THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120397
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 61 lines
It's going to take some major muscle to pull off a Sept. 28 fund-raiser when teams 20-strong take turns playing tug-of-war with a 70-ton Boeing 727 to benefit Virginia Special Olympics.
Beginning at 10 a.m. that day, competing sponsored groups will throw their collective shoulders and biceps into the task of dragging the mammoth aircraft by a 12-foot rope 12 feet down a Norfolk International Airport runway.
The fastest team takes top prize, but the group that raises the most money also gets an award, as does the team that succeeds in moving the 153-foot-long, 34-foot-high jet the required distance with the lowest combined body weight.
The Law Enforcement Communities of Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore is hosting the event, which is being coordinated by the Chesapeake Sheriff's Department.
So far, since last December, $45,000 has been raised to help support a year-round program of training and athletic competition for children and adults with mental retardation. The program also helps fund summer and winter Olympic games in Virginia and internationally.
Entrance fee for each team is $1,000, and, to date, 10 teams have signed up.
Chesapeake Sheriff John Newhart said this week that the idea of scheduling a plane pull for the Torch Run Committee's major fund-raiser dawned on him as he watched law enforcement units in Washington, D.C., strong-arm a jet for charity.
``It looks awesome when you see people pulling this plane,'' he said. ``I shouldn't give it away, but some use a technique - a snatch-it thing - that can move it pretty quick.''
Newhart didn't know whether any of the 200 plane-pullers on the sign-up sheet were women. But he was sure there would be ``some real beefy guys'' among the law enforcement and military folks who are taking the challenge.
Corporations, businesses and private groups are encouraged to sign on for the plane pull. Teams must have five alternates. Participants will receive airplane-pull T-shirts with their team sponsor's name and logo printed on the back.
Exhibits on law enforcement themes, and a badge and patch collectors area will line the runway.
The event will take place at the Federal Express terminal. Parking at a lot at Military Highway and Azalea Garden Road is free, as is shuttle bus transportation to the runway.
Federal Express donated the plane for the competition.
Newhart said there was no need to worry that the plane will keep rolling once the tow rope goes slack, because there'll be someone sitting in the cockpit to put the brakes on. ILLUSTRATION: THE PLANE PULL
What: A plane pull to raise money for Virginia Special Olympics
Where: Norfolk International Airport
When: Sept. 28 at 10 a.m.
Who can participate: Sponsored teams of 20 who raise and donate
at least $1,000.
For more information: Call the Chesapeake Sheriff's Department at
473-4562. by CNB