Leader Lookback:
Airport, volunteer fire department
This is what ran in The Evening Leader 50 years ago this week. VIP Aviation Grand Opening At Neil Armstrong Airport Offers Variety Of Activities
VIP Aviation Grand Opening at Neil Armstrong Airport Auglaize County will be Oct: 30 and 31st.
On Saturday Ed George of Minster will be giving rides in his immaculate Stinson gull-wing airplane. Rates will be 2 cents per pound and will be given all day Saturday and Sunday. There will be pony rides. All youngsters are invited to bring their model airplanes and a prize will be awarded for the best one. Fred Fledderjohann of New Knoxville will have a display of his wood carving in the new administration building. Various industries from the area will have displays set up.
There will be a chicken barbecue starting October 30 at 4:00 p.m. Dinners will include baked potatoes, salad, and rolls.
There will be a Halloween Dance Saturday from 8 to Midnight. An award will be given for the best costume, but costumes are optional. The Phlipot Four from New Bremen will provide live music.
On Sunday, a fly-in breakfast will start at 8 a.m. and there will be prizes awarded to pilots for farthest distance flown, oldest airplane flown in, and a secret arrival time. Breakfast will include scrambled eggs, sausages, hash browns, and rolls.
Bob Tangeman of Celina and group will put on a sky-diving exhibition at 1 p.m. Sunday at possibly, for a preview show Saturday afternoon.
At 1:30 pm. a radio-controlled model airplane group “The ShooFlys” of Ohio City will be putting on tremendous show of flying skill.
Shortly after this show Harold Johnson of South Dayton will be putting on a live air show demonstrating daring feats man’s flying ability. There will be no admission charge for any of these shows.
A cake-cutting welcome ceremony for VIP Aviation, the new fixedbased operators Neil Armstrong Airport will be held Sunday in the new administration building.
O. M. Pierce, president VIP aviation and Dick Isbell, airport manager will be present all day Saturday and Sunday to answer any question concerning flight training, charter service, air-freight, air ambulance service, maintenance sales, aircraft storage, etc.
Also on display will be a DC-3, the workhorse of World War II.
All gifts and prizes are being donated by merchants of the surrounding communities and VIP Aviation. There will be hourly drawings all day Saturday and Sunday. For further information, Mr. Pierce or Mr, Isbell may be contacted at 753-2737.
St. Marys Township Trustees Faced With Possibility Of Setting Up Volunteer Fire Dept.
“It appears we will be forced to set up our own fire department to be operated with volunteer firemen,” St. Marys township trustees told members of the city council at a council committee meeting.
The trustees said the $14,500 fee the city is proposing to charge the township annually for fire protection would make it necessary to go to the voters with a fire protection tax levy. James Kite, one of the trustees, said St. Marys serves 45 percent of the township. The township will also have to pay New Knoxville and New Bremen fire departments for fire protection since both of these units serve a part of the township - New Knoxville approximately 35 percent and New Bremen approximately 25 percent. New Knoxville’s fire protection fee is $1,000 and New Bremen’s $420. Both are operated by volunteer firemen. The three charges total $15,920 which the trustees say is more than the general fund can finance.
The township will have to submit a tax levy of 1.68 mills for fire protection to finance these charges, trustees said,
“Should we establish our own fire department at an estimated cost of $100,000 we could issue bonds to be retired over a period of 20 years with an average levy of .85 mills. If we issue the bonds for 10 years we could retire them with’a levy of 1.40 mills, based on present tax valuation,” the trustees said. Trustees in their meeting with the council committee as a whole said that relations between St. Marys and St. Marys township have always been good, that they have appreciated the fire protection received from St. Marys, but that the proposed increase is beyond the township financial means without a special levy. Trustees point out that. the proposed fee is more than 14 1/2 times the fee in 1960. The fee then was $855 annually. In 1963 the fee increased to $1,000, it remained this figure under the 1966 contract. In 1969 the annual-fee was jumped to $3,405 under the three years contract.
Trustees asked council to consider a oneyear contract instead of the — usual three-year to give the trustees time to determine course of action.
The proposed fire protection rate for St, Marys township has been discussed only in council committee meetings. There has been no discussion at a regular meeting of council concerning fire protection rates for the townships.