Wendell News Outlet

Friday, October 8, 2010

The Wendell Police Department, in conjunction with other Wake County law enforcement agencies will sponsor a town-wide drug abuse prevention event named Operation Medicine Drop on October 30, 2010. This event specifically targets individuals who have expired, old, or unused prescription medications in their homes in Wendell. The event involves the voluntary turn-in of old or unneeded pharmaceutical drugs at Wendell Fire Department, located at 2960 Wendell Boulevard, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The police department hopes this event will help reduce a significant amount of controlled pharmaceuticals that could be diverted to an escalating illicit market. More importantly, the police department hopes to use the event to educate the public on the dangers of pharmaceutical drug abuse, accidental poisonings, as well as responsible handling, security and destruction of prescription medications.

To find out more, visit http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/SafeKids/sk_OperationMedicineDrop.asp

ITEM 2. TEMPORARY SIGN PERMITS 

In general, most temporary signs you see around town, other than political and real estate signs, require a temporary sign permit. The Planning Department is happy to assist citizens, business owners and civic groups with sign regulations and permits.

Prior to the UDO which was adopted in July 2010, the sign ordinance did not allow any temporary signs off the premises of the business or event the sign was advertising. This is not always the case anymore. Now off premise signs might be allowed with permission from each property owner. The town provides a form, which must accompany the temporary sign permit, to document these permissions.

Also under the previous ordinance, groups/businesses were limited to one sign at a time. Under the UDO, multiple signs, depending on type, may be allowed.

In all cases, temporary signs, whether requiring a permit or not, must be located either behind the sidewalk or ditch line. If there is no sidewalk or ditch line, the sign must be located 5 feet behind the curb or edge of pavement. In no instance may signs be attached to utility poles, traffic control or street signs, or nailed to trees.

Signs that do not require a permit include house numbers, directional signs, bulletin boards, construction signs, subdivision advertising signs, governmental flags, temporary political signs, holiday decorations, real estate signs, open house signs, ballpark signage, sandwich board signs, traffic control signs on private property, murals and wall art. While these types of signs do not require a permit, there are still requirements about how they are displayed. Please consult Chapter 12 of the UDO or call the Planning Department for details.

All other temporary signs will require a temporary sign permit. The Planning Department should be contacted for a permit application and regulations prior to erecting any signage.

Eastern Wake CRIMESTOPPERS is offering $200 for information leading to the

arrest of the suspect (s) involved in the damage to property that occurred in the

Wendell’s Downtown Business District. If you have information or know of those

that can provide information leading to an arrest. Please call 366-2746 (CRIME).

ITEM 4. YOUTH BASKETBALL REGISTRATION CONTINUES

Football season has just gotten started but it’s time for girls and boys youth basketball registration, ages 5-16. Walk-In Registration Hours are:

Monday – Thursday: 6:00am – 9:00pm

Friday: 6:00am – 4:00pm

Wendell Community Center

601 West Third Street

Deadline for registration is Thursday, October 14. For more information, contact Wendell Parks and Recreation at 366-2266 or at www.townofwendell.com.

On Wednesday, October 6, town employees enjoyed fun and fellowship during the annual football kickoff luncheon held at the park.

Employees donned their favorite team gear and brought their favorite tailgate foods to share with their co-workers during lunch. Tailgate games such as ladder golf, bean bag toss, and horse shoes, brought out team spirit in many of the employees.

ITEM 6. UNITED ARTS TOUR

On Monday, Oct. 4, Tim Kay was a part of a Van Tour sponsored by The United Arts Council.  The tour visited a variety of Parks and Recreation facilities to see how the United Arts Program was used in different towns.  The group visited four venues from Raleigh to Wake Forest.   At each stop a Parks and Recreation staff member told the group stories about the benefits of having art programs.  Every stop was a different story and every town had a different style of program. 

First stop:  Raleigh’s Pullen Art Center. 

Here, Raleigh Parks Division Head Scott Payne and Pullen Arts Director Eliza Kiser spoke on the funding and history of “classroom” art at the Pullen Art Center.  They gave a great overview of what it would take to implement quality artistic programs at our location such as materials, room layouts and staffing. 

Pullen Arts Center, located within Pullen Park, offers specialty studio programs in pottery, jewelry-making, painting, printmaking, fiber arts, weaving, and glass arts. The extensive studios and equipment, and the well-trained core of instructors make these studios some of the most desired in the area. Each summer, Pullen Arts Center produces the popular Art4Fun camps for kids. New studio programs and classes are created on a regular basis.

Second stop: Wake Forest amphitheatre at E. Carroll Joyner Park.

Here, the Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Director Susan Simpson showed the outdoor side of the arts at a large outdoor park that hosts many concerts and shows. 

E. Carroll Joyner Park is Wake Forest’s newest and largest park at 117 acres. Scheduled for several phases of development, the park currently offers restored farm buildings and pecan grove, a restored log cabin, a 1,000-lawn-seat amphitheatre, a performance area, and garden.

