People who care about children, including parents, teachers, grandparents, clergy and health teams are invited to three child mental health workshops this week. The workshops will be conducted by Dr. Rodney Harris and community organizers and mental health professionals. The first two workshops are identical, held on Thursday, January 19, 2023, in the conference room at the Northern Regional Center at 350 Holding Avenue, Wake Forest, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. with the topic “A Community Processing Circle: Do we have a Youth Mental Health Crisis? Unpacking the Data/ Following the Trends.” The Friday workshop will be held in Rolesville at the Arise CoWorking Space at 300 Southtown Circle at 6 p.m. and refreshments will be served. The topic will be “A Community Processing Circle: All TYPES OF PRESSURE: (Depression, Complicated Grief: Tools and Techniques). For more information call Community Task Force on Child Mental Health Coordinator Bettie Murchison,

Several local churches and community organizations will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a free, public celebration Thursday, Jan. 19, 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: “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” 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, are available at http://bit.ly/WFMLKCelebration. The competition winners will be recognized during the January 19 program. 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. The MLK Committee hopes to raise

Everyone interested in Wake Forest history is invited to the annual meeting of the Wake Forest Historical Association at the Wake Forest Historical Museum at 414 North Main Street at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 22. The meeting will include a preview of the museum’s spring exhibition, 1969: Reflection & Reimagination: Celebrating 60 Years of the Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art. We will also recognize the service of three retiring board members: Ben Davis, Mary Kate Keith, and Karen Winstead. Three new board members will be elected. Current board members are President Sanford Bailey, Treasurer Dianne Laws, Secretary Beverly Whisnant, Ryan Keith, Alice Ray, Roger Shackleford, Durward Matheny and Carol Pelosi. ###

For the seventh consecutive year, the Town of Wake Forest has prepared a financial highlights publication designed to educate and inform citizens about the Town’s finances. Known as the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) or Citizens’ Financial Report, the document is an abbreviated summary of the Town’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The 2022 edition is available for viewing on the Town website at http://bit.ly/TOWFPAFR. Did you know that the town has 108 full- and part-time firefighters along with 25 volunteers and five stations? The town manager is searching for a site for a sixth station on the east side of town – or if he has finally found a site he has not made it public yet. Town’s police department has 77 sworn officers – and two longtime officers are retiring the first of next month. There are six stations scattered through town. Those facts and much more are included

CSX is scheduled to temporarily close several Wake Forest railroad crossings in late February. According to CSX, the following crossings will be closed for maintenance at the same time on or around February 22: · Brick Street · Elm Avenue · Holding Avenue · Friendship Chapel Road · Rogers Road Once the work on the Rogers Road crossing is completed and the crossing and road reopened, CSX will close the railroad crossing on Ligon Mill Road. Crews will replace railroad ties at each crossing, then resurface the road. The crossings will be closed for 1-3 days pending weather, equipment, and any unforeseen circumstances. CSX officials say the Brick Street, Elm Avenue, Holding Avenue, Friendship Chapel Road, and Rogers Road crossings must be closed concurrently due to the size of the equipment convoy. Comprised of nearly 30 kinds of equipment and spanning nearly two miles, the convoy travels along the train