Prince George drivers will have a bit extra to be on the lookout for today (Wednesday) as the Law Enforcement Torch Run is taking place.
“This is kind of the kick off event to the Special Olympics Summer Games here in Prince George,” said Cpl. Jennifer Cooper.
“We would love to have the community come out and just show their advance support for these events by attending the Torch Run either somewhere along the route, or join us at CN Centre.”
The Torch Run will start at the RCMP detachment at the Corner of 4th Avenue and Victoria Street.
From there, it will head over to Winnipeg Street, heading all the way down Winnipeg and Massey Drive before heading north to the CN Centre on Ospika Boulevard.
Drivers are asked to be cautious around those routes tomorrow.
“Typically we do stay to the sidewalks, but this year we have planned it a little bigger and we are going to be on the road,” Cooper said.
“You will definitely experience a little bit of disruption if you happen to be in those areas. We’re going to be escorted by police cars, we’ll have our new side-by-side out as well escorting us through the Prince George. We’re going to be heading through and making as big a spectacle of ourselves as we can as we head to CN Centre.”
Cooper added while the Torch Run is a favourite among the Special Olympics Athletes, it’s also a great event for law enforcement officers.
“A lot of times Law Enforcement Officers often interact with people kind of on the worst days of their lives,” she explained.
“It’s really positive for law enforcement officers, and other first responders will be joining us, to have the support of the community to come out in a positive way as well, interact with us in a positive way.”
Cooper noted the RCMP has been doing torch runs for nearly a decade, but this one is a much bigger deal.
“This has definitely been an all-hands-on-deck type of year for us,” she said.
“It’s a smaller planning committee that kind of heads up these events so we’ve had to pull in some resources from other units and other first responder agencies just to try and help cover everything off.”
Cooper said they’ve been incredibly well supported by the community, as well as sponsors.
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