Valley City Firefighters' Association to raise funds for firefighting equipment and Hometown Heroes program during annual pancake breakfast

LIVERPOOL TWP. — Valley City firefighters will soon serve pancakes to the community to raise funds to further support the township. The event is hosted by the Valley City Firefighters' Association. The 2026 breakfast will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday and March 8. Breakfast offerings will consist of plain and blueberry pancakes, sausage links, scrambled eggs, fruit, juice, milk and coffee. "We're not doing basket raffles, and we're not doing table sponsors," Valley City Firefighters' Association President Kevin Laux said. "It's kind of a relief year for everybody because everyone has helped us so much in the last four years of me being president. Let's step back and let's focus on the community and providing some awesome pancakes, good sausage and a great time." Entry ticket prices are as follows: $15 for adults. $12 for seniors and veterans. $8 for children younger than 13. Free for children younger than 3. Family maximum is $45. The township is working toward getting a new tanker for the fire department, and Laux said he foresees funding from the pancake breakfast going toward the tanker once the project moves forward. The association is also looking into purchasing new battery-powered positive pressure ventilation fans for its trucks to make work easier for firefighters. "The township only has a set budget," he said. "With firefighting equipment, every year, new stuff comes out that's easier to use, better to use and more functional. Sometimes you just don't have the money to buy those things. One of those fans is around $6,000, which is a lot of money for one, and we're going to have three trucks that have those fans." A gun raffle is one of the main focuses of this year's event, which is sponsored by Valley City business Shotgunn Kelly's, Laux said. All the funding from the gun raffle will be earmarked toward the Hometown Heroes program, which places banners around the township of local veterans. "How are we going to keep this (Hometown Heroes program) going without draining our bank account?" he said. "It's expensive, so all the members of the association were like, 'We do this gun raffle, and what's a better way to support veterans than a gun raffle?'" Tickets for the gun raffle will be sold at the door along with the 50/50 raffle tickets, Laux said. The association will sell 500 gun raffle tickets for $20 each, and six winners will be drawn after the 500 tickets are sold or on April 1. "I'm excited to see everybody out for another wonderful year of pancake breakfast," he said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.