Friday Updates - October 3, 2025

Friday, October 3, 2025

Dr. Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace, and world-renowned ethologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, has passed away at the age of 91 from natural causes.

Best known for her 65-year study of wild chimpanzees at Gombe, Tanzania, Dr. Goodall transformed the world’s understanding of our closest living relatives. In the later decades of her life, she expanded her mission beyond Gombe, emerging as a global advocate for human rights, animal welfare, biodiversity, and environmental protection.

Committed to inspiring future generations, she championed the empowerment of young people to take action for a more sustainable and compassionate world. Through her many educational initiatives, she fostered awareness of the challenges facing both wild and captive chimpanzees, while reminding us of our shared responsibility to protect the planet.

Jane Goodall is remembered with respect and admiration this week.

UNH HOMECOMING IS THIS WEEKEND!

Please plan for possible traffic delays in the Durham downtown area of Saturday, October 4, 2025, with peak hours between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. UNH football will host Villanova at 1:00 pm on Saturday, however, tailgating starts at 9:00 am. Typically, the areas of Main Street at Mast Road and Main Street at Edgewood Road are heavily congested. You may also see traffic building up on Main Street, between the Post Office and Route 4. Please plan accordingly, as minor delays are expected. 

QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT ON TOWN COUNCIL GOALS (as of 10/1/25)

Staff have prepared a quarterly progress report relative to the adopted Town Council goals for 2025/26. To review progress as of October 1st, click HERE.

The new mural on the side of the Mill Plaza Courtesy, Robin Mower

MILL PLAZA MURAL BLOOMS!

Property owner Torrington Properties hired artist Liv Mileika to bring vibrancy and life to the Plaza. And she did, painting a 300-square-foot mural on the side of the rear building facing Mill Road. Liv notes that “this mural incorporates aster flowers and meadow anemone to represent native New Hampshire flora. These flowers ‘bloomed’ over the course of a week during late September; one of the most beautiful times of the year in New England. It was a very special experience painting here, I feel honored to be the artist chosen to bring this vision to life.” Liv has also brought her vision to Portsmouth, including at restaurants Mamma Luca and Howling Wolf. (See below for her “process” photos, and see more of her work at www.livtopaint.com)

Mural artist Liv Mileika uses a “doodle grid” to scale her design onto the wall of a building. Here she has spray painted doodles on the Mill Plaza wall. She then stands back and takes a photo. Courtesy, Liv Mileika    

AGENDA ITEMS FOR OCTOBER 6 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

The Durham Town Council is meeting on Monday, October 6. Below is a list of items on the agenda.

• Acceptance of a progress report on the Town Council Goals.
• Presentation by Dr. Robert Shaps on the opening of the Oyster River Cooperative School District 2025/26 school year.
• Presentation by UNH Professor Wil Wollheim about the upper College Brook restoration project (a collaborative effort between UNH and Durham).
• Annual report on the Land Stewardship Subcommittee activities and projects by Chair Neil Slepian
• Annual report on the Integrated Waste Management Advisory Committee activities and projects by Mike Pazdon
• Public Hearing on Resolution #2025-18 to accept a $3,247,201 NOAA grant for the Mill Pond Dam Removal and Oyster River Restoration Project.
• Request to Award the Construction Contract for the Mill Pond Dam Removal and Oyster River Restoration Project to SumCo Eco-Contracting, LLC of Peabody, MA.
• Request to Award the Construction Phase Engineering Services Contract for the Mill Pond Dam Removal and Oyster River Restoration Project to VHB, Inc. of Bedford, NH
• Presentation and Discussion with Planner Michael Behrendt and resident Doug Bencks on the possible changes to recommend to the Planning Board on the three-story building height limitation (proposed Ord. #2025-08) in the Central Business-1 Zone. 

All meetings are broadcast live on DCAT HERE.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS DURHAM: NAVIGATING ICE ACTIONS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES - A new resource from the Human Rights Commission.

The Durham Human Rights Commission has developed a web resource to provide residents with essential information on their rights in response to recent ICE activities under the current Federal administration HERE Community members will find guidance to help them understand their basic human rights under the law, including what protections apply when interacting with immigration officials.

The resources also offer practical steps for safeguarding families and making informed decisions if approached or affected by ICE activity.

The Human Rights Commission’s goal is to ensure every Durham resident can access clear, reliable tools and information that empower individuals to protect themselves and their loved ones during uncertain times. 

