The smoke in the air Monday was from a controlled burn by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ on land around Falls Lake. The smoke and ash along South Main Street Tuesday was from a controlled burn exercise at 2013 South Main Street by the Wake Forest Fire Department. The exercise went from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The affected house was one of three small ones in that block which now has the Valvoline oil change business, but the firemen destroyed one house last week and the third is being moved to a new location for reuse.
Fire Chief Ron Early says the department has tentatively scheduled similar exercises along Mangum Avenue on Thursday and Friday, April 28 and 29. Part of the site for the exercises will be the location of new Wendy’s and part is set for future development.
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Also along South Main Street, there is only one lane in each direction at the intersection with Rogers Road and no left turn lane from South Main onto Rogers because a contractor is installing an entrance, an exit, sidewalks and curb and gutter for the future Rite-Aid drug store on Rogers. That work is expected to last all week, through the weekend and until next Thursday, April 28.
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The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce is holding a meet and greet for U.S. Representative George Holding on Tuesday, May 3, from 10 to 10:40 a.m. in the lower level meeting room at the new Wake Electric building on South Franklin Street. The easiest access to the parking lot is from Wait Avenue.
Holding is a congressman without a district these days, left bereft when the General Assembly approved new congressional districts earlier this year. He won election two years ago in the then-13th District, which included Wake Forest and Raleigh, where he lives. The Raleigh politicians moved the 13th District over to Greensboro, leaving it without a sitting congressman. The new 13th District also has what has to be the most populated ballot for 2016 with 17 Republican, five Democrats and one Independent all vying to win their party’s nomination in the June 7 primary.
Holding, meanwhile, has decided to run in the new 2nd District now represented by Rep. Renee Elmers. (Congressmen do not have to reside in the district they represent.) The new 2nd District is a wonderful gerrymander in Wake County, almost encircling Wake, gobbling up all the rural and small towns except for the very western part of the county. Five Democrats are on the June 7 primary ballot and Republican voters can choose Holding, Elmers or physician Greg Brannon.
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Realtor.com has just released its ranking of the most booming, the fastest-growing areas in the country, and Rolesville is seventh on the list, right after Miami and Seattle. The online real estate destination believes Rolesville is 30 minutes from Raleigh, but most town residents think the city is on their doorsteps. The company is also a bit off on the distance to Research Triangle Park, which is definitely more than 30 minutes away except maybe at 4 a.m. However, the town has grown; it hovered well under 1,000 residents until very recently.
Realtor.com predicts Rolesville and the area in the 27571 ZIP code with have a 12.1 percent growth in households in the next five years. Wake County, it says, is expected to see more than 10,000 new housing starts and 12,000 new jobs in 2016, that’s 2.4 times more new homes and 1.3 times more jobs than the average of the top 100 counties in the country, respectively.
In the recent past, the town has been ranked as the Fastest Growing North American City (Forbes.com), Top Housing Market for Investors (Forbes), and Top Public Schools in the U.S. (Greatschools.org). “People come here for the jobs, schools and nice weather.”
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The Shred-It event had to close down at 4:30 p.m. instead of going to the planned 7 p.m. close because the truck was full. Many of us hope for another visit soon, perhaps with a larger truck.
Also, please remember you can turn in unused prescription and over-the-counter medicines at the Wake Forest Police Substation on Brooks Street – the brown building that was the first town hall and later the planning department offices. The deposit box is inside the front door, and the hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week.
