Special Olympic Torch Strides through Vernon

Members of the Vernon law enforcement community blazed through the heat Thursday with the Special Olympics Connecticut Flame of Hope torch.

They were participating in the second of a three-day run to support the 42nd-annual Summer Games, scheduled for today through Sunday in New Haven and Hamden.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the Special Olympics’ single largest grassroots fundraiser and public awareness agent. The Connecticut Torch Run Program raises more than $500,000 each year for Special Olympics Connecticut, according to a release.  Leg 4 of the run began at Eastern Connecticut State University in Windham, and brought the torch through Mansfield, Coventry, Tolland, Vernon, Manchester, South Windsor, Windsor, Bloomfield and Hartford, covering 47.2 miles.  Day 2’s Torch Run will conclude with a rally at 5 p.m. on the steps of the State Capitol in Hartford. The rally will serve as a dedication ceremony to TFC Kenneth Hall, a 22-year veteran of the Connecticut State Police, who was killed in the line of duty in September 2010.

Officer Steve Langlais of the Vernon Police Department organized the 5.6 mile run through Vernon. The torch was passed on to approximately 15 Vernon runners on Route 31 at the Tolland line.

The runners took turns holding the torch as they made their way down Route 31 turning left onto Route 30. The group ran down Route 30 turning left on Route 83, ending at Golf Land near the Vernon/Manchester line. Participants included: Vernon Police Department officers and family members: Steven Langlais, Timothy Gunnoud, Christopher Hunt - with his police dog Narko, Bobby Wyse, Robbie Marra, Mel Hardy, James Grady III, Kate Rooney, Todd Thiel, Mike Patrizz, Christene Gunnoud, Kim Lamarre, Stephanie Prattson, and Connecticut Judicial Marshals from Rockville Superior Court Adam Lung, Alec Lung, Nancy Doland, and Mike Ritter.

The heat definitely took its toll on the runners, but that did not stop them from supporting the cause. “It’s always worth it. It was a good run,” Langlais said. “I think it’s important that Vernon citizens see that the Vernon Police Department is committed to community programs.”

Rooney has been participating in the event on and off for 17 years. This is the hottest one she remembers. 

“It’s such a nice team. It’s good teamwork,” she said.  “It was a good group effort for a good cause.”

Since 1969, Special Olympics Connecticut has been “changing attitudes and changing lives” through year-round sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, according to a release.  SOCT currently serves 13,180 athletes (with intellectual disabilities) and partners (without intellectual disabilities) from across the state. 

Athletes and partners compete in 26 different Olympic-type sports thanks to over 100 local coordinators, 900 coaches and 10,000 additional volunteers.  For more information visit www.soct.org.