Mice off to the races to support good causes

Mice were doing more than stirring at Dragon Booster Club’s mouse races at Phillips County Event Center on Friday, July 30. They delighted the nearly 200 people in attendance with their antics as they scampered through multiple heats to raise funds for Dragon athletics.

The mouse named Jerry, running in lane No. 4, received top honors in the final race. Jerry, purchased by Steggs Flying Service, was one of 15 mice auctioned off before the races began.

The auction was after a meal of brisket and pork tacos prepared by Happy Jacks Barbeque.

A special mouse, Jeffey, brought a lot of bidding at the auction. All of the money bid on the mouse will go to Jeffrey Espinoza and his family to help with medical and travel costs. Espinoza was recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Jeffey the mouse was purchased a total of three times, and additional donations raised the total to $8,800 for the Espinoza family.

Dragon Booster Club president Joylyn Kinnie said she was very happy to see the support for Espinoza.

“We live in an amazing community,” she added.

Kinnie said over $15,000 in additional funds were raised for Dragon athletics and will be used to help pay for summer sports camps, extra money for meals at state tournaments, other needs that coaches have for their programs and more.

“It was nice being able to do it after not having one last year,” Kinnie said, referencing that last year’s event was canceled due to COVID-19. “We were excited to have such a big turnout with so many families and businesses supporting us.”

Between races, people played flip cup for prizes, bid on silent auction items and placed side bets on the races.

An additional highlight of the evening was the auctioning of an Adirondack chair made from the bleachers in the Holyoke JR/SR High School gym that was renovated.

The chair went for $2,000 and was donated by the Phillips County community service program.

A reverse raffle was also held. Jim Sharp won and got a mouse for entry into the semifinals.

There were also two rounds of mouse roulette where participants purchased playing cards and watched as a mouse was dropped into the card area. The card the mouse stopped on first determined the roulette winner.

Kinnie was grateful to everyone who came out to support the event as well as those who could not make it and still donated.

She added that she appreciates all the effort the coaches put into it and that it’s great to be a part of a community that’s so supportive of the kids and each other.