People of all ages can get free help with filing their federal and state tax returns and electronic filing at the senior centers in Franklinton and Louisburg. And, after the Northern Wake Senior Center opens in February, that free help will be available there. The free help is provided by the AARP Foundation, which was formed over 50 years ago to help anyone seeking professional income tax assistance. Counselors are qualified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and offer this assistance after successfully completing a through written examination and proficiency testing. Individual income tax returns are being prepared at the Franklinton Senior Center, 206 East Mason Street, Franklinton every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at the Louisburg Senior Center, 127 Shannon Village Shopping Center, Louisburg, Monday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Feb 2, through April 15, 2020. If you desire assistance please call

The Greenways Advisory Board will host a family-friendly 5K race as part of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 6, at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. New this year, the day’s festivities will also include a Kids’ 1-Mile Fun Run for ages 12 and under. Online registration for both races is available at http://bit.ly/wfnationaltrailsday. The 5K entry fee is $25 before April 26; $30 before May 24; and $35 through June 6. Everyone who registers before May 24 will receive a race T-shirt. Same-day registrations will be accepted. The Kids’ 1-Mile Fun Run is for children ages 12 and under and the entry fee is $5. All participants who register on or before Sunday, May 10, will receive a 2020 Fun Run medal. The National Trails Day 5K and Fun Run are designed to raise funds to support the maintenance of current greenways and the development of new greenways throughout

The Wake Forest Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee is planning a four-day trip for area students to the Civil Rights Freedom Trail in Georgia and Alabama on March 2 through March 5. The trip will cost $225 for students and $325 for adults, and the cost includes the breakfast buffet at the Embassy Suites in Montgomery, Alabama, and a carry-on box lunch. The committee members include Pastor Ken Steigler, who will be one of the tour guides; James Grant, chairman of the celebration committee; Peggy Blake; Ann Clemons, the second tour guide; Margo Grant; and Lori Moss. They are now soliciting donations from local churches and organizations to provide sponsorships for the estimated 20 students from Wake Forest and Rolesville who will make the trip with five chaperones. People who want to know more about the trip can call Steigler at 978-979-8380 or James Grant at 973-580-2470. 2020

The Rockin’ the Forest music series continues with the popular beach band Jim Quick & Coastline on Friday, Feb. 28. The concert gets underway at 7:30 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts, 405 S. Brooks St.  dvance tickets are $15 each plus tax and can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestrencen.org/tickets-events. Advance tickets may also be purchased with cash, check or credit card at the Renaissance Centre Box Office, 405 S. Brooks St. On the day of the concert tickets can be purchased at the door. Over 25 years in the making, Jim Quick & Coastline, like their namesake the Atlantic Coastline Railroad, have been traveling the “tracks” of the southeast, and connecting with the hearts of loyal “Coastline Crazies.” Pulling from the threads of Soul, Blues, R&B, and Americana, Jim Quick & Coastline weave together their own

Updated February 19, 2020 Future projects–Technical Review Committee The Technical Review Committee met on Jan. 2 and reviewed the following: *Devon Square Construction drawings submitted by Stewart proposing 126 detached single-family residential lots and 152 townhouses on about 44 acres. *Janko Minor master plan submitted by Taylor Blakely to add a second 5,050-square-foot building used for major repair and body work at 9912 Capital Boulevard on about 1.14 acres. The property is zones highway business. *Merritt Unicon Industrial Park Minot site master plan submitted by WithersRavenel for a 452,500-square-foot industrial/flex park and major subdivision creating four lots. The parcel is zoned light industrial. The Technical Committee met on Jan. 30 to review the following: *Town of Wake Forest Smith Creek Greenway Phase 2 Master plan submitted by Stewart proposing 1.38 miles public greenway. *Town of Wake Forest Smith Creek Greenway Phase 3 Master plan submitted by Stewart proposing 1.17 miles

Social media advertising is an effective way for businesses to get the word out about their products. Unfortunately, the same goes for scams. BBB Scam Tracker has received thousands of complaints about misleading Facebook and Instagram ads. In fact, the 2018 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report found that online purchase scams were the most common cons reported to Scam Tracker and the category with the most victims. Look out for these common scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker: Products That Claim to Support Charity. As you scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed, you see an ad from a business selling adorable jewelry, t-shirts, or other merchandise. The best part? Some of the proceeds from the sale will go to a charity that helps rescue animals, foster children, or support another worthy cause. Some consumers even report getting direct messages from sellers promoting the products and asking them to spread the word to friends and

There is a new benefit that is only available to members of the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce. President Ann Welton announced it Monday, a new job-posting website, wakeforestworks.com. And it’s free! Chamber members can post their open jobs and find qualified applicants who are willing to work in the Wake Forest area. To use it, go to wakeforestworks.com and click on Employer Registration where you can fill out a simple form. You will get an approval email with your user name and password. Now you can log in and start posting jobs. Meanwhile Welton and the chamber staff will be marketing the site to job seekers in the Wake Forest area. * * * * Business After Hours this month will be on Thursday, Feb. 20, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at June-Neri Financial, 1241 South Main Street, Suite 6. There will be food, drinks and games to

The Wake Forest Gazette has been a reliable source of information about the town of Wake Forest since 2003. The free online weekly newspaper is always available at www.wakeforestgazette.com. The Gazette is the only Wake Forest newspaper consistently offering news about the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners and Planning Board, events in town, calendar, obituaries and a list of community organizations and meeting times. There are also articles about town history, opinion from readers and once in a while we even print recipes. The Gazette currently has 1,500 subscribers and 1,500 people who read it without subscribing, reaching a substantial number of area residents. The advertising rate for the Gazette is $100 per month. There are no charges for obituaries or any news. If you want to advertise, please email or call the editor, Carol W. Pelosi, at cwpelosi@aol.com or 919-556-3409. #

The editor knows there are many readers who do not subscribe to The Wake Forest Gazette and is urging those people to subscribe. There is no charge, but you do get a weekly notice from the editor each Wednesday announcing a weekly update is on line. All you have to do is go to the first page, find the box for subscribe and enter your name and email address. If you have been a subscriber to the Gazette and find you are not receiving weekly notices that the new issue is on line, the problem lies in the software for the paper’s email service, Mailchimp. If a subscriber’s inbasket is full or if there are other reasons why the email would not accept the Gazette notice, it will be listed as bumped. If that condition continues, Mailchimp will list that subscriber as unsubscribed and stop sending notices. To remedy the

Below is a list of groups – and if your group is not included and should be – please send a note with the information to cwpelosi@aol.com. If the information about your group is wrong or out of date, please send a note with the corrections to that same email address. Aren’t we lucky to have so many groups that benefit our town and its resident! *American Legion Post 187 meets the second Thursday at 7 p.m. in the American Legion Hall at 225 East Holding Avenue. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and costs $5. For information and membership, call Commander Dave Goetze at 569-0471 or visit www.alpost187.org. *American Heritage Girls (AHG) meets at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church on Rogers Road on the second and fourth Thursdays. Get in touch with Amy Minor at chrisnamy34@hotmail.com or see the website, www.hopelutheranwf.org. *The General James Moore Chapter of the