Valley torch run ‘short, sweet, exciting’

BY NANCY KELLY

King County Register

Two Western Kings County communities are among nine Valley towns and villages preparing to welcome the Olympic torch on Day 22 of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games torch relay.

November 20, the Olympic flame - the symbol of peace, brotherhood and friendship of the Olympic games - will make its way from Halifax to Lunenburg, visiting Windsor, Falmouth, Grand Pre, Wolfville, New Minas, Kentville, Kingston, CFB Greenwood and Middleton en route; as part of its cross-country odyssey to Vancouver.

The relay through the Valley is part of a 100-day-plus, 45,000-kilometre journey that will bring the torch to over 1,000 communities in every Canadian province and territory before the flame lights the Olympic cauldron Feb. 12 in Vancouver signaling the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Those carrying the torch in Kingston and Greenwood are among 12,000 Canadians from all walks of life chosen for “this once-in-a-generation honour,” says Kingston recreation coordinator Glen Abriel, coordinator of the Kingston leg of the relay which begins at 2 p.m. from the RCMP station on Maple Avenue and ends at the Kingston village commission office on Main Street. Abriel says a reception, co-hosted by the village, the Legion and Lions Club; will be held in the downtown area to celebrate the “short, sweet, exciting” passing of the torch through the village before it makes its way to Greenwood.

A group of 20 soldiers and civilian personnel, representing many different units of 14 Wing, will carry the torch through Greenwood. The base’s portion of the route, 1.5 km in length, begins at the intersection of Ward Road and Central Avenue at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the old Canadian Tire location. From there, torch bearers will proceed towards the main gate of the base and follow an on-base route to the Fitness and Sports Centre. Each participant will contribute to the relay in 50 metre legs, while flanked by a pipe and drum corps and flyovers of a Cormorant helicopter and CP 140 Aurora aircraft.

Captain Scott Spurr says, at about 2 p.m., before the torch sets down in Greenwood; military members will be out along the route distributing flags to those who have come to cheer on the relay. “We want this to be an exciting event for the public, as well as the Wing,” Spurr says.

Both Abriel and Spurr encourage the public to come out and welcome the Olympic spirit and show support for torch bearers in their communities. “The Olympic torch may never pass by here again in our lifetime,” says Abriel. “November 20 is the day that residents of Kingston, Greenwood and other Valley communities can be part of the excitement of the Olympics.”