Third stop: Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex

Apex’s Cultural Resources Department head John Brown and Cultural Arts Center Supervisor David Wood spoke on how having a building with multiple rooms and a theatre benefits Apex.  This was a nice facility that was the most comparable to Wendell’s, but designed more for meetings, theatrical events and movie showings. 

The Halle Cultural Arts Center was built as the Apex Town Hall in 1912. Located in the heart of the downtown Historic District, it is available for exhibitions, musicals, dances, plays, receptions, fund raisers, and celebrations. The facility has three galleries, two studio classrooms, and a 135-seat theatre.

Final stop:  Holly Springs Performing Arts Center.

Here, Holly Springs Parks and Recreation Director Len Bradley and Holly Springs Performing Arts Center Supervisor Don Briscar spoke on how having live performances indoors could benefit a town.  Most of these in Holly Springs are ticketed events with hired performers and shows are for both young and old.  These gentlemen really believe that if you are to have a theatre, it needs to be built the right way to optimize the experience. 

Overall, Tim reports that this was a great experience and that he learned a lot about what would be needed for a quality arts program should Wendell ever decide to implement such programs.  He said there was definitely more to it than just brushes and stages.

ITEM 6. RECREATION SCORES FOR THE WEEK

Scores for this week:

Rebels 10,  Rangers 0

RTS/Brookshire Homes 12, Northside Community 1

Northside Community 8, Rangers 6

Barefoot & Young Insurance 15, Shirley’s Electrical Svc. 9

Vardy Chiropractic 10, MAD Sports & Designs 9

Barefoot & Young Insurance 17, MAD Sports & Designs 2

Vardy Chiropractic17, Shirley’s Electrical Svc. 2

Barefoot & Young Insurance 14, Shirley’s Electrical Svc. 7

Vardy Chiropractic  MAD Sports & Designs

Wendell Amusement Center 8, Lizard Lick Towing 4

H & M Financial 5, Home Team Sports 3

Carpet Barn 4, American Legion Post (148) 2

American Legion Post (148) 8, Knightdale 4

ITEM 7. RALEIGH CONSIDERING NEW PARKING ORDINANCE

The Raleigh City Council is considering an ordinance that would amend current zoning regulations so that residents could no longer park on grass, dirt, or loose gravel in their own front yards.

Landowners with rental properties that cater to college students say the ordinance would force them to pay for costly renovations, making rent too expensive for current tenants. Meantime, homeowners living near Raleigh’s campuses say the ordinance would clean up cluttered properties in mature neighborhoods.

The ordinance would give all owners of single-family homes one year to construct driveways meeting the following standards:

• Driveways must be made of non-erodible surfaces of concrete or crushed stone, four inches deep, with defined permanent borders.

• They must be 12 feet wide and include a parking pad covering 425 square feet or 40 percent of the front yard, whichever is greater.

• Parking pads must be surrounded with vegetative screening.

The wooded front yards of Goldberg’s properties have only partial driveways leading to hard-packed dirt parking areas. He complained at a Comprehensive Planning Committee meeting Sept. 15 that it would cost $4,000 per property to build driveways that would meet the city’s standards.

City Planning Director Mitch Silver noted the ordinance would give homeowners a year to save up and pay for renovations. He also said people who couldn’t afford hiring a contractor to pave their driveways could “do it themselves.”

Committee members are now studying the economic impact of a similar ordinance Greensboro passed in 2008 before the issue goes to the full council for a vote.

Acts Medical Clinic on Wendell Boulevard celebrated its two year anniversary in Wendell on October 7.

ITEM 9. CHAMBER EVENTS

October 12 is the Wendell Ambassador Appreciation Party in the Chamber offices. The event starts at 7 p.m.

October 13 at noon Linda Johnson of East Wake Education Foundation will speak for the Wendell Women in Business event at El Cerro.

November 6 there will be a ribbon cutting at The Little Bakery & Café on Main Street at 11 a.m. Also that day from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Wits End will hold its holiday open house.

November 9 is the Wendell Chamber Annual Banquet. The event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Wendell Community Center. Call the chamber office for reservations.

Patrich Patelas of the Little Bakery on Main Street is showing his art work in the Wendell Chamber board room during October.

The Wendell Farmer’s Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Wendell Woman’s Club at the corner of West Third and Cypress Streets. October 30 will be the season’s closing date for the farmer’s market.

Wendell t-shirts and hoodies are available from the chamber. T-shirts are $15 and hoodies (with zipper) are $30.

Wendell United Methodist Church will hold its third annual Feed Your Neighbor 5K on Sunday, October 17 at 4 p.m. The start and finish lines will be at the church on Main Street. All proceeds from registrations and sponsorships will support the Wendell United Methodist Church Food Pantry.

ITEM 11. WEEK OF OCTOBER 4 MEETINGS ATTENDED

Thurs 10/7 CAMPO

Thurs 10/7 WCED Practitioners

Wed. 10/13 Wake County Managers Meeting

ITEM 13. UPCOMING EVENTS

DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION

10/11 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

10/18 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

10/25 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

11/8 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

11/15 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

11/22 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall