Friday Updates - January 7, 2022

Friday, January 7, 2022

Old Landing, January 4, 2022

Courtesy Michael Drooker

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NEW COVID-19 GUIDANCE ISSUED THURSDAY AFTERNOON FROM STATE OF NH

NH is adapting the CDC’s updated Quarantine (for those who have had a Covid-19 exposure) and Isolation (for those who have tested positive for Covid-19 or are displaying Covid symptoms awaiting testing) recommendations. This guidance applies to the general public, including businesses and K-12 schools. This guidance does NOT apply to healthcare organizations, correctional institutions, or homeless shelters.

Isolation: Everyone, regardless of vaccination status or symptoms, should isolate for at least 5 days if they test positive for COVID-19 (or have symptoms of COVID-19 while awaiting testing), and then wear a well-fitting face mask for an additional 5 days when around other people at home or in public locations.

• If a person continues to have fever or other symptoms that are not improving after 5 days of isolation, that person should continue to isolate until they are fever free (off fever-reducing medications) and other symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours.
• Testing is not required to come off isolation early, but testing around day 5 can be considered by individuals and implemented by organizations, if desired.
• People who cannot or will not wear a face mask when in public locations should isolate for a full 10 days.
• People who are severely ill with COVID-19 (e.g., hospitalized) or who are severely immunocompromised should isolate for a longer period of time – CDC recommends at least 10 days of isolation, possibly longer, depending on the person’s situation.

Quarantine: According to the CDC, persons who are unvaccinated or who are not “up to date” on receiving all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses (including booster shots) should quarantine for at least 5 days and then wear a well-fitting face mask for an additional 5 days when around other people at home or in public locations after exposure to someone with COVID-19.

• In contrast with CDC’s guidance, NH DPHS recommends quarantine only for household contact exposures who are not within 90 days of testing positive for COVID-19. “Household contact” is defined as any person who lives or sleeps in the same indoor shared space as another person diagnosed with COVID-19 (either a temporary or permanent living arrangement) leading to exposure to a person with COVID-19.
• Household contacts who cannot or will not wear a face mask when in public locations should quarantine for 10 days.
• Everyone with an exposure to COVID-19, whether a household contact or not, should seek COVID-19 viral testing around day 5 after an exposure, even if a person is asymptomatic. PCR- based tests continue to be the most accurate, but antigen tests are also appropriate if PCR testing is not available.

THE UNH J-TERM AND COVID

The UNH J-term started Monday and the University’s COVID Lab is again accepting tests to process. Preliminary results indicate a positivity rate around 6% (versus 15% for NH).  This is not unexpected given the significant increase in cases seen across the country. As you know, omicron is a much more contagious variant, but for most vaccinated people it causes relatively mild symptoms, similar to allergies or a cold. 

While the majority of our J-term courses are online, the few in-person Durham J-term classes are being addressed on a case-by-case basis based on the particular needs of the course and instructor. UNH plans to share more detailed information about the start of the spring semester by early next week.  UNH officials indicate they are closely watching regional, state, and campus data and will use the science to inform UNH decisions.

FIREFIGHTER SCOTT CAMPBELL CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF SERVICE

Congratulations to Firefighter Scott Campbell on recently completing 20 years of dedicated and devoted service to the Town of Durham. Scott began his career with the Durham Fire Department as a member of the Call Company and later was hired as a full-time Firefighter/EMT on December 20, 2001.  

In addition to his full-time duties, Scott serves as the Fire Department’s Fitness Coordinator and also currently serves on the Executive Board of the Durham Professional Firefighters Association as President and has previously served as Vice President as well as Negotiating Team Member.  

The department recently held a small celebration to recognize Scott’s tireless dedication to faithfully serving our community as well as his consistent efforts to improve our interpersonal relationships and health and safety of our members, particularly through his continuing focus on physical fitness and wellness.

Congratulations, Scott! 

ORCSD - IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

• January 11th - Budget Public Hearing ~ ORHS Auditorium - 7:00 PM— Snow Date: Jan 12th 
• January 19th through January 28th until 5:00 PM - Filing Period for School District Openings (No Filing Fee Required) {1 Moderator—1 Year term, 2 At-Large positions—3 Year terms.}
• February 8th - Annual Meeting Session I - Deliberative ~ ORHS Auditorium 7:00 PM , Snow Date: February 9th
• March 8th - Annual Meeting Session II - Voting Day ~ Vote in Town of Residence

            Durham ~ Oyster River High School   7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

            Lee ~  Lee Safety Complex  7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

            Madbury ~ Madbury Town Hall 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

SWAP SHOP NEWS

The Swap Shop closed for the season on December 11th and is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2022. Despite the closing, numerous avenues remain available for donating items. The Public Works Department and Integrated Waste Management Advisory Committee encourage residents to donate to other organizations such as the ReStore, Salvation Army or Goodwill. The containers at the Transfer Station (Discover Books, Salvation Army, and Ecosmith) will remain open throughout the winter.

