Several years ago a number of people reminisced about the restaurants which have, for the most part, come and gone since 1970, after the college left and all the downtown restaurants which catered to them had disappeared. Except Shorty’s. A few people could remember some of the restaurants which have occupied the restaurant venue in the old Barbee building, the massive structure on South White Street between Roosevelt Avenue and Wait Avenue. The first was the Pizza Barn with picnic tables run by Barry Green, and Jean McCamy recalls  it “was darn good pizza while it lasted.” There are fond memories of Kenny Powers’ restaurant in the late 1980s. “Kenny’s Place had the best ribs in ten counties,” Ed Morris wrote, and Beverly Whisnant recalled, “Kenny Powers and his sister had good squash casserole.” Todd and Michelle Skipper operated Burkenstocks there for a time after Kenny Powers left, and then

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Agency in conjunction with the Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization and the North Carolina Department of Transportation will host public workshops about the NC 98 Corridor Study on Thursday, April 12, in Wake County and Monday, April 16, in Durham County. The April 12 meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Wake Forest Historical Museum on North Main Street, Wake Forest. The April 16 meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Durham East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Lane in Durham. The 27-mile N.C. 98 Corridor extends from U.S. 70 in Durham County through Wake County to U.S. 401 in Franklin County. The corridor study will evaluate safety and congestion, planned and existing roads, bicycle/pedestrian facilities and transit uses of N.C. 98. Both meetings will have an informal, open house-style format, so there will not be a formal presentation.

The Wake Forest Police Department has received national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., or CALEA. The accreditation verifies that the department meets the commission’s industry best-practice standards and has attained public safety professional excellence. As part of the voluntary application process, the department had to comply with 189 standards, including development of a comprehensive, well-thought-out uniform set of written directives, a preparedness program in place to address natural or man-made critical incidents and accountability for authority, performance and responsibilities both within the agency and the community. As part of the review process, CALEA conducted a site visit in Wake Forest last December that examined all aspects of the Wake Forest Police Departments policies and procedures, management, operations and support services. The accreditation is good for four years, during which the department must submit annual reports to show continued compliance with the standards under which

This week one of the items in the Gazette mailbox was an announcement that two new businesses, Unwined on White and Tonic, will open soon on South White Street. Tonic will be a bar and social club, membership apparently required to sip the mixed drinks. And Unwined on White will be a wine lounge and yoga studio with a rooftop bar area. Tonic is being outfitted next to the Wake Forest Coffee Company and Unwined will occupy the former Family Barber Shop where Bobby plied the scissors and razor. Unfortunately, in order to have a rooftop area suitable for occupation, you have to have a roof. The new owners tore that out several weeks ago and restoration finally got underway about two weeks ago. This may take a while. * * * * The new Wake Forest ABC store opened Monday, March 26, at 11 a.m. but Wake County ABC

Wake Forest Power has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2017 with customers enjoying dependable electric service 99.9 percent of the time. “We are proud to receive this recognition,” Public Works & Utilities Director Mike Barton said. “It is a testament to the hard work of all our employees to ensure that the lights stay on for all our customers.” A division of the Town of Wake Forest, Wake Forest Power works year-round to provide uninterrupted electric service to nearly 7,000 residential and commercial customers. Through its Reliability Improvement Program, Wake Forest Power operates and maintains two electric substations and more than 140 miles of overhead electric distribution lines. Due to these efforts, Wake Forest Power customers enjoy dependable electric service 99.9 percent of the time. The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association, a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities. The association