Conneaut Lake Park officials hopefull Blue Streak will run this year

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August 12, 2010

By Ryan Smith MEADVILLE TRIBUNE The Meadville Tribune Thu Aug 12, 2010, 07:00 AM EDT

CONNEAUT LAKE — CONNEAUT LAKE — Lisa Rawson said she and other Conneaut Lake Park officials keep knocking on wood.

The ongoing effort to restore the park’s historic roller coaster, the Blue Streak, has most recently climbed all the way up to the No. 2 ranking in the Pepsi Refresh Project for the month of August, according to Rawson. That means the Blue Streak could be on track — with the help of continuing votes — to collect one of the project’s 10-monthly $50,000 grants.

On top of that, Rawson, a park trustee, said if the restoration work continues at the pace it’s been going, it appears the Blue Streak could indeed open sometime this season. “We are so close,” she said Wednesday, and “it’s looking more and more positive that we can run” the coaster this season.

But to make that happen, Rawson said, continuing donations to help pay for the restoration are needed — now.

Even as park officials and enthusiasts become more optimistic about the park’s chances of winning the $50,000 grant, funds are still needed now to keep Structural Technology Incorporated on site and working on the roller coaster. Without those funds in the near-term, officials have said STI will be forced to move onto its next project, leaving the progress made so far at a halt.

Also, the goal of completely restoring the coaster extends beyond the first phase of getting it running, Rawson said. If Conneaut Lake Park were to win the Pepsi grant, she said, the balance of any additional funds would be used for the next section of track to need replacing, restoration of additional cars and general upkeep of the coaster.

“This is not a single-phase restoration project,” Rawson said, “so both efforts of support are very valuable.”

Voting for the Blue Streak in the Pepsi Refresh project is free. People can log onto refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkbluestreak and/or text the number 100510 to Pepsi at 73774. Officials said one vote may be cast by each method once every day.

To donate and for more information, visit conneautlakepark.com.

“This project has garnered so much attention and so much support,” said Rawson. “It’s been a real eye-opener to hear, from so many people across the country, how important this is.”

Earlier this summer, American Coaster Enthusiasts designated the Blue Streak an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark, a distinction given to the most historically significant roller coasters in the world. According to ACE secretary Bill Linkenheimer III, the 73-year-old Blue Streak is one of only two existing Edward Vettle-designed coasters. The other is the Cyclone built in 1940 at the Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, Colo.

STI, based near Bloomsburg, is the same company that recently got the Cyclone back up and running.

Voting for the Blue Streak in the Pepsi Refresh project is free. People can log onto refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkbluestreak and/or text the number 100510 to Pepsi at 73774. Officials said one vote may be cast by each method once every day.

Also, to donate money or for more information, visit conneautlakepark.com.

Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com.

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Conneaut Lake Park officials hopefull Blue Streak will run this year

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