June 9, 2000 Cape Gazette | ![]() |
©
Cape Gazette. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 44 (44 of 116 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
June 9, 2000 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
'." . ' .+ r.Z+ .'... ".-r/l . rla, 1 ,j,+r
4 -(J AITT, Fnday,ner - ue i(
Special Olympics kicks off Summer Games in Rehoboth Beach
Bike Prologue and Law Enforcement Torch Run
raise $125,000 for Delaware Special Olympic athletes
More than 170 law enforcement officers,
their families and friends participated in
this year's Bike Prologue, the May 31 event
that kicked off the annual Law Enforce-
ment Torch Run for Delaware Special
Olympics Summer Games. The Bike Pro-
logue, a 17-mile ride from Fenwick Island,
culminated at the Boardwalk in Rehoboth
Beach, where Delaware State Fire Marshal
Deputy Randy Lee passed the Flame of
Hope to Cpl. Tim Jones of Sussex Correc-
tional Institution, who carried the torch for
the first mile out of Rehoboth on its way to
the Summer Games at the University of
Delaware, Newark campus.
Since the torch run's inception 14 years
ago, law enforcement officers have raised
more than $950,000 to support Delaware
Special Olympics. This year's event, spon-
sored for the 10th year by Wilmington
Trust, raised more than $125,000. More
than 500 officers from 22 agencies particb
pared.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is an
international event involving more than
50,000 law enforcement officers.
Delaware's event involved officers partici-
pating in three legs - the eastern, central
and western. Runners met in Harrington
June !, where the three torch runners joined
their flames to become one. The Flame of
Hope was then carried to the site of the
opening ceremonies at the University of
Delaware. The flame is carried a total of
160 miles.
This year's run had two special events.
On th e third day of the run, a group of stu-
dents and community members joined offi-
cers at Newark point to honor former Spe-
cial Olympics supporter Maj. Gary Sum-
merville. Summerville, a University of
Delaware Police Department officer, was
killed in an off-duty motorcycle crash last
year.
Following that event, Jimmy Curran a
former New Castle County police officer
who was paralyzed from an off-duty fall,
joined the run by propelling his wheelchair
on part of the last leg of the run to the uni-
versity's field house.
This year's games included more than
1,400 athletes, 320 of whom where unified
partners. Sports included in the Summer
Games are aquatics, athletics - track and
field, tennis, unified softball, powerlifting
and bocce.
- Local athletes fare well in competition.
Story on page 96.
!+++p++, + +p( +
Alex Townsend, Special Olympic athlete, dances
to the tunes of First State Force as more than 100
people await the arrival of participants in the
Bike Prologue.
Submitted photo
Danny Berg, athlete,
spends time at the
Olympic Village, trying
his hand at being an as-
tronaut.
Kerry Kester photos
Delaware State Fire Marshal Deputy Randy Lee leads law enforcement of-
ricers, their families and friends, as he carries the Flame of Hope to the
Boardwalk during the Bike Prologue, the kickoff event for the 2000 Law En-
forcement Torch Run. The annual torch run culminates with Delaware Spe-
cial Olympics Summer Games opening ceremonies at the University of
Delaware campus in Newark.
Reggie Miller, Special Olympic athlete on the Sussex Determinators team,
addresses the crowd during the Bike Prologue ceremony May 31, at the
Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. He recalled his performance in previous
competitions with heartfelt emotion: "I was proud of myself - always doing
my best, the best that I can," said Miller, who noted his bowling average is
122. "My team has been practicing a long time." Miller won two gold medals,
a silver medal, two bronze medals and two ribbons in the Summer Games.
Delaware Attorney General Jane Brady does her
annual boogie with Camille Caggiano, whose par-
ents Joan and Nick Sr. of Nicola Pizza sponsor the
Bike Prologue.
First State Force, a band composed of law en-
forcement officers from agencies throughout the
state, entertain the Boardwalk audience as State
Fire Marshal Deputy Randy Lee arrives from the
Bike Prologue with the torch. Shown are Cpl. Phil
Strohm of Delaware State Plice, Lee and Cpl.
Rivers McCreary of Capitol Police.
Submitted photo
Hugs are the order of the day during the Special
Olympics Summer Games...even if the buggers are
siblings. Shown are Danny and Livia Berg.