Salisbury police continue to support the Special Olympics Torch Run as a five-member delegation from the department traveled to Raleigh on May 30 to participate in the final leg of the run.

There were six legs prior to the final run in areas across North Carolina, and Salisbury police were joined by members of N.C. State Highway Patrol and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office on the local leg through Salisbury into Spencer on May 14. Runners started on South Main Street heading north at Airport Road, and ran up to Bell Tower Green in Salisbury’s center before picking up and running into Spencer.

In Raleigh, the Salisbury team ran just over five miles to help carry the flame from Carter Finley Stadium to the State Capitol on Friday. Major Justin Crews and sergeants Adam Bouk and Meredith Walker took part in the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games.

Crews said he’d never gone before and encouraged other officers to consider it in the coming years.

“In fact, we talked about reaching out to other departments in the area to see if they want to participate,” he said.

On Saturday, they were searching for volunteers to hand out medals to those who won swim competitions and all members of the Salisbury delegation happily volunteered.

“We spent about two and half hours handing out medals and it was awesome,” Crews said. According to Crews, the participants were happy and presenting their honors was “very rewarding.”

Bouk’s wife Cheryl also participated in the run and in the medal distribution, making it truly a family event.