The torch for the 2009 Special Olympics Northern California
Summer Games will reach Gilroy around 10:30 a.m. Friday. California
Highway Patrol officers will pass the torch to the Gilroy Police
Department at the Motel 6 on south Monterey Road.
The torch for the 2009 Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games will reach Gilroy around 10:30 a.m. Friday. California Highway Patrol officers will pass the torch to the Gilroy Police Department at the Motel 6 on south Monterey Road. Gilroy police will then run the torch five miles north on Monterey Road to Masten Avenue to hand it to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The torch, called the “Flame of Hope,” is carried by law enforcement officers from 75 West Bay agencies. The West Bay Torch Run starts Thursday in Monterey County and ends June 24 in San Francisco. The torch, however, will continue beyond the West Bay to the State Capitol in Sacramento and the Special Olympic opening ceremonies at University of California, Davis. More than 750 athletes will participate in the games, June 26 to 28
In Gilroy, local law enforcement agencies have worked with Special Olympics before.
“We’ve been working with them as long as I’ve been working here – and that’s 25 years,” said CHP Officer Matt Peters.
Officers prepare for the event by raising money and awareness for the Special Olympics through events, such as Tip-A-Cop, truck pulls, trampoline dodgeball tournaments and T-shirt sales. The Special Olympics Northern California, West Bay Region provides year-round sports training and competition to more than 3,100 children and adults with developmental disabilities. The programs are supported by donations and volunteers.
“The torch run itself is kind of inspiring… but the actual olympics is really inspiring because you see how hard the athletes work,” Peters said.
