Friday Updates - September 15, 2023

Friday, September 15, 2023

The Durham Fire Department commemorated the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 with a ceremony at their building on College Road on Monday, September 11. US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, UNH President Dean, Fire Chief David Emanuel, and Administrator Selig offered opening remarks. Courtesy Todd Selig

Rosh Hashanah, one of the most important holidays for Jewish people around the world, begins this evening.  Rosh Hashanah, which translates from Hebrew to mean “the head of the year,” is one of Judaism's holiest days. The two-day celebration marks the start of the Jewish New Year.  

HURRICANE LEE MOVES INTO GULF OF MAINE AS A CAT 1 HURRICANE – Likely to impact Durham and Seacoast NH as a tropical storm

Hurricane Lee will move into the Gulf of Maine late tonight into Saturday as a Cat 1 hurricane or strong tropical storm before making landfall near the Bay of Fundy as a tropical storm. Large, pounding surf along the coast Friday will build through tonight and into Saturday. Likely coastal impacts including minor to moderate dune and beach erosion will grow more probable during this time. Most significant impacts including splash-over and minor coastal flooding during times of high tide late this evening, and especially the mid-Saturday high tide cycle.

Tropical storm force winds are likely for the coast and into the interior of central Maine including much of the I-95 corridor due to the large wind field with Lee. In addition, gusty winds are expected for all interior areas with gusts in the 40-50 mph range Saturday afternoon. This could cause some power outages here in Durham.

Potential for heavy rain has remained steady with a focus on the Midcoast into central Maine. Flash flooding and small stream rises are the primary threat. River flooding is unlikely.

Last Friday's thunderstorm caused a branch to break off from a tree on Croghan Lane taking electrical wires, poles and a transformer down with it. Numerous homes in Faculty Development were without power for several hours while Eversource repair crews worked late into the night to replace two utility poles and repair the extensive damage. Several homes had minor damage, but fortunately, no one was injured.

OCTOBER 6 IS YOU LAST DAY TO CHANGE YOUR VOTING PARTY AFFILIATION BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

The last day to change your voting party affiliation before the Presidential Primary (date yet to be determined) will be:

Friday October 6, 2023 from 7:00 – 7:30 PM at the Durham Town Hall

New voter registrations will also be accepted at this time.  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 proofs are lacking. 

Changes may also be made at the Town Clerk’s office any time before this. The Clerk's Office is open from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM Monday through Friday (until 6:00 PM Monday 10/2). New registrations will be accepted in the Town Clerk’s office any time up until about 10 days before the actual election. 

A new voter checklist will be printed shortly that will have been updated through August 21. You may also check your current party registration HERE. If you get a frowny face, scroll down to find your party affiliation and polling place. If you can’t find your name, please contact the Town Clerk’s office. Occasionally a mistake is made with spelling or with Date of Birth.

If you are registered as Undeclared at the time of a Primary, you will be asked to choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot. You will then become a member of that party until you request to be returned to Undeclared. You will have a chance to do that as you leave the polls on Election Day, or you may do it any other day in the Town Clerk’s office up until about 90 days before the next Primary (early next June).

A Great White Egret spotted this week in the marsh near the Raymond LaRoche Transfer Center. Courtesy, Bernie Casey

The Town of Durham is pleased to announce the option to pay for metered parking using a mobile app. We are partnering with ParkMobile to make contactless parking easy! 

ParkMobile is available for both iPhone and Android devices, and can be accessed on a mobile web browser. To pay for parking via the ParkMobile app or website, users will enter the zone number or scan the QR code found on the signs located within the parking lot, choose the duration of time they wish to park and touch the “start parking” button. Users can easily extend their parking sessions after they have paid for parking via the ParkMobile app.

At this time, it is not feasible for the ParkMobile app to offer the 1-hour free option in our downtown core. However, this option is still available at our many downtown pay stations using the “pay and display” method. Your first hour is free when displaying the receipt from the pay station in the designated areas. Residents with a Durham taxpayer/resident sticker on their car receive a second hour free in these spaces as well.

This past summer, three Nature Groupie Interns, Maddie, Dan and Jason, upgraded the trail signage at Oyster River Forest and Spruce Hole Bog. Under the guidance of the Land Stewardship Coordinator, new trail signs were installed at all the trail intersections and color-coded markers were located along the trails that are maintained by the Town.

This project was a direct result of community feed-back received by the Stewarding Our Land Working Group. The Working Group is a subsidiary of the Land Stewardship Subcommittee and is tasked with recommending management goals for each of the town conservation areas and conducting the Land Questionnaires that have been appearing in Friday Updates. Based on several responses regarding the confusing, poorly marked and perplexingly-named trails, Sara Callaghan (Land Stewardship Coordinator) and town volunteer, Gale Carey, completed a trail sign inventory, which confirmed the complaints that had been received. The Working Group set out to rename and color code the trails and install new trail markers. With the help of Strafford Regional Planning Commission, the trail map was upgraded to reflect these changes and new trail signs were designed and installed. 

