SHINE — Scores of law enforcement officers joined Special Olympics athletes for the annual Torch Run across the North Olympic Peninsula.
A dozen agencies from Clallam and Jefferson counties helped carry the torch from Laird’s Corner west of Port Angeles to the Hood Canal on Wednesday, Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Cameron said.
It took about 13 hours for the runners and walkers to reach Shine Tidelands State Park via the Olympic Discovery Trail and state and federal highways.
The flame was passed to Kitsap County torch bearers and carried across Hood Canal on a Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe canoe, Cameron said.
“We passed the torch off at about 8 o’clock last night to [Kitsap County] Sheriff [Gary] Simpson aboard one of the traditional tribal canoes from Port Gamble,” Cameron said Thursday.
“Everything went well.”
Here’s a quick look at the #SpecialOlympicsTorchRun pass off at the Hood Canal Bridge last night. The torch was brought across the canal to #KitsapCounty by canoe and will make its way to #PierceCounty by the end of today. @SO_Washington @Jeffcosheriffwa #PTPD #PTHS #YourWSP pic.twitter.com/ly6RBM8tNB
— Trooper Chelsea Hodgson (@wspd8pio) May 30, 2019
The final destination was the Special Olympics Washington’s 2019 State Spring Games.
An estimated 1,800 Special Olympians and 1,500 volunteers were to be on hand for the games, which began Friday and continue through today at Pacific Lutheran University, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and King County Aquatic Center.
Three Special Olympians joined Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict for his traditional torch walk from Port Angeles City Pier to the former Rayonier mill site at the foot of Ennis Street on Wednesday morning.
“It was my pleasure to be able to go walk with some of the athletes,” Benedict said.
“And the community response is incredible here.”
Local law enforcement officials sell Torch Run t-shirts to raise money for Clallam and Jefferson County Special Olympics teams.
“It is one charity that the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs supports unilaterally,” Cameron said.
Cameron participated in two torch runs as a West End deputy in the mid-1980s. He said Benedict “reinvigorated” the tradition on the North Olympic Peninsula about 10 years ago.
“It’s the right thing to do, and it’s an awesome community outreach for law enforcement,” Benedict said Thursday.
“We enjoy doing it.”
Most of the route to the Hood Canal followed the Olympic Discovery Trail, U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 104.
Cameron followed the runners in a patrol vehicle to keep them safe on the highways.
“Drivers were so courteous,” Cameron said, added that passing motorists encouraged the runners with honks and waves.
The agencies that participated in the Clallam County segment were the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, National Park Service, county Juvenile and Family Services, Elwha police, U.S. Border Patrol, Sequim police, Jamestown S’Klallam Fish and Game Enforcement and Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Cameron said.
“The Border Patrol and prison folks, man, they’re studs and studettes,” Cameron said.
The torch was carried in Jefferson County by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol, Port Townsend police and members of the Port Townsend High School track team, Cameron said.
The runners were able to maintain 10- to 12-minute miles throughout the day, Cameron said.
“Some people take a mile,” Cameron said. “Other people take several.”
The torch was passed from State Patrol troopers in Kitsap County to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, said Trooper Chelsea Hodgson, State Patrol spokeswoman.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
