Special Olympics Torch Travels Through Briarcliff, Mt. Pleasant

Local police officers kicked off the first day of May by taking part in a longtime annual tradition—the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.

"It's for a good cause and it's a beautiful day," said Officer John Wynne, Briarcliff Manor's Police Benevolent Association president.

According to the Special Olympics website, the purpose of the run "is to increase awareness and raise funds for the Special Olympics movement."

In 2011, the run reportedly raised $42.1 million.

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno has been participating in the annual affair since it first came to the county.

"I did the very first one in Westchester in 1986," he revealed. "I have done it almost every year since then."

Wednesday's leg of the run began in Yonkers and traveled up to Peekskill and involved several police departments along the way.

Locally, a small group of Mount Pleasant police officers, including Alagno, worked its way up the steep Route 9 hill near Guadalajara before passing off the torch to Briarcliff Manor's officers by the Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

While participants generally only run within their local jurisdictions, Alagno and his colleagues ran both the Mount Pleasant portion of the run after picking up the torch from Sleepy Hollow officers, as well as with the Briarcliff officers, who ended by the Arcadian Shopping Center in Ossining. Alagno estimated he ran a total of about three miles.

The event continued up Route 9 Wednesday afternoon, eventually ending at Riverfront Green Park in Peekskill.

The Briarcliff Manor effort, spearheaded by the PBA, is a feel-good cause for the organization, Wynne said.

"We are happy to be a part of it," he shared.

And Alagno's longtime dedication to the Special Olympics cause goes back many more years.

"In college, I volunteered to help train Special Olympics athletes and it was very rewarding," he said. "Since then, I have been a strong supporter."

For both local departments, the experience is also a bonding experience.

"I'm glad law enforcement is getting involved," commented Alagno. "It also builds camaraderie among our members."

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