Friday Updates - October 25, 2024

Friday, October 25, 2024

Working Parks & Rec. staff to the bone outside the old Town Hall. Courtesy, Todd Selig

What a great week it's been weather wise. And fall foliage has been really nice! One resident had hoped for a little more red colors in the leaves but all in all, not a bad foliage season!

REMINDER - Parks & Rec Downtown Trick-or-Treat is tomorrow, October 26, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Also, the Durham Police Department will be participating in Drug Takeback Day tomorrow, Saturday, October 26. Bring your unused prescription medication to the Durham Police Station and it will be collected for safe disposal. Officers will be standing by from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please no needles or liquids!

HALLOWEEN IS A BUSY TIME IN DURHAM!

Trick-or-treating in Durham will take place on Thursday, October 31st, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Durham Police Department wants to remind all parents to think “Safety First” and recommends high visibility costumes for your little witches and gremlins. 

TOWN COUNCIL RECOGNIZES TOWN EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN TOWN HALL FLOODING CLEAN UP AND REORGANIZATION

On Monday evening, the Town Council passed Resolution #2024-23 recognizing the town employees who responded quickly to the broken pipe and flooding situation at the Town Hall back in September. The Resolution also recognized the flexibility and patience of the employees who have been affected or displaced since the flooding occurred. To read a copy of the Resolution, click HERE.

DURHAM RESIDENTS INVITED TO INAUGURAL CELEBRATION WELCOMING UNH’s NEW PRESIDENT, ELIZABETH CHILTON

UNH has invited all town residents to join the UNH community to celebrate the inauguration of Elizabeth Chilton as the 21st president of the university. The inaugural event will take place on Friday, November 15 at 10:00 AM in the Granite State Room of the Memorial Union Building. Doors will open at 9:30 AM for light refreshments and mingling.

The event is free to attend; simply click HERE to RSVP.

This ghost is resting up for trick-or-treat night! Courtesy, Todd Selig

WATER & SEWER BILLS ARE ON THE WAY

Water and sewer bills for the 4th and final billing of 2024 are being mailed now to be received by Tuesday, October 29, 2024, and will be due on Friday, November 29, 2024. You may make payments online at www.ci.durham.nh.us/clerk or by mailing a check to 8 Newmarket Road, Durham, NH 03824. You may also leave payments in the town hall dropbox located at 8 Newmarket Road, Durham, NH. Residents may also pay for their water and sewer bill in person between 8am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday. 

Please note that you may experience longer wait times if you visit us in person before election day, as we are busy registering voters and receiving returned absentee ballots. Please email rdeane@ci.durham.nh.us if you have any questions about your water and sewer bill. The Town Clerk’s Office will be closed on Election Day 11/5/24, Veteran’s Day 11/11/24, and Thanksgiving Holiday 11/28-29/24. Bills postmarked or left in the town hall drop box by 11/29/24 will not be charged interest.

FY 2025 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN FINAL STAGES LEADING UP TO PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL ON NOV. 4

Administrator Selig and the Business Office are wrapping up budget development at the moment.

Here’s the short version:

• Department requests came in resulting in a FY projected Town/Municipal only tax rate increase of 16.29%.
• Admin. Selig’s first round of cuts (eliminating all new requested positions and other major reductions from requested), changes, reductions, trimming, reallocation brought our projections down to an 8.65% municipal only tax rate projected increase.
• Business Manager Jablonski and Mr. Selig met to review once again, and Admin. Selig made further changes/reductions bringing the projected tax rate increase to 8.11%. (Note the reductions are smaller with each round.)
• At this point, after literally reviewing every line item, Mr. Selig has made further reductions lowering the projected tax rate increase for the local/municipal portion of the rate to 7.71%.  He is unable to reduce more without impacting core programming/services, our already minimal staffing, important projects, etc.
• Basically at this juncture Mr. Selig does not believe it will be possible to achieve the Council’s CPI-U (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH) goal of 3.4% as of September.
• On a positive note, the water and wastewater funds will come in at or below CPI-U, which is good news.

More to come but very directly -- this is where we are at this time.

As Mr. Selig has written many times before, without broadening the tax base, we are running up against a wall. Increased tax base growth for 2025 is projected to be only about 1%. Tax rate growth for this year came in about $10 million lower than projected, making it that much harder for FY 2025 fiscal planning. 

