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30 DATES SLATED FOR THIS YEAR
Ottaway Amusements appears to have bucked the trend regarding lack of qualified labor, based on the response the Derby, Kan., carnival received after placing help wanted ads in the local newspaper.
"I'll tell you a brief story," owner/operator Danny Ottaway said on the phone from Oklahoma, where the mid-size show entered its third week of the season in early April.
"Every spring, we put an ad in the Wichita [Eagle]. Normally we get so-so response. This year, I answered more than 200 phone calls, which relates to the unbelievable amount of employment in the area. Based on that, I'm curious to know what [consumer] spending will be, but we have lots of help."
That includes an abundance of CDL drivers, always a problem in the carnival industry. "Normally, 90%10 of the people we hire don't have driver's licenses. But this year, the eight we're training for CDLs already have their licenses," he said.
Ottaway admitted he's not drug testing his employees but reaching that goal is not too far off in the future. "My son, Brent, and I have...