Work has begun on the Retreat at Renaissance, the 80-unit townhouse project proposed by Craig Briner and East Elm Partners and approved in the summer of 2013. Five of the townhouses will front on Renaissance Plaza near Over the Falls Deli and will be live/work units. Clearing is nearly complete for the short section of Brooks Street to finally link the street all the way from Roosevelt Avenue to East Holding Avenue. The lack of that short section has been an irritant for years. Back in 1990 Bbel was trying to get town approval for a 60-bed nursing home where Brooks now meets East Holding. Developers had been nibbling away at the northern edge of the Holding farm property then owned by Holding Farms Development Corporation. After a tremendous wrangle about who and when should pay for the street extension, Bbel tired and built the nursing home on Wait Avenue.

Area residents are invited to attend the 9th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony on Monday, Oct. 5, at 11 a.m. The service will honor James R. Weiss who served his nation in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War and will be held in Centennial Plaza, in front of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Members of Weiss’ family have been invited to participate in the ceremony which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying and the ceremonial flag-raising. Following the raising of the American flag, the U.S. Navy service flag will be raised in recognition of the military branch in which Weiss served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout October. Photographs and other remembrances of Weiss will be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the town hall lobby through the end of October. The

The Wake Forest Police Department is accepting monetary donations through Saturday, Nov. 21, as part of its ninth annual Turkey Drive. Cash and checks are accepted and will be used to purchase additional turkeys. Checks should be written to the Wake Forest Police Department. Donations of frozen turkeys may be dropped off at the Wake Forest Police Department, 225 S. Taylor St., on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. until noon. The police department will distribute the turkeys while they last on Monday, Nov. 23, from 9-11 a.m., at the Wake Forest Community House, 133 W. Owen Ave. Anyone wishing to contribute to this year’s Turkey Drive should contact Officer M.W. Sattler at 919-795-7270. Officer Sattler organized the police department’s first Turkey Drive in 2007. Since then, the department has distributed nearly 4,000 turkeys to needy families in our area, including over 700 turkeys last year.

Find out how you can help in the fight against cancer by attending a Relay For Life meeting Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Wake Forest Coffee Company, 156 S. White St., Wake Forest. The American Cancer Society is recruiting volunteers from businesses, schools, families, places of worship, neighborhoods and more to participate in Relay For Life 2016.  Relay teams are committed to finishing the fight against cancer and raise funds to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission. Sign up at www.RelayForLife.org/NorthernWakeNC, or contact co-chair Mary Beth Roberson, 919-730-9847 or marybeth0424@yahoo.com.  

Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones will host a “Royal Princess & Pirate Tea” at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts on Brooks Street All Wake Forest area princesses and pirates ages 3 through 10 are invited to attend dressed in their best royal attire, be it princess or pirate, and accompanied by their parents or fairy guardians. Promising a delightful afternoon of comedy and confections, the “Royal Princess & Pirate Tea” will include a theater production of “Juan Bobo” by Rags to Riches Theatre for Young Audiences. Juan Bobo is a folklore tale from Puerto Rico that is rich in tradition and spans several world cultures. Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children. These prices reflect a savings of $3 per adult and $2 per child’s “day of” admission tickets. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/tickets-events.aspx and