Dear Stratham Residents,

Please read below for news and notes from the Town of Stratham.  In this edition:

• Veteran's Day Ceremony
• Important Election Day Information
• Enhanced Accessible Parking at SMS Polling Site
• Fire Danger Warning
• Openings in Planning and Building
• Transfer Station - Winter Hours
• Historical Society Civil War Program
• Stratham Memorial School Board Oct. Update
• In Case You Missed It - Interview with Astronaut Scott Poteet

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

Please note: The Clerk's Office will be closed on Election Day and many other offices in the Municipal Center will have limited coverage due to election staffing needs.  Please plan accordingly and call head if you plan to conduct business.  All scheduled programming at the Municipal Center will take place without interruption.

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY

The Stratham Veterans Day ceremony is at Stratham Hill Park on November 11 at 11:00 am and is free and open to the public.  Guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Scott Poteet (retd.), Stratham resident and pilot on the recent Polaris Dawn mission. 

Reminder to Stratham Veterans:
You are invited to a lunch in the Morgera Room at the Stratham Fire Station at 12:30 pm on Nov. 11, hosted by the Stratham Fire Department Auxiliary.  Click here to view the invitation.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO RSVP TO LET THEM KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.  StrathamAuxiliary@gmail.com

Town offices will be closed on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day.

IMPORTANT ELECTION DAY INFORMATION

• The State General Election will be on Tuesday, November 5th at the Stratham Memorial School, 39 Gifford Farm Rd.  Polls will be open from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm.
• The Town Clerk’s Office will be closing at 5:00 on Monday, November 4 for election day preparations.
• The Town Clerk’s Office will be closed on Wednesday, November 6 for post-election day procedures.
• Many of our staff will be working at the election site on November 5th; therefore, services at the Municipal Center will be minimal that day.

ENHANCED ACCESSIBLE PARKING AT ELECTION

In addition to the traditional accessible parking options in the main parking lot at SMS, there will be additional accessible parking closer located behind the SMS school building.  Residents seeking this accessible parking should follow these signs, which will be visible along Gifford Farm Road. 

We thank everyone who will be working the elections and look forward to seeing Stratham at the polls! 

FIRE DANGER WARNING

Please be aware:  The fire danger continues to be high today and is projected to trend higher.  Burn permit sales are shut off and outdoor / permitted burning is not authorized until the fire danger decreases.  Daily fire danger can be found here.

OPENINGS IN PLANNING AND BUILDING; WE ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE

Regrettably, our Director of Planning and Building, Mark Connors, has taken a position closer to his home.  We have begun receiving applications and interviews are scheduled.  In addition, our Building Inspector has needed to step away from his position creating a vacancy for which we are also accepting applications.  View our employment opportunities here.

In the meantime, we ask for your patience as you may experience delays associated with these openings despite the efforts of our interim assistance that we have brought in for both positions and the hard work of remaining staff who are very dedicated to keeping our services going.  Thank you to Susan and Mike for your extra efforts.

DPW UPDATES

TRANSFER STATION - WINTER HOURS
Get ready for winter!  Check out the Winter Announcements from the Department of Public Works to stay informed about snow removal, winter policies, and safety tips.  Stay prepared and help keep our community safe during the snowy season! 

Stay updated on Transfer Station hours this season!  Check out our Holiday and Winter Hours announcement to plan your visits and avoid any seasonal closures.

Depot Road is looking better than ever! Our DPW team, in collaboration with Bell & Flynn, has completed paving improvements to ensure smoother, safer travels for our community. Line striping will be done in the next week or so. Thanks to everyone involved for their hard work!

Paving progress at the Fire Department parking lot!  Along with this project, DPW and Bell & Flynn crews are busy improving some other roads throughout town.  Please use caution around unfinished shoulder areas and ongoing work sites for everyone’s safety.  Thank you for your patience as we make these upgrades!

Winter Operations

Click here to learn all about SALT BRINE!

prevent_ticks_24.pdf

WEBSITE WORK UNDERWAY

Thanks to the leadership and work of a Town staff steering group, our efforts to redesign our website and expand our offerings are underway.  We thank all of the community members who reached out to us via a survey to make sure we capture ideas and needs for greater service with this important tool.  Thank you to Karen, Jenn, Seth, Mike, and Penny for your work.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY CIVIL WAR PROGRAM

Monday, November 11th from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the Morgera Room, Stratham Fire Station, 4 Winnicutt Rd
Stratham Historical Society and the Wiggin Memorial Library will host a presentation by UNH Professor Emeritus, John Wingate Seavey, The Pearson Brothers and The Civil War.  If you have an interest in Stratham history, you won't want to miss this fascinating story.  Click here for more information.

SMS BOARD OCTOBER UPDATE

• The SAU district continues to work on improving transportation.  They are struggling to get bus drivers, and are waiting to get an additional bus in Stratham.  They are looking into rotating routes and bus numbers for next year.  Thank you to the parents who came and gave input about the buses.
• It is important to STOP when buses stop and have their signs up - people are going around their stop signs, especially near the Stratham Heights Rd / Portsmouth Ave intersection. Passing busses is ILLEGAL, extremely dangerous and poses great risk to students who are crossing the street assuming no cars are coming.
• Want to understand how the school budget impacts your taxes?  Join Finance Director Mollie O’Keefe for a fireside chat on Monday, November 18th from 6-7pm on zoom which will be recorded and available for later viewing.  The first half will be a presentation and there will be room for Q&A after her presentation. No registration or sign up, just click this link on the 18th: https://sau16-org.zoom.us/j/86273933360 
• The building committee is interviewing candidates for a pre-construction manager.
• Principal Lucas gave the board a facilities and technology update.  For more, please see the full meeting minutes here. 

For questions, email Board Chair Jennifer Scrafford. Our next board meeting will be Wednesday, November 13th at 6pm at the SMS library.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
View the interview with astronaut Scott Poteet here