Ark Valley News - Hornet Truck returns

Bill Arick stands near the Hornet Truck Sept. 14.

Hornet Truck returns
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: September 20, 2018

It's back.

The Hornet Truck returned to the Valley Center District Stadium Sept. 14, complete with its horns, whistles and cannon.

The truck's owner, Bill Arick, said this summer he was going to retire from the home football game visits after doing it for nearly five decades.

Last week, Arick's nephew, Ivan Moore, and a handful of other Hornet supporters, stepped in to help.

They convinced Arick to give it at least another season. They said they would handle the driving and the additional work.

"Arm-twisting, that's what I would call it," Arick said. "… They were moaning and groaning about this and that, saying my grandson was a senior. … I already talked to my grandson. He was OK one way or the other."

But Moore was convincing.

"I put a guilt trip on him," he said.

Moore said the group — which includes Spike Anderson, Greg Lehr and Nick Lewis — has made a commitment to continue the Hornet tradition for at least one more season. There are three remaining home games on the schedule. There may be others during the playoffs, depending on how the team fares.

But beyond that, it's up in the air.

Arick said he will be selling the truck one way or the other.

"At the end of the fourth game, the truck is for sale," he said. "It will be sold to someone here or I've got a place I can get rid of it right away."

The reprieve has given local supporters time to decide whether to come up with some cash and develop a plan or let the tradition fade away and look at starting a new one.

"It just seems like there are a lot of people who would like to see this thing continue," Moore said. "I'd like to see it continue, too. I don't know what will happen next year. But for this year, we're solid."

No matter what happens, this season is the last for Arick.

"I'm not doing it anymore, period," Arick said. "My next grandson is a freshman and he doesn't play football. This is it. I barely can get in and out of that truck."

Plus, there's more to operating the Hornet Truck than driving it to the stadium and knowing when to blow the horn or shoot the cannon, Arick said. It has taken its toll on Arick over the years.

"I've always felt appreciated," he said. "They've given me two or three awards. But it's time to quit sometime. I thought it was this year, and apparently it wasn't."