Kickball with the Cops: A home run

LUXEMBURG – Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski, who’ll be retiring Jan. 5, is on a farewell tour of sorts in 2026. But he’s still building bridges.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Joski, one of the participants in Saturday’s Kickball with the Cops event at Luxemburg Youth Park. “This is something that means more than any equipment, tactic, policies, any of it. When we keep that connection with the community, that’s the most powerful and valuable asset we have — the relationships we build.”

Let the record show that Joski — after opening the game with three straight flyouts — got “hits” his last four times in a row in the opener, helping Team Police/Fire to a 30-17 win over Team Kids.

With nearly an hour left in what was planned as a two-hour game, younger participants who watched the first one were invited to play another with the adults and teens.

Luxemburg Village patrol officer Courtney Dorner set up the special outing, which included generous donations of snacks and refreshments from businesses and organizations.

“I was hoping to do a community event for the kids,” said Dorner. “We have a lot of interaction with the younger youth, and they always complain there’s not a lot to do in the village. We wanted to give them something fun to do on a Saturday.”

Mission accomplished, with smiles and laughs all around.

“I love being able to interact with the kids, and get our faces out there so they get to know us,” Dorner said. “We’re not robots. We like to have fun, too.”

While there were no injuries, Dorner reported there may have been a few sore muscles among Team Police/Fire members.

Besides Joski and Dorner, the adult team also included Kewaunee Sheriff’s Office Deputy Depas, Investigator Raduenz, Luxemburg Fire Department Firefighters LaPlante, Rollin, J. Hart, C. Hart and Fameree, DNR Warden Medina, Luxemburg Police Department Chief Neil Dorner, Luxemburg Rescue Squad EMT Parma and DNR Lieutenant Kretschmer.

Team Kids included Sophie, Alaina, Maggie, Carly, Charles, Katie, Dougie, Gabriel, Evan, Trey, Erin and Shayne.