Pancake breakfast invites eaters to start their morning by helping Special Olympics

Ottawans hungry for pancakes can get their fill Saturday and help a good cause, too.

A pancake breakfast will be 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday at Applebee’s, 2340 S. Oak St. All proceeds will go to Kansas Special Olympics.

Breakfast will be served by area law enforcement officers and staff from the Franklin County Attorney’s Office.

The cost is $5 per person. Children younger than 3 eat free. Tickets are available at the Franklin County Attorney’s Office, and people also can pay at the door.

The breakfast is one of many area fundraisers for the Special Olympics, Heather Jones, Franklin County attorney, said.

She said on Feb. 28, Ottawa Police Chief Dennis Butler and Will Hurst, assistant Franklin County attorney, participated in the Polar Bear Plunge at Clinton Lake near Lawrence. The two dove into the water on a cold, windy and snowy day, Jones said.

Wellsville Police Department was host to a Tip-A-Cop event March 21 at Smokey’s in Wellsville.

Ottawa also will have Tip-A-Cop and Cops on Top events later in the year, Jones said.

Next month, area law enforcement officers and others will participate in the annual Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run. The torch will be in Wellsville June 2 and in Ottawa June 3 as it makes its way through Kansas.

“I think it’s a great cause,” Jones, one of the event organizers, said. “It’s important to me.”

Ottawa’s run will begin at the north Dairy Queen. Runners will make their way down Main Street and out of town on Old Highway 50, Jones said. The torch will be handed off to other law enforcement officers at the Beto Junction and eventually will arrive in Wichita for the Special Olympic Games.

Area participants include those from the Franklin County Attorney’s Office, Ottawa Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Wellsville Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Kansas.

Herald staff writer Jodie Garcia can be e-mailed at jgarcia@ottawaherald.com.