Wendell News Outlet

The Friday memo is being sent out early this week due to the Christmas holiday. We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Tonight will be the last night before Christmas that our downtown merchants will be open late for shoppers. Shop local and support Wendell.

The Town of Wendell sponsored two holiday contests this year - the Holiday Decoration Contest and the Shop Local Wendell Basket Giveaway.

The Holiday Decoration Contest had 13 participants: eight commercial entries and five residential entries.  The judging was very tough because each participant showed creativity, originality and artistic ability.  The winners are:

Residential: The Hunter Family at 265 S. Lakewood Drive

Commercial: Perry’s Retirement and Insurance at 124 N Main Street

More than 200 people from Wendell to Winterville signed up for a chance at one of three Shop Local Wendell baskets.  Several local merchants, Kannon’s Clothing, Kila Kompany, the Little Bakery, Ty Grey Consignment, Baynes and Company, Universal Chevrolet, Perry’s Retirement and Insurance, Hedrick Insurance, Mortex Factory Outlet, The Flower Shop, and Aubrey and Peedies Grill, donated items for the baskets.  The winners are:

Thank you to everyone who participated in the contests.  Look for several more in 2011!

The Wendell courtroom hosted the last district court session of the year on Friday, December 17^th.  When the session ended, so did a long standing tradition in Wendell as court has been a Friday regular for decades.  Beginning in January 2011, no court will be scheduled in Wendell and all court business will be scheduled in a Raleigh courtroom on various dates throughout the year.  Any questions about the scheduling of pending cases should be directed to the Wake County Clerk of Court’s office at (919) 792-4125 or your may find scheduling information at the Administrative Office of the Courts website: http://www1.aoc.state.nc.us/www/calendars/CriminalQuery.html

As some of you may be aware the 2005-2009 5-yr American Community Survey (ACS) estimates were released December 14, 2010.  The 5-yr ACS contains population and housing information based on data collected from a random sampling of households between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2009.  Communities of Wendell’s size do not receive 1-yr or 3-yr ACS survey results.  The benefit of the 5-yr ACS is that it provides a broader range of demographic and housing estimates between decennial census release years.  The 2010 decennial Census results, which contains population and housing data for all households is scheduled to be released in February of 2011.

A tutorial on the uses, benefits, and characteristics of the 5-yr ACS data can be accessed at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/e_tutorial/

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Closing at 5:00pm

December 24-27, 2010

Closed for the

Christmas Holiday

We Will Reopen on Tuesday

December 28, 2010 at 6:00am

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Closing at 5:00pm

Friday, December 31,

Closed for New Years Day Holiday

We Will Reopen on

Monday, January 3, 2011 at 6:00am

Wendell Parks & Recreation is now taking registrations for spring sports of T-ball, age 4; coach pitch t-ball, ages 5-6; baseball, ages 7-14; softball, ages 7-15; and girls’ volleyball, ages 7-14. Deadline for registrations is February 3. Forms are available at www.townofwendell.com or at the Wendell Community Center.

DATE        TIME             EVENT                                               LOCATION

 12/24 – 12/27                    Town Hall Closed for Christmas

 12/31                                 Town Hall Closed for New Year’s Holiday

 1/10           7 p.m.              Board of Commissioners Meeting      Town Hall

 1/17                                   Town Hall Closed for MLK Holiday

 1/18           7 p.m.              Planning Board Meeting                     Town Hall

 1/24           7 p.m.              Board of Commissioners Meeting      Town Hall

The lights will be judged Monday night the 20th.  All contestants are asked to have their lights on through the weekend! The historic society will also advertise during the homes tour on Saturday December 18, 2010

  

On Monday, January 4^th Maggie O’Neill will be hold a meeting at Perry’s Insurance and Retirement at 6 pm to discuss extending business hours for local businesses.  A light meal will be served. Please RSVP to Maggie at moneill@townofwendell.com.

 Also, on January 20^th, there will be a meeting in the courtroom at 6 pm to discuss developing a downtown economic development program.

There were a large number of employees nominated this year by their fellow co-workers. Those nominated include: Billy Denton, Jonnie Driver, Larry Franklin, Henry Gibbs, Stacy Griffin, Robert Helms, Tim Kay, Bobby Langston, Ricky Mustian, Jermaine Thomas, and Jody Wall.

