🌱 Patch AM: How a new DARPA contract could boost BAE’s Merrimack operations

Hi Merrimack! We have the latest buzz right here. Let's keep you in the loop and get this morning started right! ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How a new DARPA contract could boost BAE’s Merrimack operations
• Is the official poverty line hiding real New Hampshire hardship?

Also on today's calendar: Yoga Nidra and 4 more events.

Today's riddle: My brother swallowed a box of firecrackers. - Is he all right now? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: Times of clouds and sun, with a high of 41 and low of 33 degrees.
• Friday: Windy with rain, temps: high: 57, low: 25.
• Saturday: Sun, then clouds; much colder, with a high of 35 and low of 29 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• BAE Systems to Advance Autonomous Space-Based Surveillance Technology for DARPA (insidegnss.com) — BAE Systems is expanding high-tech defense research work at its Merrimack, N.H., facility under a new $16 million DARPA contract to advance autonomous space-based surveillance. Engineers in Merrimack and Burlington, Mass., will refine software that helps satellites track activity on Earth in near real time, potentially boosting future military situational awareness and decision-making speed.
   

• How Much Does It Cost to Stop Being Poor in America? (goodmenproject.com) — A New Hampshire-focused column argues that the federal poverty line badly understates what it really costs a family to get by, using state data to show even median-income households can struggle. Merrimack gets a brief mention through a local woman involved in a state-backed environmental cleanup pilot, underscoring how broader economic and policy debates still touch familiar people and places here.
   

📸 Around Merrimack

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Merrimack

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Thursday December 18

• Yoga Nidra
  Auria Wellness , 515 Daniel Webster Hwy , Merrimack
  6:45 pm

Friday December 19

• Flow with Grace Vinyasa
  Auria Wellness , 515 Daniel Webster Hwy , Merrimack
  9:15 am
• Photos With Santa (Including Pet Photos!)
  Merrimack High School , 38 McElwain St , Merrimack
  5:30 pm
• Holiday Simmer Pot Kit Workshop
  Silver Bells DIY design & decor -501 Daniel Webster Hwy, Merrimack, NH 03054
  6:30 pm

Thursday December 25

• TOWN HALL CLOSED - Christmas Day
  Merrimack Town Clerk , 6 Baboosic Lake Rd , Merrimack

Monday December 29

• Wrestling at Timberlane Youth Tournament
  Merrimack Middle School , 31 Madeline Bennett Lane , Merrimack
  8:00 am

📣 Merrimack Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Thursday December 18

• Tots & Tunes
  Amherst Town Library , 14 Main Street , Amherst
  10:00 am
• Let's Play Chinese Mahjong! (In-Person)
  Amherst Town Library , 14 Main Street , Amherst
  2:00 pm
• Wrestling at Pelham
  Merrimack Middle School , 31 Madeline Bennett Lane , Merrimack
  4:00 pm
• Discovery Club
  Amherst Town Library , 14 Main Street , Amherst
  4:30 pm
• JMUES Winter Concert
  Mastricola Upper Elementary School , 26 Baboosic Lake Road , Merrimack
  6:00 pm
• Heritage Regular Committee Meeting
  Litchfield, NH Calendar , 10 Liberty Way , Litchfield
  6:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Merrimack PatchAM possible:

• HB Supply — (603) 424-4608
  Free Local Delivery, Loyalty Discounts & Best Pricing
• Auria Wellness
  Yoga Studio and Wellness Center
• Blackdog Design/Build/Remodel — (603) 769-3344
  Nashua’s Trusted Home Remodeling Experts
• FloorMe! — (603) 886-9129
  Your Local Flooring Experts in Nashua, NH
• The NP Edge, LLC Medical/Psychiatry/Wellness Practice — (603) 670-6593
  Jennifer Limongiello, PhD, FNP, PMHNP-BC

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Merrimack School District SAU26 posted a job opening for Substitute Teachers in Merrimack. Apply here.
• PacSun posted a job opening for Part Time Assistant Manager - PS Merrimack Prem Out. in Merrimack. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Merrimack here.

🗞 Nearby News

Amherst

• RSU 21 band director to march into 2026 with appearance in Rose Parade (seacoastonline.com)
• David K. Pinsonneault (nashuatelegraph.com)

Bedford

• A Custom-Built Multigenerational Colonial In Bedford With A Flexible Floorplan (patch.com)
• Bedford Women's Club fundraiser a fourth annual Festival of Trees & Holiday Market (cabinet.com)
• Merrimack resident proposes mushrooms as PFAS solution (unionleader.com)

Nashua

Ok Merrimack! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t know. I haven’t heard the last report.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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