Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Oswego fire and police enter stock car to raise funds for Special Olympics Illinois at Morris speedway

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Oswego fire and police enter stock car to raise funds for Special Olympics Illinois at Morris speedway · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Oswego Fire and Police enter stock car to raise funds
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  Speaker 1: for Special Olympics Illinois at Morris Speedway. Written by Rene
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  Speaker 1: tamel Shaw, Local News Network correspondent. This article is being
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  Speaker 1: read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Speaker 1: Wearing a championship medal glowing like gold, Randy Murtes of
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  Speaker 1: Oswego was on hand for the unveiling of the stock
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  Speaker 1: car that will represent the Oswego Police Department and Oswego
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  Speaker 1: Fire Protection District on the Morris Saturday to raise funds
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  Speaker 1: for Special Olympics Illinois. The driver will be Fire Lieutenant
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  Speaker 1: chet Hartley. Police Chief Jason Baston calls Special Olympics Illinois
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  Speaker 1: an outstanding organization. They really have found a way to
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  Speaker 1: unleash the human spirit through sports, Baston said, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: very happy to say that the state of Illinois, at
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  Speaker 1: least last year, is the number one fundraiser out of
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  Speaker 1: the entire world for the Special Olympics. Sharis Spears, an
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  Speaker 1: officer who's a community engagement specialist for the police Department,
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  Speaker 1: is team manager for Oswego's five zero Racing. It's the
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  Speaker 1: latest event she's organized for Special Olympics. Drawing support from
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  Speaker 1: the business community and the artistic talents of three Oswego
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  Speaker 1: High School students who customized the stock car's look, including
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  Speaker 1: flames for the entry. Spears coined smoke and sirens. We
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  Speaker 1: would love to push our fundraising a little bit harder
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  Speaker 1: so we can move up closer to the start line,
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  Speaker 1: Spears said, noting the deadline for donations is seven pm Friday.
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  Speaker 1: Donations help determine pole position, and the fundraising goal is
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  Speaker 1: seven thousand dollars. Murta's returned last month from the twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty six Special Olympics USA Games hosted in Minnesota, having
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  Speaker 1: scored the winning performance in bakiyball, one of sixteen sports
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  Speaker 1: gathering three thousand athletes from across the country. His mother,
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  Speaker 1: Sila Mertaz, described attending the USA Games. Randy's been involved
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  Speaker 1: with Special Olympics since he was ten. He's now thirty six.
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  Speaker 1: She said, I knew how much Special Olympics means to
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  Speaker 1: us and what opportunities he's been able to have, but
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  Speaker 1: I never saw the immense amount that they put forth,
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  Speaker 1: from competition, attire to lodging and transportation. Special Olympics made
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  Speaker 1: the experience possible because they do not have to pay
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  Speaker 1: to go compete, she said, adding I personally thank every
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  Speaker 1: single one of you who donates because I have seen
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  Speaker 1: firsthand where that money goes. It means so much understand
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  Speaker 1: the enormity of where your money goes. With the law
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  Speaker 1: enforcement torch run the state this year brought in more
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  Speaker 1: than five million dollars that goes to all the athletes
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  Speaker 1: in Illinois. Shila Murty said. Randy Murtes looks forward to
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  Speaker 1: attending the stock car race for the first time, saying
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  Speaker 1: he also takes part in basketball and bowling through Special
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  Speaker 1: Olympics DOT. In twenty seventeen, the Oswego Police Department participated
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  Speaker 1: in illinois inaugural five zero racing, said Spears, who is
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  Speaker 1: is this year's backup driver in the races field of
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  Speaker 1: twenty one competitors. We had a blast doing it. This
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  Speaker 1: year we're back, she said. We brought our friends from
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  Speaker 1: across the way. The Fire Department is joining us. The
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  Speaker 1: student artists came up with the original hand painted designs
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  Speaker 1: and applied the sponsor decals in a project that took
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  Speaker 1: about five days. Morgan Bradley said the Oswego teams financial
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  Speaker 1: sponsors are Hell's Barbecue, Premier Tent Pros, Dent Tech, NSG Construction,
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  Speaker 1: and a all temp in kind donation. Sponsors include Bell Tire,
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  Speaker 1: Blaine's Farm and Fleet of Montgomery, Brian's Auto Service, O'Reilly
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  Speaker 1: Auto Parts, Sherwin Williams, the Exhaust Works, and the Home Depot. C. J.
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  Speaker 1: Matter noted the chair of the school's art department invited volunteers,
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  Speaker 1: and she Morgan and Vienna Iacovella jumped at the novel experience.
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  Speaker 1: Hartley will drive the two thousand and five Ford five
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  Speaker 1: hundred donated by Grant Towing and Collision Connection Auto Body.
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  Speaker 1: It was he and Oswego Police Community Service Officer Steve arp,
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  Speaker 1: a member of the pit crew, who converted the six
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  Speaker 1: cylinder vehicle. You take a normal car and knock out combustibles,
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  Speaker 1: Hartley said, noting he's raced on the one third mile
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  Speaker 1: high banked paved oval track in Morris since he was
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  Speaker 1: sixteen and isn't a timid driver. Laps run about twenty seconds.
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  Speaker 1: This project wouldn't have been possible without the incredible support
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  Speaker 1: of more than a dozen sponsors who donated everything from
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  Speaker 1: the race car itself to the paint supplies and other
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  Speaker 1: materials needed to bring it to life. Oswego Police Department
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  Speaker 1: Public information officer Kathy Navara said in an email. ARP
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  Speaker 1: attended last year's race and said the five zero participants
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  Speaker 1: are pretty competitive. Nobody wants to be the last one.
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  Speaker 1: Arp said the straightaways are fairly short, with lots of turning.
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  Speaker 1: Oswego's Polar Plunge and dunkin Donuts cop on a rooftop
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  Speaker 1: events this year brought in almost ten thousand dollars. Baston
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  Speaker 1: said he's to any idea to raise funds for special
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  Speaker 1: Olympics praising the He a handful of people within his
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  Speaker 1: organization that have been the driving force behind decades of
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  Speaker 1: support for the law enforcement Torch run fundraisers, including spears.
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  Speaker 1: We're game to try it, he said of Fresh Concepts.
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  Speaker 1: It's fun hanging out with the athletes. It all goes
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  Speaker 1: to a good cause. This event really is possible because
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  Speaker 1: of our Community Engagement Unit started a couple of years ago.
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  Speaker 1: The purpose of it is for the police to really
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  Speaker 1: have a chance to have positive interactions with the public
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  Speaker 1: outside of calls for service. We are a part of
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  Speaker 1: the community, not separate from it. We enjoy bringing you
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  Speaker 1: events like this To make a donation to the Smoke
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  Speaker 1: and Sirens team. Go to support dot sola dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Slash Team Slash eight two nine, seven sixty six dot
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  Speaker 1: t Dash shirts can be ordered until August ninth at
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  Speaker 1: Smoke Sirens two six dot itimorder dot com. If you go,
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  Speaker 1: a special Olympics Illinois athlete will sing the national anthem
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  Speaker 1: as part of the opening ceremonsies on Saturday at the
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  Speaker 1: Grundy County Speedway at eighty eight and ninety en Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Route forty seven in Morris. Gates open at four pm
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  Speaker 1: and racing starts at six thirty pm. For details, visit
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  Speaker 1: Grundy Coountiespeedway online dot com