22-05-2025
GCSO takes and passes the torch
OXFORD — The Granville County Sheriff's Office participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics on Tuesday. The 2.4-mile run started at J.F. Webb High School and ended at the traffic circle on Main Street.
The Creedmoor Police Department passed the torch to the Butner Police Department earlier. The last leg of the Granville County run placed the torch with the Granville County Sheriff's Office. At the traffic circle, the Granville County Sheriff's Office passed the torch to Vance County.
Vance was scheduled to pass the torch on Wednesday morning, but the ceremony was cancelled due to heavy rains.
Sheriff Fountain thanks all participants, including Mayor Nurse of Oxford, officers and staff from Butner and Creedmoor Police Departments, Murdoch, and GCSO staff.
Immediately following the passing of the torch, the GCSO partnered with Little Caesar's Pizza for a community Pizza, Pizza Pun Night in the parking lot at Granville Corners. A percentage of all sales went to the Shop with the Sheriff.
Started by the chief of the Witchita, Kansas Police Department in 1981, The Torch Run has become the largest year-round public awareness and grassroots fundraising campaign for Special Olympics. Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the Flame of Hope into the opening ceremony of local competitions, and into Special Olympics state, national, regional and world Games.
More than 110,000 law enforcement members around the country carry the Flame of Hope every year. In North Carolina, nearly 2,000 law enforcement personnel support the annual run.
The torch run engages law enforcement worldwide, championing acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, starting first with their own communities. Since its inception, the run has raised approximately $1 billion worldwide with over $33 million raised for Special Olympics North Carolina.
