The management of the Mighty Bluegrass Shows has shut down its Ring of Fire carnival ride for the rest of the Nebraska State Fair after complaints about electric shocks from people climbing down at the end of the rid
ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:00 pm
The management of the Mighty Bluegrass Shows has shut down its Ring of Fire carnival ride for the rest of the Nebraska State Fair after complaints about electric shocks from people climbing down at the end of the ride Saturday and again Monday.
“There was a problem. There was a short in the lights,” J.J. Murphy, president of the Florida-based midway operation, said Tuesday.
As far as he knows, the shocks were nothing more than a source of discomfort.
“We’ve never had an injury here,” Murphy said. “We’ve never hurt anybody here. Nothing. We’ve played this fair for 40 years.”
Despite those assurances, Lincoln resident Warren “Bud” Dils wants those in charge of the midway operation punished. Dils said his son, 10-year-old Christian, was the victim of an electrical current so powerful that he was unable to let go of a metal railing for several seconds. “It jolted him and he couldn’t move,” Dils said.
Later, Dils said, “He came over to me. He was just in tears, holding his chest and arms.”
The elder Dils said his wife also saw “a teenaged girl who grabbed the rail and collapsed.”
Dils said he is especially upset that the ride continued to operate Sunday and Monday even though it was a source of what he regarded as serious safety problems.
As far as he’s concerned, somebody from Mighty Bluegrass “should be explaining in front of a judge and a Nebraska state court why they were operating a ride after they knew it was hurting people.”
Spokeswoman Deb Collins of the Nebraska State Patrol said troopers stationed at the fairgrounds during the fair investigated the situation and will file a report with Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey that will document any possible violations of law.
However, “at this point, it doesn’t appear there were any,” Collins said.
She referred further questions to Barney Cosner, the fair’s executive director.
Cosner said the shock problem with midway equipment was hard to confirm and pin down because it was sporadic. Many riders climbed down without incident, he said. Others weren’t so lucky.
“We finally found what the source of it was,” he said, “and it was the lighting ring structure, the ring on the outside of it.”
Even though Cosner is satisfied the mystery is solved, “one of the things that the Nebraska State Fair is very conscious of is safety for all our guests. And when that comes into play, that becomes our priority.”
Cosner said he had talked with Dils several times and did not question his persistence. “I think he was concerned about the safety of other riders, as we are, and that’s why we took it very seriously.”
At the same time, Cosner said, Mighty Bluegrass “has a very good safety record and they’re very conscientious about their equipment.”
Murphy also believes the problem with the electrical short has been resolved and “we had every inspector from the entire state look at that ride yesterday.”
The same equipment had not caused any problems at previous shows this fair season. Nonetheless, he wants to get on with the rest of the show. “This story has taken on a life of its own,” he said.
With that in mind, “we’re still leaving that ride shut down. We are not going to start that ride up anymore.”
Reach Art Hovey at 473-7223 or at ahovey@journalstar.com.