MADERA (KMJ) — Members of law enforcement from all over Madera County are running one part of a total 300 mile torch relay, to help drive funds towards Special Olympics Northern California.
The local endeavor began Tuesday morning in Madera’s Courthouse Park. The approximately 25 mile journey takes participants north on Road 26, then making a left to go west on Avenue 24, and then going northwest on Chowchilla Boulevard, pointing the Flame of Hope towards the end point in Chowchilla’s Veterans Memorial Park.
The effort is designed to both raise money and awareness of the Special Olympics Northern California. The non-profit provides a free year-round sports training and competition program for children and adults with intellectual difficulties.
Agencies taking part include Madera PD, Madera County Department of Corrections, Madera County Probation, Chowchilla PD, and the CHP.
Madera County Sheriff’s Office took on the opening ceremony hosting duties at their headquarters on Falcon Drive. Sheriff Jay Varney officially welcomed the participants who turned up at 6.30am.
“It’s easy to get yourself up at 4 o’clock in the morning to get out here to prep for a little bit of the run, or a lot of the run depending on what you’re going to do,” says Sheriff Varney. “We just want to keep that awareness out in front…kids with special needs are those people we want to make sure don’t get forgotten.”
The Sheriff of Madera County revealed he too was going to take part in the relay.
“The whole idea here is to bring awareness to the fact that even folks with special needs love to participate in events, love to get recognition. So at the Olympics in June, on the 23rd to the 25th, you’ll end up having numerous law enforcement folks there and literally hundreds of athletes from around California.”
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
