“It’s an awesome honor,” Jacobs said. “I love my state, county and especially my town. It feels great to be able to literally carry the torch for my community.” 

While he is honored to be involved, Jacobs indicated he won’t be running or jogging his leg of the relay.

“This body wasn’t built for running. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a mode of transportation that better suits me!” he said. 

LaMar said he is thankful his friend and coworker Todd Hiday nominated him and that he is honored to have been selected to help represent Henry County. 

“It looks like, based on the date, that I won’t be running the Mill Race Marathon in Columbus after all. That’s scheduled for the day before and if I ran that I wouldn’t be able to run with the torch,” LaMar said. He anticipates his leg of the relay being along Main Street from Riley Road north to Trojan Lane.

Rep. Saunders also said he was honored to be selected.

“I don’t know who nominated me, but I appreciate the thought,” he said. “There were several of us who were nominated by our peers and then we had to go through a selection committee. It’s an exciting year for Indiana and I’m proud to represent Henry County.”

Saunders said he doesn’t anticipate running or jogging his leg of the relay. Some form of motor transportation is more likely.

“The largest automobile manufacturer was Maxwell at one time and that factory was in New Castle. Then, of course, we had Chrysler. We produce Crown forklifts, and we have state-of-the-art go-karts back in our county. I think the organizers are keeping our county’s heritage in mind while they’re trying to figure out our modes of transportation,” Saunders said.

Mayor York, like his relay counterparts, said he was pleased and proud to represent Henry County in this historic endeavor and lauded others in the community for their work in getting the community ready for the upcoming celebration.

“The Chamber of Commerce has worked hard on this and is putting an exciting event together,” York said. “The Art Association has also done a lot including painting our bicentennial buffalo that we’re going to be putting down at 3 and 38. This is going to be really exciting for our county and our city.”

The torch will pass through Henry County from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25.

“We will start in Knightstown with a celebration hosted by the Knightstown Chamber of Commerce and end at the Henry County Saddle Club with a community bonfire sponsored by the Saddle Club,” New Castle-Henry County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Missy Modesitt said. Modesitt is also Henry County’s Indiana Bicentennial Celebration Coordinator.

The Bicentennial Torch Relay is a 2,300 mile journey across the state and will pass through all 92 Hoosier counties. It will begin Sept. 9 in Corydon, the state’s first capital, and culminate Oct. 15 in Indianapolis on the Statehouse grounds.

The torch relay route starts on the square in Knightstown, proceeds east on U.S. Hwy 40 to Ind. 3, turns north on Ind. 3, proceeds through Spiceland, continues north to County Road 400 South where it turns east and passes Boar’s Head, turns north on Main Street, proceeds north on Main Street to Parkside Drive where it turns west, continues onto Trojan Lane where it will deviate into the Fieldhouse and onto the floor of the fieldhouse and back out, proceeding west on Trojan Lane to Memorial Drive, north to Bundy Avenue to Main Street and then to the courthouse lawn for a brief stop before continuing to Woodward where it takes a short jog to the west before heading north again on Main Street to Garner Street. It heads west on Garner Street past the Wilbur Wright Trailhead to Ind. 3, then north and into Memorial Park and the Henry County Saddle Club.

According to the state’s official Bicentennial Celebration website (www.in.gov/ibc/torchrelay), the relay is designed to inspire Hoosiers and promote unity across the state by connecting people, communities and regions. The torch will travel six days per week (Mondays are rest days) for five weeks for a total of 32 days.