Ashland override fails

Voters in Ashland turned down a $496,000 Proposition 2 1/2 override Tuesday by a 49-vote margin. Residents cast 2,171 votes against the override and 2,122 in favor of it. The funds were intended to keep libraries open in the Mindess, Pittaway, Warren,and Middle schools; prevent dramatic school bus-fee increases; and soften the blow of athletic-program fee hikes. There was 42.7 percent voter turnout, according to Town Clerk Tara Ward.

-- Rachel Lebeaux