New Story Walk opens in Selma

Submitted by PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF JOHNSTON COUNTY

SELMA — The first Story Walk in Selma has arrived!

It is located along the walking path around Blackley Athletic Park at 601 W. Noble St. The Story Walk concept offers families the opportunity to enjoy some light physical exercise while reading stories along the path.

Through this walk around the park, participants are guided through questions to ask their children, leading to meaningful family conversations and an easy start to early literacy. The Story Walk is easily accessible and within walking distance for many of the town’s youngest residents and their families. The Partnership held the official ribbon cutting ceremony in April. Community members, students from the Selma Head Start and members from Boy Scout Troop 333 from Clayton came out to help celebrate the grand opening.

Gracie Earp with Troop 333 coordinated the Story Walk installation as her Eagle Scout project. Earp, along with other troop members, dug the post holes and cemented in all 18 Story Walk panels. Attendees at the ribbon-cutting received balloons and a free book and took a stroll around the Story Walk.

The featured book to kick off the new Story Walk is called “Different but Special,” written by Johnston County’s own Owen Daughtry. Owen has cerebral palsy and wrote this story when he was a teenager to create awareness on the topic and ensure that every child feels special.

Summer has arrived, so everyone is urged to visit the Story Walk and learn more about inclusivity with their children.

The latest Story Walk joins two other locations that the Partnership for Children has installed in Johnston County, one at the Partnership for Children Park in Smithfield and the second at the Dr. P.K. Vyas, MD Community Park in Benson.