The Town of Wake Forest’s annual loose leaf collection program is underway and will continue through mid-March. When preparing leaves for collections, residents are urged to adhere to the following guidelines: Rake leaves into piles behind the curb so they do not interfere with traffic or drainage. Do not mix sticks, rocks, pine cones, limbs or other debris with loose leaves. The town’s vacuum equipment is only designed to pick up loose leaves. Your cooperation will help prevent mechanical breakdowns and collection delays. Place limbs and brush behind the curb in a pile separate from leaves. Limbs and brush larger than one inch but smaller than six inches in diameter must be no longer than six feet. Limbs and logs larger than six inches in diameter must not exceed two feet in length. Logs must not exceed 10 inches in diameter. Keep brush away from other objects such as, fences, walls,

On the first Monday in October the Town of Wake Forest will join with several local veterans’ organizations to introduce a monthly observance honoring the sacrifices of deceased Wake Forest veterans and their families. On Monday, Oct. 6, at 11 a.m. the town will partner with American Legion Post 187, VFW Post 8466, the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation and Marine Corps League 1257 to honor Walter “Ervin” Cole during the 1st Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony. The public is invited to attend the service in Centennial Plaza, located in front of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Cole served his nation in the U.S. Army in World War II, and – in later years – American Legion Post 187 was named in his honor. Several members of Cole’s family are expected to participate in the ceremony which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath

There will be a public flu shot clinic on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Wake County North Regional Center on East Holding Avenue. The cost is $30. There is no charge for uninsured pregnant women and children who qualify for the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) or for county staff who present their badge. If you cannot make it to this clinic, the NRC will be holding weekly clinics with flu shots by appointment only. Call 919-562-6300 to make an appointment.

The Wake Forest Historical Association will again present raconteur Ryan Keith and his collection of Wake Forest’s most hair-raising, back-of-the-neck tingling ghost stories on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Wake Forest Historical Museum on North Main Street. The free program will be from 3 to 5 p.m., and it will begin promptly at 3. If you plan to attend, please make sure to arrive well in advance to get a seat. Late arrivals will disturb and spoil the spell as early arrivers follow the plot of a story. Be polite and make sure to get there on time. There will be refreshments after the program provided by the association’s board members. Parking is available in back, at the sides and in front of the museum along North Main Street.

There were no pictures, no displays, but the words were enough Sunday afternoon as five men recalled how they fought and suffered on Guadalcanal, in Egypt and Burma, in Europe and Iwo Jima. The auditorium at the Wake Forest Historical Museum was filled with people who had sent family members to those far-flung places and others all over the globe to fight Germany, Japan and Italy. Willis Winston, 92, a marine, said they were fighting not just Japanese soldiers on Guadalcanal but “flies, mosquitoes and malaria. Any broken skin would get infected.” There was shelling every night, Japanese bombers coming every day at noon. The marines began to run low on ammunition, gasoline and food that August in 1941. “By October 13th, there was real fear the Japanese would come in and take the island” and they did in November. Then the U.S. Navy saved the 20,000 men, though Winston