Some appear to think it’s a fun game to send donations of a dollar just to force me to refund them.
Any additional donations sent from this date forward will not be refunded. They will be immediately forwarded on to the Conneaut Lake Park Trust fund for the restoration of Blue Streak. I will not play childish games with those that find such things amusing.
This will most likely be the last update to this blog. It is a post I have not been looking forward to writing and have been thinking of how to word for a few days.
Under legal advice, Harold and I have decided it is in our best interest to accept the break of our sale agreement and walk away. We do not know what this means for the future of the Big Dipper, but we do know that it will likely not involve us. It is an unfortunate decision but we felt, based on the past few months, that it was the one that had to be made.
At the end of September, we made an agreement with the owners of the Big Dipper to purchase the ride. We sent them a down payment, with the agreement that the rest of the money would be paid after paperwork had been completed showing the legal transfer between the two parties. After the owners received the down payment, we were declared, both publicly and privately, to be the new owners. It has been our belief since that day that we were indeed the owners of the coaster. It was announced, by the owner, Mr Woosnam, to the news media in Cleveland, that we had taken ownership of the coaster as of September 30th. Since that day, I have attempted numerous times to get the legal documentation from him that I had been requesting. I was not willing to send any additional funds until this paperwork was completed. In the meantime, I was working diligently toward finding a new location for the Dipper, securing private funding, and anything else I could do until the project was able to move forward.
By the end of October, I still had not received the paperwork I had been requesting and began the process of preparing, under legal guidance, my own documents that would only need a signature from him. In mid-November, Mr Woosnam contacted us, demanding the rest of the payment, in full, which was in breach of our previously agreed upon agreements and deadlines. He then severed all communication with Harold and myself, refusing to respond to my emails and demands for documentation before further payment or to a renegotiation of sale terms if that was what he wished.
In light of these developments, I sought legal assistance from a lawyer specializing in property law. I was advised that Mr Woosnam was indeed in breach of our sale agreement, and that we had two options: Accept the breach and demand a return of our money, or take him to court and demand the enforcement of our agreement. After much discussion and deliberation, we decided that the first option was the best one, as we felt that even under the direction of a court, we did not stand much chance of succeeding in the enforcement of the agreement. We contacted Mr Woosnam with this decision. He has refused to respond to our attempts to contact him and ignored our demand to return the down payment.
We are still balancing in the middle of a legal battle at this point. Mr Woosnam still holds the money we sent to secure the ownership of the coaster. Lacking the sale documentation that I had requested numerous times, it is questionable as to whom the ownership falls, though as the payment had not been in full, as per our agreement, it is likely that it resides with him still, despite his claims to the transfer in September. If we were to pursue this matter legally, it would be up to a court to decide. However, based on our past interactions, we have decided we will not pursue it legally and will give up any claim to ownership as soon as the money we paid is returned.
It has now been over a month since we demanded the return of our down payment and we are seeking legal assistance in getting it back, as Mr Woosnam has ignored all communication and ignored all demands to repayment.
It is unfortunate that his decision to break the agreement by refusing to submit documentation and arbitrarily changing the payment deadline has meant an end for a project that was progressing well. A relocation venue had been secured, a relocation company had been hired and a large portion of the money needed for the relocation had been secured through private funding. We were only waiting on the paperwork to move ahead and were within weeks of making an announcement.
I apologize that many comments were not approved on the previous post – this was done under legal advice as many contained questions that could not be answered. On this post, I will not be able to approve any comments that include questions towards deeper information than is stated here. This is still a legal matter, and will continue to be until we receive a repayment of our down payment, or, in the best situation, Mr Woosnam decides to abide by our original agreement.
Individuals who have donated money, please contact me directly at kjones@savethebigdipper.org. I can explain the options for the return of your donations, or the options for the redirection of your donations to other preservation efforts in the amusement industry. The good news is, the Big Dipper is not the only coaster that has people trying to save it, and there are many projects that could use the assistance as well.
