Tryon subdivision on planning agenda

Members of the Wake Forest Planning Board will be faced with a rezoning request for a major subdivision Tuesday night, June 3. Tryon WF LLC of Knightdale wants a rezoning from Wake County’s R-30 and R-80W to conditional use GR 10 for 279 single-family lots and 136 townhouse lots on 131.49 acres south of Oak Grove Church Road. The land, currently five lots served by a dirt street, Copper Beech Lane, is immediately west of the King’s Glen subdivision now being constructed. The current land owners – Virginia and Mark Byckowski, Michael and Connie Flynn, Roddy Norvoroli, Debbie Grissom and Margaret Williams – have petitioned for annexation, but the public hearing on that question was delayed at the town board’s May 20 meeting for action, maybe, at the June 17 meeting because of the pending subdivision request. The northwestern portion of the land, 7.92 acres, is in the watershed for

Read More »

Tata: Capital Blvd. update to begin in 2021

Tuesday Transportation Secretary Tony Tata spoke at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Chamber lunch meeting and said purchase of the right-of-way to begin transforming Capital Boulevard into a limited-access freeway would begin in 2021. “I would consider it one of the top projects that needs to be done,” Tata said. Earlier he had half-jokingly said Division 5 Engineer Wally Bowman had arranged to make every stoplight on Capital turn red as he drove from Raleigh to Wake Forest to highlight the need for improvements on the highway. The Department of Transportation is planning to rebuild Capital in three stages: first from I-540 north to the Durant Road-Perry Creek Road intersection, second up to Burlington Mills Road and finally to the South Main Street-Falls of the Neuse intersection. There will be frontage and backage roads for local travel and grade separations at major intersections with Capital

Read More »

Police urge caution after greenway assault

Wake Forest Police are urging greenway users to be cautious following a reported sexual assault involving a juvenile along a local nature trail. Monday, May 26, at approximately 3:30 p.m., police responded to a call of an alleged sexual assault along the Sanford Creek Greenway. The victim, a 14-year-old male, told police he was walking along the greenway when he was approached by an unknown male. Following a brief conversation, the victim told police he was forced into the woods and assaulted. The suspect is described as a white male in his teens or early 20s with patchy dark facial hair, standing 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 160-170 pounds. He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans and light-colored tennis shoes. Anyone with information that might assist the ongoing investigation of this incident is encouraged to call the Wake Forest Police Department Tip Line at

Read More »

Holding Park Pool has a whole new look

The Town of Wake Forest has just completed a $750,000 renovation of the Holding Park Pool, which will be open on weekends until June 14, when it opens for the summer season. The pool itself has had a new coat of paint and several leaks were repaired. There is a new epoxy floor on the pool deck, which will reduce the chance of people sliding while it also extends the life of the deck. There are new tiles and depth markers, a new diving board and slide and ADA compliant steps. Swimmers will not see the new pumps and filters which replaced aging equipment. The most extensive part of the renewal project involves the complete renovation of the swimming pool locker rooms. Refurbishments include the installation of new lockers, tile flooring, ceiling tiles and LED lighting, along with new stalls, showers and water-saving fixtures, as well as a fresh coat

Read More »

Some history: Golf Pond predated the pool

Before the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built the Wake Forest Community House and the Holding Park Pool, the white children in town and the college students swam, tanned and socialized at the Golf Pond near Sunset Rock on the Paschal Golf Course, though it was then just called the college golf course. The nine-hole golf course was built shortly after the college purchased the 155-acre Walters tract in 1915. When Durham Road was built in 1930, some of the greens were in its right-of-way and they were relocated onto land loaned by Dr. G.W. Paschal, who wrote the three-volume “History of Wake Forest College: 1834-1943.” Bynum Shaw wrote Volume IV, which covered 1943 through 1967. “The swimming pool was built about the year 1925 at the head of a small stream in the extreme western part of the (golf course) tract, Dr. Paschal wrote. “Though not ideally constructed it was

