By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

VICTORIA — The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1751 in Victoria is asking for help in paying for a new air conditioning unit that had to be replaced earlier this year. The VFW building in Victoria has been a multi-purpose use building for many years and has been used for meetings, funeral dinners, Christmas parties, high school proms and voting, just to name a few.

At the end of the summer, the air conditioning unit burned up on the inside and rendered the unit unusable. Due to the fact that the unit was used for AC and heating, and the unit had to be replaced immediately and cost more than $14,000.

“The unit basically runs the heat and air so you cannot just replace the air conditioning, you have to replace both,” Quartermaster Harland Rupp said. “We borrowed money and put a new unit on right away. We have been receiving donations, but we still need some more to pay it off completely.”

Having to borrow money put the VFW in a considerable financial hole and monetary donations would help the organization and building that are so important to the community of Victoria.

“The building is basically the community center for all functions and that is why it is so important for us to keep it,” Rupp said. “We are a very small VFW, but we cannot afford to lose it because the community relies on it.”

If you would like to make monetary donations, send your money to VFW 1751 Quartermaster Harland Rupp, 204 E. Main St., Victoria, KS.

For more information, the VFW can be reached at (785) 735-9218.