Senior center has official reopening Wednesday, June 14

Area residents are invited to the official grand reopening of the Northern Wake Senior Center (NWSC) on Wednesday, June 14, at 10 a.m. Delayed for over three years – first by COVID, then by a fire – the reopening celebration will include a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, brief remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones and other Town officials, tours of the facility, class demonstrations, and light refreshments. In June 2018, construction on the new and improved 18,000-square-foot facility began. Located at 235 E. Holding Ave., the center reopened on February 3, 2020, only to close a few weeks later in response to the COVID pandemic. After reopening to the public in early 2022, the facility was forced to close again in July 2022 due to smoke and fire damage caused by a lightning strike. Although the building was closed during this period, classes and activities continued virtually and at various Town

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WFFD needs help restoring the Smoke Trailer

The Wake Forest Fire Department is asking for the community’s help renovating and restoring a “Smoke Trailer” used to teach children important lessons about the dangers of fires, how to prevent them, and ways to escape a burning home. Donations of money, labor, and materials are needed to renovate and upfit the trailer, so it functions as a mobile classroom. Once the renovations are completed, the Smoke Trailer will be used at schools, camps, and community events to teach kids what to do if a fire breaks out at home. The unit will be specially equipped with appliances, smoke machines, and heaters that can create conditions mimicking the signs of danger. “Fire education and prevention are cornerstones of our operations,” said Firefighter First Class Glenn Ebron. “We’re excited to partner with our community to renovate the Smoke Trailer and make our mobile classroom a reality.” Online donations are accepted at

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Time to sign up for swim lessons

The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will accept online registrations for 2023 Swim Lessons beginning Thursday, June 1, at 8 a.m. The cost is $40 for Wake Forest residents who reside within the town limits and $80 for non-Wake Forest residents. To help ensure the best possible customer experience, online registration will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis until all slots are filled at http://bit.ly/wfswimlessons. Payments can be made with debit card, MasterCard, and Visa. Anyone wishing to register who does not have internet access is invited to sign up using the kiosks in the lobby of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Computer kiosks are also available for public use at Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road, Flaherty Park Community Center, 1226 N. White St., and Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St. Swim lessons will be provided in June and July for preschoolers

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WF to have a joyous Juneteenth this year

The Northeast Community Coalition is partnering with the Town of Wake Forest to host Wake Forest’s 2023 Juneteenth Celebration on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17. Free and open to the public, the two-day event will officially get underway with a “Community Gathering” Friday, June 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Taylor Street Park, 416 N. Taylor St. Offering food, fun, and fellowship, the occasion will allow attendees to interact with one another and experience the Taylor Street Park Sprayground. From there, attendees can proceed to the soon-to-open Wake Forest Food Hall, 303 E. Roosevelt Ave., to purchase dinner from various food trucks that will be onsite. The festivities resume Saturday, June 17, with a “Freedom Walk” that begins and ends at The Dubois Center, 518 N. Franklin St. Anyone wishing to participate is encouraged to assemble at 11 a.m. The Freedom Walk is scheduled to end at

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Cops, fire fighters hosting Public Safety Camp June 26-28

The Wake Forest Police Department and Wake Forest Fire Department are partnering to host a Public Safety Camp Monday through Wednesday, June 26-28, at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. Geared for ages 13-15, the three-day camp will include sessions on basic first aid, CPR, fire extinguisher usage, and firefighter tactics, as well as Police K9 and tactical team demonstrations, a mock crime scene investigation, and discussions about careers in public safety. The cost of the camp is $35 and includes lunch each day. In addition, all campers will receive a Public Safety Camp T-shirt. A limited number of spots are available. Online registration is underway at https://bit.ly/WFPublicSafetyCamp. For more information, contact Firefighter Glenn Ebron at 919-556-1966 or gebron@wakeforestnc.gov or Police Community Outreach Officer Robert Wilkinson at 919-608-8472 or rwilkinson@wakeforestnc.gov. ###

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Pavement holes the start of $18M project

Yesterday a truck with a testing trailer began working on some Wake Forest streets, coring holes in the asphalt. It is the start of the $18 million 2024 Street Resurfacing Project stretching over three years to totally repave our town’s streets. When it is complete, the town will spend $2 million annually to maintain them. The $18 million was approved by the town’s voters in the 2022 bond referendum which totaled $75 million for roads, greenways, parks and recreation and a downtown parking garage. Along with this paving project, plans for the approved greenway construction will be the next to get underway. The truck is equipped with sensors that use radar data to determine the thickness of the street pavement and coring equipment to take pavement samples where necessary. In those instances, the subcontractor will fill all sample holes immediately. The subcontractor will make every effort to avoid impacting traffic,

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Residents’ input needed for the UDO update

The Town of Wake Forest is in the process of updating its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), and we need your input. As a follow-up to the UDO Open House sessions on May 25, Wake Forest residents, business owners, and stakeholders are invited to visit https://engagewakeforest.org/udo-update and complete the online survey on zoning districts and use regulations. Available through Sunday, June 11, the survey takes less than 15 minutes to complete. Community input is the cornerstone of the UDO Comprehensive Update. Following the update and adoption of several comprehensive plans, including the 2022 Wake Forest Community Plan and 2021 Northeast Community Plan, as well as several other comprehensive plans that are underway, the UDO and Manual of Specifications, Standards & Design (MSSD) must be updated to implement the policies and recommendations of those plans. The Wake Forest UDO combines into a single document the Town’s zoning, subdivision, land use, grading, stormwater

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Time to sign up for swim lessons at Aquatic Center

The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will accept online registrations for 2023 Swim Lessons beginning Thursday, June 1, at 8 a.m. The cost is $40 for Wake Forest residents who reside within the town limits and $80 for non-Wake Forest residents. To help ensure the best possible customer experience, online registration will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis until all slots are filled at http://bit.ly/wfswimlessons. Payments can be made with debit card, MasterCard, and Visa. Anyone wishing to register who does not have internet access is invited to sign up using the kiosks in the lobby of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Computer kiosks are also available for public use at Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road, Flaherty Park Community Center, 1226 N. White St., and Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St. Swim lessons will be provided in June and July for preschoolers

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Joseph De Lois honored June 5 with flag-raising ceremony

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will continue their monthly flag-raising ceremonies Monday, June 5, at 11 a.m., in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza, 301 S. Brooks St. The 47th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor Joseph De Lois who served our nation in the U.S. Army. Members of De Lois’ family have been invited to participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying, and the ceremonial flag-raising. During the service, the Wake Forest Fire Department Honor Guard will raise the American flag and the U.S. Army service flag in recognition of the military branch in which De Lois served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout June. Photographs and other remembrances of De Lois will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of the month. Presented

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Sensory Expressions will close out Six Sundays in Spring

Sensory Expressions will be the final act of the 2023 Six Sundays in Spring that has been hampered by cool temperatures and rain. The popular music series sponsored by the Town of Wake Forest and ARTS Wake Forest will be in the park on consecutive Sundays rain or shine from April 30 through June 4 and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Featuring free, live musical entertainment, Six Sundays in Spring offers residents the opportunity to enjoy a variety of local and regional performers in a beautiful outdoor setting. The final group to entertain at Six Sundays in Spring 2023 will be Sensory Expressions on June 4. A variety of food and dessert trucks will be on site for each Six Sundays in Spring concert. Concert goers are also invited to bring a picnic but are reminded that alcoholic beverages and gas and charcoal grills are not allowed. Two large charcoal

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