A Mega Millionaire May be Made Right Before Christmas

Mega Millions grows to mega payout. Lottery mania is likely to hit as Tuesday night's Mega Millions Jackpot has grown to $550 million after no one took home Friday night's jackpot of $425 million – a $228 million lump sum payout. The lottery's jackpot has not been hit in more than two months. According to Chron.com, a lottery official has said excellent ticket sales over the weekend and an expected spike in sales on Tuesday, could push the jackpot closer to last year's record-setting $656 million jackpot, and it could even surpass it. Nothing like a cash windfall the week before Christmas, right? A lump sum payout of Tuesday's $550 million jackpot would net the winner $295 million before taxes. Drawing is at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Ayotte to speak to local veterans. Sen. Kelly Ayotte will speak to local veterans at the Merrimack Veteran's of Foreign Wars Post 8641 on Monday morning as she continues an effort to nix military retiree benefits cuts from a budget deal pending in the Senate. She said the cuts "unfairly target current and future military retirees, who have put their lives on the line to defend our country. According to a press release from Ayotte's office, "In order to achieve approximately $6.3 billion in savings, the legislation currently includes a provision that requires a one percent reduction in cost of living benefits for many military retirees under age 62.  According to analysis by the Senate Budget and Armed Services Committees, under the proposal, a Sergeant First Class who retires in his early 40s - who has served our country for two decades and most likely deployed multiple times to war - could lose more than $70,000. Ayotte will be at the VFW at 11:45 a.m. The VFW is at 282 Daniel Webster Highway.  

Town Council to Meet. The Town Council will meet on Thursday, Dec. 19, for it's final regularly-scheduled meeting of 2007. On the agenda, the council will hear a request to tap trees in Kids Kove and Watson Park for the purposes of making birch syrup. They will also recognize several town employees for their years of service to the community. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Matthew Thornton Room at Town Hall. Get the full agenda on the Town Website.

Planning board hear capital improvements plans. The Merrimack Planning Board will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 17, for its final regularly scheduled meeting of 2013. The board will meet with representatives from the town and school district to discuss their capital improvements plans. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Matthew Thornton Room at Town Hall. Get the full agenda on the town website. 

Zoning board to discuss Zyla's variance. The Merrimack Zoning Board will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Matthew Thornton Room for a regularly-scheduled meeting. Among agenda items, the board will discuss two items related to plans at the old Zyla's building. The first is an appeal from John Zyla to a determination that under the town's zoning ordinance, public storage of recreational vehicles and/or boats is not a permitted use in the C-2 (General Commercial) District. There is also a discussion scheduled regarding a potential variance to allow public storage of recreational vehicles and/or boats in the C-2 District. Get the full agenda the town website.