Congratulations to all the nominees for their service and dedication to the Town and the Wendell Community.

  

Wendell Parks & Recreation is now taking registrations for spring sports of T-ball, age 4; coach pitch t-ball, ages 5-6; baseball, ages 7-14; softball, ages 7-15; and girls’ volleyball, ages 7-14. Forms are available at www.townofwendell.com or at the Wendell Community Center.

 12/20         7:00 p.m.         Planning Board Meeting                     Town Hall

 12/24 – 12/27                    Town Hall Closed for Christmas

 12/27                                 Town Board Meeting Cancelled        

 1/10/2011                          Town Board Meeting                          Town Hall

On Monday night members of the East Carolina University Parks and Recreation and Leisure Studies Department presented the executive summary for the Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Plan to the Wendell Parks and Recreation Commission at the Wendell Town Hall.

 The meeting was a regularly scheduled Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in which other items of business, including current updates on programs, were discussed.

The meeting was attended by members of the Wendell Parks and Recreation Commission, Wendell citizens, Recreation Resources Services Regional Recreation Consultant Nate Halubka, Wendell Commissioner Virginia Gray, Wendell Parks and Recreation staff, and Town Manager Teresa Piner.

 Following the presentation of the executive summary a question and answer session was held in order to allow those in attendance to voice their opinions and concerns.

 ITEM 2.  ELEMENTARY STUDENTS CAROLING DOWNTOWN

The Wendell Elementary School Chorus will be caroling at 11 a.m. Saturday in front of the former Inside Out Design building. The students will sing holiday favorites until 11:45 a.m. 

 ITEM 3.  SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP IN DOWNTOWN ON THURSDAYS

The Town of Wendell is pleased to announce extended hours for area merchants on Thursdays throughout the month of December.  Many businesses are staying open until 8:00 pm on Thursdays during the month of December. Visitors are encouraged to shop local by visiting Wendell’s charming merchants throughout the holiday season. 

 

Shoppers that visit with participating Wendell merchants can enter to win a “Shop Local Wendell” basket filled with gift certificates and merchandise.  Entries will be taken until December 19, 2010.

Participating merchants include: Mortex Factory Outlet, Kannon’s Clothing, Wit’s End, The Little Bakery, Ty Grey Consignment, Aubrey’s and Peddies, Universal Chevrolet, Kilo, Strickland’s Jewelry, and The Flower Shop.

For more information on events this holiday season in the Town of Wendell, contact Maggie O’Neill, Economic Development Coordinator, at 919.366.2266 ext. 216 or moneill@townofwendell.com. 

        The Wendell Historical Society proudly announces its third annual candlelight

         home tour. You are invited to join them for a beautiful December evening of

         visiting Wendell's finest homes decorated in all of their holiday splendor.

        Music and refreshments will be provided at various locations.

        Maps will be available with directions to each home/location.

        (9 homes plus our historic post office this year. Pictures are below)

        Ticket Information:

                    $10 Day of event at Historic Post office, 101 E. 4th Street

        $8 for Wendell Historical Society members

                    children 10 and under FREE

        (Cash or check only please)

        For more information, please call

        Chris @ 365-5714

ITEM 5.  ENGINEER SPONSORS ANNUAL HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

 McKim & Creed will hold a holiday luncheon at the East Wake Senior Center   

 McKim & Creed, who holds the luncheon each year at the holidays, invites   

 staff to take part in the event that gives back to this community they work in.  

 Please let Stacy know by December 13 at noon if you would like to attend.

 This week the Wendell Parks and Recreation Department held the Expressions

of Worship dance and acro classes, cheer classes with Kristi Snuggs and the Carolina Twirl Girls baton classes in the activity rooms at the Wendell Community Center. While these programs were being held the local hoopsters were showcasing their basketball skills for family and friends as we began the first full week of youth basketball games at the Wendell Community Center gym. We have had 10 games played from Monday until Thursday night so far and there are still 16 more games to be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! So if you are interested in seeing our local youth in action, please stop by the Wendell Community Center any night Monday –Friday from 6:15 pm - 9 pm, Saturday from 8:15 am-7:30 pm or on Sunday from 1:15 pm-4:15 pm and enjoy the exciting games to be played.

