OLYMPICS TORCH ROUTE THROUGH CAPE, JACKSON

The cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson were named to the official U.S. Olympics Torch Relay route Sunday.

The city of Cape Girardeau will now begin planning for the arrival of the flame on May 27, 1996. The torch will arrive in Cape on Memorial Day.

"We couldn't have asked for a more appropriate day than Memorial Day for the torch to pass through our communities," Public Awareness Coordinator Sherri Finley said in a prepared statement. "This will allow us to celebrate Memorial Day in a truly memorable way."

Olympic Games officials said some fine-tuning of the final schedule and route may occur before the torch relay begins.

The 1996 Olympic Torch Relay is the largest in the history of the Olympic Games. It begins on April 27 in Los Angeles and ends July 19 in Atlanta. The relay will cover 15,000 miles in its coast-to-coast path.