By Town Charter, the Administrator has until the last business day in October to provide the Town Council with a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year (January 1 – December 31, 2025). The Council then has until the last business day in December to adopt a budget of its own, or the Administrator’s proposal becomes the budget by default. 

We’ll shortly be sending the budget information to the printer in advance of presenting it to the Council next week on Halloween – October 31.

Q3 QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT – Departments on track for 2024.

The Q3 Quarterly Financial Report from Business Manager Gail Jablonski was presented to the Council on Monday evening.

In reviewing the budget, Business Manager Jablonski noted that several of the smaller departmental revenue accounts are lower than expected, however, the recreation revenues have exceeded expectations. We are still waiting for the State of NH to issue the Meals and Room Tax and final Highway Block Grant payment which will be shown in the State/Federal Revenues line.

Business Manager Jablonski does not foresee any areas of concern in the expenditures, and as noted by the respective Department Heads, all have confirmed they do not anticipate going over their bottom-line budget. The Town Council Contingency Fund has expended $30,326.10 in unanticipated costs related to the Communication System upgrade between the Town and Strafford County Dispatch Center.

The Fire Department is tracking to end the year within the approved FY 2024 operating budget. The department has diverted funding from across the organization to fund the suppression overtime line. Barring unforeseen events, Fire Chief Emanuel does not anticipate running over budget.

Police Chief Rene Kelley notes that while the Police Department will be overspent in some areas, the bottom line should come in under budget.

Public Works Director Rich Reine has noted that although DPW has several large purchases pending, the budget will not be overspent.

FINANCIAL DETAILS

The Town’s expenditures as of September 30, 2024, show a total expenditure of $14,427,749 or 74.7% of the total approved budget amount of $19,315,015. To compare, the amount expended as of September 30, 2023, was 74.8%.

The entrance to Three Chimney's Inn lined with beautiful gold and red colors last week. Courtesy, Todd Selig

ELECTION VOLUNTEER UPDATE from the Durham Town Clerk’s Office

The Durham Town Clerk’s Office is thankful to everyone that answered the call for election volunteers. Some of you may be wondering why you have not heard back. 

The clerk’s office has received over 100 emails and phone calls from residents that have offered to help on election day. Due to the high volume of emails and phone calls received each day and limited phone access due to our office being flooded and relocated to the lobby and conference room, response to volunteers’ inquiries may take time.  

One of our election team members (Town Moderator, Supervisor of the Voter Checklist, or Town Clerk) will contact you before election day if help is needed. 

If you don’t hear from anyone, it is safe to assume that the town is fully staffed. 

A big thank you to all our residents that work to make Durham elections successful and efficient!

IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SO IF YOU WANT TO VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Now is the time to consider registering to vote in Durham if you have not already done so. The lines will be quite long on November 5. You do NOT want to be stuck in the registration line! You may register at the Town Hall any time the Clerk’s office is open (8:00 – 4:30 M-F) through the day on Monday October 28. 

There will be one more evening registration event before the election:

Monday October 28 7:00 – 7:30 PM Durham Town Hall

This will be the final time to register to vote or make changes before November 5. You may register at the polls in the Multi-purpose Room of the high school and then vote in the Gym. The line for registration will be long.

Applicants for registration should bring with them proofs of identity, age, citizenship, and domicile (in Durham). Driver’s license and passport are helpful. Affidavits may be signed under oath if other proofs are lacking.  

ADMIN. SELIG REPORTS OUT ON TOWN COUNCIL GOALS STATUS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Every Year the Town Council establishes a list of yearly goals. This year's goals were approved on June 3, 2024. At their meeting of October 21, the Council reviewed the status of the completion of those goals as of September 30, 2024. To read the status update, please click HERE.

Frankenstein is looking forward to the Downtown Trick-or-Treat event happening tomorrow! Courtesy, Todd Selig

DURHAM’S 2024 COMBINED FULL TAX RATE DECREASES BY 15 CENTS OR 0.73%. - Now, that's a treat! :)

Durham has received the finalized 2024 tax rate from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. The new combined full rate (Town, County, State School and Local School) for 2024 is $20.33, a decrease of $0.15 cents (or 0.73%) compared to the 2023 tax rate of $20.48. The decrease can be found in the State and Local School tax.

Each of the levels of government, Durham Town Council, ORCSD School Board, and Strafford County Commissioners work diligently to keep spending to a minimum while still endeavoring to meet the ever-changing demands of the community. In the end, three factors impact the tax rate: Spending (intended to meet goals/community programming expectations), revenue (user fees, grants, motor vehicle registrations, program fees, permits, etc.) and assessed valuation.

