September 29, 1998
Mud run runs out of track
By Jane Tomaszewski
Correspondent
It was a lose-lose situation for the Hopewell Township Trustees and the Hopewell-Loudon Young Farmers. All three trustees voted Monday evening to end the Young Farmers' mud run at Meadowbrook Park.
In the past 31 years, the Young Farmers and Young Farm Wives have donated more than $150,000 to Meadowbrook Park. Many other community programs have benefitted from the efforts of the Young Farmers. The mud run had been their most profitable fund raiser.
Liability was the greatest concern of the trustees.
''We're handling the tax dollars of the whole township,'' said Dick Gosche, chairman of the trustees.
Trustee Jim Clouse added, ''One bad accident could wipe out everything you've done.''
John Dewald was spokesperson for the Young Farmers. He was supported by 12 members. The 45-minute discussion was at times heated but generally cordial and cooperative.
Dewald questioned what input the trustees had received from community members. A total of 15 letters were received by the trustees. Most were form letters; some unsigned.
Gosche said, ''Seventy-five per cent of the people I spoke with who were outside the organization were against the mud run.''
Much of the discussion involved the strict safety precautions and the improvements made each year. John King discussed the positive barriers that have been installed since a 1985 accident. He said the track now exceeds all distance requirements.
Many of the members rejected the comparison of the mud run to the accident that occurred last summer at Michigan International Speedway, in which three people were killed and six injured when debris from an on-track crash flew into the stands. Their rationale was that Michigan is a circular track but the mud run uses a straight track. In 1996, a driver at the mud run lost control and went airborne when he left the end of the track.
The trustees mentioned some problems with the liability insurance and promises that were not kept. This summer, the township inadvertently was omitted from the policy.
The trustees and the Meadowbrook Park officials praised the efforts of the Young Farmers and hoped they would be farsighted enough to find another way to raise funds.
Denny Kimmet, president of the Young Farmers, accepted the trustees' decision with, ''We kinda understand where you guys are coming from.''
John Dewald added that if ''anyone has a good idea for a fund raiser, to let us know.''