VENTURA : County Officers Reach Out to Special Athletes

As part of a statewide effort to raise money for the Special Olympics Summer Games, 140 Ventura County law enforcement officials ran Thursday in a torch-carrying procession from the Santa Barbara County line to Los Angeles County.

The parade-like caravan was the local portion of an endeavor that started on June 13 with law enforcement officers in Sacramento. The relay will end today in Los Angeles, when runners carry the torch into UCLA’s Drake Stadium for the opening ceremonies of the games.

At a special ceremony Thursday at Ventura City Hall, county officials recognized the efforts of the county’s law enforcement officers, who took turns carrying the torch in the 48-mile cross-county relay.

The Ventura County portion of the run actually started Wednesday afternoon at Bates Road near the Santa Barbara County line. The torch was picked up Thursday at Emma Wood State Beach north of Ventura, and the run continued to Ventura City Hall, and from there went to Oxnard and the Pacific Coast Highway, and on to the Los Angeles County line.

Ventura County has participated in the games since 1968, when California first began taking part in the nationwide competition. The games give developmentally disabled children and adults a chance to compete in sports such as swimming, gymnastics, track and field, softball and bowling.

“The games give them the opportunity to be the best they can be,” said Carol Newsham, area director for the Special Olympics in Ventura County. “It improves their self-esteem.”

Sixty-eight Ventura County athletes were chosen from among 700 competitors who sought spots on the team, Newsham said.

Athletic ability wasn’t the sole criterion for choosing team members, Newsham said. Coaches also considered the athletes’ attitudes, willingness to work hard and compassion for their colleagues.

Thursday’s run was the culmination of the officers’ yearlong efforts to contribute to the games, Newsham said. Throughout the year, officers sold T-shirts and held special events such as “Tip-A-Cop,” where officers worked as waiters in local restaurants and donated their tips to the program. Collectively, the fund-raising efforts raised more than $3,500 this year.

Agencies participating in Thursday’s run included the district attorney’s office, Ventura Police Department, the county Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, Oxnard Police Department, the county’s Corrections Services Agency and Camarillo State Hospital Security Police.

Alan Siemens, an investigator with the district attorney’s office, who participated in the run on Wednesday and Thursday, was taking part for the first time.

“I enjoy (participating) because it is a recognition of their (special athlete’s) efforts,” Siemens said, after completing his run. “Things that we take for granted, they have to struggle to achieve.”