Local residents to carry Olympic Torch

Mountain Home will host a brief stop as the Olympic Torch Relay travels on the way to Salt Lake City's Olympic Stadium for the 2002 Winter Games.

Nearly 30 runners are expected to carry the Olympic Flame through the streets of Mountain Home on the morning of Jan. 26, with five runners coming from the local area.

Those selected for the honor include: Chuck Garvey, Mountain Home Air Force Base/Mountain Home; Butch Hansen, Grand View; Bradley Robert, Mountain Home AFB/Boise; Wanda Valeska, Prairie; and Kevin Maybon, Mountain Home.

The route through Mountain Home is approximately 5.5 miles with each of the torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame for 0.2 mile.

In a special reception to introduce the area torchbearers, Mayor Dave Jett noted more than the highway will connect us to the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake. He congratulated the torchbearers, saying they provided a true representation of our cosmopolitan community.

Chuck Garvey, originally from Scranton, Pa., now stationed at Mountain Home AFB, said he was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had been selected to carry the torch. "I am happy to represent Mountain Home and hope to make you proud."

Butch Hansen, said he is honored and is looking forward to the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Wanda Valeska is 'the' school teacher for Prairie. She noted how pleased and proud she is to have been chosen to carry the torch.

Lt. Col. Bradley Robert will most likely make his run in Boise. He pointed out what a great honor it is to carry the torch and noted how happy he is to be able to run at all. In November of 2000, a semi truck crushed Robert's legs as he stopped to help at an accident scene.

Kevin Maybon was unable to attend the reception. The Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay will travel more than 13,500 miles across the United States in 65 days, carried by 11,500 torchbearers as it travels through 46 states. The Flame will travel an average of 208 miles during a 12-hour day, and the relay will stop for two major celebrations each day.

In ancient Greece, a sacred truce was called so athletes could peacefully compete at the Olympic Games. Before the games, runners -- called 'heralds of peace" -- traveled Greece proclaiming the beginning of the truce and issuing the clarion call to the Games. The custom was revived in 1936, adding the symbolism of a torch lit in Olympia, Greece, by the rays of the sun.

The Flame Lighting Ceremony in Olympia will take place on Nov. 19, 2001.

The flame retrieval in Athens, Greece is scheduled for Dec. 3.

The 2002 Olympic Torch Relay begins in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 4, and will arrive in Salt Lake's Olympic Stadium on Feb. 8, where it will remain for the duration of the Games.

Once the Olympic Flame is ignited, it is kept in a lantern that travels with the relay. A torch is lit from the flame every morning to start that day's leg of the relay. The Olympic Flame is passed from torch to torch.

The flame will be extinguished during the closing ceremony on Feb. 24, 2002.