WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – The 17th annual Washington County K9 Trials will be held this Saturday. Along with the free competition will be a community fair where you can pick up some free doggie treats made by a group of local kids.

Sergeant Eamon O’Reilly is with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He’s a patrol supervisor and along with his K9 partner Radar is part of the Tactical Negotiations team, where most interactions with the public are far from easy.

“We do help people, but we interact with people on their worst day,” Sgt. O’Reilly said.

But the law enforcement duo is probably best known for their Instagram page “Deputy Dog Radar,” where the two share treats, both for humans and for dogs.

They have a worldwide following, including Aloha High School’s Structure Routine Center. So instructors invited the pair to come visit their class and sample their homemade treats called “Doggie Dots.”

“It was just really neat to me to see the passion the kids had for making the dog treats and how much fun they had sharing with me,” Sgt. O’Reilly said.

Rourke Lowe teaches the class of about 11 special education students.

“My job is to work on all of the academic basics but we also do things like life skills and community living and out of those class periods became an idea for dog treats,” Lowe said.

For about a year now, the kids take three simple ingredients for each batch. They make their own oat flour and peanut butter, then add either banana or pumpkin. They shape them, bake them, then package and sell them – mostly to school staff.

It’s not a money-making business, but the program needs money to continue and to start other programs that give the students opportunities to learn and be included.

“That if we give them those skills and give them those opportunities here and we’re able to work on them and fine tune them that might be a better step or a good next step for them outside,” Lowe said.

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The program really spoke to Sgt. O’Reilly who posted about the treats on Instagram and put a link to the Beaverton Education Foundation fundraising campaign in his bio. He says he loves being a part of helping these students be successful.

“I just thought, I have this opportunity to help them and the people who are fans of Radar are wonderful people,” he said. “They have shown generosity in the past and I thought they will also love this idea.”

And his fans do love it. The fundraiser has more than doubled its original goal so the class can not only continue to make the doggie treats but they also plan to buy and operate a coffee cart.

If you would like to donate, click here.

The instructor Mr. Lowe will be at the K9 Trials at the Hillsboro Stadium on Saturday with 100 bags of Doggie Dots to give away for free, along with recipe cards. Sgt. O’Reilly and K9 Radar will also be there.

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WASHINGTON — School officials widely expressed optimism about the prospect of a high school esports team, despite several questions about the logistics of such a newly conceived extracurricular activity.

At a Washington school board meeting Wednesday night, District Activities Director Nathan Miller said a poll of high school students and incoming freshman showed 33 kids interested in joining such a team next year.

Of those, he said the “vast majority” were not involved in any of the school’s other activity rosters. That makes it an ideal way to get kids involved who might otherwise not make such connections.

“One of the main goals that I’m looking at, as activities director, is how do we engage more kids within our school,” Miller said. “This is an opportunity where we could engage kids in something else we don’t currently have, that may meet a clientele that would love to be part of a group or activity.”

The competitive video game scene is a somewhat new concept, as far as school activities go, but those involved say it’s growing fast. Much like with traditional sports, students would try out for the team, compete in divisions based on experience, and seek to bring home trophies for their school at tournaments.

Also like other school activities, members would need to maintain passing grades to compete, and come to class in order to attend practice. Washington would be the fourth school in its conference to establish an esports roster.

Competitions are not only a source of entertainment for viewers. Schools say they’re a wellspring of scholarships and academic achievement for students.

Fairfield senior Carter Stutzman made headlines in April, when he signed on to Northwestern College’s Rocket League Team, where he’ll play the viral “vehicular soccer” game. And in November, New London’s esports team qualified for states, where they played Nintendo-produced fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the mythology-inspired arena title SMITE.

“I actually sat in on an esports presentation … and there’s more scholarship money available in colleges than they can give out right now,” Miller said. “This is something that could not only impact our kids now, with a connection to school, it could provide avenues and opportunities after high school.”

The activity is sanctioned by the Iowa High School Esports Association. Miller said Washington would start competing in Super Smash Bros. in the fall, and Mario Kart in the spring, but not participate in other events or in the winter season, at least at first.

Instead, he said the school would stick to online tournaments in its first year, rather than traveling to distant venues. Startup costs would include four Nintendo Switch consoles, high-end controllers, subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online — a service required to access multiplayer features in the games — and paid coaching positions in the fall and spring.

The activities director said the team would likely raise funds through events and local business sponsorships.

“There are events, eventually, that we could travel to,” Miller said. “There is actually a kid in our high school who is one of the top 10 or 15 players in our country for Fortnite … but we’re not going to go to these big tournaments if we’re just going to get stomped on at first. That’s why we want to start small.”

More out of curiosity than skepticism, school board members had several questions for Miller about the activity. Things like, “what does an esports practice look like,” and “how is it coached?”

With a vote on the proposed program expected next month, Board President Troy Suchan said he was excited about its prospects

“It’s another way to get another subgroup involved, same as when we started archery,” he said. “It’s getting people involved, making them feel like they’re part of the school.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com