FAMILY MEMBERS WILL CARRY TORCH

Olympic torch-runners are selected to represent America, but some of the 32 local runners will represent unique family bonds and friendships when they carry the flame through Southeast Missouri on Monday.

The Olympic flame arrives at 1:06 p.m. Monday at Themis Street and will make its way to Jackson around 2:30 p.m.

Three married couples, a daughter and her parents and two best friends were selected as runners either through United Way or Coca-Cola nomination contests.

Husband and wife teams Stan and Shirley Essner of Benton, Jan and Kenneth McFerron of Advance and Eky Jo and Jerry Combs of Kennett are passing the Olympic flame to each other. Before Eky Jo Combs passes the flame to her husband, she'll receive it from her daughter, Malinda Harris, also of Kennett.

Best friends Kathie Brennan and Cindy Sprigg, both of Cape Girardeau, learned they were torch-bearers on the same day. Both were selected by Coca-Cola, a relay sponsor.

Stan Essner saw the torch come by his Benton home during the 1984 games but never imagined he would be carrying it 12 years later.

"We jogged by, thinking it would be our only chance to run with it," Shirley Essner said.

Now the couple will pass the flame to each other along Kingshighway just inside the Jackson city limits.

Many families requested passing the torch to other members, but the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games couldn't guarantee it would happen. However, the United Way also requested that family members run consecutively along the route.

"We were hoping for it," said Jan McFerron. "We thought it would be nice for the families to get to be together." She and her husband, who nominated each other through the United Way Community Heroes contest, will carry the flame along Kingshighway.

Their son, Ross, 14, has been designated as the official family photographer. "He has it all figured out how to display the torch," she said.

Malinda Harris is the first member of her family to carry the 1996 flame. She will pass it to her mother, Eky Jo Combs, who then passes the flame to Harris' father, Jerry Combs.

"My dad notified me that I'd been selected," said Harris of Kennett. Passing the flame to her mother makes the torch relay even more special, she said. "It's a neat opportunity."

Harris teaches at-risk students at the Kennett schools, and some of her students might watch her run. "It's a little harder since we're out of school," she said. "They are really excited for me."

If planning the torch route seems difficult, try mapping out vacation plans and trying to run the torch relay. That's exactly what Harris and her parents are doing.

Every year the Combs family plans a vacation, and this year it fell at the same time as the torch relay. So Harris and Eky Jo and Jerry Combs will return from Gulf Shores, Ala., on Sunday so they can carry the flame on Monday.

"Every year the whole family rents two or three condos," Jerry said. "So it's easier just to come back."

One daughter, who is expecting a baby soon, will still be in Missouri to watch her parents and sister run.

"We were really surprised," Eky said. "It would have been exciting for one, but this is just a dream come true. You always dream about being in the Olympics, but I'm not that talented or dedicated, and this is about the closest I'll come to doing that."

Friends Kathie Brennan and Cindy Sprigg both thought it would be fun to run with the torch, but they missed the United Way entry deadline. So they sent in dozens of nominations through a contest sponsored by Coca-Cola, and both were selected.

"I told them I wouldn't say yes until I knew if Cindy was running," Brennan said. "And then she told me that Cindy was on the other line."

Both women learned about their selection on the same day. "I called Cindy and said, `Did you get a call?' and she said `Well, did you get a call?"

Brennan said carrying the torch is a special honor. "You're holding history in your hands," she said. "You're holding something in your hands that not a lot of people do. You're one of a few chosen for this."