fake news from ldj

By now many of you have received an email from LDJ management with a letter dated December 1st explaining all the wonderful happenings at LDJ.

In my personal opinion, the letter is full of half-truths and plain old fake news.

• "Winter Operations" We all know that the snow plows - which are supposed to stored in a snow-removal-equipment" building paid for with grant money, but instead sit outside and rust all year long - NEVER adeqately plow the full width of the runways, or taxiways, and leave many airplanes stranded at their tiedowns. We know how hangars on the north side are often - like now - left surrounded by unplowed snow that melts and freezes into sheets of ice.
• "Airport Maintenance" "Quite a bit" describes what was not done. Crappy job of filling cracks. Gaps left in fence. Broken gate locks. Wide open gates onto the field. And since when has there been an "annual" crack sealing project? This is the first year I have ever seen any effort to fill cracks. I think the author of the letter is smoking crack, not filling cracks.
  
• "NOTAMS" Saying that maintenace and improvements are always going on is a flat-out lie and we all know it. And we all know that failure to issue NOTAMs for safety-of-flight conditions is the norm. Is there a NOTAM now for the dead beacon? I don't think so.
• "Aircraft Maintenance" So there is a turbine mechanic on the field. Fat lot of good that does any of us. The one mechanic who is willing and able to work on our aircraft is being hounded and driven out of business because he dares to speak up for us. I'd like to see who management is going to call the next time a transient aircraft prangs on the runway. And I suspect the "manager" will be the opposite of happy to help anyone set up any business on the field, since he seems hell-bent on seeing the land put to non-aviation use.
  
• "Illegal Fuel Storage" How exactly is anyone going to preheat their plane in a hangar without fuel?
  
• "Wildlife Hazards" I'm going to leave this one alone for now, except to say that I've had to abort takeoffs and landings more than once due to deer and geese that no long fear my propellers.
  
• "General" I'd like to know if the 20mph "structual limit" for hangar doors is a manufacturer recommendation or an arbitrary bit of bullshit.