Its such a shame that Gawler are going through dramas with their strip. In my club at Beverley we have a cross strip with ¼ of it owned by the farmer and the other ¾ of the cross managed by the shire. In September 2005 after 32 years of operation the farmer decided to block off his part of the runway without any notice. I was the President at the time and there was absolutely no warning of this happening, no disagreements with the farmer or arguments nothing. Overnight a fence went up cutting off the runway. The remaining portion of the strip can be used for landing but no takeoffs have been done since as the remainder has tall trees and bush at the end of the strip with no options. It has been really inconvenient to the club since the takeoff direction weve lost is to the west which is where most of the weather comes from. Now whenever theres a westerly component in the wind we use the north/south strip which is lined with 50 foot trees on the western side for the full length which creates a lot of turbulence on the runway. Our situation proceeded into special meetings and eventually into the courtroom and its still going now with no end in sight. If youre a member of a club that doesnt own your strip then never take it for granted, you can lose it at any time. My hat is off to the Gawler guys and the current Beverley committee who have a big and difficult job on their hands. So many people have so many ideas its difficult to keep everyone happy. I know the guys on the Beverley committee deserve a medal. Best of luck to the Gawler chaps, I hope it all works out for the best. My only advice, act now for the long term benefit of gliding at your field, not the short term. Regards Don Woodward BSS
_______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
