Zaleski volunteer fire department hosts fish fry fundraiser June 20

The Zaleski Volunteer Fire Department is replacing its annual Fireman’s Festival with a fish fry fundraiser, turning one summer Saturday into a direct test of local support. The event is scheduled for Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 144 N. Second St. in Zaleski, and the department is counting on turnout to help underwrite the work that keeps its volunteers ready to respond.

The menu is built to draw in a crowd beyond just fish lovers. Organizers are serving fish dinners and fish sandwiches, along with tenderloins, pulled pork, French fries, hot dogs, sloppy joes, drinks, pies and desserts. The format makes the fundraiser part meal and part gathering place, giving residents from Zaleski and nearby communities an easy way to support the department while sharing a low-cost meal.

That support matters in a township fire system where volunteers carry much of the load. Vinton County listings name Jim Shively as chief of the Zaleski Fire Department, and county and visitors bureau information places the department at 144 N. Second St., covering Zaleski as well as Madison Township and Knox Township. In a county with several volunteer fire departments, those local stations are the first line for fire protection and emergency response, and they depend on more than just public appropriations to keep apparatus, gear and day-to-day operations moving.

The fish fry also marks a shift from a larger community tradition. The Zaleski Fireman’s Festival reached its fifth annual edition in 2025 and had grown into a village event with food trucks, antique vehicle displays, water battles with area departments, cornhole, tug-of-war, obstacle-course activities, flea market booths, children’s carnival games, youth fireman’s training and an antique power show. Replacing that broader festival with a focused fundraiser shows how closely the department’s public events are tied to its operating needs.

That pressure is not unique to Zaleski. Ohio’s 2026 Small County Volunteer Fire Department Grant program awarded nearly $8 million to 190 departments in 49 counties, with individual departments eligible for up to $50,000 for gear, rescue equipment and related fire-protection costs. For a small department in rural Vinton County, the June 20 fish fry is more than a meal stop. It is part of the funding mix that helps keep volunteers equipped, trained and ready when the next call comes in.