Wake Forest’s historic district along South White Street will be humming Friday night, July 10,  for the monthly art walk, Art After Hours. It lasts from 5 to 9 p.m. with free horse and carriage rides available at the Depot Parking Lot and usually lots of music on and near the street. Owner Beth Massey will welcome four local artists to Wake Forest Art & Frame – herself, Jamie Miller, Rose Welty and Bonnie J. Becker – for an exhibit illustrating how various artists reflect on nature with approaches from abstract to realism, watercolor to mixed media. The reception with refreshments will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Massey is also announcing new store hours, opening at10 a.m. Monday through Saturday and closing at 6 p.m. except for Friday, when closing will be at 7 p.m., and Saturday when closing will be at 5 p.m. Renee St. Hilaire will be

Mayor Vivian Jones and the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners are inviting area residents to meet the new town manager, Kip Padgett, during a July 21 reception. The occasion is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the second floor lobby of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Padgett began his new duties Monday. He succeeds longtime manager Mark Williams who retired in April. Light refreshments will be served, and the reception is open to the public. Following the reception the board of commissioners will hold its regular monthly meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

Sgt. Kyle Snyder, who served in Afghanistan with the 514th Military Police Company, is the keynote speaker for the seventh annual Wake Forest Purple Heart Dinner on Saturday, Aug. 8, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. Hosted by the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, the dinner invites the public to help honor those wounded in battle. In addition to Purple Heart Medal recipients and their families, the dinner is open to all veterans, military families and the public. On Oct. 1, 2012, Snyder’s squad was approached by a suicide bomber who detonated his vest, killing three U.S. soldiers and 16 Afghans and injuring many more, including Snyder. He spent 13 months in rehabilitation. Snyder now works to help other wounded soldiers and their families get the help they need. Snyder received numerous decorations during his military career, including the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal and the

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services announced recently that Wake and Franklin counties have been added to the list of counties under an emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine after ash borers were confirmed in both counties. Quarantine rules restrict the movement of hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock and other ash materials. The emerald ash borer is responsible for the death of millions of ash trees across the country. First detected in Michigan, the pest has spread to North Carolina threatening all species of ash including white, green, black, blue, Carolina and pumpkin. The half-inch-long insect kills ash trees of all sizes whether they are healthy or weak. Humans have unwittingly spread the pest to other regions by moving firewood that contains EAB larvae. Eggs are laid beneath the bark and larvae are hard to detect. Through a “Don’t Move Firewood” campaign, forestry experts remind citizens that it

Concern about drought locally eased in the last week with frequent thunderstorms and showers. As a result, all of Wake County except a slice along the northern edge – Wake Forest and maybe Rolesville – is in white. The yellow slice on the northern side, which goes north to include all of Franklin County, indicates we are abnormally dry. I think that is probably abnormally dry in spots where the thunderstorms did not hit. However, the moderate drought continues from Charlotte up to the Triad. Keep track yourself at http://www.ncwater.org/Drought_Monitoring/. * * * * Four new members were recently elected to the Koinonia Foundation board of directors: Randy Ball, Ruth Ann Dyer, Denise Munz and Dr. Bill Slater. They will serve three-year terms. “We are delighted to have these new members and look forward to their participation and leadership as we continue to move forward with the Koinonia Foundation and