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.

You have seen them around town – solid looking tan benches near stops for the Wake Forest loop bus. They were built by several of the retired members of the Wake Forest Lions Club as part of the centennial for Lions Clubs International. Larry Mengel, who headed up the informal crews building the benches, said they received enough money from Lions Club International to build five benches and they would like to build more if they can get funding. The benches are made of a composite recycled plastic “that should last forever,” Mengel said. At first they sank a couple posts into the ground and erected the bench on the posts. But digging near the sidewalk also meant they might hit utility lines, so they decided to build 7-foot by 4-foot concrete pads. The initial idea was to ask Ready Mix Concrete to give them some concrete left over from

Wake Forest’s prestigious scholarship program, the Trentini scholarships, will be awarded at a dinner Saturday night, April 14, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Wake Forest Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. There are 13 contestants who were chosen late last year, six seniors each from Wake Forest High School and Heritage High School who plan to attend four-year colleges. The thirteenth, the $1,000 scholarship for a community college, has already been awarded to Stephen Knecht who graduated early from Wake Forest High School and is enrolled at Wake Technical Community College. The top winner at Wake Forest High receives a $30,000 scholarship; the winner at Heritage High receives a $5,000 scholarship. The other selected students at Wake Forest receive $1,000 each, and those at Heritage receive $250 each. The six selected at Wake Forest are Ally Cefalu, Hannah Dion, Jonathon Hughes, Nicolas Kelly, Isaac Lanzon and Erica Spruill. The six at

What does one do when Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby fall on the same day? Celebrate big during the Wakefield Rotary Cinco de Derby reverse raffle party. On Saturday, May 5, 2018 from 4 to 8 p.m., Wakefield Rotary Club will host a Cinco de Mayo fiesta and Kentucky Derby festival during a single event that will culminate in someone winning $2018. The event will be held at Heritage View Clubhouse, 1037 Marshall Farm Street, in Wake Forest. Proceeds will go toward the club’s new vocational education scholarship for local graduating seniors pursuing a trade. Only 100 Cinco de Derby tickets will be sold. Cost is $100 and admits two people to the event with heavy appetizers and one reverse raffle ticket for the chance to win the grand prize of $2,018. Ticket purchasers need not be present to win. A cash bar will serve margaritas, mint juleps, wine and beer.

As they do every year, members of the Wake Forest Urban Forestry Board, town staff and volunteers will give away free tree seedlings to celebrate Arbor Day. It is just a part of the annual Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, April 21, at E. Carroll Joyner Park on Harris Road. There will also be food trucks and musical entertainment from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a formal ceremony at noon. There will be 900 seedlings given to area residents while they last. Given away will be Southern crabapple, black walnut, sycamore, overcup oak, black gum, dogwood and redbud. Volunteers will help residents decide which seedlings grow best in their yard conditions. For more information about the tree seedling giveaway, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/tree-seedling-giveaway.aspx. The Arbor Day Expo is a family-friendly event featuring a variety of service-oriented civic groups, nonprofit organizations and other local associations that promote proper tree care, environmental stewardship and community