Tickets on sale for S.O.S event, Hazardous Waste Collection Day: Community news update

GREENLAND — Adam Shlager began working Aug. 14 as Weeks Public Library director.

As Chris Peters, library Board Chair notes, “We are excited about Adam’s selection and his agreement to join us. It has been a time of turbulence since the departure of the previous library director in March and the retirement of two long-serving library assistants.

“We have been well served by two interim directors. Shirley Barron was our first interim March through May. In June, Steve Butzel, former Portsmouth Director, agreed to shepherd us forward. In what have been challenging times we are grateful for their service and excited for our future.”

Shlager recently served as director in Sandown, where he was responsible for the creation of a Learning Pavilion, the creation of a Music Garden, and a quiet-room space equipped with technology for audio/video editing and broadcasting.

He also created new policies and worked with the staff to make the library more efficient. He is proficient in implementing library IT hardware and software. In Sandown he also developed a reputation for promoting positive relationships with members of the town administration and community members generally.

The historic Weeks Public Library began life in May, 1898 as a gift to the town from Caroline A. Weeks. The library Adam Slager begins helming, 125 years later, is basically a new building. Dedicated in August, 2021 it is light and airy, houses roughly four times the space of the original, and is becoming a cultural center for Greenland. Information: weekspubliclibrary.org

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — The director of a Maine organization dedicated to promoting vibrant downtowns will give a public presentation with a focus on South Berwick’s town center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7. The live meeting will take place in the Town Hall auditorium and will be available virtually via Zoom video conference.

Anne Ball, director of the Maine Downtown Center, will talk about the historic, economic and environmental aspects of a healthy downtown. Light refreshments will be offered.

Ball was invited to speak by SmartGrowth South Berwick, a program of the local nonprofit SoBo Central, after town officials began investigating the future of the South Berwick Town Hall. Ball will be introduced by Len Bogh, a local business owner who is active with the program.

PORTSMOUTH — The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services joined the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association to present the 2023 NHDES Wastewater Plant of the Year Award to the city of Portsmouth for the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility at the Aug. 21, 2023 City Council meeting. This award recognizes excellence in wastewater treatment facility operations, compliance with federal EPA and NHDES treatment regulations, safety, employee education, public outreach and professional participation. Portsmouth also received the award in 2005.

Peter Conroy, chief plant operator and his staff with city public works director Peter Rice, deputy director Brian Goetz and cty engineer Erich Fiedler received the award from Rene Pelletier, NHDES Water Division director and John Adie, NHDES Wastewater Engineering Bureau, operations technical specialist. Michael Theriault, vice president of the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association, also attended.

Pelletier applauded the success of the city’s facility since the completion in 2021 of its $92 million upgrades, accomplished while the facility continued to operate. He commented, “Of all the 87 publicly owned water treatment plants we regulate, Portsmouth is the shining star. You are a model of how to get things done, working with the City Council and educating the community. You had the foresight to plan for the future. The most impressive result of your accomplishment is the advantage to Great Bay and to the river. How lucky you are to have a great partnership and a great group of operators who have produced a phenomenal benefit to the environment.”

Earlier this year, NHDES Commissioner Robert E. Scott also presented the 2023 NHDES Source Water Protection Award to the City of Portsmouth, saying, “This award is presented to Portsmouth for the city’s multi-year effort to protect high-priority water supply lands around the Bellamy Reservoir. This effort stands out as a model in terms of protecting critical water supply lands that serve to protect the reservoir, a primary source of drinking water for thecity.” In addition, the EPA presented its 2022 Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator of the Year Award to David Lovely the chief operator of the Pease Wastewater Treatment Facility.

The Department of Public Works will host a “Wastewater 101” public information meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the Levenson Room of the Portsmouth Public Library. The presentations will include an overview of basic wastewater treatment concepts and definitions, the city’s current wastewater system, the status of current regulations, system performance, current challenges and upcoming projects.

PORTSMOUTH — Easterseals NH’s Veterans Count Seacoast chapter Board of Directors will hold its 10th annual event to benefit service members, veterans, and their families on Sept. 8. The event will be held on the eve of the wildly popular Thunder Over New Hampshire air show on the tarmac at Pease International Tradeport, 120 Aviation Drive in Portsmouth from 5 to 9 p.m., with aircraft and military vehicles on display.

Guest check-in opens at 4:30 p.m., and performers from the airshow will be honored. This year’s honored guests will be members of the NH Air National Guard and military members throughout New Hampshire. The evening will feature a cowboy bar theme, so wear your cowboy boots and hats and get ready to line dance to two different live bands.

Tickets are now available at vetscountsos.org. As in past years, Foster’s Clambakes & Catering will provide food, and the $175 ticket includes an open bar for attendees.

PORTSMOUTH — The city's public works department will hold its biannual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Public Works facility at 680 Peverly Hill Road. Residents of Portsmouth, Greenland and Newington are encouraged to bring household chemicals for safe disposal between 8 a.m. and noon. Proof of residency is required.

Collection Day is organized as a drive-through service. Residents remain in their vehicles and pull through the Public Works garage, where staff will remove disposable items from car trunks. Residents will be asked verbally about their town of residence for survey purposes, in compliance with EPA requirements.

Household hazardous waste collection helps safely dispose of items that can harm residents' health, the environment and drinking water supplies.

Items that qualify for collection include the following:

Items that do not qualify include:

Information: portsnh.co/hazwaste

SOMERSWORTH — Noticing many of her peers didn’t have enough to eat or might make poor choices for their leisure time, Girl Scout Sophia Day determined she would help by providing items to help out through her Care Bags With a Purpose program. Day, 16, of Somersworth has been recognized with the Girl Scout Gold Award for her work — the highest honor available to a Girl Scout in high school.

Day arranged to provide 40 care bags to middle and high school students filled with canned goods, snacks, hygiene products, sunscreen, sunglasses, a water bottle, earbuds, playing cards, and even coupons for a free ice cream or game of mini-golf, along with brochures that list local parks and their activities, a list of Somersworth Festival Association concerts and other events, and a bus schedule.

“Sophia really took this project on and ran with it,” said Melanie Chase-Benoit, her project advisor. “l had worked with her in the past for End 68 Hours of Hunger, Somersworth, and at Somersworth High School with our vacation bags during the holidays. I think with that background she knew exactly what she wanted to do and how.”

Chase-Benoit said her project is needed in many communities. “The recipients of those bags are so appreciative to receive them! It warms my heart to see what a difference they make for those less fortunate.”

While students can receive help during the school year, that help, is often not available in the summer when school is out.”

“I see firsthand that many of my peers don’t have the resources they need,” Day said. “When I was researching for my project, vacation bags full of resources seemed like a great idea. I reached out to my teachers, guidance counselors, and school nurses to ensure this project would directly benefit students in need, as they work directly with those students. They were all over my idea and I knew this would help my peers.”

PORTSMOUTH — The City Council, Planning Board and Planning & Sustainability Department invite the public to provide input on the city's capital improvement plan (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030 (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2030). Residents are asked to submit projects for consideration in the next CIP by Sept. 15, 2023.

The CIP details a six-year schedule and financing strategy for accomplishing necessary public improvements and meeting the city’s infrastructure needs. The Planning Board oversees the development of the CIP, which supports the board’s responsibilities to prepare and amend the city’s master plan (portsnh.co/masterplan).

Residents are encouraged to visit portsnh.co/cip to review the current CIP, full background on the CIP process, and this year’s CIP review schedule. The citizen project request form can be filed online using the city’s OpenGov portal.