Read More »

Sign up to help with water safety

The YMCA “Splash Week” June 2 through 6 at Holding Park Pool is a free water safety program to help people of all ages who have little or no experience learn basic swimming skills and water safety practices. More than 40 volunteers are needed each night for this five-day program which runs from 5 to 8 p.m. each night. Volunteers must be 16 or older. The Wake Forest Boys and Girls Club will provide free childcare for the children of volunteers, but all the children must be potty trained. To volunteer and learn more, go to www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E084CA5A72FA13-ymca. YMCA “Splash Week” is a way for children and adults to learn water safety and swimming skills which helps them to be safe in and around the water. This builds self-confidence and self-esteem which carries over to other parts of life. The program is free and is made possible by the Kerr Family

Read More »

Tennis courts to be resurfaced

Beginning Monday, June 2, the tennis courts at Flaherty Park will be closed for resurfacing and repair. The courts are located at 1226 North White Street. The town has contracted with Court One to perform the work which will include the following: * Cleaning and scraping of the courts of all dirt, debris, foreign matter and loose material * Removal of grass and weeds * Sealing cracks * Application of acrylic resurfacer and a finish coat of Laykold Colorcoat * Refurbishing the net posts As part of an ongoing effort to upgrade its existing facilities, the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will also add eight pickleball courts on two of the tennis courts. Weather permitting the courts will re-open in mid-June. The total cost of the project is $15,064. Funded is provided through the town’s Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). The CIP is a five-year plan identifying the town’s

Read More »

Third broadband meeting Thursday

The Wake Forest Broadband Task Force will host the last of three public meetings on Thursday, May 29, at 6 p.m. about the effort to bring high speed broadband Internet service to Wake Forest. All of the sessions are held at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. Currently there is only one company working on the installation, RST Fiber, but last week Commissioner Zachary Donahue, a task force member, said there is another company interested. That is CenturyLink, which provides internet and telephone systems to a large number of town residents. No one at CenturyLink has responded to talk about their plans for ultra high speed fiber connections. The information series is designed to educate residents about the current installation of an ultra high speed fiber network throughout Wake Forest. Discussions at each meeting will cover a range of topics, including the benefits and potential cost of

Read More »

Brief Bits

There will be a special Memorial Day celebration Friday, May 30, at the Northern Wake Senior Center on East Holding Avenue. At 10 a.m. the Ladies of Valor will present six quilts to three veterans from World War II and three veterans from the Korean War. There will be entertainment and refreshments. * * * * The Wake Forest Rotary Club is selling tickets to a special benefit concert at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at Wake Forest Baptist Church which will benefit the Tri-Area Ministries Food Pantry. Tickets are $15, $12 for students and seniors. The concert will feature harpist Jasmine Hogan, an international prize-winning harpist who has won acclaim worldwide as a soloist and performer with orchestras, opera companies and chamber musicians. She was a Rotary Ambassador Scholar to China and won a U.S. Fulbright Award for Chinese music. See a Wake Forest Rotary Club member for tickets

Read More »

Go to the market for variety

Spring has sprung all over and we are on the cusp of summer when all the bounty, all the variety pours into the Wake Forest Farmers Market. There are still lots of the spring greens like lettuce, kale, swiss chard, bok choy and spinach along with spring scallions, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, broccoli and asparagus. (You might want to come early for those last two because they disappear fast. Early is 8 a.m. when the market opens in the parking lot behind CVS along North White Street. It ends at noon. Come and find wonderful sweet and saucy baked goods, eggs in different colors and sizes – chicken, duck and quail – lots of beef, pork, rabbit, lamb and goat meat. You can buy honey, locally-roasted coffee, fresh-cut flowers, bedding plants, herbs to buy and plant, cheeses, fresh marinara sauces and pastas, sweet strawberries, honey, and grape tomatoes. The local chapter

Read More »