What would Halloween be without ghosts? Although there are ghosts in some of the area’s oldest homes, Wake Forest’s North Main Street, once Faculty Avenue, seems to have an unusually large number of the spirits. Beginning on the south end, there is the Indian who was apparently disturbed when Bill and Louise Howard (who have since sold the property) began their extensive renovations that changed the old Reid house into an elegant bed and breakfast. Bill believed the Indian was buried on their property. The vision or apparition or ghost appeared to three men – Bill, his brother-in-law, and a man helping with the renovations – one day when they were working under the house. Everything became quite cold, they turned and they saw the ghost, who quickly vanished. He has not been seen since, and Bill believed he was relieved to see that they were carefully redoing the house

Since Halloween is always Oct. 31, that’s the day the Town of Wake Forest encourages families to go door-to-door in costumes for candy and fun. The Wake Forest Police Department also recommends that little ghosts and goblins trick-or-treat between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m. To ensure a safe and happy Halloween for everyone, the Police Department offers the following safety tips: Attire & Accessories *  Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure shoes fit well and costumes are short enough to prevent tripping or entanglement. *  Consider adding reflective tape to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility. *  Secure emergency identification (name, address, phone number) discreetly within Halloween attire. *  Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. *  When shopping for costumes, wigs, and accessories, look for and purchase only those with a label clearly indicating

There will be a food distribution on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the pavilion near the Alston-Massenburg Center on North Taylor Street, and workers are needed for two shifts to unload the truck, set out the food, box the food and distribute it. The first shift from 9:30 a.m. to noon will unload the truck and set up the food. George Shaw says 30 volunteers are needed for this. The second shift will work from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. boxing and distributing the food. Shaw says 20 volunteers will be needed for this. Direct any questions about the distribution to Shaw at g0b07shaw@gmail.com.

The Town of Wake Forest is pleased to welcome Courtney Tanner as its new Planning Director. She succeeds Chip Russell, who will retire later this year after 32 years of service to the Town. As Planning Director, Tanner will direct and review the activities of the Planning Department, including current and long range planning initiatives and code enforcement programs. She will also play a leading role in the formation, installation, modification and improvement of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations. Tanner has over 15 years’ experience in the field of public sector planning, with a concentration on comprehensive plan development and implementation. Prior to joining Wake Forest, she worked for the Town of Morrisville – the last three as planning director. Tanner earned a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003 and a Bachelor of Science in Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001.

Wake Forest sanitation customers can now use an online form to request a variety of assistance related to their rollout trash and recycling carts. Available at http://bit.ly/CartRequestForm, the form offers a simple, yet effective way for Town sanitation customers to request trash and recycling service, upgrade to a larger recycling cart, order extra carts and report damaged or missing carts. As a bonus, anyone who completes and submits the online form will be automatically enrolled in Waste Wizard – an interactive tool that allows users to receive waste collection reminders and schedules. For more information, call the Public Works Department at 919-435-9570.