Traveling Amusement Rides In SC Only Require State Inspection Once A Year

Posted by admin on May 2, 2012 | 0 comments

ANDERSON COUNTY, SC –

Now is the time of year for county fairs and fun, but parents beware! 7 On Your Side found out fair rides don’t have to be inspected every time they move around in South Carolina.

Four year old Jordan Morrison is about to get his first look at the carnival rides at the Anderson County Fair. Jordan’s mom, Jasmine Gaines says, “I’m excited for my son because this will be his first fair.”

The rides at the Anderson County Fair were inspected by third-party, state-licensed inspectors. But that is only because this is the ride company’s first appearance in South Carolina this year. If the rides move to a new location in the state within the year, a state inspection will not be required.

Jordan’s mom was worried when we told her rides in South Carolina do not have to have a state inspection every time they move to a new location. Gaines says, “That does concern me a lot for my child’s safety.”

State-certified inspectors are only required to sign off on the rides once a year, no matter how many times the rides move around. Last July, the state’s director of Labor, Licensing and Regulation told us she was pushing to get more inspectors, so that checks on rides could be done more often.

There’s a new director at the agency now, and after 7 On Your Side started asking questions, an agency spokesperson told us late Wednesday the new director, Holly Pisarik, will also be pushing for changes that would require rides to be inspected more often. LLR says it plans to advocate for tougher regulations next legislative session, which starts in January 2013.

Right now, after that first inspection, it’s up to ride owners and operators to make sure the rides are working safely. James Graybeal is Operations Manager for Drew Exposition, the ride company hired by the Anderson County Fair. Graybeal says, “We inspect every day. Each ride has a ride foreman, and they do a daily inspection.”

Graybeal says parents should also do some checking. He says, “What I like to say to parents is don’t come out here and cut your kids loose.”

He says parents should be looking for a permit sticker on each ride, and they should watch the ride and the operator before they let their children get on. Graybeal says, “It’s like driving a car. You can listen, and you can tell when something’s not right.”

Jordan’s mom will keep that in mind, knowing now that there aren’t as many checks and balances as she first thought.

South Carolina LLR says after the Cleveland park kiddie-train derailment in Spartanburg last year, the agency made changes. Now, they use third-party inspectors. The department says that gives them a “second set of eyes.” LLR randomly goes behind the third-party inspectors and does spot checks on rides.

North Carolina does require rides be inspected each time they move to a new location. That is not the case in Georgia. The Georgia Labor Department tells 7 On Your Side traveling amusement rides only have to be inspected by the state once a year, but not each time the rides move around. The rides in Georgia are subject to spot inspections.

Spring Fling: Food, Music and Carnival Fun

Posted by admin on Apr 11, 2012 | 0 comments

Spring Fling: Food, Music and Carnival Fun

Spring Fling, the student-run carnival, runs April 12-15 at Rillito Downs in Tucson.

Spring Fling will offer and more than 20 different food booths selling cotton candy, corn dogs, roasted corn and other goodies (Photo by Patrick McArdle/UANews)

Spring Fling will feature more than 25 rides and games. (Photo by Patrick McArdle/UANews)

Eight student leaders serve as directors and work throughout the year to coordinate and put on Spring Fling with more than 1,500 student volunteers and the help of UA affiliated staff. (Photo by Patrick McArdle/UANews)

Get ready for Spring Fling, which runs April 12-15, and join the kickoff event in front of Old Main on April 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for free food, games and giveaways.

Rides, game booths, live music and the smell of roasted corn and corn dogs will fill Rillito Downs once again as Spring Fling brings carnival fun to the Tucson community this week to raise funds and support service projects by University of Arizona student clubs.

Spring Fling will take place April 12-15. General admission and parking are $5. UA students with a CatCard have free admission, as do children younger than 7 and those with a military ID. Admission is free to everyone from noon to 2 p.m. on April 14.

Spring Fling, a UA tradition since 1974, is the most important fundraiser for the Associated Students of the University of Arizona and its student clubs.

The event generates between $30,000 and $40,000, which is distributed among the clubs who work to put on the event and volunteer in game or food booths. The clubs in turn redistribute the funds to the greater Tucson community through commitments to service projects such as Ben’s Bells and the Ronald McDonald House.

