m. - Join us for this monthly writing group for Young Adults (10 yrs & up). We do writing exercises, talk about your writing and post your writing to our blog "Write Away". We also talk about books, movies... All are welcome!
Off the Clock- Moving Education from Time to Competency, Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m.: Fred Bramante, Durham resident and author of Off the Clock- Moving Education from Time to Competency, will
speak about the redesign of public education. The state regulations were changed in 2005 to move our schools to a competency based model, but how are our schools doing? What's the role of higher education in all of this? New Hampshire has won the prestigious 2012 State Innovation Award from the Education Commission of the States, but how are we doing on implementation of these innovations? Bramante speaks around the country about this topic. He is past- Chairman of the NH Board of Education and is a former science teacher. He was charged by Gov. Benson to lead this effort toward competency-based learning. Bramante will speak about how this new attitude toward learning will lead to a better, more cost-effective, customized education for every child by pulling the entire community into the process of education.
Exploring Turkey! Tues. Jan. 22nd at 6:30 p.m. - Feel like taking an exotic trip to Turkey? Come learn about this beautiful country, its cultur
e, and its history from Durham resident Tom Bebbington, who recently visited Turkey. Tom is an excellent speaker who is sure to delight you with stories and photographs from this fascinating country!
Bookeaters, Middle School Book Group, Weds, Jan. 23rd, 2:45-4:00 p.m. - Join us for this Middle School Group! This month's book is "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. Walk from the Middle School to come and discuss the book of the month. This group is facilitated by Ruth Wharton-MacDonald. Pizza is served! All are welcome.
Register for Tales for Tails! 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 now to start mid-late January for a session.
Registration for Seacoast Reads (UNH Reading tutors) has started for the second semester. Does your elementary school aged child need extra help reading? Come to the library to sign up for a Seacoast Reads Reading tutor. Your child will be paired with a student tutor and they will meet once a week at the library starting in February. Space is limited so sign-up soon!
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.
Check out the library's website at http://www.durhampubliclibrary.org/durham/ for more information.
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FROM "DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE A HISTORY - 1900-1985"
"Farm Life in Durham: "Leaving the Highland House Farm and heading east on Durham Point Road one arrives at the Robert Burnham homestead, which dates to 1641. This farm, called Shankhassick Farm beginning in the 1920s, became the family property of Ralph D. Paine, famous author of sea stories for boys. In Squarely Behind the Beavers, Philbrook Paine, son of Ralph D., has documented what some aspects of life during those years included. He mentioned the 1916 single-cylinder engine known as a 'one lunger'. This motor was used to pump water for household use. He also recalled that by 1922 electricity came to the farm, followed by installation of a Westinghouse stove. The old ice chest gave way to an electric refrigerator with cooling coils on the top and a 'thermostat' to regulate the inside temperature." Published in 1985 by the Durham Historic Association.
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WEEKLY ARREST REPORT
*Academic year commences the third week of August through graduation at UNH in May.
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Have a nice weekend.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham, New Hampshire
T: 603-868-5571 F: 603-868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us http://www.ci.durham.nh.us
Everyone can tackle climate change. How can you reduce your carbon footprint?
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