(Updated 12:30 p.m., Dec. 12)
Olympic torch arrives in Orléans early Monday morning
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Local residents hoping to catch a glimpse of the Olympic Torch Relay will have to get up at the crack of dawn Monday morning and make their way down to St. Joseph Blvd. where the torch will be passed from runner to runner between the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex and the East District Police Station.

The Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex at 7:26 a.m. The first torch bearer will then set out on the 10 km route at 7:30 a.m.

According to the Olympic Torch Relay website it's supposed to pase by Place d'Orléans at 7:52 a.m. and arrive at the East District Police Station at 8:01 a.m. The early weather forecast is calling for partially clear skies and a temperature around minus-6 degrees Celcius.

The torch made a brief appearance in Ottawa on Thursday, when former Olympian Barbara Ann Scott carried it into the House of Commons. The official arrival, however, is scheduled for 2 p.m. this afternoon at Ottawa City Hall where 19-year-old Orléans resident Melissa Brunet will light the special cauldron at the event.

It will then be carried on a loop down Bank Street to the canal, along the parkway to Carling Avenue, and then down Carling Avenue to the Carlingwood Shopping Centre. It will then return to the downtown core along Wellington Street to Parliament Hill where it is schedule to arrive for a ceremony at 7 p.m.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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