The tax warrant will be before the Town Council for approval on Monday evening, November 4. Once approved by the Town Council, the Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s office will begin preparing the tax bills to be mailed out.

Note the Town portion of the tax rate has remained static at $5.75 for two years in a row, consistent with Town Council goals. Unfortunately, we project little new tax base growth for 2025 beyond routine home improvements.

PLANNING BOARD UPDATE

There have not been any major applications to the Planning Board in months, so the board is developing some significant zoning amendments. On November 20 the board is holding a public hearing on a rewrite of the Definitions section of zoning and continuing its discussion about a Planned Unit Development (PUD) ordinance. 

PUDs are a special zoning tool that allows a town to review a large-scale innovative mixed-use project independent of the basic zoning parameters (density, setbacks, uses, etc.) This tool grants a developer much potential flexibility in design, but in exchange, there is a rigorous review process following a set of development criteria. The ordinance is being prepared in response to the prospective creation of The Edge project by UNH on the triangular parcel of land to the west of the intersection of Mast Road and Main Street. You can see the working draft HERE. 

After a year of study and deliberations the board completed its proposed Workforce Housing Overlay District, which is now before the Town Council for consideration. The Planning Board also has four public hearings on November 13 for smaller but still important applications – a 2-lot subdivision, a conditional use for construction in the shoreland buffer, and two requests for activity on a scenic road. 

Please let the Town Planner know if you would like to be added to his email list about Planning Board meetings at mbehrendt@ci.durham.nh.us.

Sunset on the Oyster River Courtesy, Deb Alberts

HOUSING CHAMPIONS PROGRAM BEING CONSIDERED BY HOUSING TASK FORCE

The State of New Hampshire recently developed an interesting incentive program to encourage housing development. Typically, when the state legislature seeks to promote certain activity by municipalities, it passes a law mandating the activity and laying out the requirements. For example, in the case of housing development, the state enacted a law in 2017 (with extensive feedback and involvement from Durham) requiring every community to allow accessory dwelling units, also specifying the parameters for the units.

With the new Housing Champions Program, Concord is offering potential grant funding to communities that choose, at their sole option, to become a “Housing Champion.” 

The Durham Housing Task Force is exploring the program. A total of 80 points must be achieved according to a set of criteria that support the creation of housing related to the zoning ordinance, infrastructure development, and financial programs at the local level.

To see more about this program, click HERE.

To see how the Town stands at this point in scoring, click HERE.

Did You Know? 

Although people often rake and bag leaves to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you're fine not moving them. In fact, many environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is not only bad for your lawn but for the environment as well.

Consider using some of your leaves in a backyard compost pile 

OR 

Use your lawn mower and chop the leaves up. Not only will the leaves provide excellent nitrogen and organic matter that your winter grass will love, it will:

• protect root systems;
• preserve soil moisture, and 
• the lawn mower will help cut weeds, providing critical light for your grass

Mulching your leaves also helps wildlife. Insects depend on leaf litter in the winter to provide protective habitat and food. Those insects in turn become winter food for other animals like birds. 

Not only does mulching your leaves help your grass and soil, it also helps reduce greenhouse gases and limits waste. 

Check out this YouTube clip HERE for more details.

Article source: Chesapeake Bay Foundation 

Brought to you by the IWMAC Committee 

Questions about recycling or composting? Email us at: DurhamRecycles603@gmail.com

Check us out on Instagram: sustainable.durham.nh

Not sure if an item can be recycled? Check here: https://recyclesmartma.org/

Want to learn more about the Swap Shop? Click HERE for information.

Hooray for fall! Courtesy, Todd Selig

Can Durham hold on to its slim lead through the end of the rate period in January 2025? Will another Seacoast community rally and come from behind? There is still time for residents to Opt-up to greener power -- opting-up to Clean 50 will cost the average household only $5 a month and will save 1.2 tons of CO₂ per year! Check out all the details, cost comparisons, and how to do it on the Energy Committee web page HERE. Show everyone that It’s Easy To Be Green!

