February 23rd Select Board Newsletter
Dear Stratham Residents,
Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham. In this edition:
- Town Meeting Information
- Voter Information Night - March 7th at 6:30 pm
- Emergency Response Training - February 24th
- Stratham Annual School District Town Meeting
- Municipal Center Room Dedicated to Joan Sewall
- Upcoming Parks & Recreation Programming
- Community Power Starts in March!
- Stratham Historical Society Presentation
To sign-up for these updates and other notifications, please visit this section on our website and check the "Select Board" box under News and Announcements.
The Select Board
Michael Houghton, Chair Allison Knab, Vice-Chair Joe Anderson
TOWN MEETING INFORMATION: ELECTION AND BUSINESS SESSION INFORMATION
The Town Election will be held at Stratham Memorial School (39 Gifford Farm Rd) on Tuesday, March 12th. Polls will be open from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. The Town Meeting business session will be held on Saturday, March 16th also at Stratham Memorial School; the meeting starts at 9:00 am. We have begun posting materials to the Town Meeting Page, including the 2024 Warrant, Voter Information Guide and other information.
VOTER INFORMATION NIGHT
Everyone is encouraged to attend the Wiggin Memorial Library Voter Information Night on Thursday, March 7th at 6:30 pm in the Joan M. Sewall Room (formerly Room A) in the Municipal Center. More information here. Voters will hear from candidates who will appear on the March 12th ballot, learn about warrant articles, and hear more about the petitioned article. Be on the look out for video presentations of the warrant articles by Mark Connors, Director of Planning and Community Development and David Moore, Town Administrator, which will be posted to the Town Meeting web page.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING THIS SATURDAY
The NH Department of Safety's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) along with the Town of Stratham will conduct a training on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at the Cooperative Middle School. This training is an active shooter drill involving the Stratham Police and Fire Department. The Cooperative Middle School and parking lots will be closed for the morning. Residents and visitor to the town may see increased activity during the training, which is scheduled from 8 am to 3 pm. Members of the public can direct questions to the Stratham Police Department @ (603) 778-9691.
STRATHAM ANNUAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TOWN MEETING
The Stratham Annual School District Town Meeting is Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. in the SMS cafeteria. The Stratham School Board will present the proposed FY25 operating budget and other warrant articles. Residents of Stratham will vote on these warrant articles in person that evening. There will be childcare provided by SMS staff in the kindergarten rooms.
MUNICIPAL CENTER ROOM DEDICATED TO JOAN M. SEWALL 
This week we were pleased to see Joan M. Sewall, her husband Cameron, and family members come check out the new signage (and picture) marking the re-naming of Room A at the Municipal Center.
At a Public Hearing on May 16, 2022 the Select Board heard from residents supporting Nate Merrill's recommendation for re-naming Room A at the Municipal Center as the Joan M. Sewall Room. Ms. Sewall was the elementary school food service director when the town office was Stratham Memorial School. Supporters spoke of their fond memories of Ms. Sewall and her cooking. On June 20, 2022, the Select Board voted to adopt the name change. A plaque with the inscription below has been installed near the two entrances of the Joan M. Sewall Room along with a picture of Joan and Cameron at their Bunker Hill Orchard in 1981.
"School foodservice staff are unsung heroes of public education. Joan Sewall served made-from-scratch meals to an entire generation of Stratham children in this room from 1974-1989. Her smile and laugh were infectious as she shared her joy of cooking with students, encouraging early development of a valuable lifelong skill. She empowered kids to make menu and recipe suggestions, and was perhaps best known for her famous apple crisp made with fresh Bunker Hill Orchard fruit from the Sewall family farm just up the street."
We celebrate Ms. Sewall’s legacy and contribution and congratulate her and her family on this honor.
UPCOMING PARKS & RECREATION PROGRAMS
- February 27th, 12pm-1:30pm Municipal Center,
Seniority Authority - March 6th, 6pm-8pm Municipal Center, Wilderness Survival Stories with author Ty Gagne
- And... adult programming
Spring Sports Registration is open!
Specialty summer camps still have room!
STRATHAM COMMUNITY POWER STARTS IN MARCH!
Stratham Community Power is effective beginning with the March billing period, which will be seen on bills that arrive in April. You will see Stratham Community Power on the electricity supplier portion of your bill from Unitil. Savings will start at 24% for that portion compared to the default service. Residents will not notice any change in your electricity service. Unitil will continue to be your electric distribution utility, respond to emergencies, read meters, and maintain the power lines.
Follow this link for a copy of the Presentation for January 30, 2024 - Information Session.
And a copy of the letters mailed to residents here.
As well as the Stratham Community Power website where you can get an overview of the program, opt-out, opt-up for more renewable energy options, or see answers to any questions you may have on the program.
STRATHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS:
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF THE GREAT BAY: 1600s THROUGH THE EARLY 20th CENTURY
In this program cooperatively presented by Stratham Historical Society and Wiggin Memorial Library, SHS member and Stratham resident David Maloney will present his research as he narrates a PowerPoint presentation he has titled: "Commerce and Industry of Great Bay: 1600s through the Early 20th Century."
The Great Bay and its tributaries, the Oyster, Lamprey, and Exeter/Squamscott Rivers were once the center of industry and commerce. Beginning with the first Europeans in the 1600s, dams were constructed on the rivers to power sawmills, grist mills, paper mills and textile mills. Brickyards and shipyards were established and gundalows and schooners carried their products to Portsmouth and then around the world.
David Maloney is a long-time seacoast resident who has travelled extensively to historical sites around the world from the Great Wall of China to the Egyptian pyramids. His particular area of interest is in Early American history, especially of New England, and he enjoys telling visitors stories about the area's rich history and its people. He has been a guide at the American Independence Museum, lectured on Portsmouth area history, published a walking guide of historic Portsmouth and operated driving tours of Portsmouth and the surrounding area.
This program will be held Monday, March 11 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the Morgera Room at the Stratham Firehouse, 4 Winnicutt Road. There will be a Historical Society meeting at 6:30, prior to the program.
(If necessary, the snow date for this program is March 18.)