SHERBURNE ROAD WATER LINE REPAIR

The Durham Public Works Department responded to a water main break on Sherburne Road in Lee at approximately 4:00pm on Wednesday. The 12” transmission main carries water from the Town’s groundwater well on Angell Road in Lee to the Beech Hill water storage tank. The baseball sized hole in the pipe was repaired using a new three-foot piece of pipe with HYMAX couplings. The DPW coordinated closely with NHDOT District 6 officials and the Lee Police Department. Public Works crews simultaneously responded to road refreezing from an icing event earlier in the day. 

PUBLIC WORKS WINTER MAINTENANCE UPDATES

Tuesday, December 21st marked the winter solstice in the North Hemisphere. On the winter solstice, the sun is at its most southerly point and lowest angle in the sky of the year. Conversely, the earth made its closest approach to the sun this week on Monday and Tuesday on what is known as the Perihelion. Historically, New England is beginning to enter its most active time of year for winter storms, with the frequency of Northeast snowstorms (Nor’Easters) peaking in February.

The Public Works Department has remained extremely busy over the last several weeks battling six winter storm responses, including today’s brush with an ocean Nor’Easter. The most significant of the storms was a prolonged icing event that occurred on Christmas Day, requiring crews to respond for nearly 30 hours. According to Department veterans, the storm produced some of most treacherous driving conditions they have seen in their careers. Despite many challenges, the pre-planning which took place leading up to this emergency response event resulted in huge dividends and the Durham Public Works team performed exceptionally well in allowing the motoring public to reach their Holiday destinations safely. 

The Durham Public Works team has created an interactive public viewing dashboard which can be viewed HERE outlining its policies for snow and ice control operations. Residents and other interested parties are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the content as it describes the roadway and sidewalk conditions that one might expect to encounter before, during, and after a winter storm event.

SUPERVISORS OF THE CHECKLIST

The Supervisors of the Checklist for the Town of Durham will hold a session for the purpose of accepting applications for new voter registration, as well as requests for corrections to the checklist and/or change of political party affiliation:

Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Time: 7:00 – 7:30 PM

Location: Durham Town Hall, 8 Newmarket Rd, Durham, NH

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



Residents who are not registered to vote may do so at this session or at the Town Clerk’s office any time they are open. These registrations are actually applications for registration and must be accepted by a majority of the Supervisors at one of our sessions/meetings. Anyone who has filled out a registration form in this way between October 13, 2021, and January 18, 2022, will be officially put onto the Checklist at this session. The supervisors will be holding another session on Saturday January 29 (time TBD), which is 10 days before the School Deliberative Session. If you wish to vote at the Deliberative Session, you must be registered by January 29.

DURHAM PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION TOY DRIVE

The Durham Professional Firefighters would like to extend their appreciation to the community for their generous support of the Seacoast Firefighter’s Toy Drive during this holiday season. With your help and acts of kindness, we were able to fill many requests for toys and gift cards, making a tremendous impact in the lives of area families. Thank you also to the local businesses that provided a drop-off location, making it seamless for firefighters to collect the donations.  

We look forward to participating in the Seacoast Firefighters Toy Drive next year and thank you in advance for your continued support and generosity.    

GREAT BAY ESTUARY EEL GRASS RESILIENCY STUDY

The Town of Durham has been invited to participate as a member of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) for the Eel Grass Resilience project and is represented by Director of Public Works, Richard Reine and Town Engineer, April Talon. The project aims to fill key knowledge gaps revolving around how eelgrass responds to changes in water quality and to inform future natural resource management decision-making around protecting eelgrass health and water quality in Great Bay Estuary. This project is supported by the NOAA National Science Collaborative, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, the surrounding municipalities, and the Conservation Law Foundation. The project team will engage with the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to provide clear science on how eelgrass both affects and is affected by water quality and hydrodynamics in Great Bay Estuary.

The Project Advisory Committee is an integral part of this grant funded project. 

The purpose of this PAC is to provide input to the scientists on the project team regarding how data is collected, analyzed, and presented in the final deliverables.