The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is pleased to introduce an honorary/memorial bench donation opportunity at the new Holding Park Inclusive Playground, 133 W. Owen Ave. The playground opened on March 2. Now, the PRCR Department has designated eight benches within the playground as available for honorary or memorial donor funding. The cost of each bench is $1,000, including installation (by the PRCR Department) and donor inscription. The Honorary/Memorial Bench Donation program offers a unique and meaningful way for residents to honor and remember friends and loved ones, promote their company, recognize a civic group, or commemorate a special event. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/PRCRBenchDonationProgram or email PRCR Maintenance Manager Randy Hoyle at rhoyle@wakeforestnc.gov. #

The Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will host a Cemetery Workshop this Saturday, March 16, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Friendship Chapel Baptist Church “Old Cemetery,” 237 Friendship Chapel Road. Due to limited seating, registration is required by contacting Senior Planner for Historic Preservation Michelle Michael at 919-435-9516 or mmichael@wakeforestnc.gov. The Historic Preservation Commission and Town of Wake Forest received a Historic Preservation Fund Grant to host a series of Historic Preservation workshops. Saturday’s workshop is the first of 2024 and will focus on cemetery preservation, identification of cemeteries, cemetery maintenance and long-term care, removal of vegetation and litter, and maintaining fences and protective barriers. This project has been financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior and administered by the NC Historic Preservation Office. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will resume their monthly flag-raising ceremonies in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza on Monday, April 1, at 11 a.m. The 52nd Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor David Cooke, who served our nation in the US Marine Corps. Members of Cooke’s 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. Marine Corps service flag in recognition of the military branch in which Cooke served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout April. Photographs and other remembrances of Cooke will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of the month. Presented by the Town of Wake Forest and

The Northern Community Food Security Team and Ripe for Revival are providing a mobile grocery store across from the Northern Regional Center, 350 E. Holding Ave., on the second and fourth Thursday of each month (unless otherwise noted) from 3-5 p.m. – rain or shine. Offering fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy from local and regional farmers on a pay-what-you-can scale, the NCFST Mobile Market returns to East Holding Avenue this Thursday, March 14. As a bonus, the mobile market will begin offering a limited selection of canned goods this week. In addition, a representative from Healthy Blue, a Medicaid plan offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, will be onsite Thursday to provide information about Medicaid and Healthy Blue. Open to everyone, NCFST’s pay-what-you-can mobile grocery store makes fresh and local produce, proteins, dairy, eggs, and other food products accessible and affordable to all, regardless of their budget.

The Wake Forest Police Department (WFPD) and Torchy’s Tacos, 505 Dr. Calvin Jones Hwy., are again joining forces to raise awareness and money for Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC). Area residents are invited to support the cause by visiting Torchy’s Tacos on Monday, March 25, between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. For everyone who either mentions the fundraiser or presents the fundraiser flyer, Torchy’s will donate 15 percent of their food and beverage sales to support Special Olympics. To download the fundraiser flyer, visit https://bit.ly/WFPDSpecialOlympics. The WFPD also 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, contact Sgt. J. McArthur at 919-554-6150 or jmcarthur@wakeforestnc.gov. SONC is one of the largest Special Olympics programs in the world with nearly 40,000 registered athletes who train and compete in year-round programs in 20 different sports. The mission of Special Olympics is to

The Town of Wake Forest will host a Paper Shredding & Electronics Recycling Event on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave. Sponsored by Civic Federal Credit Union, the paper shredding portion of the event will offer area residents and businesses the opportunity to protect themselves from identity theft and dispose of confidential documents in an environmentally responsible manner. A drive-thru system will be implemented to help ensure a smooth drop-off experience. All paper will be shredded on-site, then recycled. Participants are urged to help reduce contamination by removing all non-paper materials in advance, such as plastic binders, plastic folders, and metal tabs. As part of the electronics recycling effort, residents can properly dispose of items that may otherwise end up in landfills. Accepted items include, but are not limited to, laptops, servers, cell phones, mainframes,

The Wake Forest Police Department is urging residents to guard against becoming the victim of fraud following recently reported phone scams involving Apple Pay. Residents who were recently involved in a traffic accident have reported receiving calls from someone posing as a Wake Forest Police officer who claims they owe money for missing a subsequent court date. The caller says a warrant has been issued for their arrest, or soon will be, but they can pay a fine now via Apple Pay and avoid being arrested. The WFPD does not make these types of calls and would never ask anyone to make a payment via Apple Pay or any other payment app. These types of scams are designed to exploit fear and pressure victims into making payments to scammers. Scammers often use official-sounding language to intimidate victims. They may even use information obtained via public databases to sound credible by

The Town of Wake Forest and DHIC, Inc. (formerly Downtown Housing Improvement Corporation) are partnering to offer free homeownership counseling services to Wake Forest residents earning less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). Designed for residents finding it difficult to purchase a home or make payments on a home, the free counseling services include: Again, these services are free and available to Wake Forest residents earning less than 80 percent of the AMI. To learn more or find out if you qualify, contact Planner I Antione Jordan at ajordan@wakeforestnc.gov or 919-435-9581. ###

The Urban Forestry Division is celebrating Arbor Day this year by again offering a contest for tree lovers across Wake Forest. From now through Sunday, March 31, the UFD is accepting nominations from residents for the Wake Forest 2024 Tree of the Year award. Trees may be nominated for their size, species, historic significance, personal meaning, community benefit or general notoriety – but they must be located within the Wake Forest town limits. To submit your choice, visit http://bit.ly/WFTreeofYear, complete the nomination form and upload a photo of your tree. Finalists will be selected by Town staff, then voted on by the community during the week of April 8. The tree that receives the most votes will be announced as the winner during Forest Fest on Saturday, April 20. The person who submits the winning tree will receive a certificate crowning their tree as the Wake Forest 2024 Tree of the