Law enforcement carries Special Olympics ‘Flame of Hope’ torch through Santa Maria
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Members of various Northern Santa Barbara County law enforcement agencies held the Special Olympics Torch Run through Santa Maria on Tuesday.
Known as the “Flame of Hope,” the torch was lit during a rally at Santa Maria City Hall and was then carried for approximately three miles along several busy streets to Santa Maria Toyota.
“We’ve got eight local law enforcement agencies together and ran through the City of Santa Maria to raise awareness and funds for our local Special Olympics here in Santa Barbara County,” said Lt. Nate Totorica, Santa Maria Police Department.year. “We bring our Special Olympics community together and all the local law enforcement agencies get together, and collectively, we’re able to get out into the community, raise awareness, and really highlight the Special Olympic athletes, and provide them an opportunity to participate as well. They were alongside us running through the city. It’s just a lot of fun in every way.”
The run is just a short leg of the much-larger Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Southern California that includes hundreds of officers carrying the torch in preparation for the upcoming 2025 Special Olympics Southern California Summer Games taking place this weekend in Long Beach.
The Santa Maria event also serves as a fundraiser for Special Olympians in the area, with money raised going directly towards helping local athletes compete in Long Beach.
“Specifically all the money that we raise in Northern Santa Barbara County stays with our Northern Santa Barbara County athletes, which is what’s really cool about this,” said Totorica. “Uniforms, training, travel expenses, everything raised goes directly to our Northern Santa Barbara County athletes.”
Tuesday’s torch run will began at City Hall on the corner of Broadway and Cook Street. Runners moved south along Broadway, then turned east on Battles Road. The torch briefly headed south on College Drive before turning east on Meehan Street, where it ended at the Toyota dealership.
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