Durham Public Works and its contractor, G.W. Brooks & Son, Inc. continue to construct improvements to segment 1 of the Madbury Road Complete Streets Project between Pettee Brook Lane and Garrison Avenue. Recent work has consisted of granite retaining wall fence installation and sidewalk and multi-use path fine grading, along with installation of concrete by subcontractor JCB Colby Masonry. Following completion of concrete sidewalk and multi-use path installation planned for the week of October 28, JCB Colby will begin granite paver and cobble stone installation within the amenity belt and pedestrian bump outs.

Durham Public Works greatly appreciates the continued patience of the residents and other stakeholders within the project limits as they work to complete these necessary infrastructure improvements and beautify Madbury Road.

UPDATE ON MILL POND DAM REMOVAL AND OYSTER RIVER RESTORATION – Town Council approved design and permitting contract cmendment this past Monday evening.

The Town Council authorized a Mill Pond Dam Removal Design and Permitting Amendment at their meeting this past Monday October 21, 2024, in the amount of $77,616.

A Standard Dredge and Fill Wetlands Permit Application was submitted to the NHDES for the Mill Pond Dam removal in February. NHDES issued comments on the application package this past Spring, including many detailed technical comments. This design and permitting amendment will allow the Town and VHB to complete a comprehensive and thorough response to NHDES’ comments. It includes funding for senior technical support in the area of ecological risk assessment and an allowance to make minor design changes should they be deemed necessary. Durham Public Works and its consultant team are currently preparing responses to those comments and expects to submit an information package to NHDES in early December. Permitting through the NHDES Shoreland Program will also occur for impacts proposed within the 250-foot Protected Shoreland of the Oyster River, beyond the limits of Mill Pond. These reviews will ensure that this project complies will all applicable state and federal environmental regulations related to wetlands and streams.

The Town of Durham continues project planning to remove the Mill Pond Dam on the Oyster River (also referred to as the Oyster River Dam at Mill Pond) due to concerns regarding its structural integrity and stability and to improve habitat for anadromous fish. The Town is also advancing a related project that will install upstream fish passage on the Oyster Reservoir Dam (aka the “UNH Dam”). The proposed work will include the restoration of the Oyster River channel upstream of the dam and invasive species management in the drained impoundment area. A planting plan has also been developed to improve post-construction aesthetics while the project area revegetates. The project is funded by more than $4.0 million in state and federal grants.

Among the numerous ecological benefits, this restoration project will improve upstream fish passage, restore the natural functions and values of the Oyster River, increase habitat diversity, and allow tidal flow to extend farther upstream. Extensive coordination with various parties (such as the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), US Army Corps of Engineers, NH Natural Heritage Bureau, NH Fish and Game Department, NH Division of Historical Resources, Durham Conservation Commission, and many others) has been crucial for the permitting process and will be ongoing throughout construction.

The dam removal is subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires the federal agencies leading the project to identify and evaluate the impacts the project may have on historic and archaeological resources. Section 106 is a four step consultation processes, and as part of that process the Town, US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NH Division of Historical Resources (NHDHR) have been regularly meeting with a large number of “consulting parties,” which include property owners, the Durham Historic District/Heritage Commission, Durham Historic Association, Tribal representatives, conservation organizations, and others with an interest in historic resources. The agencies and consulting parties have worked through the first three steps, identifying the historic and archaeological resources through research and surveys and assessing the adverse effects that would be caused by the dam’s removal. A consulting party meeting was held on March 26, 2024 where the Town, agencies, and consulting parties developed a mitigation package to offset the adverse effect caused by the project. These mitigation measures will be written into a Memorandum of Agreement to be signed by the Town, NHDHR, NOAA, and the Corps.

The Town has also taken steps to advertise the project for construction bids. Given the complex nature of dam removal and river restoration construction, the Town’s process included a pre-qualification step to ensure that only bids from well qualified contractors will be considered. In March the Town issued a public notice soliciting qualifications packages from all interested contractors. The Town received prequalification statements from six contractors based in NH, Maine, and Massachusetts. Upon reviewing those statements, the Town notified five of those contractors that they met the prequalification criteria and will be allowed to bid on the project. Once the Town and VHB have resolved all permitting work, full bid documents will be made available to those five qualified contractors to submit competitive bids for construction.

The project team is also working on two related efforts – improving fish passage on the Oyster Reservoir Dam upstream of the Mill Pond Dam, and planning improvements to the Mill Pond Park to adapt that public space to the restored Oyster River. Two conceptual designs for the Oyster Reservoir Dam have been developed – including a “nature-like bypass” and a “Denil ladder” (like the ladder on the Mill Pond Dam). The Town is working with UNH and several resource agencies to select an alternative for final design. The Mill Pond Park improvements planning is also progressing, with a field meeting scheduled for this November. A draft of that plan is expected in 2025. 

