Do This by the End of the Month or Face Fines

Happy April Fools' Day, Merrimack. Here are five things you need to know as you start your day.

1. Don't forget. All dogs at least 4 months or older must be licensed at the Town Clerk's office by the end of this month. Licenses are due for renewal or for first-year pups by April 30. Per state law, owners must present a valid rabies certificate and a neutering or spaying certificate, if applicable. Failure to license your dog will result in fines and possibly a court summons. Don't let this get away from you. Get more information here.

2. Raise some dough. Sal's Pizza Merrimack is hosting two school fund raisers this week. Tuesday, April 2, is Thorntons Ferry School day and Wednesday, April 3, is JMUES day. The schools will get 10 percent of sales those days so head on in to show your support!

3. School Board to meet. Merrimack's School Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Matthew Thornton Room in Town Hall. On the agenda is a look at a couple technology-related policies and an annual review with administration, staff and students at James Mastricola Upper Elementary School. Get the full agenda here.

4. What a joke. On this day in 1700, English pranksters began popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563.

People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person. From History.com

5. Weather watch. A chance of showers, mainly after 5 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 56. Light southwest wind becoming west 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Tonight, a chance of showers before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 26. West wind 13 to 16 mph.