Built for speed: Police department sponsors soap box derby

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Two years ago, sisters Aralyn and Jaidah Battice were walking with their family in downtown Seymour and literally ran right into the DARE Soap Box Derby.

They had never heard of the event before and decided to hang around and watch.

“It looked like fun,” said Aralyn, 10, a student at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School.

Before long, the girls were putting on helmets and racing down West Second Street in front of the American Legion, driving homemade cars powered by gravity.

On Sunday afternoon, the Battices once again showed up to race in the 10th annual running of the derby.

“I love speed,” Aralyn said. “You go real fast, and it’s exciting.”

And it didn’t matter whether she won or lost, she added.

“It’s just fun,” she said.

Although there weren’t a lot of entries or spectators lining the sides of the street this year, those who did attend said they had a blast and can’t wait for next year’s race.

Organized and sponsored by the Seymour Police Department, the derby was started in 2007 as a fundraiser for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

Check out Tuesday’s Tribune for the full story.

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