New airport managers settling in to Lake County, Oregon, permanence

Though no stranger to visiting Lake County, Tom and Julie Andrews, who will share management duties at the Lake County Airport, said they are looking forward to establishing local permanence now that they’ve arrived.

The husband-and-wife duo, formerly of Grants Pass, were hired by the County to oversee management of both the Lake County and Paisley airports, officially taking over these duties within the last month.

Arriving in tow were their son, Joshua, and daughter-in-law Tamara.  Not so surprising is the fact that Joshua is currently working on his Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic certification, following in his father’s footsteps.

Tom brings a total of 25 years of aviation maintenance experience to the position, along with fuel sales experience, including about seven years of performing maintenance service on local aircraft. Additionally, he is working to earn his private pilot’s license.

“I’ve always liked Lakeview,” Tom said.  “We thought it would be a great place to live, and (the position) would give us good stability, here.”

Duties will be split between the general management of facility operations and the fueling station, which Tom will look after, and the clerical end of things, including grant-funding pursuits for hangar work, to which Julie will tend. A current major project underway includes work funded in part by the Connect Oregon IV program, she noted.

This project includes a new taxiway that will provide immediate access to the runway and allow for larger hangars with runway access on both sides of the airfield, she said.

“That grant opened up quite a bit of access on that side of the runway,” she said.

The Lake County Airport currently houses 15 aircraft in its hangars.  The U.S. Forest Service additionally keeps an 800-gallon retardant single-seat plane on hand for fire suppression activities, and contracts for a medium helicopter each year for these activities, Tom said.

Hours at the airport are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 7 days a week, while the self-serve fueling station is open to pilots 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For more information, contact the Lake County Airport at 541-947-4222, or visit them online at the county’s web site, www.lakecountyor.org.

Source:  http://lakecountyexam.com