Woman seeking alternate route during Rogers bridge closing When a local businesswoman thinks about the reconstruction of the Rogers Road bridge and the widening of the Road between the bridge and the Heritage Lake Road/Forestville Road intersection in the spring and summer of next year, she thinks about the dangers school buses, carpool parents, students and other drivers could face on the detour using Heritage Lake Road, the N.C. 98 bypass and South Main Street. “What the detour is going to be is scary, is frightening,” Susan Calloway said this week, and she is trying to lessen those dangers by arranging for an alternate route near the bridge. And though people tell her how glad they are to see her working on this and 640 people have signed her petition to the Wake Forest mayor and board of commissioners, state Sen. Chad Barefoot, Department of Transportation Division 5 Engineer Joey

There is good news for all drivers who find themselves waiting through one or two traffic signal changes at the South Main Street-Capital Boulevard intersection. At times the line of vehicles waiting to cross Capital and get to Falls of Neuse Road backs up to the Wal-mart entrance. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has hired Browe Construction of Clayton to add a new lane on South Main Street, widening the road a bit and incorporating the short right-turn lane into the new second lane for the vehicles crossing Capital. “This will allow [South] Main Street to continue across Capital Boulevard,”Ben Upshaw, a construction engineer with DOT’s Division 5, said. The initial work, which was slated to begin last week, will have utility companies – electric lines, cable, etc. – moving their lines to make room for the widening. During construction of the new lane there will be some lane

When Braxton Perry was honored last week, retiring from the Town of Wake Forest after 39 years of service, the Gazette asked Human Resources Director Virginia Jones if anyone had served longer. Yes, she said, George Massenburg who was a town employee for 43 years. He retired in April 1975, which means he was hired in 1932 – and he would have thought himself lucky to have a job because so many people were out of work, the two local banks had failed, and people were losing their homes because they could not pay the mortgages. He probably began as a laborer on the streets and other projects, and he would never have been paid at the same rate as any white employees. He probably had been transferred to a different town department before 1941 when we know that the three laborers were paid differently. Moses Massenburg, who was taking

There are only a few days left to nominate an adult or a youth for recognition as this year’s Good Neighbors. The Wake Forest Human Relations Council (HRC) is soliciting youth and adult nominations for the sixth annual Good Neighbor of the Year Award through Monday, Aug. 31. The award is designed to recognize Wake Forest residents who work to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods without seeking or receiving recognition for their service. Nominees are sought in two divisions: adult and youth between the ages of 13 and 18. In order to qualify a nominee must be a Town of Wake Forest resident who has made a significant contribution to the community between Sept. 1, 2014, and Aug. 31, 2015. Employees of the Town of Wake Forest are not eligible. Nomination forms are available at the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 Brooks Street, and on the town’s website at