5+ Things To Know Now In Tewksbury: LHS Tour & More

Musket fire ahead!

If your kids love animals, here’s a vacation week activity: The Lowell Humane Society is offering tours to the public on Monday, April 15 from 11 a.m. to noon for kids age 5 – 12. Employees will show what they do to tend to the animals in their care and show parts of the shelter that are typically not open to the public. There will be lots of cute, furry friends to play with and learn from! Please register by emailing Jen@lowellhumanesociety.org. Location: Lowell Humane Society, 951 Broadway St, Lowell

The British Were Coming!
From our friends at the Wilmington Apple we learned that the Wilmington Minutemen will pay tribute to the original 29 men from Wilmington who marched to Concord in April 1775. That will include a musket firing — so if you hear a loud bang, don’t be alarmed.

Per the Apple: Wilmington Minutemen will gather at the head of the Town Common on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 2 a.m. (early Saturday morning) for a brief reflection and march down Church Street with a police escort down to Route 38/Main Street complete with musket firing. Residents are welcome to line along Church Street and remember how the original Wilmington Minutemen were a part of the Revolutionary War. If anyone has any questions about Wilmington Minutemen, please feel free to contact Captain Frank West at (978) 658-1754 or westrewilm@aol.com.

School News
Our schools are still seeking nominations for the 2024 Annual Ginsburg Family and Krissy Polimeno Outstanding Educator Awards, but today is the deadline. If you know an outstanding educator or an individual, a group, or a company/organization who has had a significant impact on the Tewksbury Public Schools, let TPS know. Anyone can make a nomination! Learn more.

The Tewksbury Public Schools are also looking for feedback from parents (especially) and students in grades 5 – 12 on the current homework policy, and what changes might be made. Please share your thoughts and suggestions by TODAY. All responses will remain confidential and will be used to inform future revisions. The survey for parents is here, while students can share their thoughts here.

Plus: June 14 is the official last (half) day of school.

Also courtesy of the Apple: The Shawsheen Tech Alumni Association is excited to welcome alumni back on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 9 to 11 a.m. for a celebration of the school’s 50th Anniversary. All graduates are welcome to come back to the school and be treated to a traditional Shawsheen breakfast, tour the building, take pictures and hopefully reunite with classmates and retired teachers. Alumni are encouraged to bring their children to this open house style event and show off their high school to the next generation of Rams. Tickets are only $10 and all proceeds will go directly to alumni scholarships. Click HERE for tickets.

Eclipse Glasses Donation
You can drop off your eclipse glasses at the East St. Farm Stand through Sunday and Farmer Dave’s will package them up for school-aged children in South America to enjoy at the upcoming eclipse. Other options:

Donate them directly to Astronomers Without Borders or Eclipse Glasses USA, organizations that ship free glasses to teachers, students and astronomy enthusiasts in countries that are about to experience an eclipse. You can drop off undamaged eclipse glasses at a Warby Parker store until April 30 and they’ll get them to Astronomers Without Borders. Or mail them to Eclipse Glasses USA. Full instructions are here.

Warrants Available
The Annual Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting warrants are now available. We’ll be doing profiles of various articles as we get closer to May 6 and 8, but for now, mark your calendars. Not sure how Town Meeting works? Check out this video explainer from Town Clerk Denise Graffeo. You can also watch previous Town Meetings on Tewksbury TV to get a feel for the process.

Sticks and Leaves
Small-branch pick-up will take place April 16 to April 19.  Please remember to place bundled small branches curbside by 7 a.m. on Monday.  Yard waste pickup starts April 22 and runs through June. Again, waste should be curbside by 7:00 a.m. on Monday. 

Healthy Tewksbury News
On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Tewksbury Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will help prevent pill abuse and theft by accepting expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to TPD headquarters; the service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue because studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, flushing medicines down the toilet or throwing them in the trash pose potential safety and health hazards.

Residents are asked to remove pills from the prescription bottles and seal them in a plastic “Ziploc” type bag before arriving at Police Headquarters. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original containers. Please ensure the cap is tightly sealed to prevent leakage. No sharps; that’s a separate program.

Did you know that auto-injectable diabetes and weight-loss drug pens as well as epi-pens are considered sharps? They are, per the town’s Public Health Nurse, Ashley Pavlakos, who says these devices need to be disposed of appropriately. Fortunately the town used some of its Opioid Settlement funds to launch a take-back program, where residents can dispose of used needles and other sharps for no charge. Two specialized containers are now available at Town Hall and the Senior Center.

And, the Tewksbury Senior Center Health Fair has been rescheduled for June 7. See more info on both topics below.