SALYERSVILLE – With school starting this week, on Monday the Magoffin County Special Olympics held a social inclusion awareness walk from Ramey Memorial Park to IGA, with the community showing up to spread the message of the importance of being kind to everyone.
Paul Montgomery, Salyersville City Council member and one of the founders of the local Special Olympics chapter, said, “With school starting back this week, we just wanted to do something to remind everyone to just be kind to everyone. Talk to the kid sitting alone in the lunchroom. Say hello to the quiet kid in the corner. Include the students with special needs in your conversation and just be nice to everyone. You never know the difference just being kind to someone having a bad day can make.”
Over 200 people, including many teams and groups affiliated with the Magoffin County School system, made the trek from the park to the IGA parking lot, where everyone could order a shaved ice before making the trip back to the park. Children and adults of all ages and abilities, as well as several dogs, participated in the walk, with local fire departments and police officers closing the road as they walked through town.
Magoffin County Schools Superintendent Chris Meadows said at the event, “It means the world to me that everyone showed up for this. Fads come and go, but being kind is always important and takes very little effort.”
