Special Olympics Team, celebs play for charity

NORWALK — The Huron County Bears, the Special Olympics basketball team supported by the Huron County Board of Developmental Disabilities (HCBDD), will meet again at Norwalk High School's main gym with area law enforcement, service, and business professional Celebrity All-Stars at 6 p.m. Wednesday to benefit the Salvation Army of Norwalk. The event will wrap up Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which is celebrated in March in Ohio and across the country. While there will be no charge for admission to the game, donations of canned goods and other nonperishable food items will be accepted at the door. There will be a 50/50 drawing during the game, which will broadcast live on 92.9 WLKR Classic with station representatives Nick Hurst and Josh Bowman starting at 5:45 PM. Bowman, who will also be playing on the Celebrity All-Stars team this year, plans to take a wireless microphone on the court to conduct on-the-spot interviews with players. The HCBDD self-advocate group will be selling pizza, chips, candy and beverages at the concession stand to raise funds for the group members to attend conferences and learn more about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. "Many of our celebrity players will be back on the court with us this year, along with a few new faces," said Kari Smith, HCBDD's superintendent. "It's an event that everyone seems to really enjoy, and we were so happy to be able to bring it back after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic. An exciting change this year is the addition to our Bears roster of area high school athletes, which is another great way to make community connections and just have a lot of fun. "We have players joining us from Edison, Monroeville, New London, Norwalk, Norwalk Catholic-St. Paul, South Central and Western Reserve high schools. Commissioner Skip Wilde will be back as our announcer, and the Monroeville High School Twirlers will put on a halftime show. We're hoping for a great turnout like we've had in prior years, and lots of donations of food to fill the shelves at the Salvation Army."