moms push anti-idling campaign

A group of area moms have launched a campaign to reduce motor vehicle idling at Seacoast schools. Called “Turn the Key, Be Idle Free,” the campaign was organized by members of the Seacoast Women’s Giving Circle, a philanthropic volunteer organization founded in 2006.

The campaign is posting “clean air zone” signs in the parking lots and waiting areas of participating schools, encouraging drivers to turn off their engines while waiting for their children to get out of school. Representatives will also distribute bumper stickers and speak at schools to spread awareness about the no idling campaign.

According to campaign organizers, idling vehicles are a leading cause of air pollution in New Hampshire. Air pollution can exacerbate symptoms of asthma, the most common chronic illness among New Hampshire children. One vehicle puts an average of three pounds of pollution into the air per month while picking up and dropping off schoolchildren.

In addition to reducing air pollution and health hazards, idling less can save people money, according to the campaign.

Vehicles consume up to a gallon of fuel per hour while idling, and it is more efficient to turn off most warmed-up vehicles than it is to leave them idling for more than 10 seconds.

“An idling vehicle gets zero miles to the gallon, so you can save money at the pump just by turning off your car instead of idling,” said campaign leader Elisa Bolton.

The Giving Circle piloted the campaign at four Seacoast schools this spring. There are now 16 area schools participating. For more information, visit www.seacoastwomengive.org.

South Berwick hosts energy conservation workshop

Area residents concerned about paying for home heating oil this winter are invited to attend a free energy conservation workshop in South Berwick, Maine, on Thursday, Sept. 25. The workshop begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Auditorium at 180 Main St.

Hosted by local sustainability committee GreenUp! South Berwick, the event will feature a panel of experts addressing strategies for energy conservation and efficiency. The panel includes Bruce Monroe, of Zero Draft Insulation; Mike Lassel, of Lassel Architects; Jack Bingham, owner of Seacoast Energy Alternatives Solar Store; and Anne Stephenson, of Clean Air-Cool Planet.

Topics of discussion at the workshop will include energy audits, insulation, blower-door tests, back yard turbines and community purchasing of fuel and winterizing products. Guests are also welcome to share their own ideas.

“Besides offering people a ‘big picture’ view of conservation practices, we want to give them practical advice on how they can make changes at their own homes that will hold down costs this winter,” GreenUp! co-facilitator Molly Colman said in a press release.

The workshop is the first event held by GreenUp!, a loose organization of community members who started meeting last spring. The group is working with the South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club to offer free energy audits and home winterizing assistance to eligible homeowners. For more information, call 207-384-5921.

area police form substance abuse task force

Officers from a number of area police departments have united to form a local Substance Abuse Task Force. Founded by officers from Hampton, Newton, Raymond and Windham, the task force will convene for the first time at the Hampton Police Department on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. Representatives from police departments around the region are invited to attend.

The task force was created after officers attended a conference on enforcement of underage drinking in Nashville, Tenn., late last month. Working with Allies in Substance Abuse Prevention, the task force will meet to discuss strategies for collaboratively tackling underage drinking and other drug problems in the greater Seacoast area.

The group is particularly concerned about prescription drug abuse, which is on the rise among young adults and youths. Task force leaders hope to educate the general public about disposing of unused medications and the risks of abusing such drugs.

The task force will work closely with the N.H. Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, the N.H. Attorney General’s Office and local coalitions in Raymond, Epping, Newmarket, Plaistow, Seabrook and Derry. The force will conduct trainings and work with retailers on compliance checks for liquor sales.

Cyndi Desroisers, project coordinator for Allies in Substance Abuse Prevention, said addressing substance abuse issues in the area will help reduce a number of other associated crimes.

“We realize that these police departments are out straight managing the aftermath of drug abuse: sexual violence, theft, fatalities, accidents, domestic abuse, property damage and overdose,” Desroisers said in a press release. “Police departments will be able to share strategies, and with funding for new programs harder to find, it makes good fiscal sense to tap into the expertise of our own region first.”

Portsmouth bars unite against unruly patrons

If you cause a scene in one bar or restaurant in downtown Portsmouth, you could find yourself banned from 14 establishments for up to a year. And if you show up at one of those establishments anyway, you could be charged with trespassing and face up to a year in jail.

The initiative represents a collaboration between 14 downtown bars and restaurants that are fed up with unruly behavior. Under the new policy, if a person is kicked out of one bar and ordered not to return, the individual is also banned from all other participating businesses.

According to Lt. Corey MacDonald, the policy resulted from meetings of the Downtown Hospitality Association, which was exploring ways to reduce cases of disorderly conduct and drunk driving. “They wanted a way to communicate better, to make it a better environment downtown,” MacDonald said.

If a patron gets into a fight or causes a disturbance in a bar, he receives a barment letter ordering him not to come back for a period of up to a year. The barment letter and the banned individual’s information is then distributed to the 13 other establishments, as well as the Portsmouth Police Department. Violating the barment letter at any of the establishments constitutes a charge of trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

MacDonald, who is also the department’s prosecutor, said patrol officers are often forced to deal with the same troublemakers night after night. The new policy is intended to discourage people from causing problems downtown. “More than prosecuting these, it’s the deterrent effect that I’m hoping for,” MacDonald said.

Although some people have questioned the policy’s legality, MacDonald said he is fairly confident that it will hold up in court.
Participating businesses include: Fat Belly’s, Poco’s, Harpoon Willy’s, TJ’s, Muddy River Smokehouse, Molly Malone’s, The Ferry Landing, Rudi’s, State Street Saloon, The Page, The Red Door, The Dolphin Striker, The Oar House and Two Ceres Street.

UNH College Fair on the way

High school juniors and seniors will be able to speak with representatives from 235 universities in the United States and Canada during the University of New Hampshire College Fair this week. The fair takes place in the Field House at the Durham campus on Thursday, Sept. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 26 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

Sponsored by the New England Association for College Admissions Counseling, the fair will offer information about various institutions and have representatives on hand to answer questions. Also present will be representatives from the New England Board of Higher Education and the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation.

Students should meet with their guidance counselors before attending the fair to discuss what type of higher education they are interested in pursuing and major areas of study. The fair will address college admissions criteria, academic programs and costs.

Schools participating in the fair range from New England’s six public state universities to small liberal arts colleges, as well as technology institutes and branches of the New Hampshire Community Colleges. It is expected to attract around 2,000 students. For more information, call 603-862-1360.