Celebrating the WF High Cougars

They won the big one – and now the Wake Forest community wants to honor the Wake Forest High football team and its coaches with a big celebration. What will it be? When? Where? Those questions will be decided by a committee Mayor Vivian Jones announced Tuesday night, and those people will be guided by suggestions from area residents. You can make suggestions about the celebration by going to the town’s website, www.wakeforestnc.gov, and choosing Contact Us at the top of the opening page. Your message will go directly to Bill Crabtree, the communications and public affairs director who will also chair the celebration committee. The other members are Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce President Ann Welton, Mary Petretich with Wake Forest Arts, Downtown Director Lisa Hayes, Joe Kimray, Cindy Joyner, Stacey Bagley, Jill Bright and Wake Forest Commissioner Jim Thompson. No date has been set as yet and

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Town using grants to remove dam

Without comment, the Wake Forest Commissioners agreed to accept a grant Tuesday night that is essential to the town’s plan to remove an old dam on the Ailey Young Park property. This grant from the state Department of Environmental Quality’s 319 Program for $265,455 is 61 percent of the estimated construction costs to remove the dam, fully restore the unnamed stream, add natural plantings and educational signs for environmental education in the future. The town already has a North Carolina Department of Justice grant of $193,650 for the design of the project and is applying for and anticipating approval of a $173,000 grant from the state DEQ’s Water Resources Development office. That will complete the funding needed, $693,105. The request Tuesday noted: “Staff anticipates zero dollars from Town of Wake Forest general funding for this project, minus staff in-kind time.” The project is called the Ailey Young Park Dam Removal,

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Grant to help renovate the Renaissance Center

The first phase of a nearly $1 million renovation project at the Wake Forest Renaissance Center will begin tomorrow, Dec. 22. Because of the work, the center and is art annex will be closed through January. A second round of renovations will be done next year. The project will increase the center’s accessibility, technology and functionality while creating spaces in the art annex for interdisciplinary learning. The renovation project was made possible in large part because of a $343,530 matching grant the town received in November from the Wake Board of Commissioners. Wake Forest was one of seven Wake County towns and organizations selected by county commissioners to receive $3.35 million for projects that promote recreation or the arts. The funding came from Wake’s food and hotel-occupancy tax revenues which county leaders award periodically to projects designed to boost local tourism. “By awarding us this grant, the Wake County Commissioners

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No fix yet for PO woes

Because of email issues and other problems on the Gazette editor’s side, there is little to report this week about any official inquiry into the problems at the Wake Forest Post Office. However, there is hope that Sen. Thom Tillis’ Raleigh office will be able to help soon. Mail delivery remains late for many and the complaints continue. There was one happy ending this week. Last week the Gazette talked about a couple expecting a big package from Best Buy, the big present for their son. They tracked the package and knew it was out for delivery but then it was reported as undeliverable. Since they have a single-family house in Heritage where they have had package deliveries, they were stunned. There was no help when they called the post office, but when the mother went to the post office and asked a clerk to find the package she was

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Coming soon: New subdivisions, buildings

Two subdivisions, a Duke Health Primary Care building and a community-cultural events center were reviewed by the Wake Forest Planning Department’s Technical Review Committee in mid-November. Bridgeport subdivision is planned for 144 single-family lots – 408 new residents – on 48.44 acres on Forestville Road south of Rogers Branch Road. The identifying numbers for the land, seven in all, were either incorrect or there is a bug in Wake County’s system because the Gazette never could find the right properties and owners. The committee reviewed the subdivision master plan. Waterstone Village will have 112 single-family lots – 317 new residents – on 42.1 acres on Pine View Drive in Franklin County. Again there were problems with the identifying numbers. The committee reviewed the subdivision master plan. Duke University Health System owns two lots totaling 5.59 acres on the south side of Rogers Road between Grandmark Street and the CSX rail

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Town launches open data portal

The Town of Wake Forest has launched an Open Data Portal on its website called Open Government. The open data initiative is part of the town’s ongoing effort to use and share data in order to make government more transparent and effective. The portal, which is accessible from the Government drop-down menu on the town’s website, currently includes data from public safety, parks and recreation, public works, and finance, as well as information related to transportation. Town staff will continue to gather information for release to the Open Government portal as an ongoing process. According to Town Manager Kip Padgett, the portal is designed to make data more easily accessible, thereby encouraging residents to become more familiar with how their government is performing. “Wake Forest has a proud tradition of open government and transparent decision-making,” Padgett said. “Now – as a next step – we’re utilizing and sharing data as

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Wake Forest ranked very safe

Wake Forest is one of the safest cities in North Carolina, according to a study by ValuePenguin, a financial education website. After analyzing the most recent FBI Crime Report data to determine the safest places in North Carolina, ValuePenguin ranked Wake Forest sixth among cities with populations greater than 25,000 and 25th overall. “We are extremely pleased to learn of the ValuePenguin findings,” Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard said. “One of the primary objectives of our strategic plan is to enhance the sense of safety in Wake Forest. Our high ranking suggests our residents have good reason to feel safe. That’s a testament to not only our policing efforts but also to the cooperation of our residents and their commitment to a safe community.” The 10 North Carolina towns with a population over 25,000 ranked safest were Holly Springs, Apex, Cary, Cornelius, Huntersville, Wake Forest, Kannapolis, Chapel Hill, Matthews

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BBQ Dec. 30 for Carolina Five-0

The Carolina Five-0 softball team, a team of local senior men – 50 and older – that has won local and national events in its five years, needs to raise money for its travel and efforts in 2017. David Wheeler, the owner of County Line Auto Service on Capital Boulevard just north of the Wake-Franklin county line, will host a BBQ chicken and Brunswick stew lunch for the team starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 30. Among the team’s accomplishments, it placed fourth in the world in Las Vegas in 2015 out of 600-plus teams. Greg Bonner of Raleigh is the manager, and the team members are Brooks Holmes of Louisburg, Drew Pearson of Garner, Donnie Bailey of Creedmoor, Scott Carter of Mebane, David Poole of Rockingham, Mike Ripberger of Apex, Jeff Lester of Wake Forest, Joe Osterhoudt of Raleigh, Jay Shotwell of Fayetteville, Everett Graham of Garner, Greg

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‘Agnes of God’ offered in February

Forest Moon Theater will present “Agnes of God” at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts Feb. 10-12 and 18-19. Friday and Saturday show times are 7:30 p.m.; Sunday show times are 3 p.m. When a newborn child is found dead in a convent, a court psychiatrist must determine whether the nun accused of the crime is mentally fit to stand trial, with the question of the father’s identity hanging in the balance. Advance tickets are $15 plus tax for adults and $13 plus tax for students and seniors. These prices reflect a savings of $3 per adult and student/senior “day of” admission tickets. The Renaissance Centre is located at 405 S. Brooks St. in the heart of downtown Wake Forest. For more information, visit www.wakeforestrencen.org or call the Renaissance Centre Box Office at 919-435-9458.    

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Senior Center this week

Northern Wake Senior Center will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, and Monday, Dec. 26, for the Christmas holiday. There will be a New Year’s Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 10 a.m. with entertainment and refreshments. Merry Christmas to all and wishes for a wonderful New Year. Stay warm and watch out for ice. There are two new interest groups at the center, a drama group which meets Fridays from 3 to 5 p.m. and a contract rummy and golf card games which meets Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. Also there is a new support group for Parkinson’s disease, which meets at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. This is sponsored by the senior center (Resources for Seniors) and the Northern Regional Center across the street. The next meeting is Dec. 7 and it will be at the regional center. The caregiver and grief support group hosted by

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