NEWS
THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | JANUARY 16, 2022
AIRPORT
from page 9
accomplished. The city has been trying to lengthen the runways at airport for a while. A previous City Council put in a mandate that any such project would have to be put before voters in a bond election. The city has tried twice – and it has been defeated twice. Reeves said it will take educating voters to get it passed. He said too many people think if the runways are longer, it will open the door for major passenger airlines – which he said is not true. “The runway can never be that long,”
OSTRICH
from page 1
was a collective decision with the city and the Chamber,” LeVine said. Two years later. life is poised to return to normal – and that includes the Ostrich Festival. “We decided to bring it back, bigger and better than ever,” LeVine said. This year’s Ostrich Festival is scheduled for two weekends for the first time, March 11-13 and March 17-20 at Tumbleweed Park, 2250 S. McQueen Road. The festival pays tribute to the early days of Chandler when ostrich
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Reeves said. “What we got now can take mid-size jets. If we lengthen it out to 5,550 feet, which is the longest we can get that southern runway, two things are interesting.” First, is that they can do it inside the existing fence, so no land needs to be acquired Second, he said, it won’t necessarily mean more airplanes, but it will lead to more cycles. That means the airplanes that are already using the field will be able to do so year-round. “Even some of our smaller aircraft, as we get into the heat of summer, hot air is thin air, so an airplane needs a longer runway to get off,” Reeves said. Reeves said some businesses that uti-
lize the airport have to be careful about how much weight they have on their planes to ensure they can take off on the shorter runways. Lengthening them will allow them to carry more weight. He also said shorter runways are costing the city money. Some business planes are forced to go to other airports. Reeves said the large passenger jets will continue to operate at Phoenix Sky Harbor and Mesa Gateway airports and will not be coming to Chandler. Reeves says Chandler is the 32nd busiest airport in the nation with about a quarter of million flights annually. The airport is still waiting on a final report from the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board about the fatal crash that took place at the airport in October. Reeves said air travel remains very safe. He said he is confident that they have excellent service from the Chandler and Gilbert fire departments. Reeves said they have been staging drills and says the response time has been very good. Reeves says one of the best aspects of his job is that the Chandler Airport is a fun place to work. “It is one of the best flying communities, not just in the state. I think it’s one of the best flying communities in the country,” Reeves said.
ranches existed. It began and drew between 250,000 and 300,000 people over three days. Now they’re expanding it to six days. The festival includes live entertainment, carnival rides, food, beverages and of course, ostriches. Country music star Walker Hayes is the featured performer for March 12. His hit “Fancy Like” was number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list for four weeks. Also lined up is GRAMMY Award winning R&B singer Nelly. St. Patrick’s Day will fall during the festival and LeVine said special activities are being planned to take advantage of that.
She said the past two years have been rough, with no Ostrich Festival since 2019. She said the performers they are talking to about appearing are all excited to get in front of people again. “They’re very eager, very excited,” she said. “They’re very interested in coming to see what this Ostrich Festival is all about.” Admission is $20 for 13 and older, $15 for ages 4 to 12, and free for children 3 and younger. VIP tickets that include access to the front of stage viewing area and VIP tent are $100. The carnival rides will cost a dollar each, or visitors can purchase 25 tickets
for $23 or 80 tickets for $70. They also plan to offer unlimited ride wristbands. No price has been announced for those. For details as the gala event gets closer, check ostrichfestival.com. And as organizers continue to plan for this year’s bigger and better festival, COVID cases are once again spiking to record highs. “We’re still a few months away, we’re hoping that the numbers get under control,” LeVine said. “The entire thing is outside, and that is a positive component to this. We’re certainly watching and listening and seeing what other events are doing in the Valley and across the country.”
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