The Town of Wake Forest has been named a 2019 Tree City USA and Tree Line USA award winner. This marks the 41st year Wake Forest has earned the Tree City USA designation and the sixth year it has been recognized as a Tree Line USA. The Tree City USA and Tree Line USA programs are a partnership between the NC Forest Service and the National Arbor Day Foundation. Awards are presented annually to communities and utilities that demonstrate a commitment to making their communities more livable by planting and caring for trees. The Tree City and Tree Line USA programs encourage management of urban trees for a healthy, sustainable urban forest. The additional goal of dependable utility service further highlights the need to include several key utility practices to ensure the continuation of abundant, healthy trees in close proximity with utility service lines.   In 2019, Wake Forest accomplished

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

A small business in Morrisville is joining Wake County’s effort to provide protective masks to first responders and healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response. The partnership will not only provide the county with thousands of N95 masks to keep employees safe from coronavirus, but it’s also giving much-needed work to PSB Pro Services during an economic downturn. “This is a great example of the public and private sectors working together to create an innovative solution locally to a national problem,” said Wake County Manager David Ellis. “This kind of partnership and ingenuity is exactly what we need during this health crisis.” Wake County – like communities across the country – does not currently have enough personal protective equipment for the duration of this pandemic. As staff explored all options to acquire the needed PPE, they focused on a stockpile of N95 masks in storage in the county’s

On Monday, April 6, the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to appropriate $8.8 million of county fund balance to defray the costs of the county’s ongoing COVID-19 response. The new appropriation comes after commissioners granted $2 million in funding on March 16 toward expenses associated with COVID-19 emergency response. Through April 3, estimated costs associated with that response totaled $3.8 million. “Our lives – and our community – have been turned upside down with the new reality of social distancing and staying at home,” said Wake County Board of Commissioners Chairman Greg Ford. “It’s obvious that our COVID-19 response is a marathon, not a sprint, and Wake County is ready to continue serving our residents as we navigate this uncertain time.” The funding enables Wake County to provide vital services that protect public health and safety through its Emergency Operations Center efforts. Specifically, the appropriated funds will be used

The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce is replacing visits and meetings with a number of webinars and Takeout Tuesdays when members can order take-out from a local restaurant and then join other members via computer for some virtual networking. Check it all out to see what will help you. * * * * While we’ve had to cancel all of our events for the month of March and April, your Chamber is continuing to work hard for you. Please let us know how we can help. Is your business still open, but with modifications? We’re happy to post that on our social media channels. Are you involved in helping the community through this pandemic? Tell us, and we’ll share it! Looking for specific resources to get you through this challenge? Check our Member Directory for a fellow Chamber member who can help you out, or email us and we might know the perfect