Torch Is Passed for Special Olympic Games

Escorted by two motorcycle officers from the Ventura Police Department and a dozen runners, the California Special Olympics torch made its way to the steps of Ventura City Hall on Thursday morning before migrating south to Los Angeles.

By sundown tonight, it will be carried into UCLA’s Drake Stadium as the annual athletic contest celebrates opening ceremonies.

“It’s very rewarding,” said Dave Saunders, an investigator with the Ventura County district attorney’s office. Representatives of 10 or more local law enforcement agencies carried the torch through Ventura County.

“It gives you a sense of doing something right,” Saunders said.

The propane-powered torch left Sacramento last week, carried by law enforcement volunteers from agency to agency. Sponsors hope to raise more than $3,500 to benefit the Ventura County chapter of the California Special Olympics.

More than 700 disabled athletes will participate in the UCLA games, which include track and field, swimming, tennis and other sporting events, said Renee Gomez, the state Special Olympics’ local director.

“It gives them an opportunity to compete and to train with their peers,” Gomez said. “They develop skills and friendships that last a lifetime.”

About 65 Special Olympians from Ventura County will compete in the weekend games at UCLA, a prelude to the Special Olympic World Games to be held July 1-9 in Hartford, Conn.

Two local athletes--power lifter Peter Nichols of Oxnard and volleyball player Mike Bierman of Thousand Oaks--already have qualified for the World Games, Gomez said.

Ventura Mayor Tom Buford presented the runners with a city proclamation when they reached City Hall.

But the group stayed only minutes before heading off to Oxnard, where volunteers from the Oxnard Police Department will carry the torch south of town and transfer it to local California Highway Patrol officers.

“It really keeps things in perspective,” said CHP officer and torchbearer Staci Morse. “It reminds you that there are a lot of people out there who have a lot more challenges than you do.”