The last Durham Farmers' Market of the season will occur on Monday, October 6. Be sure to visit between 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. and get your late summer vegetables!

BUDGET DEVELOPMENT UPDATE FOR FY 2026 IS IN PROGRESS - This year is a real grind!

It is proving to be a challenging budget year for FY 2026 with a general lack of significant new taxable development in town, the potential for loss of federal and/or state funding, three union collective bargaining contracts (firefighters, middle managers, and AFSCME/DPW) expiring December 31, 2025 and in play, and a projected increase in health insurance costs of around 10%.

In addition, we're confronted with general inflation and cost increases across the operation, UNH fiscal challenges and projected future student enrollment declines, and less interest earnings on investments.

Requests for additional personnel or operational changes across departments include:

• two additional firefighters,
• an additional part-time fire admin. asst.,
• an additional part-time accreditation manager at police,
• potentially contracting out solid waste/recycling collection at DPW,
• moving the land stewardship coordinator from part-time to full-time, etc.

There was a one-time use of around $420,000 in undesignated fund balance to stabilize taxes for FY 2025 that cannot be sustained indefinitely to future budget cycles. 

Last week the Town also received notice from SchoolCare, one of our health insurers covering two separate employee groups, that around $30 million will need to be collected in October/November across all participating NH public employers to rebuild reserves – Durham’s share of which is around $126,000 in a year in which the Council previously paired back the Town’s contingency fund from the historic $125,000 to $50,000 as a FY 2025 cost savings. 

In terms of the General Fund operating budget alone, departmental requests have come in reflective of a $2,280,064 increase (or 17.42%) over FY 2025. Please note this is before any reductions have been made by the Administrator in what will be a long month ahead as Mr. Selig endeavors to work with departments, boards, committees, and commissions to winnow the budget down working toward the Administrator's formal proposal to the Council by October 31.

Mr. Selig notes that budgets submitted by departments have been well thought out and reflect actual/realistic cost increases for FY 2026.  

Staff have been vigilant in pursuing external grant funding and have had a great deal of success, yet those funds have or are drying up. For a variety of reasons and despite our best efforts, economic development in Durham has been limited. The new Riverwoods Phase 2 project will help in future years, likely beginning April 1, 2028.

The process is basically a grind and Mr. Selig is not sure if there are any more rabbits he can pull out of his sleeve to avoid a significant tax increase on the Town side for FY 2026.

TOWN HALL TO BE CLOSED THE MORNING OF OCTOBER 22 FOR STAFF DE-ESCALATION TRAINING

The Town will be holding an Emergency Preparedness and De‑escalation Training for staff members at Town Hall on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

• 8:00 – 9:00 AM – The Durham Police Department will meet with staff to review local logistics related to emergency preparedness at Town Hall.
• 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Representatives from Primex (the Town’s insurer) will lead a training session on de‑escalation techniques. This training provides participants with essential tools to recognize, assess, and respond effectively to aggressive behavior in professional environments. The session explores common triggers that lead to escalation, the stages of verbal and crisis continuums, and practical techniques for maintaining control and safety.

Town Hall will be closed to the public during this training.

Using software, Liv superimposes the outline of her sketch on top of the doodle photo. She says, “I input the photo of the wall into my drawing software and superimpose the outline of my sketch on top of the photo. The doodles give me a guide for where to place my lines on the wall so that everything is to scale.” Courtesy, Liv Mileika

INFORMATIONAL SESSION ON HOUSING TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 7 AT 10:00 A.M.

The Durham Housing Task Force is holding an informational session on a set of proposed zoning amendments designed to expand housing opportunities in town. If you are interested in learning more, please join the Task Force on Tuesday, October 7, at 10:00 am in the Town Council Chambers. If you need to use Zoom to attend the meeting, you can register HERE.

You can see the proposal, which includes changes to the tables and the text of the Zoning Ordinance, HERE. The Task Force will be presenting these amendments to the Planning Board in the next few months as the board’s schedule allows. To view a powerpoint prepared by Sally Tobias, chair of the Housing Task Force, that presents the proposed changes, please click HERE.

You can see numerous other interesting documents related to housing on the Task Force website HERE. 

It’s October! Many of us are already thinking ahead to Halloween. Here are some tips on how to make your Halloween celebrations fun without contributing to the avalanche of single-use plastic pollution this fall.

