The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 45

I "A Jf" Jmxry 1 il fh Vza pp Kf A rj LJ Bridgetown hobbyist's zeal is bigger than fl Li7 A 3 hyovi Bowling commentator on a roll with new business i no iiauio Editor: Jan Leach, 369-1004 I Tuesday, October 28, 1986 Air Park to Airport West Road site scheduled to get a new look buy the airport because he uses his plane frequently for business trips. The airport has had its share of ups and downs over the years. In 1956, fire destroyed three airplanes and parts of a hangar. In 1972, fire again broke out in an enclosed hangar, destroying one airplane. And in 1981, four small planes were destroyed and two were severely damaged by fire.

Rabkin, the Cincinnati lawyer and developer who leased the airport from 1976 until he bought it in 1981, has had his own share of troubles, too. The Amberley Village resident had wanted to expand the airport, "but that just wasn't in the cards," he said. "We put a lot of time and money to improve the airport like they did in Batavia and Blue Ash," Rabkin said. He said he fought to get more property west of the airport, for its expansion, but it was instead sold to a developer and turned into a subdivision. That destroyed his plans to extend the runway to the required 3,500 feet needed for approval by the Ohio Aviation Commission.

Approval would have made the airport eligible for state and federal grants. The land is now boxed in by a gravel pit to the south, William Henry Harrison High School to the east and a trailer park to the north. Because it is impossible to expand the airport, its land value has decreased from $500,000 in 1978 to about $300,000, Rabkin said. BY LYNDA HOUSTON The Cincinnati Enquirer Marrison Air Park may soon be off and flying again. Renamed recently to Cincinnati West Airport, the airport on West Road near Dry Fork Road in western Hamilton County has been pulled out of a financial tailspin by Western Hills resident Bob Mc-Kenna and other members of his family.

They will buy the airport from Morton Rabkin, Cincinnati lawyer and developer. The sale is expected to be completed this week, and the airport is scheduled for a face lift beginning in two to three weeks. "The airport fell into a state of disrepair," said McKenna, who has kept his twin-engine turboprop plane there for the past seven years, "and you can't put money into something you don't own." Restoration of the 50-acre establishment, built in the late 1930s, will cost about $70,000, said Pat Kern, co-manager of the airport and pilot for McKenna's business, Mafco Equipment Company. The asphalt runway would have been unusable in another year, he said. The administration building will be remodeled, the airstrip repaved and an enclosed hangar constructed, Kern said.

"The money we put into it we don't expect to get back," Kern said, because the airport is small. The majority of pilots turn out only on weekends, he said. Despite the uncertain return on his investment, McKenna said, he decided to Vf The Cincinnati EnquirerFred Straub Pat Kern, co-manager of Cincinnati West Airport, has high hopes for the old air park. Pressure for a force Colerain citizen groups work for police levy BY LYNDA HOUSTON The Cincinnati Enquirer Mi ore than 10 months after the dissolution of the Colerain Township Police Department, some local res last January after two of three trustees, citing budget constraints, voted to eliminate the jobs of 14 full-time and 27 part-time township officers. The township is asking voters to approve a 2.5-mill levy, which would amount to $2.50 for each $1,000 valuation, and would generate $1,031,417 a year for five years.

The levy would fund three Colerain (Please see COLERAIN, Page 10) Other issues on the Nov. 4 ballot, Pages 2 and 6. -Mil yr yg-J r- idents are organizing to bring it back. The Colerain Township Police Levy Task Force, formed by township trustees in September, is now working alongside the "Concerned Citizens for Public Safety" to pass a 2.5-mill levy to fund a return of Colerain police officers. The Concerned Citizens went head-to-head with trustees The Cincinnati EnquirerDick Swaim Bob Rielage, co-chairman of Colerain Township's levy task force, promotes unity.

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