Stuck in town? Turn here for help

Monday, 08 August 2005

By BRANDI BARHITE
brandibarhite@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - Getting stuck on vacation sounds fun, but without a car or money, it usually isn't.

Most local charity groups can't afford to put up visitors in hotels, or get them a ride home, but food and the use of a phone are commonly offered.

Cedar Point spokesman Bryan Edwards said the park can call an area hotel shuttle for a stranded person or can get him or her to a phone and help them find numbers to call family or friends.

Although tourists get stuck on vacation for various reasons, including lost or theft of money; a fight with family members; and car problems, these situations are rare.

"We get a lot of calls for transient situations, but most of the time, they aren't vacationers, said Ron Rude, executive director of the Firelands chapter of the American Red Cross.

"Once in a while, we get a person who says they came to work here, but it didn't work out and they need a ride," he said.

Rude said the Red Cross doesn't provide transportation unless it involves military families or natural disasters.

When there is a housing situation, the Red Cross will call the shelter operated by the Volunteers of America.

Rude said the Red Cross is limited to help with shelter only when it involves a natural disaster. But if a wind storm was to blow through a campground at Cedar Point, Red Cross would find shelter for the tourists, he said.

"Most people don't plan ahead for an emergency," he said. "They just plan to get here and don't think anything is going to happen."

VOA Executive Director Sue Reamsnyder said a qualification to stay at the shelter is that the people are homeless.

But if they are from out of town with no car and have no money, they might be able to stay if there is room, which there usually isn't, she said.

Salvation Army volunteer Carolyn Knickerbocker remembers the Salvation Army helping a family whose traveler's checks had been stolen. The Salvation Army put them up in a hotel for one night.

However, the Salvation Army isn't able to do that anymore because of its tight budget.

Teresa Marshall said stranded tourists can come to Victory Temple Soup Kitchen for food, but shelter and transportation is beyond the kitchen's scope.

"This is where they would come to eat free hot meals," Marshall said. "If we have any excess of certain products, we allow people to take them."

Erie County Visitors & Convention Bureau Executive Director Joan Van Offeren said VCB has heard from people who were helped by Cedar Point police and other local police agencies when their car broke or their ride didn't return.

Van Offeren said even with 7 million tourists visiting the area every summer it's not common for tourists to get stranded, but it happens.

"We can help make phone calls and we obviously have restrooms and water, and an office to stay at if they need a place to stay for a little bit," Offeren said.

Offeren and her staff have taken people to their hotels.

"It just part of the friendly welcome," she said.

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

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