Friday Updates - March 18, 2022

Friday, March 18, 2022

On a very positive note, the Spring Equinox begins this Sunday, March 20th!

ASSESSOR TO INSPECT PROPERTIES REQUIRING BUILDING PERMITS IN THE COMING WEEKS

It’s that time of year again when assessor, Jim Rice will be inspecting all properties in Durham during March and April that have recently undergone new construction such as building new homes, additions, made renovations or have recently been demolished.    

If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (603) 868-8064.  

APRIL 15TH APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING FOR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS!

April 15th is the last day to submit applications for property tax exemptions and veteran tax credits.  

Applications and information pertaining to property tax exemptions and veteran tax credits may be found on the Town’s website under the Assessing Department.

If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (603) 868-8064. 

On Sunday, March 13th, Durham Police Officer Erik Burke played in the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) Battle of the Badges hockey game. Officer Burke scored the first goal for Team Police, leading them to a 5-2 victory over Team Fire. In the photo below, Officer Burke is on the left with his stick in the air celebrating his goal with his teammates. Officer Burke raised $1,725 and the game as a whole raise over $210,000 for CHaD. We are proud of Officer Burke representing the Town of Durham for this great cause. 

OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL BOARD NEWS FOR MARCH 16, 2022

The Oyster River School Board welcomed new members Matthew Bacon and Heather Smith, elected to 3-year, at-large positions in the March 8, 2022 school district election. Voters also approved the school district operating budget for 2022-2023, contracts with ORESPA (custodians and office personnel) and ORPASS (paraeducators, school aids, school nutrition workers) unions, and adding to a reserve fund for eventual purchase of the ORMS solar array.

With the new Oyster River Middle School building open, planning is nearly complete for playground and fields to be installed this summer. Playground equipment will be on the back side of the school, basketball and four square area near the solar canopy, and the playing field in front of the school. Playground and field will be installed this summer. The hillside along Dennison will be regraded to provide spectator space for the field.

Removal of the old ORMS building will begin April 4 and is expected to be mostly complete by the end of April. Bricks from the original 1935 building will be available for a donation to the middle school. Details are still being finalized.

The school board approved contracts for replacing air handlers at Moharimet school and for construction of new tennis courts where the current ORHS athletic field parking is. These projects are expected to be completed over the summer.

ORMS is sending THREE teams to the VEX Robotics world championships. ORHS indoor track athletes just returned from competing at the New Balance Nationals, and seven ORMS students are headed to the New Hampshire state MathCounts competition. Congratulations and Go Bobcats!

DURHAM TO RECEIVE $1.4 MILLION IN CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING ALLOCATIONS

Earlier this week, President Biden signed FY 2022 government funding legislation into law. In the legislation, NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen of Madbury, who is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, included and supported numerous measures that invest in New Hampshire (and national) priorities … including two in Durham:  Approximately $900,000 to support the Town’s Land Mobile Radio (LMR) upgrades/replacement and another roughly $535,000 to support emergency generator upgrades/replacements at several Durham facilities to include our police, public works, and several municipal wells.  

A thank you is extended to Durham’s fire, police, public works, and IT staff, as well as to former Economic Development Director Christine Soutter -- who was the lead in coordinating Durham’s numerous application submittals -- for their diligence in pursuing these and other important local projects.  

ATTENTION ALL DURHAM DOG OWNERS! It’s time to renew your dog’s license for 2022. (Your dog could be Durham's Top Dog!)

Dog licenses may be obtained online at Online Dog License Renewal, by mail, or in person at the Durham Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s office 8 Newmarket Road, Durham, NH 03824. The fees to license your dog are $7.50 for an altered dog, $10.00 for an unaltered dog, and $2.00 if the dog owner is a senior citizen.

Once again, the Town of Durham will host the Top Dog raffle. This raffle was created to motivate and remind dog owners to license their pets every year by April 30, as state law requires. Residents automatically register for the Top Dog raffle when they obtain a dog license before April 30. The winner of the Top Dog raffle will receive a gift basket donated by the clerk’s office and their dog’s biography will be featured in the Durham Friday Update. 

Bo MacGregor was the lucky winner in 2021. Your dog could be the next Top Dog! Please contact the Town Clerk's office for more details on raffle rules and regulations. 

DURHAM’S LAND, WATER AND LIFE ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE READ AT MONDAY’S TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

Per the recommendation of Durham’s Human Rights Commission, the Town Council will read its Land, Water and Life Acknowledgment on Monday evening, which is the organizational meeting of the board to include the three newly elected members of the Council – Eric Lund, Joe Friedman, and Ellie Lonske!

