The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current, March 23, 2009, Image 1
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Published by Permar Publications • P.O. Box 20539 • St. Simons Island, Ga. 31522 • 912-265-9654 • ssislander@bellsouth.net
March 23, 2009 Established 1972 Vol 37 Issue 12
Glynn County
Airport commission
expects to receive
Stimulus Funds
By Pamela Permar
Shierling
Phase II of the McKin
non St. Simons Airport air
craft apron rehabilitation will,
hopefully, be paid for 100%
by approximately $6 million
in stimulus funding from the
federal government.
According to Steve Brian,
Executive Director of the
Glynn County Airport Com
mission, he and his staff are
working to get documentation
to the federal government that
will allow the funds to come to
Glynn County.
"We were planning to do
the apron rehabilitation in sev
eral phases over a longer time
period," Brian said. "But if we
receive the stimulus money
we can finish the project in a
year."
Phase II, which is currently
Turn to Page 5
Airport Commission
Public comment
period still on hold
By Matthew J. Permar
Glynn County Commission
er Bob Coleman (At Large #2)
still wants to initiate a public
comment period during com
mission meetings similar to the
one the Glynn Comity Board of
Education has, but is having
trouble getting it approved by
his fellow commissioners.
Coleman brought the issue
up for a second time at the
Thursday, March 19 commis
sion meeting, after deferring it
at the February 5 meeting in
order to address concerns that
had been mentioned to him.
Last week Coleman offered
a list of six guidelines for the
comment period, which are
included in a sidebar to this
article on page 6. He said staff
had helped him review and
"reword" the guidelines.
"Every citizen in the coun
ty has the right to step up
and speak their mind to this
commission for five minutes,"
Turn to Page 6
Comment period
Being prepared - for the worst
Correction - B&GC
In the front page story
titled ‘Teen Center open for
summer’ in last week’s edition,
the Glynn County Boys and
Girls Club’s new teen center
was incorrectly named due to
reporter error.
The correct name for the
new teen center is the Eliza
beth F. Correll Teen Center,
not Terrell as was reported.
The Islander regrets any
confusion from this mistake. □
A lot going on during the simulated airplane crash
disaster drill at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport last
week (top photo). A Glynn County firefighter (far left)
puts out 'burning pieces of airplane wreckage. 1 Barrels
filled will combustible materials were used to simulate
the burning wreckage. A paramedic (center) tends
to one of the 38 crash victims while being filmed by
a camera crew from the FLETC. Glynn County Police
officer Todd Simpson (lower right), a first responder to
the scene, takes a preliminary survey of victims. The
two men in blue shirts and khaki pants (center and far
right) are some of the many observers who watched
and critiqued the drill for the airport commission.
Airport Commission Executive Director Steve Brian
(left - bottom photo) gets a last minute update on
safety precautions for the drill from Glynn County Fire
Chief Al Thomas. Islander Staff Photos
Multi-agency group takes part in local disaster drill
By Matthew J. Permar
Even when potential disas
ters work out for the best, like
the recent New York City water
landing in which an airline
pilot was able to save the lives
of everyone on board, more
often the worst does occur and
emergency management agen
cies have to be prepared for
such events.
The Brunswick Golden Isles
Airport (BGIA) may be a mid
sized facility but they need
and are required by the Fed
eral Aviation Administration
(FAA) to stay prepared for a
plane crash the same as any
major metropolitan airport.
Last Wednesday, March 18,
the BGIA played host to a
number of local agencies who
all took part in a disaster drill.
The drill called for a mock
airplane crash of an inbound
flight in the northeast comer
of the airport grounds short
of runway 25. This was a full
scale drill that is mandated by
the FAA to be held every three
years.
Turn to Page 5
Disaster drill