I apologize for the lack of updates to this site and other forums I have been active on. There have been many events that have called for my attention and I was hesitant to post anything until I knew for certain what was going on.
The owner and the owner’s agent have expressed their desire to cancel the deal we had come to agreement on concerning the sale of the Big Dipper. Harold and I are working together on this project. Our interest at this point is in saving the Big Dipper from the previously announced demolition by the parties that purchased the coaster from the Cedar Fair auction. We are currently under experienced legal guidance so that we may do everything within our power to save an important piece of amusement history.
I sincerely hope for everyone’s understanding as we work through the new challenges we are faced with. Harold and I are completely dedicated to this project and are determined to see this through to the end, which we see as the successful restoration of the Big Dipper to operational status.
I have gotten information back from the engineering firm we have been discussing options with. Because a feasibility study and report have previously been compiled by this firm, we are able to get the results of this study for significantly less than it would cost us to bring them in and create a new report. The organization that previously hired them for the report has offered to release the results to us in exchange for a partial recovery of the costs they incurred in getting the study completed.
It is my hope that the T-shirt sales campaign will raise more than enough money to cover the cost of purchasing the results of the report and bring us one giant step closer to the successful relocation of the Big Dipper. While we already have a design for the T-shirts, we do need assistance in getting them printed. Anyone that is willing and able to donate materials, please contact me at kjones@savethebigdipper.org so that we can get things moving. Every day brings us a little closer to the day the Dipper flies again!
This past weekend was an exciting one for the Big Dipper project. I had the chance to visit the site in person for the first time and take stock of the coaster, the cars, and the current condition of everything involved.
The good news is – everything is in fantastic shape. Due to diligent maintenance when the coaster was operating, the use of pressure-treated lumber in the 1980 rebuild, and perhaps just some luck, the structure of the Big Dipper appears to be in much the same shape it was when the coaster was operating. The control panel and electronics are completely in tact, albeit slightly dusty. The cars do show some slight weather wear, but it all seems to be easily repaired and the cars will soon be protected from the oncoming winter snow. The condition of the coaster and all of it’s components is a large package of good news for this project, as it will greatly reduce rehabilitation costs.
There are areas that are becoming a bit overgrown, and my boyfriend and I will be getting to work soon on clearing out some of the trees and low-growing brush before it damages the structure.
We are working on getting T-shirts printed so you can show your support of the Save the Big Dipper project. We’ll have more information on that as we get it.
Also, for anyone who missed it, or doesn’t live in the Cleveland area, I did an interview with WKYC-TV news this past Sunday. You can read the article and watch the video here: http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=153937&catid=45
Pictures from my visit to the site will be posted as soon as possible.
Due to the excessive amounts of spam comments, all comments have been disabled on all pages on this site. I apologize to those who were attempting to post legitimate comments.
We have been made aware that there is a scam website being operated by someone who for some reason has decided to take it upon himself to try to trash this campaign. Please be aware that SavetheBigDipper.com IS NOT associated with the official Save the Big Dipper project nor is it condoned nor supported by the owners of the Big Dipper. There is also a scam Facebook page. We currently do not have a presence on Facebook.
Again, SavetheBigDipper.com is not associated with this site.
I just wanted to post something to clear up the confusion. It was incorrectly reported that I will be at Oktoberfest, this Saturday and Sunday. This information is not correct and I will not be attending due to prior obligations. I apologize for the confusion. I am working on arranging a date that I will be in the area and available for questions.
The new website is now live thanks to the efforts of my friend, Andy Hoffman and his design company, Feathered Fedora Designs, as well as technical assistance and hosting from my brother, Brian Jones. The banner image was provided by GeaugaLakeToday.com
I will be populating the new site with information, pictures, links and much more over the next few days.
As a side note, we have received over 2,400 hits on our webpage in the past three days! Amazing!