Durham, New Hampshire Land, Water and Life Acknowledgment

The town of Durham, New Hampshire wishes to acknowledge the spiritual and physical connection maintained by the Pennacook, Abenaki and Wabanaki peoples to N’dakinna (homeland), aki (land), nibi (water), lolakwikak (flora) and awaasak (fauna). New Hampshire has been home to these Indigenous people for thousands of years. The residents of Durham acknowledge the ongoing hardships endured by our Indigenous neighbors after the loss of their unceded homelands which we now steward and we will work to foster relationships to support the well-being of Indigenous people who carry forward the traditions of their ancestors.

DURHAM HISTORIC ASSOCIATION - Bloomin' 4 Good Bouquet

For the month of March 2022, the Durham Historic Association will receive a $1 donation for each purchase of a Bloomin' 4 Good bouquet with the red circle sticker at the Hannaford store located at 7 Mill Road, Durham NH. 

The Durham Historic Association's mission is: 

• To preserve the memory of events connected with the history of the Town of Durham, or of individuals who may have resided there; 
• To serve as guardian of the town's history; 
• To preserve the artifacts of the town's history; 
• To inform and educate the citizens of Durham and others of the history of the town and how contemporary Durham arises out of its past. 

LAFAYETTE TRAIL MARKER DEDICATION AT DURHAM TOWN HALL

The Town was contacted in January by Julien Icher, founder and president of The Lafayette Trail, Inc., with an attractive proposal. His organization documents, maps, and marks the path of General Lafayette on his farewell tour of the United States in 1824 and 1825. The Lafayette Trail donates plaques to cities and towns around the country to celebrate the general’s stops in preparation for the bicentennial of his tour. They have installed over 60 markers and suggested placing one here to commemorate his visit to Durham. We will hold a public dedication ceremony with Mr. Icher on Friday, May 20, at 10:00 am in the small green space on the north side of the Town Hall lot for the placement of our own plaque.

Lafayette returned to America to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in which he had fought as a young volunteer. There is an account at the Durham Historic Association of Lafayette’s stop in Durham on June 23, 1825. He was greeted with a 24-gun salute (in recognition of the number of states in the union at the time) and escorted to a large gathering in front of Kelly’s Hotel (where Nick’s Bricks is now, near the stop light). He was entertained briefly at the Ebenezer Smith House (situated next to the post office) before departing for Dover and then Portland. According to a master’s thesis by Walter Newman Dooley submitted to the UNH history department in 1941, the committee welcoming Lafayette here “included the principal figures of the Oyster River village: George Ffrost, Benjamin Mathes, Jr., Joseph W. Page, Alfred Smith, Moses Noble, the town clerk John A. Richardson, George Hull, William P. Ffrost, and William J. Thompson.”

Details for the plaque, in accordance with requirements by The Lafayette Trail, were determined in collaboration among Town staff, the Durham Heritage Commission, and the Durham Historic Association. The green space, catty corner from the actual site of the former Kelly’s Hotel, was selected as the most practical location. The 2 feet x 3 feet cast aluminum plaque will be mounted on a pole about 4 feet above the ground. Our thanks to Mr. Icher and the William Pomeroy Foundation which is paying for production of the plaque. The Town’s only expense will be for installation by the Public Works Department.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (born in 1757) was a French aristocrat and military officer. Rising to the rank of general, he commanded troops in several battles serving with General Washington and General John Sullivan of Durham. After the war Lafayette returned to France and was involved with the French Revolution of 1789. He is considered a national hero in both countries. General Lafayette was actually only in his late 60’s when he returned for his triumphal tour in America a half century after the war.  He died in 1834.  

Figure 1. Proposed sampling design and location of sensor nodes.

The class will work with Tom Brightman, Durham’s Land Stewardship Coordinator, to place a sign at the trailhead with general information about the research, explaining that it is a long-term UNH project and what the class is hoping to learn from it. Signage will include contact information for UNH faculty teaching the course, e.g., Jessica Ernakovich and Alix Contosta. Initial signage will be temporary as we collaborate with the Town to develop more permanent options.

The Land Stewardship Subcommittee has reviewed this project and recommended approval. Based on this recommendation, permission was provided by the Town for the effort to proceed.  

This is a very nice example of the collaborative opportunities that exist between Durham and the University of New Hampshire.

GIS PUBLIC WEB MAP VIEWER

The Town of Durham continues to make steady progress in the development of its GIS program including an upcoming GIS Public Web Map Viewer planned for release spring/summer. This exciting new tool will allow residents and businesses to view information about their properties and will include layers such as zoning, aerial imagery, wetlands, and other points of interest. Users will also be able to print and share maps and other helpful information.