HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-11-22, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2007. PAGE 13. Some people light candles atchurches to remember those they’ve
lost, Erin Roy of Goderich will light
the Olympic Torch in China for her
departed uncle, Robert Plunkett.
Roy recently entered a
competition that would give her the
opportunity to carry the torch in the
upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic
Games. A contest which she won,
becoming the gold winner, earning
her the privilege of carrying the
official Olympic torch
approximately 400 metres through
the Tibetan province of China.
While Roy is thrilled to be
granted this once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, she is still missing
someone. Roy is dedicating her
torch run to the memory of her late
uncle, Plunkett, who was killed
earlier this year in the line of duty
with the York Regional Police.
Plunkett was a very active
member in the Special Olympics
community, often fundraising for
the games and chairing the games
back in 2000.
“Certainly one of the most
appealing parts of the whole
process is sharing [Plunkett’s] story.
He was a hero. He demonstrated
bravery in his work and he was a
hero on the job. However, he was
also a hero through his public
service and he helped his
community,” Roy said. “He was
responsible for massive fundraising
through his chairing of the Special
Olympic games as well as his 15
years of service on the law
enforcement torch relay.”
Roy dedicated her run at the torch
to her uncle from the beginning. In
her e-mail, which was circulated
asking friends, family andneighbours to vote for her, shewrote, “If chosen to win, I wouldlike to dedicate my relay run to myuncle Robert Plunkett. Const.Robert Plunkett, an Ontario officer
with York Region Police Services
was a leader in both the community
and to the Special Olympics
organization. Const. Plunkett was
involved with the law enforcement
torch run for over 15 years and the
1997 World Winter Games.
Through his long-standing support
of the organization, he also served
as the chairman for the 2000
Special Olympics Ontario
Provincial Games. Through his
leadership, over $1 million was
raised for the Special Olympic
Games. In addition, as a result of
his devotion and support, the law
enforcement torch run has grown
significantly in Ontario, raising
funds and awareness for athletes
with an intellectual disability,” she
wrote.
“My uncle Rob was killed in the
line of duty on Aug. 2, 2007, while
making an arrest in conjunction
with an automobile airbag theft.
Rob is an inspiration to myself, my
family and the community. I would
like to honour his legacy with this
once-in-a-lifetime chance to carry
the Olympic Torch.”
Roy says she came upon the
contest, sponsored by Lenovo, a
Chinese computer company, at
home on the computer, where she
followed a pop-up link to this
contest. She had to submit a short
essay and was quickly selected as
one of the final 20 contestants.
Phase two of the competition meant
that the remaining 20 contestants
had to submit a 30-second video to
be judged by the public. Roy
eventually won, becoming one ofthree people who will carry thetorch as a winner of the contest. Theother two winners are fromArgentina and Brazil.Roy says she’s excited about her
new task, but says one of her top
priorities is to give back to the
community.
“I am so excited. It’s so much fun
to think that I’ll be able to do this. It
is the most once-in-a-lifetime thing
that might ever happen to me,” she
said.
“We’re thrilled, but at the same
time, we’ve been feeling that this is
such an awesome opportunity and
as a family, we’ve just been
thinking about how we can share
this experience with the community
and really give back, because the
reason I’m doing this is because of
all the support that we were given,
so in some ways we’re feeling like
it’s just starting, just in terms of
being involved with some of the
organizations that [Plunkett] was a
part of.”
In the same fashion that she
requested support, Roy e-mailed a
thank you to everyone when she
heard that she had won last week.
“I will carry the torch for Const.
Robert Plunkett, but will have the
spirit of every one of you right there
with me, the wind at my back. My
job now is to make you proud and
hold my arm and my head up high
as I show the world what wonderful
spirit and love there is at home,” she
wrote.
Although Roy doesn’t know
many details about her run, she can
confirm that it will be
approximately 400 metres long
through the Chinese province of
Tibet. This is an important location
to her and leads her into her next
move.“Tibet is a very special part of theworld. It’s a very spiritual place inChina, so that’s a very extraordinaryopportunity too,” she said.Lhasa is Tibet’s capital and it is
also one of the highest points on
earth, standing at an altitude of
3,650 metres, nearly 12,000 feet
high. And Roy doesn’t want
Plunkett’s immediate family to miss
such an important moment
dedicated to their late father and
husband.
“Bringing [Plunkett’s] family toTibet with me is definitely my nextgoal. I’m still working out thedetails, but I would like to be able toinclude them in the wholeexperience. Lhasa is one of the
highest cities in the world,” she
said.
“The way I look at it, is that it’s
the closest, physically, they’ll ever
get to [Plunkett] on this earth,
which I think is very special. So
we’re going to try and work on
that.”
Morris-Turnberry councillors, at
their Nov. 6 meeting, voted to
financially help a Belgrave couple
overcome a glitch in their water
hook-up.
Mervin and Laura Streicher
attended the meeting to argue for
help, despite a recommendation
from the Belgrave water committee
that they pay the entire cost.
The Streichers were forced to
connect to the hamlet’s new water
system when their own well ran dry.
The problem arose from the close
proximity of the curb stop of the
water system to the Queen Street
property’s septic bed, which is in the
house’s front yard.
The water committee argued that in
such cases, the water service
location could be moved by a
qualified contractor, but that the
costs should be paid by the property
owner.
After hearing from the
Streichers, councillors voted to
approve the move of the water
service and pay up to $2,000 of the
costs.
A draft policy will be drawn up to
cover such cases in the future and
will be presented to council for
approval.
Bayfield woman carries Torch in uncle’s honour
M-T helps with water connection
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