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LOST
KENNYWOOD, PA --
The 2002 season has approximately
reached its halfway point as we are in the early part of
July. Lets look back at the first part of the 2002 season
and get up to date on what is new as of July on the Lost
Kennywood Crew.
As the 2002 season got underway
there was a noticeable change in Lost Kennywood. Managers
Scott Sypien and Jen Tomasic had moved on from their
positions. Jen, opted to work part time on the Raging
Rapids crew as she explored other endeavors. Scott decided
to stay put in Lost Kennywood in a part time role as he
looked for career opportunities outside of the relm of
Kennywood. In their place were Jonelle Warren and Chaz
McDowell. Warren who had bounced from the Exterminator to
the Merry Go Round a few times in her Kennywood career
came to a new crew to take over as Manager. McDowell, in
his second season, made the jump to the assistant
position.
From the first few days of the
season it was clear to many that the communication between
manager and manager and the communication between crew and
manager just wasn't happening. The atmosphere which had
prompted many people to desire a move to Lost Kennywood
started to fade as many changes were being implemented. An
early change that caused an uproar on the roster was a
move that would have cut the number of people going on
break down from 3 to 2. By implementing this change it
caused for less roster spaces for people to work in a day
as well as a change in the starting time of the C shift
from 2pm until 1pm. Meaning less production for
everyone as well as less people to be with on break.
After a team meeting to address
this situation as well has general unhappiness more
changes occurred. The first was Ebony Farrar who felt a
change was necessary for her or else she feared that she
wouldn't last the rest of the 2002 season. Ashley Wallace
soon was let go after her first career A shift. She vowed
to never work an A again and sure enough her words held
true. In a controversial move Jon Matthews was moved to
the Phantoms Revenge. Matthews a huge off season
acquisition desired more hours. Popular with his Lost
Kennywood co-workers it was not a move that made anyone
happy. This move could have been prevented however, but an
unhappy Warren allowed the move to go through without a
fight. As the summer progressed more controversy
continued. More meetings were held and no progress was
made in getting things to were they needed to be. Soon a
change was made and it sent shockwaves throughout the
crew. Chaz McDowell was moved to the Exterminator crew.
After his experience Chaz felt he could not work in the
environment that cause unhappiness to many.
Not only did the crew struggle
early on with change and controversy but the park also
suffered a serious incident. On May 31st a huge storm
swept across western pa. The storm packed fierce winds,
heavy rains and hail. Unfortunately that wasn't all it
packed. As the path of the storm was rocking the community
of West Mifflin a Macroburst developed leveling trees,
tearing off roofs and causing damage to the park itself.
In the storm the structure which houses one of Kennywood's
most classic rides, the whip, collapsed and came crashing
down. Lost Kennywood and Exterminator crew members,
responded immediately helping many people to safety. Both
crews did a tremendous job and are commended for the
spectacular job they did.
Throughout everything that
happened the crew still remained united. As the newcomers
easily made the transition into the crew. Mcafferty, Rizzi,
Traeger and the rest of the newcomers blended in with the
rest. As with every other season the animals were
out of control from day one. Daily quotes from these animals
incite a great deal of laughter as well as stories to tell
throughout the day.
During the first half of the
season Lost Kennywood saw a few new faces. Here is a brief
rundown of the new faces that came on the scene since the
start of the season.
- Josh Goodwin -
Originally on the Turnpike crew before making the
move to Lost Kennywood midway through 2002. Quickly
dubbed "Oompa" by his new crew. The name
has stuck and people are calling him that all around
the park.
- Josh Shaver - Started
the season on the Racer/Jack Rabbit before coming
over to the Lost Kennywood crew. Besides working at
Kennywood Shaver has also served our country as a
member of the armed forces.
- Jim Barkowski - Moved
over to Lost Kennywood via the Merry Go Round crew.
One of the MGR's top performers, Barkowski was moved
after some differences with another crew member.
- Ryan Urban - A long
time Kennywood veteran, Urban moved from his Ski
Lift position to Lost Kennywood in the hopes of
getting more hours.
As July arrived so did the Victorian
Festival and a new look for the Wipeout featuring
Kennywood's pool. Fireworks filled Kennywood's sky nightly
and the i nfamous
banjo music was played through the sound system. While
this exciting event was ongoing Lost Kennywood lost
another member, Shanail Brown left for Sandcastle and has
been missed. Heather Lees took over the spot left vacant
by Chaz and everyone started heading for vacations. Whats
in store for the rest of the 2002 season? No one knows for
sure yet, stay tuned for more stories and a season ending
story reviewing some of the highlights of the second half
of the season
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