MURFREESBORO – Eight participants have signed up for the upcoming forum that will feature incumbents and candidates vying for Murfreesboro Town Council.

The forum, open to the public and held by the Murfreesboro Rotary Club, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday in Vaughan Auditorium on the campus of Chowan University.

Among those participating in the forum will be incumbents Bill Theodorakis, Sarah Wallace, Gloria Odum and Lloyd Hill. A fifth incumbent, Councilman William “Bill” Stephens, has filed for Mayor.

Four newcomers, Craig Dennis, former Town Administrator Molly Eubank, Joe Murray and Terry Williams, will also participate in the event.

According to Lee Canipe with the Murfreesboro Rotary Club, candidate Robert Vincent cannot attend due to a previous engagement.

Canipe said during the forum, each individual will have two minutes to respond to a question.

There will be five questions in total for the event, all of which were submitted by the public.

Canipe said the questions will cover the candidates’ priorities, growth of the community, public service and quality of life in Murfreesboro.

He added each of the participants was provided with the questions prior to the event for study.

“We didn’t want to ambush anybody,” said Canipe.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center’s Dr. Colin Jones with the physicians’ office in Ahoskie will act as moderator of the forum.

Canipe, who has co-chaired the event with William Hall and Jayne Wolfskill, said he hopes citizens will make an effort to attend for their own knowledge.

“It’s an important part of making an informed decision,” said Canipe.