On the Doug Proctor Field, Carver Field 1 and Carver Field 2, there will be Select Baseball Team tryouts this weekend. Yes, that’s right, select baseball tryouts have to be held during the winter months in order to organize the rosters, order uniforms and prepare for practices after the first of the year. All baseball players who wish to be a part of the Select Baseball Program are encouraged to come out to tryout at the following times; on Saturday December 11, ages 7-8 on Carver 2 at 2 pm and ages 9-10 on the Doug Proctor Field at 2 pm. On Sunday, December 12 ages 11-12 will be held on Carver 1 at 2 pm.

The Wendell Community Center Weight Room is open Monday through Thursday from 6 am-9 pm and Friday from 6 am-4 pm. So far this week we have had a total of 36 visitors to the weight room. The best thing of all is that our weight room member’s say that they can get all the exercise they need for the low price of $10 per month for town residents and $20 per month for non residents of Wendell. Another great program for our citizens is the Senior Walking Program, which is offered Monday-Friday from 6 am until 11 am. This week, even with the coldest temperatures of the year we have had 63 seniors to come in and walk. We are so proud of all them who are making that effort to maintain their active lifestyle through our programs. During the mornings you will hear stories being shared, you will see smiles and hear the laughter and during this time of the year you may even hear a Christmas carol or two being sung. This is an excellent program to come out and make new friends and socialize while you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

6:15pm     Age 9-10 Boys Tigers 19 Crimson Tide 13     

Leading Scorers: Tigers- Adrian Scarborough (12) Crimson Tide- Connor Jordan (6)

7:15pm     Age 9-10 Boys Gators 11 Rebels 9

Leading Scorers:  Gators-Devin Worley (7) Rebels- Shaheim Payne (4)

6:15pm   Age 11-12 Boys             Cardinals 38 Mountaineers 31

Leading Scorers:  Cardinals- Ryan Worley (13) Mountaineers- Brett Hocutt (18)

7:15pm   Age 11-12 Boys             Bearcats 23    Knights 16
Leading Scorers:  Bearcats- Blake McShea (9) Knights- Isaiah Pulley (6)

8:15pm   Age 13-14 Boys             Spartans 35 Hoosiers  26
Leading Scorers:  Spartans- Stephon Harris (15) Hoosiers- Drew Allen (17)

December 8, 2010
6:15pm   Age 9-10 Boys   Volunteers 28 Commodores 23
Leading Scorers: Volunteers- M. Davis McIntyre & Davis Clemmons (10) Commodores-Cole Alphin (11)
7:15pm   Age 11-12 Boys   Knights 22 Huskies 19
Leading Scorers: Knights- Justin Torres (8)         Huskies- Tyrell Jones (13)  

8:15pm   Age 15-16 Boys             Longhorns 45  Sooners 31
Leading Scorers: Longhorns- Tracy Jones (17) Sooners- Tyler Tripp (12)

December 9, 2010
7:15pm   Age U12 Girls    Bears 29 Knightdale 23         
Leading Scorers: Bears- Mikieja Covington- (10)  Knightdale- Jessica (11)       
8:15pm   Age U15 Girls    Grizzlies 39 Knightdale2  34
Leading Scorers: Grizzlies- Ciera Williams, Affiniti Holder, Courtney Dunn (8) Knightdale 2- Kianna Wynn (20)

As a part of the enterprise grant the Town received from USDA, additional benches have been received and installed in phase I of the project. This completes phase I of the grant. Staff will work toward closing out the project by the end of the year.

                  Staff is also preparing to bring information to the board regarding for phases II and III during the first quarter of 2011.

There will be a Notary Public class at the chamber from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call the chamber office for reservations.

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

 As a part of the enterprise grant the Town received from USDA, three crosswalks were installed this past week. The crosswalks took approximately a day each to complete. The process is called StreetPrint and involves the heating of existing asphalt or pavement and then stamping a pattern into the asphalt while hot. A color overlay is then heated and melted onto the stamped surface. The pattern and color chosen were copied from the asphalt crosswalks completed earlier this year at Main and Third Streets.  For those not downtown to observe the installation of the crosswalks, you may go to the following website to view a video on the StreetPrint process.

 ITEM 10.       UPCOMING EVENTS

DATE        TIME             EVENT                                               LOCATION

12/13         7:00 p.m.         Board of Commissioners Meeting      Town Hall

12/20         7:00 p.m.         Planning Board Meeting                     Town Hall