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SPD fire truck pull to aid Special Olympics
By Justin Goble
Sylva police officials are gearing up for its first Fire Truck Pull, a fund-raiser for the North Carolina Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.
The event will take place this Saturday, March 25, in the parking lot of Ryan’s Steakhouse starting at 11 a.m. with team registration and lunch.
The goal is to raise $6,000 for Special Olympics programs both locally and statewide. For the year, law enforcement officials are hoping to take in a total of $15,000 for the organization.
Sylva police officer Jeff Postell, who has been organizing the local efforts for the Torch Run, said he wanted to do something out of the ordinary to raise money for Special Olympics.
“We wanted to capitalize on something unique,” Postell said. “A fire truck pull is not a regular fund-raiser for this area. A couple of officer friends from California organized one out there, and that’s where we got the idea.”
Setting up the event wasn’t an easy task, Postell said. The biggest help came from people in the community who wanted to help out, he said.
“It takes a lot of patience, understanding, time and community involvement,” Postell said. “Without that, we couldn’t have done it. We tried to establish an ‘open door’ policy between the community and law enforcement. We set our goals and then let business owners and corporations know those goals. Amanda (Parker, police clerk) did a lot of the paperwork and phone calls.”
The event will be set up in a tournament format. Teams of six or more will be given two timed attempts to pull the engine (provided by the Sylva Fire Department) a length of 20 feet. The average of both times will be used as each team’s official score. Team trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place.
While pulling an engine with as few as six people may seem like a nearly impossible task, Postell said it is doable. He wouldn’t comment on how difficult it is, but he did say he has seen it done.
“The engine has been pulled,” Postell said. “It can be done.”
‘This is a good team-building exercise,” Parker said. “Especially for any college students who want to get involved.”
The Special Olympics athletes have also shown their excitement about the event. Parker said much of what they have been talking about lately has been the fire truck pull.
“The athletes are ready to go,” Parker said. “They’re getting excited just talking about it. They want to know what they’re going to do to help out.”
The festivities aren’t stopping with the truck pull, though. Summit Church will hold a yard sale in the parking lot. Funds from the sales will also be donated to Special Olympics. A raffle for quilts made by Whittier resident Sarah Green is also planned.
While this year’s event is yet to happen, Postell and Parker are already starting to look to the future. Postell said this year, while exceeding expectations, has been a learning experience that will make next year even better.
“What we’re going to do is learn from this one,” Postell said. “We’re happy with the turnout for this year’s event and don’t want to neglect what’s been done. But next year is going to be bigger and better.”
As for this this Saturday, teams are still being invited to join. Postell said teams will be welcome to register right up to the noon start of the pull.
“We have 22 teams signed up right now,” he said. “That number will grow up until the day of the event. We’re not requiring pre-registration, but it is preferred.”
Like the teams, anyone wanting to volunteer to help out with the event is invited to do so right up to the start of the event. Postell said all help is welcome and will be put to good use.
“We’re planning to use everyone who signs up,” Postell said. “No volunteers will be turned away.”
The registration fee will be $150 minimum per team (or $25 per person) as a donation to Special Olympics North Carolina. All participants will receive a T-shirt, a team photograph and lunch from Ryan’s. Postell also said T-shirts supporting SONC will be on sale at the Sylva Police Department before and after Saturday’s festivities.
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