The Implementation Start Date (i.e., removal of the dam and restoration of the river channel) would be spring/summer 2025, with removal of the dam and restoration of the river expected to be completed by Fall 2025. Installation of the fishway at the Oyster Reservoir Dam is expected to occur in 2026.

In February 2023 the Town received $284,226 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant monies for the design and permitting of the Mill Pond Dam Removal/River Restoration project through the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Critical Flood Infrastructure Grant (CFRING).

$290,000 in FY23 monies was received from NOAA Community Based Restoration Program for the design of Fish Passage at the Oyster Reservoir Dam (Located at the UNH/Durham Water Treatment Plant)

NOAA Community Based Restoration Program has indicated that the remaining construction funding of approximately $3.2M (Mill Pond Dam Removal and River Restoration) and (Oyster Reservoir Dam fish passage construction) will be released when final design/permitting and construction cost estimates have been completed.

Durham Public Works Team members Tom Macaione, Kevin Linchey, Dana Smith and Shane Bickford installed new crosswalk markings at the reconstructed pedestrian refuge island located at Pettee Brook Lane and Madbury Road. Installation of accessible sidewalk ramps will be installed within the refuge island this construction season with landscaping and final course paving in taking place in 2025.

Durham Public Works Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Nick Bennion works to complete trim and paint repairs to the original house section of the Durham Public Library. 

Durham Public Works completed gravel road grading and removal of leaves and organic matter on Durham’s gravel roads including Dame Road, Longmarsh Road and Winecellar Road. The removal of organics prevents undesirable mixing of organics with roadway materials which has the potential of degrading road base materials.  Team member Chris Starkweather is seen utilizing a Scag Windstorm demonstration unit provided through Hayden’s’ Equipment. This blower is capable of 6,000 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) of wind movement providing exceptional ground clearing force.  

UPDATE ON WATER SERVICE LINE INVENTORY FOR FEDERAL LEAD AND COPPER RULE COMPLIANCE

Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986. Among homes without lead service lines, the most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and plumbing with lead solder.

Our community cares deeply about clean and safe water and is doing its part to continue to ensure compliance while delivering the highest quality drinking water to its customers. In 2021, the EPA updated its regulations on permissible concentrations of lead in drinking water in an effort to decrease public health impacts from lead. Referred to as the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR), this policy requires water system operators to collect data on lead service lines, as well as create a plan to remove and replace these lines.

Durham Public Works asks that you please assist them and help Durham by completing the Water Service Line Inventory Survey. To complete the survey, click HERE.

Note: This graphic is a generic representation of a water service line.

In accordance with the LCRR and to ensure compliance, the UNH/Town of Durham water system submitted its service line inventory to NDHES on October 16, 2024. The next compliance requirement is to send notification letters to water customers within 30 days of October 16, 2024, indicating that their service line material is either unknown, lead or galvanized requiring replacement (GRR). Property owners where records do not indicate service line materials will be receiving this notification letter from the Town in the next few weeks. The water service material can be classified as unknown as many of the construction records and specifications from water main projects completed 40+ years ago, do not include sufficient detail of material type to definitively eliminate them from the inventory. There is no reason to be alarmed - the UNH/Durham Water System participates in Compliance Lead and Copper testing as required by NHDES and there is no history of lead detection in the water system.

If you receive a letter from the water system indicating that your water service material type is unknown and you would like to have your water tested, further instructions will be provided in the letter. As part of the LCRR, NHDES is offering to fund the cost to complete lead water testing.

If you do not receive a letter, the water system has determined that your service line material is either copper or plastic.

Please join the Town of Durham in welcoming Firefighter Joshua Boldebook to the Durham Fire Department.

Josh attended Thornton Academy in Saco, Maine, and University of Maine at Orono where he earned his bachelor’s degree in finance. 

Josh has his EMT certification as well as Firefighter 1 & II. He has been a call firefighter with the Bartlett, NH Fire Department since June 2023.

Josh lives in Jackson, NH with his girlfriend and spends much of his spare time outdoors exploring the White Mountains.

If you see Josh around town, please feel free to say hello and welcome him to the community.  

