Airport saves tax dollars with ramp light changes

When Bear Valley Electric started its bulb replacement program for area businesses, the Big Bear Airport District researched which lights at the airport could benefit from the program. Utility costs are the third-highest expenditure at the airport. One of the places identified were the ramp lights, according to Pete Gwaltney, airport general manager. "Were there ways we could do something with the ramp lights?" Gwaltney asked. He instructed staff to find the answer.

Ramp lights illuminate the perimeter of the airport where airplanes are parked. They sit high on poles to provide safety and security to the area. The task was to replace the existing bulbs with money-saving LED bulbs. But it wasn't a simple matter of changing them out. New fixtures were needed.

A total of 26 lights were given new fixtures and new LED bulbs at a cost of $26,000. The project was completed Nov. 1. Gwaltney said Bear Valley Electric estimates the LED bulbs will cut the cost of running those lights in half. "We will see a return in our investment in 18 months," Gwaltney said.

A local company, Ludecke Electric, was contracted to do the work. "We were very pleased with the work," Gwaltney said. The contractor gave the airport a 10 percent discount from the original estimate because the fixtures were easy to replace, Gwaltney said.

More lights will be changed to use LED bulbs in other areas of the airport. Gwaltney said under the general maintenance program, the security lights on the hangars will be replaced. "That part may be spring before we finish," Gwaltney said.

Actual savings will be calculated through the next several months. "We will be tracking our savings," Gwaltney said.

During the Nov. 9 airport district board meeting, board member Gary Steube said the LED ramp light replacement was the only thing of note reported on in the meeting. "It's a tremendous savings," Steube said about the project. "

The LED ramp light update was given during the general manager's report. The board also discussed fellow board member Gloria Greene's signs promoting a community room at the airport but decided no action was necessary as Greene said she was removing the signs. The board also spent more than an hour approving minutes from three past meetings.

Board member Chuck Knight requested that Greene's behavior during the October meeting be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. He wants the board to censure Greene for what he believes is inappropriate behavior. Greene argued with board president Julie Smith after the October meeting.

Greene apologized, explaining she got caught up in the moment.

Knight's request to censure Greene was rejected by a majority of the board. Steube, Greene and board member Steven Baker opposed the request. "I'd really like to get it all behind us," Steube said. "I'd like to see us move on."

Greene's request to hire a neutral investigator to research Baker's comments regarding Gwaltney's performance was also rejected when it did not receive consensus. Smith, Steube and Knight opposed the item.

Sam shines a light in New York

Stosur's intoxicating mix of strength, spin, movement and court craft was the performance of a worthy US Open champion. She made the sport seem simple in New York, yet nothing about Stosur's story is that.

To reach this final, Stosur succeeded in the longest women's match ever played in New York and then prevailed in the lengthiest tiebreaker in women's tennis.

She was welcomed to New York by Hurricane Irene, shunted to an outside court for her semi-final victory, faced repeated rain interruptions and then showed up Serena with both her tennis and sportsmanship.

It is the obstacles that Stosur has overcome, including the debilitating Lyme disease just four years ago that could have killed her career, and the courage and humble manner in which she did so that makes this success the sweetest, that defines her as a worthy champion.

The victory was obviously well received at home given it ended a 31-year drought dating back to Evonne Goolagong Cawley's second Wimbledon title in 1980, with Margaret Court's title triumph in 1973 in New York an eternity ago. It resonated in the political halls of power, with Julia Gillard quick to congratulate the Queenslander.

But, in a testament to Stosur's popularity on tour, the success was most warmly welcomed by her peers and champions of both genders, among them former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport who said the Australian "played so well and handled it all with class".

The poise and grace she displayed against Williams (in stark contrast to another atrocious outburst from the American that may see her banned from next year's US Open) is a feature of her character far beyond the baseline.

As her former coach Craig Morris, who watched the match with dozens of Tennis Australia employees at Melbourne Park, says: "Sam is now a grand slam champion on court but has always been a grand slam person off it.