The Mercury is Rising in Bedford!

1. The weatherman says ... Summer is most definitely here. Today's forecasted high, according to Weather.com, of is 92 degrees with a 30-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and a nighttime low of 70 degrees.

2. Cool off! Head down to the Bedford Memorial Town Pool at 20 County Road today and cool off from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on hours and residential rates, click here.

3. Library Lowdown. The Bedford Public Library begins its summer reading program, Book Reports and Crafts, today.

4. On the agenda. There are no scheduled meetings in town today, but the following is a glance at tomorrow's municipal meetings in Bedford:

7:15 a.m. - Highway Safety Committee (BCTV Town Meeting Room)

7 p.m. - Conservation Commission (BCTV Town Meeting Room)

5. On this day ... June 24, 1803, New Hampshire's ex post facto signer of the Declaration of Independence, Matthew Thornton, died at 89-years old. One of the Granite State's delegates to the second Continental Congress, Thornton was born in Ireland, moved to the northern part of the Massachusetts territory (now Maine), was educated in Worcester, MA, and then opened a medical practice in Londonderry – where he later purchased significant land holdings - in 1740. According to History.com:

In 1775, Thornton became the first president of the Provincial Assembly and chairman of the Committee of Safety, as relations between Britain and its American colonies deteriorated. Thornton penned the document that would serve as New Hampshire's first state constitution. In 1776, he was elected to the second Continental Congress. Because he did not arrive in Philadelphia until September, he missed the debates and initial approval of the Declaration of Independence, but later added his signature to the document.

Upon his return to New Hampshire, Thornton became a high judge and colonel in the militia. In 1779, he moved to Exeter, where he served the new state in the Assembly and Senate, before retiring to a farm in Merrimack 10 years later.