The Durham Professional Firefighters Local #2253 would like to introduce Smokey the Fire Dog. Smokey will give short tips on Fire Safety, weekly, so Parents and guardians can generate conversation with their children about Fire Safety. Keep an eye out in the weekly updates. These small questions and tips are a great way for you as a Parent/Guardian to teach your kids about Fire Safety. The more they know the safer they will be.

WEEK #43

Happy Halloween!!!!

Click HERE for 58 things to think about when you are out trick or treating and/or pumpkin carving. 

The Oyster River Folk Series is back and hosting Joyce Andersen & Harvey Reid on Saturday, October 26, at 7:00 p.m. at the Durham Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 20 Madbury Road.

One of the most potent duo teams in acoustic music, they jump from showstopping jigs and fiddle tunes to house- shaking blues rockers, soaring gospel duets, and achingly beautiful ballads. Reid’s legendary acoustic and slide guitar work, autoharp, banjo and mandolins mesh with Andersen’s powerful fiddling, and they take turns on lead and harmony vocals to showcase a large and varied repertoire of original, traditional and contemporary Americana music. They will perform separately and together.

Tickets are $20 ($5 for Students) - Cash Only. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL NEWS

No School November 5

All ORCSD schools will be closed for a teacher workshop day on Tuesday, November 5. Please note that parent teacher conferences for students in grades 5-8 were rescheduled to January 27, 2025. Parents and guardians are encouraged to review their student(s)'s academic progress in PowerSchool and contact teachers directly with any questions or concerns.

ORHS Named to 2024 Advanced Placement School Honor Roll

Superintendent Dr. Robert Shaps and Principal Rebecca Noe are proud to share that Oyster River High School (ORHS) has earned a Bronze distinction on the 2024 Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll. The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools that have done outstanding work to welcome more students into AP courses and support them on the path to college success. To learn more, click HERE.

Moharimet School Pumpkin Stroll

On October 17, Moharimet School hosted its annual Pumpkin Stroll. The District would like to thank the many staff, volunteers, and community members who helped the stroll come to life. Over 50 parents came in to help students carve pumpkins, and the Moharimet PTO did a wonderful job supporting the event and hosting the bake sale. What a great event! Photos and additional information are available HERE.

Mast Way School Unleashes Student Creativity with Poetry

The 2024-2025 school year will be one of poetry for Mast Way students. The school made plans to focus on a poet and a poetry style each month. To learn more, click HERE.

ORMS Student Create Food Trucks in Health Class

Did you know that for the past 5 years, Mrs. Pirtle’s 7th grade Health class has been hosting a food truck activity on the Oyster River Middle School's (ORMS) 2nd floor? This activity helps students understand the importance of nutrition and having a healthy lifestyle by harnessing the students’ creativity and tying it to ORMS’ health curriculum. Photos and additional information are available HERE.

October 28 Internet and Digital Safety Presentation, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

This ORCSD free admission program is presented by the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) at the Morse Recital Hall (Oyster River Middle School). This program is for adults only and not suitable for students. The program includes an introduction to ICAC, how predators use social media, digital safety for cell phone, personal devices and gaming systems, and a demonstration with K-9 Niko who is New Hampshire's first Electronic Storage Detection K-9. No registration required.

November 8 Veteran's Day Breakfast

The Oyster River Middle School (ORMS) will be hosting its third annual Veteran's Day Ceremony and Breakfast on November 8, 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the Morse Recital Hall followed by breakfast. Please RSVP HERE.

2024-2025 ORCSD Music Department Concert Schedule

It's almost concert season and we will have lot of exciting opportunities to support Oyster River students in their artistic endeavors this year. You may view our online calendar to find coming concerts and activities or view the Music Department's flyer HERE.

UNH Theater students present "How Democracies Die," a theatrical exploration of the New York Times best-selling book by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, October 30 - November 2 at 7:00 p.m. and November 3 at 2:00 p.m.

The play, devised by UNH students, will delve into the book’s examination of how we have arrived at this moment in our democracy. As stated in the Wall Street Journal’s review; “The authors argue, with good evidence, that democracies aren’t destroyed because of the impulses of a single man; they are, instead, degraded in the course of a partisan tit for tat dynamic that degrades norms over time until one side sees an opening to deliver the death blow.” The result of more than twenty years of studying the breakdown of democracies from the 1930s to the present, the book’s authors have provided an artistic springboard to understand how democracies die, and how ours can not only be saved, but thrive.

Each performance will be immediately followed by an audience discussion with featured panelists.

Click HERE for more information.