Voters Reject Pay As You Throw; Town Meeting Adjourned Until Next Week

Today is Tuesday, April 26. Here are five things you need to know:

Local Meals Tax Approved: At last night's town meeting, Lynnfield voters approved a local option meals tax, which will amount to 0.75 percent at town hall. In urging passage of this proposal, supporters pointed out that many neighboring communities already have their own local meal taxes, and that adding one in Lynnfield would affect more non-town residents when considering the large restaurants on Route 1.

Pay As You Throw Rejected: Voters also rejected the pay as you throw proposal, which was one of several initiatives aimed at closing a $1.5 million budget shortfall.

Town Meeting Part Deux: While the higher-profile items like pay as you throw and the local meals tax were decided, a fair amount of town meeting was still left unresolved on Monday night – specifically in approving the line items of the budget. Voters are asked to return to finish the town meeting business on Monday, May 2 at 7:30.

Prescription Drug Disposal: Individuals who would like to safely get rid of their old prescription drugs can bring them to the on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The effort is being undertaken as part of the federal government's National Take Back Initiative.

Pioneer Sports: On Tuesday, the boys and girls tennis teams are playing at Triton at 3:30. Boys varsity lacrosse plays at Saugus at 4 p.m., while the JV team has a 5:45 p.m. game there. The girls lacrosse players are at home vs. Ipswich, with the varsity and JV teams respectively playing at 3:45 and 5:30 p.m. For baseball, the varsity and JV teams play at home against North Andover, with both games at 3:45 p.m. At that exact same time, the varsity and JV softball teams will be starting their own games at Ipswich High School.

For more activities in the area, visit the Lynnfield Patch events calendar!