Friday Update December 19, 2008

“FRIDAY
UPDATES-POWER RESTORATION UPDATE”

Thursday,
December 18, 2008

UNH Sorority, Kappa Delta made its
annual delivery to the Durham Police of dozens of teddy bears.  Kappa Delta
sisters obtain the bears knowing that they provide solace as well as forge a
bond between police and a child in crisis.  The bears have become a normal
part of police interaction with young children after a study conducted by
“Caring for Children Inc., a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco,
determined that giving the bears “is a way of hugging a child without physically
hugging them'' as the teddy bear is a familiar transitional object for children
that offers security and can ease traumatic situations.  Each of Durham’s patrol cars will
have bears that can be distributed in the aftermath of a vehicle accident or any
other incident where having an object like a teddy bear can be
calming.

FINAL
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE

How Much of
Durham is Still
Without Power?

At the present time, we have
approximately 35-60 individual household services without power in
Durham. 
PSNH service crews have been working on these areas throughout
the day. 

Updated Roadway
Closures/Obstructions

The following roadways remain either
partially or completely closed due to downed power
lines:  

All roadways in Durham are now
open!

How Much $ Has
Durham Expended
Over the Course of the Storm

As of Tuesday of this week, the Town
of Durham had
expended over $40,000 in overtime, supplies, fuel, and materials associated with
the ice storm/power outage.  All of our departments are tracking these
expenditures for what we hope will be future reimbursement under the Federal
disaster declaration for the State of New
Hampshire. 

Kudos to UNH for
Standing With Durham Residents During the Power
Outage

A thank you is extended to
President Mark
Huddleston and the entire staff at the
University of New Hampshire for opening the campus so
fully to the Durham community during the ongoing power
outage.  Many residents took advantage of showers at the Hamel Recreation Center, enjoyed entertainment at the MUB,
and ate meals at Holloway Commons.  By charging Durham residents $5 for an
adult/$2.50 for a child for meals at Holloway, UNH sold meals well below the
actual cost of food production.  When this fact was discussed during a UNH
Emergency Group meeting on campus late Sunday afternoon involving Todd Selig,
President Huddleston made it clear that during such an emergency situation, UNH
needed to do what it could to be supportive of the residents of the broader
community who were so deeply impacted by the storm event.  This kind
of cooperation is indicative of increasing cooperation and
collaboration between UNH and Durham.  On behalf of the broader
community, thank you.

Appreciation
Extended to Oyster River Cooperative School
District and the Great Bay Chapter of the Red
Cross

The ORSD and the Great Bay Chapter
of the American Red Cross were just fantastic in opening a shelter at
the High School for many days on end with little advance notice.  In
particular, Red Cross Shelter Manager and Durham Resident Mary McCrae was
amazing -- remaining at the shelter day and night to care for residents. 
Durham resident and Red Cross volunteer Carly Hellen was
also at the shelter for many hours, as were others from Durham who pitched in to
help out.  Several Red Cross volunteers traveled from as far away as
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut to help at the shelter in Durham.  ORSD
Business Manager Blaine Cox, the
High School custodial staff, and the High School food service staff were also
magnificent in providing whatever the Red Cross needed.  Once again, thank
you.

Do Not Assume
PSNH Knows You Have No Power!

Individuals who do not have
power should contact Public Service of New Hampshire on a daily basis until
power is restored at  1-800-662-7764. 
In addition, individuals who still do not have power should
let the Town know by contacting the Town Clerk's Office at 868-5577 (Fax:
868-8033) or by emailing us daily until power is restored at jberry@ci.durham.nh.us.  Each day
we are forwarding our confirmed list of outages to PSNH for resolution. 

What to do with
Brush/Limbs?

The Public Works Department will
open our Packers Falls
Road gravel pit located on Packers Falls Road
in Lee from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Tuesday (12/16/08) through Saturday (12/20/08)
for residents who wish to dispose of brush and tree debris/limbs.  For more
information, contact the Public Works Department at
868-5578.

PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE

There are no public meetings
scheduled for the week of December 22-26, 2008

Churchill
Rink AT JACKSON’S LANDING PUBLIC
SCHEDULE

Holiday Skate for all
ages!

Saturday, Dec. 20, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
FREE!

Public skating - times offered every
day

Stick and Puck – Monday – Friday and
Sunday

Pick Up Hockey – Monday – Friday and
Sunday

Call the rink for times: 
868-3907, or visit our new website at www.churchillrink.org.

BOY
SCOUT TROOP 154 ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE SALE

Durham Boy Scout Troop 154 will be
selling Christmas trees and popcorn at the Durham Market Place plaza again this
year.  Trees are available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
each day.  This is Troop 154’s major fundraiser of the
season.

A
WORD FROM SHAKESPEARE…

The following was submitted from a
couple of senior citizens who prefer to be known as Puddy and
Hannah:

More than four hundred years ago,
during the "little ice age", Shakespeare celebrated the mixed pains and
pleasures of winter in a poem that's relevant to our recent ice
storm:

When icicles hang by the
wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his
nail,

And Tom bears logs into the
hall,

And milk comes frozen home in
pail,

When blood is nipped, and ways be
foul,

Then nightly sings the staring
owl,

To-whit! To-Whoo!--a merry
note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the
pot.

When all aloud the wind doth
blow,

And coughing drowns the parson's
saw,

And birds sit brooding in the
snow,

And Marian's nose looks red and
raw,

When roasted crabs hiss in the
bowl,

Then nightly sings the staring
owl,

To-whit! To-Whoo!--a merry
note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the
pot.

In our household, we hauled in wood
for the stove that supplied our heat--and buckets of pond water to flush our
toilets.  No steaming crabapples hissed in a bowl beside our fire, but my
wife's apple and pecan pies cooking in a makeshift Dutch oven on the woodstove
filled the house with fragrance--and we keeled (i.e., skimmed) pots of soup or
stew on that stove.

Have a nice weekend.

Todd

Todd I. Selig, Administrator

Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us

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