WALNUT — Thursday, Dennis Wille, a designer with Leathers & Associates of Ithaca, N.Y. unveiled the schematic design of a new Walnut Park to be built by volunteers in June.

The park will be similar to Kidz World in Ripley and set to be located next to the Walnut Swimming Pool.

Wille formed the design based on ideas from hundreds of youngsters in the North Tippah School District. Ideas were submitted by K – sixth grade students at Walnut, Falkner and Chalybeate schools.

“The schematic design is just a starting point,” said Wille, who spent two hours talking with children at Walnut Elementary School before drawing the design. “It gives us a opportunity to get a lot of ideas that the children shared on paper and lay out the playground in a manner that fits the site.

“We always get input from the children because they will be the users of the playground and it just makes sense to talk with them before we build it.”

Cheyenne Eaton, 10, is a fourth grader at WES and came up with an idea for a fire pole, which is part of the plan. She was one of 25 children along with dozens of other community members to attend the unveiling. Eaton said she’s very excited about the park.

“I thought about a fire pole because I’ve seen it at a lot of other parks and it’s really fun,” said Eaton. “I hope to visit it as many times as my mom will let me.”

Walnut Mayor Vicky Skinner put the construction of a park on her agenda when she was elected in 2009. Although she understood there is a long way to go, Skinner said Thursday’s unveiling was a big first step.

“I’m speechless right now,” said Skinner, who thanked Jack Griffith and Associates for writing the grant for part of the funding. “I started working on this project in July because it’s important to have a safe place for children to play.

“It’s been a long trip--but it’s going to be worth it--and I can’t wait to see it.”

Skinner announced that the town of Walnut will have fundraisers leading up to construction in June and they’ve also set up a special account at the Peoples Bank--c/o Walnut Playground, P.O. Box 38 Walnut, MS 38663--for donations.

“Right now we have a auction and a cake walk scheduled for April 17, and a barbecue scheduled for May 1. Both will be held at the Walnut Volunteer Fire Department,” concluded Skinner.