5 Things You Need to Know Today: Jan. 26

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations

1. Absentee ballots for the presidential primary on March 6 are now available at the . Any registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to absence from the town during the polling hours (7 a.m. to 8 p.m.), physical disability, or religious belief may apply for an absentee ballot and vote at the town clerk's offices. Or, the clerk can mail the forms. Ballots are not allowed to be hand-carried out of the building. A family member can also request an absentee ballot be mailed.

2. An informational meeting on the impact of casinos on MetroWest communities will be held in neighboring Holliston Thursday, organized by the MetroWest Regional Collaborative — a regional planning agency — and the boards of selectmen from Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway and Natick. The public forum is at 7:30 p.m. at Robert Adams Middle School, 323 Woodland St., in Holliston. , and has been stoked by interest from a developer in a Milford location off Interstate 495.

3. A fundraiser for the Milford cheerleaders will be held Friday at the Hoboken Club in Milford. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The dinner begins at 7 p.m. Comedians begin at 8 p.m. Raffles will feature Bruins tickets and a signed Patriots football. The varsity cheerleaders are trying to raise money to defray the cost of a trip to Atlanta for the National Cheerleading competition.

4. Beginning next week, Kohl's will begin accepting applications for the Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program, which provides funds for deserving young volunteers, ages 6 to 18. for more details.

5. A $1,000 scholarship is available for high school seniors and college freshmen who have a parent, a step-parent or a guardian activated overseas in the Massachusetts National Guard or Reserve, since Sept. 11, 2001. a non-profit organization, is now accepting applications. One student from each of the state's 10 congressional districts will be selected from the applications.