Jonathan Jacobs, the Town of Wake Forest transportation engineer, provided this update Wednesday for the road projects in the town. “All of our active construction projects are ongoing and the contractors are hard at work. We are reminding them that they should practice social distancing, wash their hands often, and stay home if they don’t feel well. I don’t anticipate work to cease unless we are given further restrictions set forth by the State or Federal Government. This is an ever changing situation and we are constantly monitoring to determine if changes are needed in our operations.” Stadium Drive Complete Streets This project has been substantially completed. The Town and NCDOT have completed the final walk-thru of the project and the contractor is actively making corrections to items that were not installed to our standards. Town Staff is working with Wake Forest High School to ensure a smooth transition in

Home-based hunts keep kids active,  donations help fight hunger Four nonprofits fighting hunger have launched a fundraising campaign offering printable scavenger hunts on their websites. During this unprecedented time of closures and quarantines, with activities like egg hunts cancelled, Real Food for Kids, Rise Against Hunger, Children’s Defense Fund, and First Fruits Farm are offering printable home-based hunts as an alternative to screen time for kids, with the goal of raising funds to fight food insecurity. “School closings hit hardest for families that are food insecure,” said Jenn Yates, Executive Director of Real Food for Kids based in Northern Virginia. “And unfortunately, nonprofits serving families are going to be hard hit as fundraising events are cancelled; we need to be proactive and creative in raising funds and awareness digitally.” Real Food for Kids is partnering with a local restaurant to feed area children during the shutdown. The organization will be

The Wake Forest Inspections Department permitted 66 new homes in February: 51 single-family houses, 12 townhouses, one duplex and one mobile home. In addition, there was one new commercial building, the Fifth Third Bank at 100 Capcom Avenue, which bill be built by Vericon Construction. The fees were $13,923.20 for a building that will add $2,161,919 to the tax base. The duplex will be built at 616/618 East Pine Avenue by Southeast Contracting Group Inc., which paid fees of $5,684.50 for a building with 1,700 square feet and an estimated value of $15,000. The mobile home was installed at 124 Quail Crossing by Clayton Homes, which paid fees of $300 for a building with 1,216 square feet and an estimated value of $70,454. Seven of the 12 townhouses will be built by M/I Homes on Traditions Grande Boulevard, and five will be built by Stanley Martin Companies in the Retreat

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to change at an alarming pace, the impact on local food and beverage establishments has been especially profound. On Tuesday, NC Gov. Roy Cooper mandated that all restaurants and bars close to the public in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease. The Town of Wake Forest is committed to helping local establishments during this difficult time. To that end, the Town has created a “Support our Local Restaurants” portal on its website. Located at http://bit.ly/SupportOurRestaurants, the site lists local food and beverage establishments that will continue providing takeout and delivery service. Owners of local food and beverage establishments are invited to have their business listed on the site by completing the online submission form at http://bit.ly/SupportOurRestaurants. The form allows restaurant owners to indicate whether they will provide take out, delivery, curbside delivery and/or online ordering, along with fields to their establishment’s telephone

While the Wake Forest Town Hall remains closed, the Town is encouraging residents to take advantage of online services and complete billing and other tasks from home. Current public health guidelines from the CDC and NC Department of Health & Human Services recommend limiting the size of gatherings and practicing social distancing to limit exposure to and the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Taking advantage of Town services from the comfort of your home can help to protect you and your family as well as Wake Forest staff. Wake Forest residents have access to the Town’s full array of online resources through the Customer Service Central (CSC) portal located atwww.wakeforestnc.gov/customer-service-central. CSC provides instant access to a variety of online forms, along with SeeClickFix which allows you to report damaged sidewalks, street light outages, potholes and other non-emergency problems. CSC is also linked to the Raleigh Water website where you can