GPD carrying Special Olympics torch
Greencastle Police Chief Tom Sutherlin has invited community residents to come out and support local law enforcement as they run a leg of the Special Olympics torch route on Friday.
The torch run serves as the kick-off for the Annual Indiana Special Olympics scheduled to take place at Indiana State University in Terre Haute this weekend.
Members of the Greencastle Police Department's Emergency Response Team (ERT) will start at the Putnam County Fairgrounds around 12:40 p.m. and will make their way to Putnam County Hospital on U.S. 231 at 1:30 p.m.
Sutherlin said the department received a phone call from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy requesting the Greencastle agency to participate in the event.
"Our officers will be running alongside other officers from the Ball State and Kokomo Police Departments," said Sutherlin. "What an opportunity for the City of Greencastle to show that they really do support their local law enforcement. We hope people will come out and cheer our runners on."
GPD officers running in the event are: Assistant Chief Brian Hopkins, Sgt. Chris Jones, Sgt. Charles Inman, Officers Ed Wilson, Eric Vaughan, Darrel Bunten, Chris Helmer, Jeff Modlin, Matt Huffman and Nick Eastham and Reserve Officers Chris Bennett, and Steve St. Pierre.
More than 2,400 Special Olympics athletes are registered to participate in the 2008 Summer Games, making this year's games the largest to date. Of Special Olympics Indiana's 69 county delegations, 66 will send athletes.
The 2008 Summer Games are the culmination of the spring sports season for Special Olympics athletes in Indiana. Competition events include track and field, aquatics, bocce, bowling, cycling, horseshoes and volleyball.
Nearly 2,000 coaches and volunteers will assist throughout the weekend, and hundreds of spectators and family members are expected to attend. All events are free and open to the public. For more information about Special Olympics Indiana, call (317) 328-2000 or visit www.soindiana.org