CITIES READY FOR OLYMPIC TORCH

Details are sketchy, but Cape Girardeau and Jackson will be stops along the 1996 Olympic Games Torch Relay Route.

Officials of both cities, the Joint Veterans Council, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Jackson and the Area-Wide United Way will hold a celebration ceremony 9:30 a.m. today at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

"We were approached by the Atlanta, (Ga.,) committee," said Sherri Finley, public awareness coordinator for the city of Cape Girardeau. "We have known for about a month now but were sworn to secrecy."

Both cities were named to the route in a national broadcast Sunday.

The Olympic torch flag, which arrived here Saturday, will be raised during today's ceremony. Dale Clarke of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. presented the flag to city officials at Monday night's City Council meeting.

The flag will fly over the courthouse to signify that Cape Girardeau is a torch city.

The torch will arrive in Cape Girardeau May 27 on a specially-designed 19-car train from Memphis, Tenn. Since the torch arrives on Memorial Day, Cape Girardeau hopes to plan a joint celebration with area veterans.

"Our initial plans are to have an afternoon's worth of celebrations, with the arrival of the torch being the climax," Finley said of the May 27 event.

A ceremony is being planned at the courthouse for the torch's arrival. The event is likely to be televised nationally since the torch arrives on Memorial Day, Finley said.

In Cape Girardeau, the torch will be carried up the courthouse steps from the Themis Street floodgate by a former Olympic athlete or local hero, Finley said. It then will go out Broadway to Kingshighway and on to Jackson. From there, the torch will be taken from a runner and carried by bicycle to Crystal City.

Since each runner only travels 1 kilometer, several local people will be chosen to carry the torch. Local branches of the United Way will coordinate the selection, which hasn't been set.

The relay begins April 27 in Los Angeles and ends 84 days later in Atlanta. The route will cover 15,000 miles through more than 40 states.

In 1984, the torch passed through the area on its way to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles but didn't stop. On that route, runners covered 9,000 miles in 33 states.

The 1996 competition marks the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games, which began in Greece.