Police officers to serve up breakfast

Irene Arlow served as secretary for former Arlington Heights Police Chief Rodney Kath for 10 years before she retired, after 16 years in all with the village.

But she still finds a way to keep in touch with her friends in the department, via their annual pancake breakfast.

The Fraternal Order of Police will hold the 26th breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Hersey High School, 1900 E. Thomas St. in Arlington Heights.

A $5 donation entitles patrons to all they can eat of the hearty breakfast, which includes pancakes, sausages, milk, orange juice and coffee. Children under 5 are admitted free.

"We've been to a lot of pancake breakfasts, but these are the best," says Arlow, of Mount Prospect, who gathers a group of 10 friends together every year for the breakfast. "And the company's not bad, either."

Retired Arlington Heights Patrolman Larry Nowak chairs the event each year. Through the course of the morning, he expects his crew -- and their families -- to serve something like 900 people.

Consequently, he stocks up on more than 55 gallons of pancake batter, 300 pounds of sausage links, 25 pounds of butter and 12 gallons of syrup, just to feed the hungry group.

"It's a good chance for people to mix with policemen, away from the job," Nowak says of the cops who don aprons to flip the pancakes and sausages, bus tables, and mingle with the customers.

The event also serves as a fundraiser for the FOP, which then donates to area charities that its members like to support.

Local causes include Special Olympics, the Arlington Heights Senior Center, a suicide support group known as LOSS, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Salute Inc., which serves families of deployed military personnel, and the Service Over Self Club at Hersey High School.