There have been numerous complaints about the service provided by Go Wake Forest, the van replacement for the bus service in Wake Forest, and Tuesday evening, December 17, 20244, the town commissioners approved a new contract with Via. Brad West, the town’s long range planner, explained the situation and the change Wednesday morning: “We currently have a Go Wake Forest contract with Via, our transit partner, set to 291 weekly driver hours, which equates to 4 vans and 1 spare van. “Driver hours” are just the amount of hours Go Wake Forest drivers are allowed to operate within a week. Even though we have four vehicles in the Go Wake Forest fleet, they only operate all four at once during peak demand times to keep our costs low. During non-peak times, we see between 2 to 3 vans operating.  “However, due to the overwhelming demand and popularity of the service,

Why does Wake Forest need a social district? We seem to have enough bars, breweries and restaurants who serve alcohol to satisfy current tastes while seated or standing. But someone has discovered a great lack. A person cannot walk between an establishment serving alcohol to another site while sipping an alcoholic beverage. Obviously, that is an infringement on someone’s personal rights. That is why the Town of Wake Forest is spending town employee time and money to plan a “social district.” That is why the town commissioners spend time examining the plans. That is why the town will have to buy more trash containers while it is overlooking the need for portable or even permanent urinals. Will more police officers have to spend their time walking and driving by the district or will the district have to spend money to supply off-duty cops? Where will that money come from, along

Smoke alarms save lives! That’s why the Wake Forest Fire Department, American Red Cross, and Northeast Community Coalition are partnering to sponsor “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” in the Northeast Community on Saturday, Dec. 21. As part of the initiative, volunteers will check and install smoke detectors in homes throughout the Northeast Community from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Volunteers are critical to the success of the event. A volunteer training session will be offered on the morning of the event from 9-10 a.m. at Hope House, 334 N. Allen Road. Local civic groups and community organizations are especially encouraged to participate, along with local students interested in earning community service hours.  For more information, call 919-899-5707 or email sweetly.sanders@redcross.org. ###

Katelyn has just announced that Volume 2 of The Wake Forest Review is now available in both digital and print formats! Thank you to all of the talented writers, poets, and artists who made this issue so special. You can find the digital flipbook at https://www.thewakeforestreview.org/ . If you prefer the feel of a book in your hands, visit Page 158 Books in downtown Wake Forest to grab your copy. Stay tuned in the new year for news on events and the opening of the submission window in early spring! **** Why can’t the North Carolina General Assembly put together a real package of aid for the western people, towns and counties? And why can’t the same body fund the NCDOT enough to rebuild Capital Boulevard? ****

Crowder Construction, a contractor working on behalf of the Town of Wake Forest, began construction on Phase 3 of the Dunn Creek Greenway on Monday, Dec. 16. Funded by the 2022 Bond Referendum, Phase 3 will add 1.8 miles of greenway to the Dunn Creek network. Starting at the current end of the Dunn Creek Greenway north of Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass, Phase 3 will connect with the existing greenway alignment to Ailey Young Park and the existing greenway network constructed in the Traditions neighborhood. Scheduled for completion in late spring 2026, Phase 3 will require the greenway to cross over Wait Avenue and three streams. The footbridges that span these streams will be constructed with precast concrete boardwalk systems, known as Permatrak, to reduce slipping conditions when wet and aid long-term maintenance and structural integrity. Construction activity will intermittently impact traffic along Wait Avenue throughout the project,

 The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will offer a free walkable holiday experience at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road, during several evenings in December. Beginning Saturday, Dec. 7, and continuing through Sunday, Dec. 29, from 6-9 p.m. nightly, community members are invited to stroll through the park’s Walker Garden and Performance Garden to view dozens of colorful lights that adorn the crepe myrtle trees and shrubs, along with a nearly 20-foot-tall Christmas tree on the Performance Garden Stage. Free and open to everyone, the Evening Walk at Joyner Park is the perfect opportunity to embrace the spirit of the season and snap some memorable holiday photos. Free parking will be available in the Joyner Park parking lot. For more information, email Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Parks Maintenance Manager Randy Hoyle at rhoyle@wakeforestnc.gov. ###

The Wake Forest Police Department and Heritage Station McDonald’s, 1001 Forestville Road, are joining forces to raise awareness and money for Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) during “Safety Day” on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Community members are invited to support the cause by dining at McDonald’s between 4 and 7 p.m. McDonald’s will donate 25 percent of their food and beverage sales during those three hours to support SONC. As part of the event, several public safety agencies will display police cars, fire trucks, EMS vehicles and other specialized vehicles for attendees to view and step inside. The WFPD accepts SONC donations year-round at https://bit.ly/WFPDSpecialOlympics. All funds raised go to SONC as part of The Law Enforcement Torch Run. For more information, Sgt. J. McArthur at 919-554-6150 or jmcarthur@wakeforestnc.gov.   ###

The Wake Forest Inspections Department issues a monthly report about all new building permits and new businesses. There were building permits issued for 16 single-family houses. There were building permits issued for 18 townhouses. There was a fit-up for the Peruvian Charcoal Chicken Restaurant at 911 Gateway Commons Circle, Suite 108. There were pre-occupancy inspections for: Green Stream Technologies at 12339 Wake Union Church Road DiMeglio Enterprises at 745 Merritt Capital Drive, Suite 121 Owner (name power change) at 1744 Heritage Center Drive, Suite 102 Hawthorne Studio at 5107 Unicon Drive, Suite A Reclaim Counseling and Wellness at 1744 Heritage Center Drive, Suite 102 Mahalaxmi 2024 NC LLC at 3612 Rogers Branch Road, Suite 113 ###

Based on the November 2024 MonthlyDevelopment Report, WF Planning Updated December 17, 2024  Thetown keeps a running tally of approved projects with counts of those completed.The best inspections current estimate is that between seven and eight peoplemove to town each day, moving into newly-built houses, townhouses or apartmentsand a few existing houses that were for sale.   Projects under review 1. 418 Jones Dairy Road SP-23-11 is a request by DavidWilliams Sr. to rezone 5.61 acres on the south side of Jones Dairy Road from RHrural holding and LI light industrial to NB-CD conditional neighborhoodbusiness to allow construction of two 24,502 square foot buildings side byside, one restaurant and one an office. The plans call for space for a publicart statue and seven handicapped parking spaces. The Town Board votedunanimously to approve at their October 15, 2024 meeting.   2. Hawthorne Wake Forest Phase 2 RZ-21-09 SP-21-41 isa request for

Below is a list of groups – and if your group is not included and should be – please send a note with the information to cwpelosi@aol.com. If the information about your group is wrong or out of date, please send a note with the corrections to that same email address. Aren’t we lucky to have so many groups that benefit our town and its residents? Last updated on July 1, 2023. *American Legion Post 187 meets the second Thursday at 7 p.m. in the American Legion Hall at 225 East Holding Avenue. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and costs $5. For information and membership, call Commander Doug Doster at 1-603-660-6948. *American Heritage Girls (AHG) meets at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church on Rogers Road on the second and fourth Thursdays. Get in touch with Amy Minor at chrisnamy34@hotmail.com or see the website, www.hopelutheranwf.org. *The General James Moore