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Last updated on Wednesday, July 26, 2017
(BEDFORD) - Dean Spencer of Bedford retired from the Lawrence County Aviation Board on Tuesday morning.
The Lawrence County Commissioners appointed Ray Kern to replace Spencer on the board.
Spencer has served for more than 20 years.
"Dean is an accomplished pilot and businessman and will be missed," says Jeff Lytton, Aviation Board president.
Dean addressed the commissioners praising current board members - Jeff Lytton, Sam Bond, Patrick Robbins, and Airport manager Ray Sexton and other crew members.
"We have an excellent board and employees," Spencer says. "[They] are working hard to meet the needs of this community. It has been a real privilege and joy being on the board."
In March 2016, the Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport won the Indiana Chapter ACPA 2016 Excellence in Concrete Pavement Award for renovation of Runway 13-31 in the "Overlays (Airports)" category.
The 4,500-foot runway was last repaired in 1973. Because of the rough runway, the airport and county has lost business.
Rehabilitating the runway with concrete (which has a longer lifespan) cost about $3.1 million. That price included not only rehabbing the runway but installing new lights and grooving the surface for safety.
An FAA grant covered 90 percent of the cost and money from the Indiana Department of Transportation paid for 5 percent. The airport paid for $120,000 from their runway improvement fund. The county paid the remaining $80,000 needed for the project.
The designing engineers were Woolpert Associates of Indianapolis.
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