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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2018)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 14, 2018 A3 Airport master plan nearing completion Public input taken for conceptual 20-year plan By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Eagle file photos A new master plan is being created for the Grant County Regional Airport, pictured here. 9/27 will be lengthened to the northwest to make up for the difference. One proposed change in- volves siting for the Forest Service’s single-engine air tankers (SEAT), which re- semble crop dusters. There are concerns that the fire- fighting aircraft damage oth- er planes by spraying loose gravel with their strong pro- peller wash. One idea in the concep- tual master plan is to move the SEAT planes west of Runway 17/35 with a new taxiway to separate them from the hangars north of the main terminal. Grant County currently is seeking $469,996 from the FAA and $47,000 from COAR to address deteriorat- ing aprons near the current SEAT base area. The fund- ing would pay for design and engineering work that could take place in 2019, Lundbom said. The Forest Service leas- es most of the airport space, and lease negotiations be- tween the county and the Forest Service will take place this year. Runway 17/35 is 5,220 feet long, 60 feet short of a mile, a “magic number” for aircraft safety concerns, Lundbom said. Lengthening the runway another 60 feet, A worker with TaylorNW, the Bend contractor to rebuild a runway at Grant County Regional Airport, runs a rotomill to crush the asphalt on the east-west runway, filling a dump truck in this file photo from 2014. however, may be difficult because of steep terrain and a public road at each end. Runway 9/27 is 4,471 feet long. It was extended 950 feet in 2008 and was rebuilt in summer 2014 with a new base and asphalt. Three-quarters of the fund- ing for the $2 million project came from ConnectOregon, with the rest coming from the FAA. Grant County Regional Airport was constructed in 1961 with one paved 4,500- foot north-south runway and one gravel east-west runway. The terminal consisted of a 1,500-square-foot two-bed- room home that also served as the administrative office. Runway lights and a beacon were added in 1962. A $5.3 million terminal was completed in September 2010. The Forest Service, which had been operating out of several deteriorat- ing and cramped modular buildings at the airport for more than 30 years, now occupies the second floor of the 17,752-square-foot terminal. Funding for the terminal project came from the FAA, ConnectOregon and the Forest Service. Some taxi- way work, a ramp and some fencing were included in the overall project. Grant County Regional Airport in John Day was busy with aircraft coming and going and refueling for all the wildfire activity in the area in August 2015. Michael B. DesJardin Dentistry, PC Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics New Patients Welcome! 208 NW Canton John Day 541-575-2725 mbddental@live.com michaelbdesjardindmd.com Thank you A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : Are you using or interested in learning about Choice Card Medical Care? See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, located at Grant County Court House. Hours: M-F 10-4 Katee Hoffman Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment 36628 GUHS Volleyball Championship Celebration! We would like to give a huge heartfelt thank you to all who had a part in the bake sale fundraiser for Tanner. The proceeds will go towards medical expenses. Thank you to each and every one who helped with organizing it, for their time and effort. Thank you for making the delicious baked items and to those who purchased them. Your support is deeply appreciated. 40351 A two-year process to develop a 20-year master plan for the Grant County Regional Airport is wind- ing down, according to Ron Lundbom, John Day mayor and Grant County Regional Airport Commission chair- man. The 20-year plan is con- ceptual only and must go through a public process that could be finalized by the end of March. T-O En- gineering of Boise, Idaho, has been taking input from pilots, the Forest Service and other community stake- holders since 2015 to deter- mine what type of airport is needed, based on the kinds of aircraft that have used the airport in the past and might use the airport in the future. Taxiways already exist for development of future han- gars north of the main ter- minal. A ConnectOregon grant from the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation paid for the master plan, which the airport needs to qualify for Federal Aviation Admin- istration money. “The airport so far has received about $10 mil- lion from ConnectOregon,” Lundbom said, adding that in a twist, “FAA money served as a match for the ConnectOregon money,” instead of the other way around. Another source of fund- ing for airports is the Critical Oregon Airport Relief pro- gram, which is funded by an increase in aircraft fuel taxes in 2015. COAR money can be used for engineering, de- sign and construction of run- ways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas at public-use airports in Oregon. The Grant County Re- gional Airport master plan will address various safe- ty-related issues, includ- ing airspace encroachment issues and fencing to keep out deer, Lundbom said. One goal is to move the airport’s two underground fuel tanks to the surface to address environmental concerns. Because of FAA concerns about runways that criss- cross, Grant County’s two runways eventually must be “decoupled,” Lundbom said. When that happens, Runway The Moodenbaugh Family The public is invited to stop in and congratulate the GU Lady Pros on their OSAA 2A Volleyball Championship Title! A man wakes up in the morning after sleeping on an ADVERTISED BED, in ADVERTISED PAJAMAS. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Sunday, February 18, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 40393 AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com at the Outpost Restaurant in John Day 40522 Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