Spring Fling is the largest student-run carnival in the nation. Spring Fling features more than 25 rides and games and more than 20 different food booths ranging from cotton candy to corn dogs and roasted corn hosted by the more than 40 clubs that have booths at the event.

Eight student leaders serve as directors and work throughout the year to coordinate and put on the event, with more than 1,500 student volunteers and the help of UA affiliated staff. Once the event gets started, students work 14-plus hour days until the gates close.

“It is a very rewarding experience, and once we get going, none of us wants to stop,” said Ashley Saindon, the Spring Fling media director and a senior general studies major at the UA.

As a freshman, Saindon received a Spring Fling flier and was impressed that the event is entirely run by students, and she became a volunteer. She is representative of the Spring Fling transition training that takes place each year as students mentor and train one another to take on more responsibility and future leadership roles.

This year, Spring Fling will feature entertainment with live performances on theSpring Fling stage. These performances include the Pueblo High School Mariachi; the band 80′s and Gentlemen, playing musical favorites from the 1980s; and an a cappella performance from the UA CatCall singers, who sing contemporary and time-honored classics.

Keep up with events on Facebook and Twitter to find promotions such as unlimited rides April 12-13 with the purchase of a wristband for $25 and the donation of four canned food items to benefit the UA4Food drive. April 15 is Family Fun Day, with last-chance wristbands for only $15 and free admission with a donation of two children’s books, a UA alumni membership ID or the donation of a recyclable Coke Cola product.

A Spring Fling kickoff event will take place on the UA Mall in front of Old Main on April 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Take part in the fun with a ride on a giant slide, free food, games and giveaways.

Sacto 911: Scandia, crane company cited in Screamer ride accident

Posted by admin on Mar 21, 2012 | 0 comments

rpench@sacbee.com – A crane collapsed at Scandia Family Fun Center amusement park off Interstate 80 in the North Highlands area of Sacramento on Tuesday, August 30, 2011, bringing down the park’s landmark ride, the 165-foot-tall Scandia Screamer. The ride was not in operation. Two crane operators were taken away by ambulance.

•   Scandia Screamer crane company had good safety record, state says
•   2 hurt in crane accident at Scandia center in North Highlands

Not everyone excited about a Super Bowl during Mardi Gras

Posted by admin on Feb 22, 2012 | 0 comments

NEW ORLEANS — As the Crescent City recovers from Carnival season, New Orleans is looking ahead to 2013.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and community members are bracing for next year’s Carnival season that will include a Super Bowl. Not everyone is happy.

“We had a very good ride. Extremely good weather,” said Wayne Lee, captain of the Krewe Of Carrollton.

Traditionally the Krewe of Carrollton rolls through Uptown two weekends before Mardi Gras. But, next year that is all changing.

“The Super Bowl is actually on the day of our parade, and they’ll move us up to the week before. Now I’m hearing that the city is going after the Pro Bowl and I don’t know if that’ll affect us or not,” said Lee.

In 2013, Carnival and Mardi Gras revelers will face off against football fans in New Orleans. The Super Bowl will fall smack in the middle of the city’s Carnival celebrations.

“As big as what happened on the street [during Mardi Gras was], the Super Bowl is a different kind of thing,” Landrieu said.

During a news conference on Ash Wednesday, Landrieu said the city was already looking ahead. Beefed up security plans for 2013 will include NOPD officers, the Department of Homeland Security, State Police, the Orleans and Jefferson Parish sheriff’s offices and other agencies.

“This was a record number of troopers that we’ve ever had for Mardi Gras. We actually had 155 troopers. What we’re doing is testing. These are all practices for next year’s Super Bowl-Mardi Gras combo,” said Col. Michael Edmonson with Louisiana State Police.

Krewes are also preparing for the Super Bowl and its potential impact on their Carnival preparations.

“We’ve already contacted the hotel that we’ve had our ball at for the last nine years and they’re unable to give us a date because of the early season,” said Jack Rizzuto, captain of the Krewe of Pygmalion.

Rizzuto said pushing parades and balls into January won’t be easy or cheap.

“The mayor and his executive staff have never taken the time to meet with us Carnival captains and explain what they’re going to do to help us. They’ve said basically do it, take it or leave it,” said Rizzuto.

