5 Things: Senate to Vote on Toll Bill Today

1. Toll vote. The full Senate is scheduled to vote today on whether to remove the toll booth at Exit 12 on the Everett Turnpike in Merrimack. SB 3, presented originally by Sen. Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, as a measure to remove all of the Merrimack Tolls, was approved last week by the Senate Way & Means Committee on an amended basis. We'll bring you more later today.

2. Chamber Banquet. Tonight is the 49th Annual Recognition & Scholarship Banquet. In addition to being an opportunity to network and celebrate another year in the books, it is also where the Business of the Year and Business Leader of the Year will be awarded. This year, a third award is designated for the first time for the Volunteer of the Year.

3. On the docket. Keith Burns, the convicted sex offender who was arrested last week on child pornography charges, is scheduled for a probable cause hearing in Merrimack's District Court this morning. Burns was charged with possessing child pornography after Oregon authorities contacted Merrimack Police believing a man in town may have posed as a teenage boy to solicit nude photos from a 13-year-old girl from their state. He was charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography and one count of uses of computer services prohibited.

4. Town Council Meets. The Merrimack Town Council will meet tonight in the Matthew Thornton Room at Town Hall for a regularly scheduled meeting. On the agenda is an Eagle Scout presentation regarding a project to build a stone wall and low maintenance garden around the based of the sign at the Merrimack Police Department. There will also be a public hearing to accept more than $20,000 in FEMA funds for damage sustained in Merrimack during Hurricane Sandy. Get the full agenda here. Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

5. Weather watch. The warmer temperatures of the last few days will dip down again today into the upper 30s. According to the National Weather Service, today will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. Tonight, mostly cloudy, with a low around 19.