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Herald file photo
Debbie Sloan, Ottawa, holds the Special Olympics torch in the parking lot of Dairy Queen, 212 N. Main St., Ottawa, two years ago. This year’s torch run will be in Ottawa 8 a.m. Wednesday at the same Dairy Queen location and will be carried through downtown Ottawa and on to Williamsburg.
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Special Olympics torch headed to Ottawa next week
By JODIE GARCIA, Herald Staff Writer
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Local law enforcement officers will hit the streets next week — literally — in support of Special Olympics Kansas during the annual Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Beginning Tuesday, more than 600 state law enforcement officers and friends will carry the torch for Special Olympics Kansas, a news release from Franklin County Attorney Heather Jones said.
Officers from more than 60 agencies will carry the “Flame of Hope” for four days through 24 counties to the annual Summer Games, the release said.
Locally, the torch run will be led by Jones and will kick off at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Dairy Queen, 212 N. Main St.
Law enforcement officers and Special Olympics Kansas athletes will run the torch downtown on Main Street and head west on 17th Street to Eisenhower Avenue.
The run will continue south on Eisenhower to Old Highway 50 and arrive at Williamsburg at about noon. Runners will continue to Subway at BETO Junction at I-35 and U.S. 75, where they’ll meet runners from Topeka and Shawnee County. The torch then will be passed to Coffey County officers.
Officers will gather for a special Final Leg ceremony at 6:30 p.m. May 30 at Wichita City Hall before carrying the torch to Cessna Stadium to light the cauldron to open the State Summer Games in front of more than 2,300 athletes, coaches and fans of Special Olympics, the release said.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in Wichita in 1981 with six runners and has grown to an international program involving thousands of law enforcement personnel raising millions of dollars annually to benefit Special Olympics programs in the U.S. and abroad.
In 2007, volunteers raised more than $250,000 in support of Special Olympics Kansas programs though such events as the torch run, special fundraisers, sponsorships and donations, the release said.
For more information or to make a secure donation online, visit www.kansastorchrun.org or call Jana Fornelli at (913) 236-9290.
Herald staff writer Jodie Garcia can be e-mailed at jgarcia@ottawaherald.com.
On the Web: www.kansastorchrun.org
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