REAL MARCH MADNESS

People in Pangburn ready to hoop it up atop donkeys

By Jeremy Peppas

LITTLE ROCK — People, on donkeys, playing basketball.

Donkey basketball was set up more than a decade ago as a fundraiser for the Pangburn High School FBLA, and it never fails to provide a night of high comedy.

“It has been standing-room only,” said Janet Reaper, the FBLA co-advisor at Pangburn. “I don’t know where they all come from but they just come out of the woodwork, and we have our regulars who come, I don’t know all of them, but they always come out.”

This year’s event is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and pregame festivities are planned along with the game and a halftime show. Reaper was still ironing out the details and not all the local politicians have committed to play.

“I think we’ll get a pretty good turnout,” she said. “We always do. People like to play, it is fun and funny.”

The event is as simple as it sounds. People ride donkeys and play basketball. At the same time.

“It is a little bit shorter than a high school game,” Reaper said. “I think it is six-minute quarters, and the team with the most baskets wins, and they get a donkey basketball winner T-shirt.”

It isn’t entirely like basketball, because of the donkeys and all.

“They do have to ride the donkeys,” Reaper said. “Sometimes they have to get off to chase down the ball, but to shoot or to pass, it has to be on the donkey.”

And if you are worried about the Pangburn gym floor, don’t.

“We don’t put plastic down; the donkeys will have shoes on,” Reaper said. “They aren’t tennis shoes, but they are these plastic shoes that damage the floor.”

Reaper said the night of donkey hoops started out roughly 15 years ago.

“Originally, it was another adviser’s idea,” Reaper said. “It was Patsy Healy, and she has since retired, but we did so well and had so much fun, we kept it going.”

The game raises funds for the FBLA and helps pay annual state conference fees. Some of the proceeds also benefit Habitat for Humanity of White County.

“That’s our designated charity, we helped them last year as well,” Reaper said. “That’s actually where most of the money will go.”

Reaper said the first house built was finished before last Christmas and plans are in theworks to build a home in Pangburn.

“A lot has been donated, and we’ll start and finish sometime this year,” Reaper said. “So we haven’t actually started, but building a house, it involves a lot of legwork, a lot of other things.

Getting involved with Habitat for Humanity was an easy choice.

“We looked around to see where the need is in our community,” Reaper said. “Everyone has at least a slight understanding of what Habitat does, and when I talked with Kymberlee Atkins (who is the other FBLA co-advisor at Pangburn) and our officers and other members, they all definitely wanted to get involved and help. Habitat does good work, and I’m glad we can help.” - jpeppas@ arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 112, 113 on 03/09/2008