Published: June 29, 2008 11:15 pm            

City undergoes post-Thunder cleanup

Organizers already planning for next year

As bikers rumbled out and storms rumbled in, Lisa Rager and the Thunder in the Valley organizing crew took time to sit, eat and come up with a strategy: How to clean up downtown Johnstown in the pouring rain.

“People will be pretty amazed on Monday morning,” Rager said, despite a weather system that brought drenching rain into the downtown. “Vendors are still tearing down right now. We’ll be on hand another couple of hours.”

Rager said that, although she and fellow workers used to do a lot of the post-Thunder sweeping and clearing of trash, they now hire crews from Sargent’s Personnel Agency to do the dirty work.

“We realized we were killing ourselves,” Rager said. “We’ve already put in our 100 hours for the week.”

But rain or not, she and others planned to make their rounds late Sunday night to make sure no trace of the four-day rally remained.

Rager said that, while it was too early to put an exact number on this year’s Thunder crowd, she figured it was on par with last year’s 200,000.

“We were very pleased with the turnout in light of weather issues,” Rager said. “It was not a total washout like two years ago. (Bikers) are a hardy bunch, and weather conditions don’t bother them.”

She said police reports have indicated no major behavior issues during the weekend, with the exception of some juvenile antics.

“We had an incident late Saturday with some kids setting the porta-johns on fire,” Rager said. “I haven’t gotten any more information on that. It was just vandalism.”

Jay Evans, organizer of the first Pool ’n’ Pork event in Nanty Glo, said plans already are under way for next year – specifically the Miss Hog Wild swimsuit contest that drew a dozen contestants and a large spectator crowd.

“We were pleased overall, and we had a good turnout for a first try,” Evans said. “Most of the vendors were pleased, and we have some campers from Ohio who are planning to come back next year.”

The one-day event was held as a fundraiser for the Nanty Glo Park & Pool. Firefighters from the Nanty Glo Volunteer Fire Company obtained a one-day license for a beer garden to raise funds for their outfit.

“We’re looking at doing two days,” Evans said. “Camping would be open all the way through Thunder in the Valley.

“We are also thinking of having the swimsuit contest later in the day, and on Friday night instead of Thursday afternoon. We already have a sponsor to increase the prize from $500 to $1,000.”

Rager said Nanty Glo and Windber were the newest Thunder-related venues.

“I think it helped to have other sites,” Rager said. “(The bikers) will spend time here and then go to another venue.

“It helps keeps (the crowds) manageable.”

        

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