Trail: Yuletide joy and airport blues

It is everywhere. Our fair city is decorated with Christmas Holiday tinsel and trappings. The nice weather has helped people get out and decorate the outside of their homes and city crews have hung the festive displays on the light poles of the main thoroughfares. Organized youth made Norris Park a place of bright shining happiness. Of course, our beloved showpiece is our Santa Claus Lane, the decorated islands with festive panel scenes and more recent lighted fixtures appropriate to Christmas for the length of Norris Avenue.

For your old columnist, Santa Claus Lane holds a special place in my heart. I enjoyed it as a kid. Then came the efforts to preserve it into the future by a large donation from Norma Strunk. Norma was the wife of Gazette publisher Alan, but more important to me was that she was one of the Bobinmyer sisters who babysat me as a young child. Connections.

Still no fuel available at the McCook Airport. It is just as well though because there is barely any traffic either. Even our freight carrier, FedEx, temporarily, goes to North Platte for fuel and hangar services. That is okay as there is a NOTAM out warning pilots that fuel is not available.

As I write this piece on Monday, it is noted that at 5:30 PM this evening, the McCook City Council is going to be brought up to date on the City’s non-operating investment in aviation facilities. The lack of action is due to the declared bankruptcy of Red Willow Aviation.

It isn’t that those designated by regulation to monitor the airport operation weren’t warned. Your writer and other local pilots with a love of aviation and an understanding of how general aviation trusts and does business with each other saw that the future for our McCook Airport looked tough, but were ignored.

Case in point. This last summer, Frenchman Valley Farmers Coop, a dynamic area business, requested permission from the McCook City Manager to put in a temporary place to load their spray planes with chemicals while spraying the fields of local farmers. Normally, Frenchman Valley Coop operates the spraying part of their business from the airport at Imperial. Having a temporary loading site at McCook to spray fields nearby would just make their business more efficient.

Such temporary setups at general aviation airports are rather a normal thing. “Sure come set up here at my airport and do your thing! Is there anything that I can help you with?” is the normal arrangement when neighboring airport operators need temporary accommodation. And that is the way that the West, us, was won! People working together; contracts confirmed with a handshake.

Not so when Frenchman Valley Coop came to the McCook Airport asking to set up a temporary load-out facility. Mr. Spencer, our FBO, saw it as direct competition to his declining spray business of RWA (Red Willow Aviation). He takes his gripe to the Airport Manager, in actuality the City Manager, who demands a written contract and decision to be made by City Council to allow Frenchman Valley to come temporarily. No handshake in the way we do business! Of course, it didn’t happen as spray season was over by the time all the complex “legal” arrangements could be made. Surprise surprise, or maybe that was the plan in the first place.

So that is how our airport at McCook is now run. Go see the notices on the doors that state Red Willow Aviation is now closed PERMANENTLY. I’ll be watching to see how the City Council solves the ongoing problem. Our Mayor has limited the local pilots to a minority, on the Airport Advisory Board that makes recommendations to the Airport/City Manager.

Just in a listening mode, this old writer enjoyed a lecture by Kurt Vosburg our local Department of Transportation manager. Kurt outlined the construction projects current and upcoming on the good roads we travel every day. And then his assistant talked about how snow removal is done along with its priorities. Yes, winter weather is coming and we do live in Nebraska! A nice writeup by Gazette reporter Anna Labay. Also fresh hot coffee and rolls, free, at Citta’ Deli. Worth the stop!

I am also impressed that your Gazette now lists all the upcoming activities for our fair city and surrounding area. It is a great service and especially helpful for Grannie Annie trying to keep this old guy organized.

That is the way I saw it.