Costumes

Try to avoid buying new costumes. They are often cheaply made and are almost always made entirely from plastic.  Instead, visit a local thrift store to find the key elements you need to make your own costumes. Most thrift stores also have pre-loved costumes for sale. Facebook Marketplace or the Oyster River Online Yard Sale may also be options to find costumes online. In addition, Durham‘s Swap Shop has costumes and Halloween decorations available for pick up at the transfer station.

If you have costumes you no longer need, consider taking a few photos of them and invite your friends to use them this year. Hopefully, they’ll return the favor and you can all save time and money and keep this material out of the landfill.

Decorations

Nature offers many non-toxic, fully compostable Halloween decorations in the form of pumpkins and other decorative gourds, hay bales, reeds, and ornamental corn.

If you want to light your house up at night, make sure you purchase LED string lights as they use significantly less energy (hence lower carbon emissions) and will also last longer than incandescent bulbs.

Trick or Treat

Candy is the hardest place to avoid single-use plastic as many Halloween favorites come wrapped in impossible to recycle plastic wrappers. Here are a few suggestions for ways to avoid these single-use plastic wrappers.

• Candy options that come in small thin cardboard boxes - Dots, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints. 
• Candy wrapped in foil - there are many small Halloween-themed chocolates that come wrapped in foil.
• Give out small amounts of money. 
• Give out gift certificates. Visit a local ice cream or sweets shop and purchase a bunch of very small gift certificates to hand out.

Source: BeyondPlastics.org

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: www.Recyclesmartma.org

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

The computer image is sketched onto the wall and the painting process begins. Courtesy, Liv Mileika

TIME TO DONATE AND SHOP FOR HALLOWEEN ITEMS AT THE SWAP SHOP

• The Swap Shop welcomes your Halloween items! Please hold onto your Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas items until November. 
• Some items do not belong at the Swap Shop. If you would not give your items in their current condition to a friend or family member, the items probably aren’t ready for the Swap Shop.
• Please bring clean items. We do not have any way to wash dirty items (or our hands), and dirty items often are not taken.
• Please sort at home. Do not bring boxes of random toys or other small items that volunteers will need to spend time sorting. The Swap Shop is a busy place.
• The Swap Shop closes at 2:30 p.m. so that we can have everything put away before the Transfer Station closes at 3:00 p.m.
• Become a volunteer. Go to https://swapshopdurham.wordpress.com for more information. If you cannot commit to a 3-hour shift, ask about ways you may help when you have time available. Meet your neighbors. Meet your friends. Make new friends. Most of all, do your part to help keep usable items out of the landfill.

This is your window into the work of Durham’s Conservation Commission, where protecting natural resources meets community action. In this space, the Conservation Commission will spotlight local wildlife, trail updates, invasive species alerts, habitat tips, collaborative partnerships, and ways you can help steward Durham’s forests, wetlands, and open spaces.

The work of the Commission is guided by the Town’s Natural Resources Chapter of the Master Plan, which you can find HERE, which aims to protect water quality, preserve biodiversity, maintain scenic landscapes, and build resilience to climate change. Join the Commission as they explore how thoughtful stewardship can protect Durham’s natural resources for generations to come! 

Assistant Chief Randall Trull is retiring from the Durham Fire Department effective October 5, 2025.

Assistant Chief Trull began his fire service career in 1985 when he was hired as a call member with the Greenland, NH Fire Department. Since that time, he has continued his fire service career serving with fire departments in South Louisiana and later, Berlin, NH, where he served as the fire chief for sixteen years before coming to Durham in 2017.

Assistant Chief Trull has been instrumental in the development of the department’s first safety management system (SMS) and implementation of the department’s modern records management system (RMS) First Due, both of which are vital to solidifying the safety-minded culture and reporting critical data and information required for the department’s future success. 

Congratulations, Assistant Chief Trull!    

On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, there is a scheduled UNH Police training on UNH property, located at 283 and 285 Mast Road. The exercise is for canine odor detection and search training. There will be highly visible police training signs posted at both locations.

Sarah McQuade will be kicking off the 2025-26 Oyster River Folk Series on October 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Durham Universalist Church, 20 Madbury Road.

