June 21, 2019 at 4:07 p.m.
Hodag Water Shows may start season without new jump ramp
Complications in getting ramp to Rhinelander may delay its debut
Hodag Water Shows may start season without new jump ramp
The club was forced to find a new jump after their existing one was accidentally but irreparably damaged as a result of city street crews dumping snow on it during the winter months.
At the end of March, Rhinelander parks director Jeremy Biolo discovered that the ramp belonging to the Hodag Water Shows (HWS) that is routinely stored at Hodag Park during the offseason, had suffered severe damage.
According to Rod Olson, HWS treasurer, Biolo notified the club on March 27 that the street department crews had damaged the ramp. Even while still surrounded by snow, the damage was clearly evident, he said.
"We're not quite sure what happened," Olson said in an interview with the River News. "The amount of snow there wasn't piled in the correct place, and the ramp either got pushed or hit by a loader; the top surface is snapped (and) buckled."
Olson later submitted a claim to the city, attaching several photos and a letter to mayor Chris Frederickson and city administrator Daniel Guild.
In the letter he described how sturdy the old ramp was. Its surface frame construction was made from 2-by-8s with sheeting and the cradle, or chassis, was 2"x10."
"The force upon the ramp by the dumping, pushing and piling of the snow had to be tremendous to cause this damage," the letter reads.
The club later located a used steel frame ramp in South Dakota which it purchased with funds including $7,940 it received from the city to resolve the claim.
The frame has since been transported to Rhinelander, but it's been a complicated process, Olson said.
"We're lagging behind. We did go to South Dakota and picked up a used jump frame, but there were some things we had to do to get it down the road," he said. "It's 14-feet wide and you can get permits and a bunch of things like that to do it, but we had to go over 600 miles on the return trip, so we had to get it broken down to 8-feet wide."
Since getting the ramp to Rhinelander, the group has been working with welders to get the ramp put back together.
"Then we've got to put a surface on it, then we'll get it in the water," Olson said. "It may not make the first show. We'll probably be jump-free for the first show. We want to get it and get it right."
The group's season starts Wednesday, June 26. Shows are held at 7 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays through mid-August.
"July and August is our big season. We get, I'd say, the bulk of our visitors from out of town staying at the resorts after Country Fest, into August," Olson said. "So June is always kind of 'get ready' kind of shows. We're not in a panic, but we want to get everything right with it, and that's where we're at."
Olson said the group is grateful to the city for making things right once the damage to the old ramp was discovered.
"As far as the city is concerned, they got us the money as promptly as they could," Olson said.
In addition to getting the ramp finished and ready to put in Boom Lake, the anchors that hold it in place will have to be moved, Olson added.
"Where the anchors are right now is probably about 100-feet north of where we typically have it," he said. "Over the years, the big storms typically push the jump and anchors down course. So we've been looking at moving the anchors back to the original place."
The anchors are made of concrete septic tank covers with stainless steel eye hooks set in them.
"There are three or four of them that will be easy to get up," Olson said. "There's a clump of four of them that are twisted together from one storm and the ropes are kind of twisted."
If the anchors can't be moved manually, Olson said Pelican Dock Company will provide assistance with a hoist. Whichever method is used, the anchors will be untangled before being set into their old location.
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