The 2021 Wake Forest Holiday Artisans Market will be held indoors and outdoors at the Renaissance Centre, 401 S. Brooks St., and outdoors in the parking lot of The Forks Cafeteria, 339 S. Brooks St., on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s indoor and outdoor market is presented by ARTS Wake Forest and will feature a wide variety of items handmade by 60 regional artists and craftspeople. Free and open to the public, the market will include potters, jewelry artists, ceramicists, fine artists, photographers, woodworkers, candle makers, fiber artists, and other craftspeople. The organization is accepting artist applications for an event wait list. “The annual Holiday Artisans Market event provides a place for talented local artists to share their creations with holiday shoppers,” said Mary Petretich, ARTS Wake Forest president. “Our market is a great place to shop local for quality, handcrafted items, especially

On November 19, the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club will benefit from needed renovation projects, including the repair of various structural issues, power washing its exterior and landscaping cleanup to be completed by the employees of THS National, AJET Plumbing, and BrightView Landscaping Services. The employees of AJET, THS National, and BrightView Landscaping will renovate two sports equipment closets, build a new counter in the tutoring library, fix the gutter downspouts, power wash the building’s exterior, and clean up the landscaping.  “At THS National, it is part of our core values to make a difference in the communities we serve.  We recognize the powerful impact that Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club has on its youth and are proud to contribute by improving the building of such an important community organization,” states Brian Higgins, CEO. Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club serves well over 100 children on a daily basis. Its afterschool care affords Club

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club is pleased to continue its tradition of offering a scholarship competition for qualifying seniors currently attending Franklin Academy High School, Heritage High School, or Wake Forest High School. Applicants need to be in the upper fourth of their class and have plans to attend an in-state 4-year college or university in the fall of 2022. The winner of the Wake Forest Woman’s Club Sallie Southall Cotten Continuing Education Scholarship will receive a one-time $2,000 award from the Club and will compete at the GFWC-NC district level for an additional $1,000 scholarship. For more information and to obtain an application, seniors should contact Student Services at their school. The deadline for submitting the completed application is January 6, 2022. The Wake Forest Woman’s Club continues to serve the community. For more information about the WFWC and how to become a member, please visit www.wake-forest-womans-club.com and www.facebook.com/wakeforestwomansclub.

Several local churches and community organizations will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a free, public celebration on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church, 237 Friendship Chapel Road. The evening’s theme will center around one of Dr. King’s messages: “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” In the spirit of the event theme, the Wake Forest MLK Committee will offer creative performance, writing and art competitions for students in Wake Forest and Rolesville-area schools. Complete contest rules and information, along with the online contest entry form, will be available in November at http://bit.ly/WFMLKCelebration. The competition winners will be recognized during the January 20 program. In the meantime, the Wake Forest MLK Committee is accepting monetary donations from the community to help fund the monetary prizes and scholarships awarded to the competition winners.

Ronnie Jackson, one of the voices for the 47 families who are being uprooted from their longtime home, Wellington Mobile Home Park, said this week, “Triangle Family Services is doing a good job so far. It is still going to be a challenge to find new places for people to live. The churches are helping tremendously.” There are about 30 families still at Wellington, and Jackson said they will need every dollar that has been raised so far through the GoFundMe page that ONE Wake, another voice for the families, has set up in partnership with the NC Congress of Latino Organizations. The families will receive the $375,000 pledged by the developer which is purchasing the property, but $375,000 divided 47 ways means each family will receive about $8,000, not enough to move a mobile home. The GoFundMe page below was set up with a goal of $40,000; only $7,235

The N.C. Department of Transportation is again asking the public for feedback on how the agency is performing and ways it can improve its customer service. Now in its sixth year, NCDOT’s survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and the link is mobile-friendly. Participation can help the department identify ways to make North Carolina transportation services safer, more efficient and customer focused. Administered by North Carolina State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education, the survey is grouped into eight core transportation services: motor vehicle transportation (highway), bicycle, pedestrian, transit (local bus), passenger rail, ferry, general aviation and the Division of Motor Vehicles. The N.C. General Assembly requires the survey and results be used to measure NCDOT’s customer service performance across the department. Survey responses must be received by the end of November. The results will be available to the public on the agency’s website, www.ncdot.gov, by March 2021.

The Town of Wake Forest and the Historic Preservation Commission are partnering with the Wake Forest Historical Museum to host the “It’s a Wonderful Wake Forest” Historic Holiday Festival on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature free walking tours of the local Wake Forest Historic District every 30 minutes between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Each will last approximately 90 minutes and begin and end at the Wake Forest Historical Museum, 414 North Main Street. Led by town staff, as well as current and former members of the Historic Preservation Commission, the tours will include areas throughout the local historic district. Along the way, each group will discuss the developmental and architectural history of the area, along with the significant men and women who lived in the homes. Tours will be conducted from the public right-of-way and will not include the interior of individual homes. Pre-registration

The Town of Wake Forest is pleased to announce the relaunch of “Engage Wake Forest” – a comprehensive community engagement platform where citizens can engage, collaborate, and provide feedback on Town programs and initiatives. Developed by Bang the Table, the site is available at https://engagewakeforest.org/. The goal of Engage Wake Forest is to encourage area residents to learn about Town initiatives, ask questions, and participate in the planning process for a variety of projects. Along the way, the Town will post surveys, polls, and forums to generate new ideas and solicit feedback. The interactive platform allows Wake Forest to communicate important messages without the distraction of off-topic or uncivil comments, said Communications & Public Affairs Director Bill Crabtree. “Through Engage Wake Forest, we can share information and solicit citizen input without having an open, public debate whenever someone wants to complain for the sake of complaining,” Crabtree said. “Engage Wake Forest

The Wake Forest Fire Department is seeking dedicated volunteers to join its family of firefighters.  The WFFD is a combination department which means both career staff and volunteers are needed to operate. Although volunteers do not earn a salary, they are an integral part of the department’s community protection efforts and may receive a stipend per shift depending on their qualifications. As a result, serious, dedicated men and women are needed.  Responsibilities of volunteer firefighters include fighting fires, providing medical aid, assisting at emergency scenes, participating in training, and providing administrative support. Both certified and non-certified candidates are eligible, and there are no residency requirements, but volunteers must be willing to commit a minimum of 24 hours of duty crew each month. For more information, or to complete a volunteer application, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/fire/fire-department-jobs. #

Updated November 10, 2021 Street and highway update The CSX Railroad crossing on Rogers Road has been a two-lane bottleneck since the road was opened in 2000. Help is on the way if the latest update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold to its plan of beginning to construct a four-lane street bridge over the railroad tracks, which is the fall of 2022 or a year from now. Do not hold your breath because the date has slipped several times, but DOT’s financial situation is much better now so it may be true. Also, commuters from Wake Forest and much farther north are still waiting for the long-promised widening of Capital Boulevard. Currently the right-of-way acquisition and construction is not planned to begin until October 2024 for the first segment from I-540 to Durant Road/Perry Road. Apparently right-of-way acquisition for the next two segments, B and C,