Northwest Louisiana law enforcement officers will hit the streets of Bossier and Caddo Parishes to kick off the 2019 Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Louisiana tomorrow Friday, May 17, 2019 with a ceremony starting at 9:00 a.m. on the Milam Street side of the Caddo Parish Courthouse.
The annual run raises money for Special Olympics Louisiana and promotes this year’s Summer Games.
The law enforcement runners will carry the State Special Olympics torch “Flame of Hope” from Northwest Louisiana and will pass it off to runners from other law enforcement agencies all along the route as it makes its way to its final destination in Hammond in time for the start of the state games.
Prior to the start of Friday morning’s ceremony at the Caddo Parish Courthouse, two groups of northwest Louisiana law enforcement runners will arrive at the courthouse from separate locations.
Officers and deputies from agencies in Caddo Parish will begin their run from the Caddo Correctional Center at approximately 8:00 a.m. They’ll travel east on Hearne Avenue and south on North Market Street into downtown Shreveport to Texas Avenue.
Bossier Parish law enforcement runners will begin their run at approximately 8:00 a.m. from the Bossier Civic Center. Their route will take them west on POW-MIA Boulevard, north on Benton Road, and west on East Texas Street across the Texas Street Bridge into downtown Shreveport where they will meet up with the Caddo runners. Both groups will then proceed down Texas Avenue to the courthouse where they will be joined by a number of Special Olympians and local dignitaries for the 9 a.m. ceremony.
The courthouse ceremony will feature the reading of a joint proclamation from Bossier City Mayor Lorenz Walker and Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins. Once the ceremony concludes the runners will continue the torch run from the courthouse east on Texas Avenue, south on South Market Street and down Youree Drive (Highway 1) to the Relay Station, 10281 Highway 1 South in Shreveport.
