As Thanksgiving approaches next week, the director of the Loaves & Fishes Pantry on Devens is giving thanks for the many local groups that have "stepped up to the plate" to help feed needy families this holiday season.

Two weeks after being approved to do so by voters, Ayer official purchased the deed for a 5.5-acre parcel of land on Oak Ridge Drive was conveyed of record from the Tooker Family on Nov.

A total of 431 runners participated in last year's Ayer Fire Department's 5th Annual Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race.

"Today is our day. We are alive," said Harvard Veterans Services Agent Dennis Lyddy at Veterans Day ceremonies in the Hapgood Memorial Library.

Historical Society meeting and pot luck supper: The "Shirley Apple Orchards" display will open following the Historical Society's annual meeting and potluck supper.

The 11th annual Veterans Day assembly at Ayer High School was a unique mix of old and new, with two students unveiling a new documentary and adults honoring a departed colleague.

Luckily no one was injured when a fluky accident Sunday morning occurred off Route 2A in Ayer.

"This should be done by 2033," said Ayer Selectman Gary Luca half-jokingly. He was referring to reaching a tri-town consensus on whether to facilitate or block Devens' enrollment in the state mosquito-spray program.

Each of the last four years, the Shirley Republican Town Committee organizes Operation Cookie Drop and this year will be the same.

"I didn't do very well," said Kyle Quinn, a 21-year old Fitchburg State Senior from Ashburnham.

Whether you are a town employee or a contractor, you may no longer be able to light up a cigarette behind the wheel while on the job come January.

Before the snow flies, a drive is underway to gather items for needy local families.

Trick or treating: 6-8 p.m., per Ayer Police Department. Town Halloween Celebration: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at various downtown establishments.

Eight survivors rounded the Columbia Avenue corner of Town Hall and trudged down Main Street.

It's a task so unwieldy that the Joint Boards of Selectmen for Ayer, Harvard and Shirley decided to outsource the job to the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission .