"Airport seeks happy medium between security, public access"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Friday, April 20, 2007

Airport seeks happy medium between security, public access
By GREG JORDAN
The Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph


BRUSHFORK - Members of the Mercer County Airport Authority spoke Thursday
about balancing federally-mandated security requirements with the public's
right to have access to the county airport.

Area residents complained to both the airport authority and the Bluefield
Daily Telegraph in March during the newspaper's annual $1,000 Easter Egg
Hunt. The egg was found at the airport, but several searchers said they were
approached by airport personnel and told they had to leave the airport. At
least one said they were told that they faced being arrested.

"There are things that could have occurred on both sides that would have
relieved the situation," said board member Laura Gooch. "I think the problem
was how they [members of the public] were approached."

Otis Bishop, of Bluefield, who took his 2-year-old grandson to the airport
on March 21 so the boy could see an airplane, said a man wearing a jacket
with the word security on it approached him and told him that he had to
leave. No signs barring visitors was posted, Bishop said.

"They should at least put a sign up," he said. "I'm all for security, and I
understand their situation. I just didn't appreciate how it was done."

Gooch said the board received calls from people who said they were told to
leave the airport, and "an equal number of calls" from people who said they
were glad the airport was being kept safe." 

Airport Manager Randall Earnest said the airport does not have the money to
have employees who worked strictly on security. The federal Transportation
Safety Agency (TSA) requires airports to have security measures.

Meeting the airport's security needs is a two-part problem, said board
member Michael Crews. The first part involves knowing exactly what measures
the TSA requires, and educating the staff about how they can fulfill the
requirements.

The second part involves finding a balance between public safety and public
access, Crews said.

"I think the public has a right to access at the airport," Crews said. "We
need to figure out how to balance what the TSA and federal government
require with this access."

Dale Shatley, manager of the airport's Colgan Air terminal, said the Easter
Egg hunt brought in large numbers of people who might otherwise not have
visited the airport.

"It was great," Shatley said. "We had all kinds of calls, and we had a lot
of kids and their families here. It was really good publicity. Nobody got
near the [runway] gates. It was mostly families and elderly people."

The board is looking into what it can do to meet security needs, said
Airport Authority Chairman Charlie Peters. Measures could include erecting
signs and providing security education to airport employees.

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