Click HERE to see the new Map.

The Oyster River Forest-Spruce Hole Bog is a well-loved and great recreation property. We are glad we could take the steps to make the trails more accessible and user-friendly for the benefit of the community.

In addition to recreation, Oyster River Forest and Spruce Hole Bog contain some unique and important ecological resources including 60 acres of meadow, shrub and young forest habitat, substantial frontage along the Oyster River and of course Spruce Hole Bog, which has been recognized as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Click HERE to read more about Durham's Oyster River Forest.

If you have any questions or concerns about any of our conservation areas, please reach out to Land Stewardship Coordinator, Sara Callaghan, at fireflystewardship@gmail.com.

Call Firefighter Russell Smith rings a bell during the 9/11 ceremony on Monday. Courtesy, William Lenharth

DURHAM PLANS ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR STAFF AT TOWN HALL

An active shooter/safety training has been confirmed for Tuesday, November 7, from 3:00 - 5:00 pm. The Town Hall will close at 3:00 p.m. that day. 

The Town regularly strives to organize such training for its most excellent staff and for the safety of the general public who frequent Durham municipal buildings.  

Mr. Selig is sorry that such training has to be considered, but it is necessary in this day and age.

Looking across Great Bay last Saturday, Durham residents were treated to a heart in the sky drawn by a plane participating in the Air Show at Pease. Courtesy, Linda Hunter

In keeping with IIWMAC’s September sustainability theme, “Recycle Right”, we’d  like to answer a few more common questions we receive about recycling. 

Did you know that Amazon’s plastic packaging is recyclable with plastic bags at Hannaford Supermarkets in Dover? All paper labels must be removed from all plastic bags and plastic mailers. 

Did you know that when recycling a plastic container, if the cap for the container is smaller than 2”x2” it should be kept on the plastic container when recycled? Any cap smaller than 2”x2” will fall through the filters at the recycling facility and be thrown in the garbage if not attached. For example, single use water bottles should have their caps kept on when recycled. 

Did you know that currently, waxed cartons of milk, juice, broth and soup, etc. are not recyclable? They should be thrown in the garbage along with their plastic caps.  Keep in mind that, due to the ever-shifting market for recyclables, this could change in the future. If so, we will let you know! In the meantime, milk and juice jugs are recyclable as well as cans for soup and broth.

Join us on Tuesday, September 19 at 630pm at the Durham Public Library for a panel presentation and discussion debunking the myths around recycling. This presentation is in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and the Durham Public Library.

Brought to you by the IWMAC Committee 

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

 Not sure if an item can be recycled? Click HERE.

Want to know more about the Swap Shop?  Click HERE.

WAYSMEET CENTER TO HOLD FUNDRAISER ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

The Waysmeet Center will be having their first in-person Fundraiser since the pandemic! It will be held on Sunday 9/24 from 4-8pm at the 3S Artspace in Portsmouth!

This fundraiser will primarily be to raise funds for a new driveway and walkways to ensure safe accessibility to our Cornucopia Food Pantry and will significantly improve all of our operations and programming! If you have passed by the property at any point within the past several years, you may have seen that the driveway REALLY needs some love (and a whole reconstruction!).

The Center hopes that you can come to our event, have some fun listening to some amazing local bands (Palana vs. The Man, Tiffy and XO to name a few), have some yummy snacks and drinks and perhaps participate in a silent art auction, featuring beautiful works from local artists! All while supporting this such needed and worthwhile cause! It really is a win-win!

Thank you so much for spreading the word and joining in on this special day! You can buy tickets HERE.

New Firefighter/AEMT Kyle Kustra (center) was sworn in as a new employee after the 9/11 ceremony at the fire station on Monday. Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined the Fire Dept. for a group photo after the swearing in. Courtesy, Todd Selig

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 to teach your kids about Fire Safety, the more they know the safer they will be.

WEEK #36

Summer days are fading and its time to think about the fall. For some helpful tips to keep you safe, click HERE.

9/11 Ceremony at Fire Station Courtesy William Lenharth

ORCSD SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH COMMITTEE SEEKS COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

The ORCSD School Board Superintendent Search Committee would like to cordially invite the Oyster River community to assist with the ongoing superintendent search by providing critical feedback. You may find below a few opportunities to do so. Feedback collected will be used to create a preferred candidate profile for the screening committee.

• Complete the Survey: A survey can be accessed HERE between September 15 and October 6, 2023.
•  Attend a Virtual Focus Group: September 27, 2023, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. No registration required. Link and login information will be available HERE 48 hours prior to the meeting.
• Attend an In-Person Focus Group: October 4, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Oyster River High School's Multi-Purpose Room (55 Coe Dr, Durham, NH 03824)