Bag Tournament Helps Fund Oskaloosa K-9 Unit
Jimmy Summers was having a good time at the inaugural corn hole/bags tournament to help fund the Oskaloosa K-9 unit.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Inside the pavilion on the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds Saturday, 16 teams “Duke”d it out to be the first-ever Oskaloosa Police K-9 Corn Hole Tournament Champion.
The inspiration for the tournament was finding a way to help raise funds for the K-9 unit. “Duke and I are based solely on donations,” explained Oskaloosa Police K-9 Officer Austin Rogers.
The money raised will go to help K-9 Officer Duke, and his handler Austin, with training, equipment, and upkeep on the police unit. That all comes from donations in the community.
Duke is three years old, and Rogers likes to take Duke to various training to help build skills in both K-9 and handler. “Kind of broaden our horizons as to different solutions to problems that we may have. Some of those things we can’t get locally.
Duke “is definitely filling out his paws,” says Rogers of his partner. “He’s almost 90 pounds, and training is imperative for us, and we do it on a daily basis.
There are still several officers between the Oskaloosa Police Department and Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office that have been K-9 handlers in the past.
They can offer some assistance, but a lot has changed over the years.
An example is that Duke is a passive alert dog, while the most recent K-9’s were aggressive alert dogs. “It’s just a big difference between the two, and we just have a different way of training,” explained Rogers.
Rogers thanked all of the sponsors who donated to the tournament. “I can’t even list them all, because I would forget one. Mahaska Drug was a huge one. They came through in a big way. Jane donated most all of the prizes.
Rogers gave a big thanks to Tony Witt from Mahaska Bowl, who helped to organize the tournament, and also made donations to the tournament.
Witt said, “Great cause to help out the K-9 unit. We definitely need to help our community police as much as we can.”
With 16 teams for the initial tournament, Witt hopes to grow the tournament into the future and would like to see it as a yearly fundraiser.
Witt says that it’s a great cause to help support the K-9 because of the benefit they provide to the community.
Witt is no stranger to bags tournaments. You can find him at many of the local tournaments, many times at the top of the bracket.
Besides managing the bowling alley, Witt is a high school tennis coach and a bowling coach.
Oskaloosa News asked him which sport comes closest to bags. His answer, “Bowling!”
Witt offered up some advice for those new to bags. “It’s all in the form. You reach out and follow through — consistent repetition of the arm swing, which goes hand in hand with bowling and eye coordination.
