The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

KENNEWICK - A group of Waitsburg residents joined Joanna Lanning in her fourth Special Olympics Po­lar Bear Plunge at Columbia Park in Kennewick on Satur­day. Emma and Cindy Phil­brook, Melissa Hansen, E.J. Meserve and Nick Pearson all joined Lanning in taking a deep dip in the Columbia River for a special cause. It was a first-time event for all but Meserve who also participated last year. "The water was a balmy 39 de­grees; much warmer than last year," said Lanning.

Adults are required to raise $50 to participate and students must raise $25. This year Lanning raised approxi­mately $1,100. "Adding all four years of my Plunge donations together, 2011 - 2014, the generous people in our local communities have pledges about $5,000. I am very thankful for their sup­port," said Lanning.

The money raised Satur­day will help sponsor pro­grams such as skiing, track and bowling in this area for Special Olympic Athletes. "I have assisted with the Special Olympics track pro­gram in Walla Walla and it is pure pleasure to watch the athletes run races and see the joy on their faces when they receive a medal for their ef­forts," said Lanning.

According to the Spe­cial Olympics Washington website: "Special Olympics Polar Plunge Kennewick is a fundraising effort orga­nized by law enforcement agencies across the state to benefit Special Olympics Washington. This unique op­portunity gives individuals, organizations and businesses the chance to support Spe­cial Olympics Washington by collecting pledges for the 'opportunity' to plunge into frigid water across Wash­ington State. All proceeds collected by Plungers benefit Special Olympics Washing­ton and the 10,000 athletes across the state."

While the official total is not yet in, Lanning said it was announced at Saturdays event that over $68,000 had been raised by over 600 Plungers. "The event is ex­tremely well organized and gets better every year. Noth­ing can describe the feeling of 'Freezin' for a Reason,'" said Lanning.