5 Things: $250M Powerball Drawing Tonight

1. Last chance. Vote for Merrimack Patch's newest Facebook cover photo. Choose from six submissions. The winner will not only have their photo on our Facebook page, but will also win a $50 Amex gift card. Voting ends at noon today. Cast your vote now.

2. Work off your turkey. There are several local road races to consider running or walking on Thanksgiving morning and in the days following to help work off the large meal you are bound to eat on Thanksgiving Day. A list of local turkey trots is available at coolrunning.com. Looking for something new and different? On Saturday, Nashua will hold its inaugural Wolf Hollow Half Marathon, mostly in Mine Falls Park. Get the details here.

3. Food drive. The Merrimack Police Department is currently sponsoring a food drive to support local community food pantries. The first load of donated goods was delivered Nov. 20, to the three pantries, St. John Neumann, St. James and Riverside Christian Church. On hand to accept the donations were Fr. Chris Martel of St. John Neumann, Donna Johnson of St. James and Ray Pouliot of Riverside Christian Church. Local residents have been extremely generous and the drive will continue through the holidays. Given the current economy, the need for donations is greater than ever. Thank you to all who have donated! Please drop off donations to the drop off boxes located in the lobby of the Merrimack Police Department. Donations will be accepted until Jan. 1.

4. Get your Powerball ticket. The Powerball drawing for tonight, is set to reach $250 million. On a one-time payout for a single winner, the take home would be about $167 million, according to lottery officials, before taxes. In a statement, Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre stated, “Here’s hoping the New Hampshire Lottery gets to give away some Powerball money this Thanksgiving to a lucky winner! We are always grateful to see the Powerball jackpot roll and gather momentum, especially leading in to the holidays.  With everyone out and about preparing for the holiday, what a perfect time to take a minute and buy a ticket or two. Hey, we’ve had nine jackpot winning tickets sold in the Granite State and we are definitely looking for our 10th winner!”

5. Weather watch. More nice fall weather on the way, and even better than today, Thanksgiving appears as though it's going to be beautiful. Today's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 49. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 32. Thanksgiving day should also be mostly sunny with a high around 56. Thursday night expect mostly clear skies with a low around 32. Not horrible for Midnight Madness.