Town on solid ground

Mayor finds much to praise about 2015 Despite the ice on vehicles and roads, there was a full house at the Renaissance Centre Monday night for the eighth State of the Town dinner and address hosted by the Wake Forest Rotary Club. New chamber of commerce President Ann Welton was the master of ceremonies, and the Capital Christian Homeschool Band entertained before and during dinner. Calling 2015 “another great year in our history,” Mayor Vivian Jones began by praising Town Manager Kip Padgett who took office in July. “I believe he has been impressed by the experience and dedication of our town employees and by the involvement of our citizens in making this a great community. . . “We are excited about the possibilities ahead under his leadership.” Next Jones said the sale of the town’s power generation assets to Duke Progress Energy was a highlight of the year. Owning

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No action a surprise

The only surprise during Tuesday’s town board meeting was the lack of action on what was supposed to be the settlement of a suit brought against the town by downtown real estate owner Bob Johnson, who says he has deeds to the land under what the town contends is an extension of East Owen Avenue. The matter, which has been pending for close to two years, was to go to trial Feb. 1. Instead, attorney Charles George with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, said in an email on Feb. 10 that the trial did not go forward because there was “a potential resolution that requires Board approval. We’ve not finalized the specifics yet to present to the Board, but we would expect it to be resolved soon.” The resolution was listed at first on the board’s agenda for Tuesday, but by 7 p.m. it was off the agenda and listed

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Accounting? Full fix?

It appears that there will be no investigation or accounting for the multiple leaks in the Wake Forest Town Hall and most officials are leaning toward fixing the current problems without going forward with a full examination of the building which would mean removing the entire façade. The Wake Forest Weekly and the Wake Forest Gazette have been cooperating in examining what should be done since the Jan. 29 board retreat when an expert, called in because leaks have been continuing since the half-million-dollar repairs for leaks in the winter of 2013-2014. That expert, Steven J. Walker with Terracon Consultants, said the first round of repairs just forced rain into other areas and characterized the construction as “terrible” and “one of the worst we’ve seen from a waterproofing standpoint and a construction standpoint.” He estimates it will cost $150,000 to $200,000 to repair the current leaks but said it would

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Brief Bits

The new town clock was installed on the west side of South White Street where the block of buildings including The Cotton Company ends at the extension of Owen Avenue and B&W Hardware. The clock is the result of an ad hoc committee formed of people, led by Mike Johnson, who wanted to donate or help erect something in downtown. Some of the other members were Downtown Development Director Lisa Hayes and Ed Morris, director of the Wake Forest Historical Museum. The town board began discussing it late in 2015 and it came up at the town board retreat on Jan. 29. The town, which has $126,548.96 in unspent South White Streetscape funds, is apparently ready to pay half the cost of the clock, $12,865, and reportedly an unidentified person is paying the other half. See the article “Padgett proposes big road fix” in the Feb. 3 issue of the

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Letter: REAL ID a real risk

To the editor and members of the N.C. Legislature: Are y’all familiar with legislation passed and signed into law in 2005, referred to as REAL ID? If not, y’all should look it up. I will assume every one of you knows about it. But the rest or us don’t, and I just found out about it from a recent article in The News & Observer. If you are not familiar with it, let me explain: Essentially it will require all of the driving citizens of these United States to provide for digital imaging of a photo ID, birth certificate, Social Security card and documentation (proof) of principal/legal address. This information will be stored (security?) on each state’s DMV database and will be linked to all 50 states and multiple territories (and Canada?). So, once hacked into, all is available to steal IDs. The implementation process has been dragged out, giving

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REAL ID Qs and As

This series of questions and answers was taken from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website. Q: What is REAL ID? Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards. States have made considerable progress in meeting this key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and every state has a more secure driver’s license today than before the passage of the Act. Q: What do I need to do if I am visiting a federal facility or a military base? Starting October 10, 2015, visitors seeking access to military bases and almost all Federal facilities

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Help the Lions help others

You are invited to eat at Milton’s Pizza and Pasta on Tuesday night, Feb. 23, from 5 to 9 p.m. and mention to your server that you are supporting the Wake Forest Lions Club. When you do that, 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Lions Club. Milton’s is in the Wakefield Commons shopping center anchored by Marque Cinemas. You can either eat at the restaurant or carry out your order to eat at home. The Wake Forest Lions Club serves people in need in the community.  

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Rally supports cancer survivors

The public is invited to a Relay For Life team rally supporting the American Cancer Society on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at The Factory in Wake Forest. Meeting in The Mill Room, cancer survivors, caregivers and anyone interested in volunteering will learn more about Relay For Life of North Raleigh/Wake Forest and the American Cancer Society’s mission to find a cure. For more details, contact Laura Gurisko at laura.gurisko@cancer.org  or Marty Coward at 919-792-0316.  

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‘Southern Fried Fairytale’ here Feb. 26

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts will present two performances of “Cindabella: A Southern Fried Fairytale Musical” on Friday, Feb. 26. Show times are 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., but a limited number of seats are available for the 11 a.m. performance. Audiences of all ages are invited to enjoy a classic fairytale with a new southern twist. See Cindabella make it to the fish fry with the help of her Fairy Memaw! Watch Prince Beauregard try the bejeweled boot on every pretty prissy in town! Presented by McGee Communications and Entertainment, this new original southern musical comes from the creator/producer of Girls Raised in the South – GRITS: The Musical. For more information, visit http://www.southernfriedfairytales.com/. Tickets are $7 (plus tax) and may be purchased online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/tickets-events.aspx with a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express credit card. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance Centre Box Office

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Enjoy a lot of laughs

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.

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