The Wake Forest Town Hall and other administrative offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Police services and garbage and recycling collection schedules will not be affected. However, Wake Forest bus service and yard waste collection will be suspended. Wake Forest bus service, including the Wake Forest-Raleigh Express and the Wake Forest Loop, will not be provided Jan. 18 but will resume its normal schedule Tuesday, Jan. 19. Yard waste will not be collected Jan. 18 but will resume Jan. 19 at 7 a.m. Crews will follow the normal collection schedule beginning with Monday’s route. Collection of the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday routes will occur throughout the remainder of the week until all routes have been completed. Bulk pick-ups will be scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 19. To schedule a bulk pickup, call 919- 435-9570 by 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15.

For people who want to make a difference in the Wake Forest community and learn more about that community, seats on the town’s advisory boards is a wonderful opportunity. This January there are vacancies on four of those boards: the Cemetery Advisory Board, the Cultural Resources Advisory Board, the Recreation Advisory Board and the Urban Forestry Board. All Wake Forest residents and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) are eligible to apply for these openings. Applications may be completed and submitted online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/advisory-boards.aspx. Application forms are also available at the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 Brooks Street. Completed applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29, and may be mailed or delivered to Town Clerk Deeda Harris, Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest, NC 27587 or faxed to 919-435-9419. Applicants will be expected to attend the February meeting of the advisory board to which they

Mayor Vivian Jones will deliver her 2016 State of the Town address on Monday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. during the Eighth Annual State of the Town Address and Dinner. Presented by the Wake Forest Rotary Club, the event will be held at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts, 405 Brooks Street During her remarks, Mayor Jones will highlight the town’s key accomplishments in 2015 and outline the goals Wake Forest will strive towards in 2016. All area residents are invited to attend this special event. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $20 on the day of the event and include a catered meal. Dress for the event is business casual. Tickets can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/state-of-the-town.aspx. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance Centre Box Office with cash, check or credit card. A

The winners of the annual Wake Forest VFW Post 8466 essay Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy contests were treated to an awards night recently as they received medals, certificates and cash for their excellence in writing and oral presentations. Over 65 essays were evaluated for middle school’s Patriot’s Pen contest and 10 essays received scrutiny during the judging for the high school Voice of Democracy. Each program carries as a reward cash prizes and a commemorative medal for display.Receiving the Award for Patriot’s Pen is Ms. Aimee Heroux, sixth grade student at Franklin Academy and Ms. Emery Elsie Miller, a home-schooled 11th grader, received the Voice of Democracy. Presenting the awards to the contest winners were Dave Martin, Committee Chairman, and Dennis Mecum, Post 8466 Commander. Winners advanced to the District level for evaluation.

With Powerball now breaking records for the largest lottery jackpot in history, Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern North Carolina is warning consumers that scammers will be taking advantage of the situation to trick people into thinking they are winners. It is important to know that that the big Powerball winners will be announced on television and online. BBB expects to see scammers reaching out via email, telephone and even snail mail to “inform” secondary winners of smaller prizes. Lottery scams were among the Top Ten Scams of 2015 as reported to BBB Scam Tracker (bbb.org/scamtracker), but with the recent events are expected to become even more prevalent. Typically, targets of a lottery scam are asked to pay “taxes” or other fees upfront before they can claim their big “winnings.” Of course, once they make the payment (or several payments), the big prize never materializes and the scammers are nowhere to

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will return to Renaissance Plaza on Saturday, Jan. 16, with its usual winter hours, 10 a.m. to noon. *The Wake Forest Town Board will hold its monthly business meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19, beginning at 7 p.m. in town hall. *The annual Wake Forest Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration will be held Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church on Friendship Chapel Road. Everyone in the community is invited to the free event and to share in the light supper that will be served from 6 to 7 p.m. *The Wake Forest Historical Association’s annual membership meeting will be held Sunday, Jan. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Wake Forest Historical Museum. A new board member and officers will be elected. Michelle Michael, a senior planner with the Town of Wake Forest, will provide an update about the rehabilitation/renovation of

Paul Benton Wake Forest Paul Benton, 75, of the Lodge of Wake Forest passed away on Monday, January 11, 2015. He was born in Sampson County, the son of the late Lula Pate Benton and Archie Matthews Benton. Paul was an avid golfer and enjoyed all the times he spent at Paschal Golf Course in Wake Forest. A memorial service will be held at 3 o’clock Thursday afternoon in the Chapel of Bright Funeral Home with the Rev. Carl Hunter officiating. Paul is survived by his brothers, Robert C. Benton of Raleigh and Daniel C. Benton of Colorado Springs, Colorado; a special friend; Carol Hart of Franklinton; and numerous nieces and nephews In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the Wounded Warriors Program, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS. 66675. A service of Bright Funeral Home & Cremation Center. (919-556-5811) www.brightfunerals.com    Paul MacEwan Beall Rolesville Paul Mac