While Carnival and Super Bowl crowds will bring in big bucks, Rizzuto said it is important for city leadership to remember the community.

“We’re not against the Super Bowl. I’m in business in the city. The Super Bowl is very valuable to us, but the Super Bowl comes every 10 years. Mardi Gras comes each and every year,” said Rizzuto.

Back in 2002, when the Super Bowl was held here in New Orleans, the September 11, 2011 attacks pushed back game day. That schedule change forced 11 krewes to change their schedules — all were financially compensated by the NFL.

WBCA Carnival Ride Malfunctions

Posted by admin on Feb 13, 2012 | 0 comments

What was supposed to be a night of family fun turns scary as several people are trapped on a carnival ride for a while.
It happened earlier this evening at around seven when a ride called “El Chango” got stuck due to problems with the engine.
Guests traveling at a high rate of speed while hanging… suspended from a reinforced harness..were caught in mid-air at the WBCA carnival, which opened just last night.
Rescue crews were on the scene for at least an hour and worked to bring all riders down safely.
“They conducted a rescue operation and one by one they were removing each and every one of the riders fortunately there were no injuries. They were up there for a little while, of course they were cold..a little scared obviously, but fortunately no injuries and no transports. After being evaluated they were sent on their way.”
Although riders were stuck on this ride for a while, it didn’t seem to stop others from enjoying the activities at the carnival.

October 26, 2011 Police: Background check for carnival worker fell through the cracks

Posted by admin on Oct 26, 2011 | 1 comment

SALEM — Police have checked the criminal backgrounds of more than 150 fortunetellers, street performers and outdoor vendors working here this Halloween season, but not the carnival worker who was charged with indecent assault over the weekend.

A background check wouldn’t have turned up anything because the 18-year-old accused of groping a teenage girl Saturday on the Essex Street pedestrian mall does not have a record, according to police.

Despite that, Salem police are upset about the slip-up and the carnival operator’s failure to include this young man’s name on a list of individuals working at the carnival.

“My deal with Fiesta Shows is I’m supposed to know and CORI everyone who is here,” said Capt. Brian Gilligan, who oversees the monthlong Haunted Happenings. “Prior to this kid’s arrest, I had no idea he was working in Salem.”

A CORI check is a computer search of criminal offender record information through the state’s Criminal History Systems Board. It shows the charges and dispositions of criminal cases.

Yousef Hashem of West Bridgewater was in Salem to help his family, a Fiesta Shows subcontractor operating a food stand during the two weeks the carnival is on Derby Street, Gilligan said. He does not work for Fiesta Shows.

“I’m not sure what his status was,” Gilligan said. “I think, in a technical sense, he was working, was helping the family. It’s a family business, and all the kids come up and help the father.

“My position is if he’s here, if he’s working on the carnival, we’re supposed to CORI him.”

The police captain said Fiesta Shows gave him a “substantial list” of workers, and all passed the background checks.

“There weren’t any issues,” he said. “There certainly wasn’t anyone … I wasn’t comfortable with working in Salem. …

“My concern is with the integrity of the process. I asked to be aware of everyone working here, and I don’t think that happened in this instance. I’m not thrilled with that.”

Gilligan said he told Fiesta Shows that their policies and procedures must change.

“They’ve got to be a little more vigilant with their subcontractors and who they bring in here,” he said. “We’re certainly going to be extremely strict about that going forward with them.”

The Salem News was not able to reach a spokesman for Fiesta Shows.

What happened with the carnival worker is the exception rather than the rule, city officials said.

The Licensing Board checks fortunetellers, street performers and retail vendors. They must show identification — a passport, driver’s license or some other approved photo ID — fill out a licensing form and go through background checks before they are issued a license.

Carnival workers are checked by the Police Department, and the city clerk’s office handles public tour guides.

Most CORI forms eventually cross the desk of police Lt. Andre Ouellette, the special investigator for the Licensing Board.

“We try to check all of them,” Ouellette said, referring to Halloween workers.

Sometimes individuals with a minor criminal past are given a license, Ouellette said, but only if police are convinced that the person does not pose a threat to the public.

He conceded, however, that the system is not foolproof. Problems can arise, for example, if somebody calls in sick and a vendor has to find a replacement.

“Sometimes, there are people who are going to fall through the cracks,” he said, “but we do make the attempt to check them all.”