TEMPLE HILL — Safety is an ongoing concern for the parents of children who clamber to board the various amusement park and carnival rides found at county fairs each summer.
In recent incidents, 22 people were injured, two seriously, as the result of a train derailment at the Louisville Zoo on June 1 and a Disney World employee was killed when two monorail trains collided at the Florida theme park on July 5.
These follow an accident in June 2007 when a 13-year-old girl had her feet cut off after a cable snapped on the Superman Tower of Power free-fall ride at Six Flags’ Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville.
With the Barren County Fair set to open Tuesday night, ride safety is an issue to be addressed.
Dixieland Carnival Co., owned and operated by Billy and Stacey Tucker out of Phenix, Ala., is the company in charge of midway rides at the local fair this week.
Dixieland operates in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky and has five generations of experience in the carnival ride industry.
According to information provided by the company, rides are inspected by a maintenance team when they are set up at the venue and daily by the ride operators. Dixieland also has an annual insurance company inspection.
Every amusement ride in Kentucky must be inspected before it is allowed to operate in the state, according to Bill Clary, public relations official with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. KDA inspectors look at how each ride operates and check certain criteria for the rides.
“We inspect their maintenance records based on what they are supposed to do to be in compliance with the (operator’s) manual,” Clary said.
KDA inspectors check the electronics, mechanics and bolts, and if the ride is operating within the specifications of the manufacturer.
“If it’s operated within the state already this year, it’s been inspected and will have an inspection sticker,” Clary said.
Other than the train derailment at the Louisville Zoo, there have been some minor ride malfunctions documented this year in the state, according to Clary, but they have resulted in nothing more than “scrapes and scratches.”
“Safety is our number one priority at Dixieland Carnival Co., LLC,” the company’s Web site states. “ It is rare to find anything wrong, but when we do, it is fixed correctly (no skimping, no shortcuts) before ride is put into operation.
“Our ride operators are well trained in all aspects of their particular ride including setup procedure, inspection and operation. Our operators are never just ‘button pushers.’”
For more information on Dixieland Carnival Co., visit the company’s Web site at www.dixielandcarinval.com.
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