The weather station at the Starke County Airport should be back in service in the near future. It stopped reporting local weather conditions a few months ago, causing current conditions to be left blank on the National Weather Service website and some local weather reports. Continue reading
The Starke County Airport is back in working condition, but Airport Manager Pam Beharry says the airport has been crippled. The main hangar door is still damaged and the roof is unstable, and she says they still need to repair their fence as well. Further, she says the destroyed tee hangars prevent them from making money by housing planes, and the only source of income is the sale of fuel.
“I mean, the revenues have stopped. Now our jet fuel is the only revenue coming in right now,” said Beharry. “Oh well – just be thankful nobody got hurt, that’s the main thing.”
The Starke County Airport is still reeling from the damage wrought by Tuesday morning’s storms. Airport Manager Pam Beharry says a number of hangars were damaged and some even destroyed, and five planes were totaled while others were untouched by the 70 mph winds that tore through the area.
Fortunately, Beharry says no one was injured and the planes that did suffer damage carried their own insurance. She says a number of insurance adjustors have already visited the airport, not only to assess the damage on the planes, but also to assess the damage at the airport itself.
There’s not a lot of activity now at the Starke County Airport but Airport Manager, Pam Beharry said a runway extension and the introduction of a different jet fuel will keep the area busy next year.
“We’ll be getting an extension to the 5,001 foot runway,” said Beharry. “We have introduced Jet A fuel for the oncoming turbine operations – turbine as in turbo-prop or jet aircraft. We’ve got a few coming in on a regular basis. We’re just looking forward to a lot of business and improvements coming in the future.”
