WOODS CROSS — Utah residents who have journeyed through life-threatening illnesses and debilitating conditions began another journey of sorts together Friday at the kickoff of the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games torch relay.
Residents turned out, despite frigid weather, to see caldrons lit in American Fork, Brigham City, Moab and Woods Cross as part of the "Journey of Fire." The Paralympic Games boast a torch relay similar to that of the Winter Games, but on a smaller scale.
"I think it's a really special time to have the flame in the cities," said Julie Ahlstrom, whose sister Nora Richards was picked to participate in ceremonies Friday for caring for the sick in her family. "I like it in the communities, it gives everybody a little bit more of a chance to participate."
Sixteen cities will light their own flames, all of which will be combined March 6 at the City-County Building. The flame will then travel throughout Salt Lake City with 102 torchbearers on March 7 before entering Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium for Paralympic opening ceremonies.
At Woods Cross' Hogan Park, local school choirs and 11 nominated people used smaller candles to ignite two torches. Seven residents with disabilities and their family members and neighbors then set the caldron ablaze.
One of those holding onto a torch was 16-year-old Cody Miller, who has autism and a seizure disorder. Miller has participated in bowling at the Special Olympics and has been cared for over the years by his two younger siblings and parents.
 Deseret News graphic Torch journeyRequires Adobe Acrobat. | |
"It's such a rewarding, bright experience for the whole family," said Miller's mom, Lynette Miller.
Danny Moore said he only found out about his role in the event as a caldron lighter a couple of days ago. Moore was in a car accident three years ago that rendered him a paraplegic.
"We're here just showing people that we're not disabled," said the basketball player. "We are athletic and we can compete."
Brigham City held its ceremony on the steps of the Box Elder Courthouse, where the Box Elder Symphonic Choir set the tone for the evening with several patriotic numbers, including "Heal our Land" by Sen. Orrin Hatch, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Three inspirational members of the community — Eli Clark, Craig Hirschi and Margaret Stocks — relayed the torch to the top step, where the Paralympic caldron was ignited.
Each of the three had overcome adversity and then dedicated themselves to helping others do the same. Clark, who raised 16 children and battled polio, lit the caldron itself. He received the torch from Hirschi, who uses a wheelchair. Stocks ran the torch up Forest Street, passing her own son Jason, who has participated in summer Paralympics in the past and will be in the track and field competition again next time.
According to Cindy Monson, president of the Brigham City Chamber of Commerce, 12 to 15 people were nominated as torchbearers. Making the final selection, she said, was more an affair of the heart than of the tally sheet.
Kelly Cabell's devotion to her family helped put her in a position to light the Paralympic caldron at the American Fork Library Friday.
Cabell, 36, survived a massive stroke during a troubled pregnancy, a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side. Doctors doubted she would ever walk or talk again.
But her husband, Lee, said her determination to participate in the lives of her newborn son and her 2-year-old daughter carried her through the tough years of learning to speak and walk all over again.
She learned to say a few words, then a sentence, and now talks easily. She learned to dress herself, cook, clean and sew.
"Now, eight and a half years later, she is doing most things a wife and mother does, never using her handicaps as excuses. Kelly's indomitable spirit is her surfacing characteristic — the same unfaltering determination that drives Paralympic athletes," said David Litchford, emcee for the event.
"I'm excited and I'm nervous," Kelly Cabell said earlier in the day. "I don't know what I'm doing."
That didn't matter because her mother, her best friend and her husband all helped her.
At Moab's Swanny Park, a local schoolteacher and the Moab Visitors Center hosted the Friday event, which was to reflect the community's unique culture and landscape.
E-mail: lwhite@desnews.com, jerjohn@desnews.com, haddoc@desnews.com