Sara’s lush, chocolaty voice combines with her engaging personality and “brilliant musicianship” (fRoots) on acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and (occasionally) drum to create a truly immersive experience, and a captivating stage presence. She is a lifetime achievement award winner of the Ards International Guitar festival; she will entertain attendees with a wonderful, light style. 

Born in Spain, raised in Chicago, and holding dual Irish and American citizenship (now settled in rural England), she brings the eclecticism of her background to her “captivating, unorthodox songwriting” (PopMatters) and choice of material. From contemplative ballads to playful blues to atmospheric instrumentals, Sarah’s music invites reflection, connection, and a deep appreciation of the quiet power of a well-crafted song. 

Ready Rides is a non-profit providing free transportation to seniors and the disabled to medical appointments in Durham and surrounding towns. They provided 382 rides to Durham residents last year. They desperately need more Volunteers to support the growing number of ride requests they receive each week. They are trying to remedy that by having a Volunteer Fair on October 5 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and inviting all the nonprofits from the 11 towns they service to join them. Check out this fair and see where you can help!

OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL NEWS

Planned October School Closures

• All Oyster River schools will be closed on Friday, October 10, for a Teacher Workshop Day. 
• All Oyster River schools and the SAU office will be closed on Monday, October 13, in observance of Columbus Day.

Fall Activities at Mast Way and Moharimet Schools

Moharimet School is hosting its annual Pumpkin Stroll on October 23, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Guests will be able to enjoy a whimsical stroll while admiring students' carved pumpkins. Mast Way School's annual Spooktacular celebration will be on October 24, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

2025-2026 ORCSD Music Department Concert Schedule

You may view the Music Department's concert schedule HERE. Please visit ORCSD's online calendar HERE to learn about upcoming concerts, musicals, and other opportunities. 

Capital Planning Update

The district launched a new Elementary Projects webpage, which you may notice in the main navigation menu on the district website. This website is available HERE. This is where all information related to Mast Way and Moharimet schools' construction and renovation projects will be published moving forward. On this new page, you may notice a survey. This survey is open to all Oyster River community members. You can access the survey HERE. Additional capital planning information is also available on our Capital Planning page HERE.

ORCSD is Hiring Paraeducators

Our paras are essential to the successful delivery of programs for students. The district is seeking to fill full-time, benefit-eligible positions to join our Special Education team. Consider joining us to help students reach their full potential. Apply today HERE!

Transportation Information 

Our Transportation team is hiring! If you or someone you know would like to drive a van or a bus, please contact Director of Transportation Trisha Daley at 603-868-1610 or by email at tdaley@orcsd.org. Additional details are available HERE.

Nutrition Assistance Programs

ORCSD's Free & Reduced Lunch program information may be found HERE. To continue receiving free or reduced meals for the 2025-2026 school year, your application must be received by October 11, 2025. Additional assistance is also offered by End 68 Hours of Hunger and Community Action Partnership of Strafford County.

The final project is taking shape. Courtesy, Liv Mileika

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE PRESENTATION OF THE UNH 2030 STRATEGIC PLAN 

Join President Chilton and the Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday, October 7 at 1 p.m. in the Granite State Room, or via Zoom HERE, for the presentation of the UNH 2030 Strategic Plan.

This plan reflects nearly a year of collaboration across our community to chart UNH’s path forward. We’re excited to share the results of this work and what’s next as we move into the implementation phase this fall.

As we prepare to share more details about the plan, we want to hear what’s on your mind. What questions do you have — big or small — about the plan? Please share them HERE.

Betty and Barney Hill were catapulted into the international spotlight when, in September 1961, they claimed to have been abducted by aliens in the White Mountains. The UNH Library holds their correspondence, personal journals and more, including the dress Betty wore during the abduction.

Join Special Collections Librarian Elizabeth Slomba to explore the collection and get an inside look at this mysterious event on Wednesday, October 29, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 101 of the Dimond Library. Registration required. Register HERE.

The Cat Trax bike share program continues to thrive, with support from Sustainability Institute and the Town of Durham. Twenty-eight bikes are maintained and available across the UNH campus and Durham community supporting more than 142 users. With 920 (free!) rides and more than 130 miles traveled so far in 2025, CatTrax continues to be a visible and valued contribution to UNH’s and Durham’s sustainable transportation initiatives. 

The 2025 season will run through Thanksgiving Break. Cat Trax bikes are available to Town residents as well and can be ridden anywhere within Durham. Learn more HERE.