🌱 Security Improvements at Wake County Schools + eCourt Glitches

Happy National Drink Wine Day Raleigh!

Did you brave the rain for yesterday's Fan Fest? There was so much to enjoy, I hope you didn't miss out, Today's game day and Raleigh is going to be hoppin'. Make sure you get legitimate tickets if you're planning on going to the big game, but before you figure out your plans catch up on everything, including:

• Veterans play ahead of Stadium Series
• The Geek and Grub Market
• This edition of Foodie News

But first, today's weather:

Plenty of sun. High: 55 Low: 37.

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Here are the top stories in Raleigh today:

1. During the Wake County School Board's Facilities Committee meeting, board members raised questions about what could be done to improve security in the district's facilities. Committee Chairman Chris Heagarty asked the district's facilities design and construction program leader, Douglas Congdon, about installing security vestibules, weapons or metal detection or barriers around schools. Congdon expressed that they would require funding entirely from the county or state and would "need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis." The district will discuss a budget for the upcoming school year in the spring, and they hope to install a new visitor management system across all schools, including background checks on all visitors. (WRAL) On Wednesday, Raleigh police officers arrested Shelby Lumpkin after he was seen with a gun at Green Elementary earlier in the week. According to police, the weapon, "was not used in a threatening or dangerous manner," but the school was locked down for the safety of students and staff. (WRAL) On Wednesday there was also an incident as a student brought an airsoft weapon to West Millbrook Middle School. (WRAL)
2. The courts in Wake County and three adjacent counties have been experiencing glitches with their new electronic filing system. According to attorneys, the rollout of the eCourts system is causing delays in justice, as filing and getting forms signed by a judge is now all done online. Wake, Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties are piloting the program for the state. The launch rolled out this last Monday, after being delayed from the initial start back in October. The director of the state court system says there has not been any catastrophic failures, but attorneys say that the technology cant keep up with the pace of courts, especially on Tuesday when there was a Wi-Fi outage. (WRAL)
3. As fans prepare for the Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium, a group of 60 veterans got to participate in the veteran's showcase at Polar Ice in Raleigh. The Camp Patriot Hockey Team got to play a game against other veterans from across the nation. The 60 service members will also get to be in the fan zone during the Stadium Series game. Navy Federal also hosted a formal welcome reception and dinner for all of the teams. (abc11, CBS17) Game officials are urging fans to arrive early for the Stadium Series game as pregame tailgating and fan fest events are taking place from 2 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (abc11)
4. One man is suffering from serious injuries after a crash between his motorcycle and an SUV on Thursday. The crash was reported at the intersection of Oberlin Road and Cameron Street around 7 p.m. According to police, Cameron Street and Oberlin Road were closed for around an hour and a half after the incident. The driver of the motorcycle was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. The two passengers in the SUV were uninjured. (CBS17)
5. According to Duke Energy outage maps, more than 20,000 customers lost power on Thursday night in Wake and Johnston County. Crews said that the massive outages were caused by an outage at the substation, but power was restored to all customers around 1 a.m. (WRAL)

Today in Raleigh:

• HBCU Run: a guided running tour at Shaw University (8:00am)
• Geek and Grub Market at Fred Fletcher Park (12:00pm-4:00pm)
• The ComedyWorx Show at ComedyWorx (6:00pm-7:30pm)
• Sugar on Top Comedy Show at Anisette Sweet Shop (7:30pm)
• Raleigh: Ghosts and Dark History guided night crawl at the State Capitol (8:00pm-9:30pm)
• GAG: a Self-Love Soiree (LGBTQIA+ Party) at Junction West (9:00pm-1:00am)
• Harlem Nights (The Renaissance Affair) Salute to Blackness at Terminal 8 (10:00pm-2:00am)

Sunday in Raleigh:

• Galentine's Day Brunch at Level7 (11:00am-2:00pm)
• Raleigh Artist Meetup at Side Quest (1:00pm)
• 4th Annual Mardi Gras crawfish Boil at Whitaker & Atlantic (1:00pm-5:00pm)
• My Mini Scientist Valentines Day Edition with Joy Worthy Co. (2:00pm-3:30pm)
• Music Bingo at Raleigh Brewing Co. (2:00pm), Edit Beer Co. (4:00pm-6:00pm)
• Open Mic Night at Compass Rose Brewery (3:00pm-6:00pm)
• An Improv Show at The Night Rider (7:30pm)
• Get Sad, Sing Bad Emo Karaoke at The Tap Yard (9:00pm)

From my notebook:

• It's National Drink Wine Day and Raleigh has no shortage of wine bars to enjoy. Foursquare has compiled a list of 15 of the city's best wine bars.
• Gym Tacos is planning to open at Morgan Street Food Hall in the space that was formerly Wicked Taco. Read that and all of WRAL's Foodie News here.
• Bruno, the pup that went viral from the SPCA of Wake County has found his fur-ever home with a Fort Bragg Specialist. (WRAL)

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Saturday. I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with a new update!

— CJ Fullford

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Raleigh Patch newsletter? Contact me at raleigh@patch.com