“Birds can’t talk, but they are sending an urgent message,” says Lena Gallitano, a local, state, and National Audubon Society leader.  “Our planet needs help.” To emphasize this message more clearly, Gallitano will lead a community workshop, “Creation Care: A Bird’s Perspective,” at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 9:30 to12 noon in the fellowship hall. The program will include a talk on the future status of birds while exploring Audubon North Carolina conservation initiatives to create bird-friendly communities throughout the state. Participants will develop personal Creation Care “action plans” that will help each individual make a difference, not only for birds but for the world as well. “Whether you come to this project as a nature lover, a concerned citizen, or someone who wants to leave a better world for your children and grandchildren, it will take all of us acting together to secure a better

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

Once again the Wake Forest Rotary Club and the Wake Forest High School Band Boosters are teaming up to keep you roaring with laughter during A Night of Comedy on Saturday, Feb. 27. From 6:30 to 10:30 at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, they will provide comedians – will WRAL-TV’s Greg Fischel be back as emcee? – live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, raffles and a silent auction. It is of course designed to separate you from some of your money, money they two organizations will split to help run their charities and events. The entertainment is the honey, and it is a great way to spend a cold Saturday night. Tickets are $30 each, but only 250 are available so act quickly. You will find all that information at www.wakeforestcomedynight.com.

Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard has been named the 2016 North Carolina D.A.R.E. Officers’ Association Glen Mowery Executive of the Year. The honor is a tribute to Mowery, a retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg Deputy Police Chief who started the D.A.R.E. program in Charlotte. The award was presented to Chief Leonard at the 25th Annual N.C. D.A.R.E. Officers’ Association (NCDOA) training conference in Atlantic Beach on Jan. 14. Leonard received the award due to his longstanding support for the D.A.R.E. program in Wake Forest and across the state. Also during the NCDOA Conference, Officer Scott Graham was sworn in as NCDOA president for 2016. A Wake Forest Police Officer since 2005, Graham has taught and graduated over 1,500 elementary school students during his tenure as a D.A.R.E. instructor in Wake Forest-area schools. As a D.A.R.E. mentor, he also trains other police officers to become D.A.R.E. instructors. Since 2010 he has assisted in the training of over

Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina is now accepting applications for the Spring 2016 BBB Torch Scholarships, which recognize students who personify high ethical standards as demonstrated through leadership, community service, overall personal integrity, and academic history. Torch Scholarships are given to college-bound high school juniors, seniors, and college undergraduates who reside or attend school within BBB of Eastern North Carolina’s 33-county service area. Scholarship prizes totaling $12,000 will be awarded. Spring 2016 Torch Scholarship Awards: $1,000 Raleigh Heating and Air BBB Torch Scholarship $1,000 Student of Trust BBB Torch Scholarship $1,000 Student of Trust BBB Torch Scholarship $1,000 Student of Trust BBB Torch Scholarship $3,000 Student of Character BBB Torch Scholarship $5,000 Student of Ethics BBB Torch Scholarship To be eligible, students must submit essay of 1,000 words or less, along with an application, transcript and a letter of recommendation from a BBB Accredited Business. Completed application packets

The Town of Wake Forest is again recruiting friendly, outgoing volunteers to greet and help direct customers visiting town hall. In November 2010 Wake Forest introduced the Guest Services Desk in the lobby of town hall. Open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., the counter is managed by volunteers who greet visitors in person and on the telephone, help direct them to their destination and perform other responsibilities as needed. About 20 area residents currently participate in the Guest Services Volunteer program. Most are recent retirees and senior adults looking for opportunities to give back to their community. Guest services volunteers are expected to work at least two three-hour shifts per month. Volunteers must also participate in mandatory training where they will learn about guest services desk responsibilities, participate in a brief tour of town hall, and complete and submit a background check form. Guest services volunteer

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

If you have been a subscriber to The Wake Forest Gazette and now find you are not receiving weekly notices that the new issue is on line, the problem lies in the software for the paper’s email service, Mailchimp. If a subscriber’s inbasket is full or if there are other reasons why the email would not accept the Gazette notice, it will be listed as bumped. If that condition continues, Mailchimp will list that subscriber as unsubscribed and stop sending notices. To remedy the situation, if you want to receive the weekly notices, please re-subscribe by going to www.wakeforestgazette.com, find “Subscribe” on the first page and enter your information.  

*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 Farmers Market will return to Renaissance Plaza on Saturday, Jan. 23, with its usual winter hours, 10 a.m. to noon. *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 the Ailey Young House. *The Northern Wake Relay for Life will kick off the 2016 relay Tuesday, Jan. 26, beginning at