ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
For all the hullaballoo, the vote on an advisory referendum on whether Rockbridge County needs a general aviation airport didn't turn out to be much of a contest.
The airport idea was shot down by a 3-to-1 margin. With 15 of 16 precincts reporting, 4,458 voted against the idea, with 1,422 supporting it.
"I think what got across was that the airport was meant for a few businessmen and pilots in the county, and not everybody," said Pat Tichenor, a spokeswoman for the Concerned Citizens Coalition, which opposed the airport.
But predictions from all quarters suggest the airport battle is far from over.
The airport proponents "want an airport so badly, they'll do anything," Tichenor said. She expects someone to come forward and build a private airstrip.
The airport proponent group, Aviation in Rockbridge, isn't prepared to let the issue die just yet, but it's unclear exactly how it will proceed.
Bobby Berkstresser, chairman of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors and a member of AIR, said he figured a 40 percent vote in favor of the airport would suggest the idea was worth pursuing.
AIR just started its push too late, he said, so voters didn't have enough information to really see the benefits of an airport.
Tuesday's referendum was the latest clash in what has been an on-and-off battle over aviation in the county since the 1940s.
AIR had argued that even a small airport could aid in bringing business and industry to the county. AIR said 98 percent of the estimated $30 million it would cost would be paid for by state and federal funds.
The Concerned Citizens Coalition countered that the whole idea was a pork project designed to line the pockets of local businesses.
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines KEYWORDS: ELECTIONSby CNB