CLEVELAND, Okla. - Hidden behind quaint trees and a simple sign in Westport, is a community treasure.
“It’s really breathtaking from the air," said Westport resident Tom Valz.
The airport is simple, but serves a big purpose in its community.
“It’s where I took my first flight," Valz said.
“It serves many functions from law enforcement all the way to flight training," said the airport's manager Ross Sauter.
Any pilot gearing up to take off will notice its problems.
“We have a lot of cracks in the runway and we’re filling those. We’re doing those on our own.”
Not just cracks, but dips and full-on holes.
“You don’t want loose gravel and everything getting in the way of a propeller and causing damage."
While the airport is public, Sauter says the city of Westport can't afford the upkeep, leaving an 18,000 dollar bill in his lap.
“It’ll be challenging to get the funding, however it’s not something that’s unsurmountable.”
The airport landed a downgrade from good to fair from the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, and anything lower than that...
“We just don’t want it to get to that point.”
So if anything is going to sora through the airport for many more years to come, it'll first have to be the community's support.
“You put in something good, there’s always good in return.”
There's a runway repair work-party on Saturday morning, July 1st. Several volunteers from the community will be present doing repairs on the runway
A GoFundMe to support the airport is here.
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