Butler County Special Olympics bowlers and chaperones visited the state Capitol Monday in Harrisburg. They were there for the Strike Out Stigma event, during which the Bowling Proprietors' Association of Pennsylvania donated $3,000 to Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Front row, from left, are Maddie Burns, Roz Burns and Miles Morris. Back row, from left: are Mary Pitzer, Dick Burns and Scott Pitzer.

HARRISBURG — It's not every day people bowl inside the Pennsylvania Capitol, but Special Olympics bowlers from Butler County showed off their skills Monday in Harrisburg.

The Bowling Proprietors' Association of Pennsylvania donated $3,000 to Special Olympics Pennsylvania during the Strike Out Stigma event at the Capitol building.

A bowling lane was set up for the event, and state legislators and Special Olympics athletes took turns knocking down pins.

One Butler County athlete, Special Olympics national gold medalist Roz Burns, was there and played some 10-pin.

“It was good,” Burns said. “I was excited.”

Butler County residents Burns, her sister, Maddie Burns, Dick Burns, Miles Morris, as well as chaperones Mary and Scott Pitzer, were in attendance.

They're staples at the Special Olympics bowling leagues on Fridays and Sundays at Family Bowlaway Fun Center in Butler Township.

Kevin Caparosa, who owns the center, also attended the event.

“(The athletes) were in high spirits,” he said. “They wanted to know when they could come back. They're an extremely talkative bunch. It's hard not to appreciate them. Plus, they are pretty darn good bowlers, some of them.”

The donation will go exclusively to Special Olympics Pennsylvania bowling organizations. Tricia Pritchard, Family Bowlaway Fun Center's director of marketing, said the money will help keep bowling costs low for Butler County Special Olympics athletes and help fund events such as banquets.

Pritchard speculated on why the donation, which is given out by BPAP every two years, was donated to Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

“I just think (the donation was) because of the popularity,” she said. “If you spend any time with those people you can see how, honest to goodness, the joy that they have on Friday afternoons, the friendships they build. It's so special.”

Caparosa said Family Bowlaway Fun Center runs the oldest Special Olympics bowling leagues in the nation.

His father, Joseph L. Caparosa Sr., began the leagues in 1955.

Anyone who wants more information on the center's bowling leagues can call Mary Pitzer at 724-738-1477.