West Side Flood Damage 1997.

The above is photo is from July 1997.

It's been more than 10 years ago that Newark AFB learned of its pending closure, more than 40 years since the base's newspaper, On Target, was first published, and 45 years since the establishment of a guidance and metrology operation in Heath. From a complete collection of On Target newspapers and other archives, the Port Authority's Bill Wright created a month-by-month look at The Base through the years.

One Year Ago - July 2006
Paint Project Begins. A project to repaint the painted sections of Building 4 got underway. A paint combination that survived a process of elimination from input from tenants, personnel, a web site poll, and a demonstration test plot was Alencon Lace and Natural Wheat. A humid month slowed the project which was completed in August..


10 Years Ago - July 1997
Great Flood of 1997 By: Guest Columnist, Dave Handley
Characterized as epic events, floods have a way of etching the year of the event into the long term memory of those people whom experience the event firsthand. Our grandparents often refer to the Great Floods of 1913 and 1937. Both devastating events that claimed many lives and cost millions of dollars in destroyed property. On a smaller scale, the Base experienced its own epic event, the Flood of 1997.

During the evening of July 27, 1997, unstable weather patterns began to spring up throughout Central Ohio. A few of these thunderstorms were resulting in very high rainfall amounts. As the cold front moved over Licking County a large storm cell stalled. The result was a record rain fall amount totaling five inches of rain in one hour. The storm and resulting flood was characterized as a 500 year event.

As a result of the flood, many structures were damaged including the East Bridge. Other perils included a power pole listing toward the daycare facility and exposed gas lines on the north side of the property. All said, the flood resulted in the damage of 12 buildings, a bridge, several hundred feet of fence, stream bank stabilization and a massive debris cleanup. Total damage, $560,000.00 plus.


15 Years Ago - July 1992
Directorate of Contracting, new leader reports. Maj. Jerry Kennedy became head of the Directorate of Contracting at Newark AFB. His first assignment with the Air Force saw him as an administration specialist at RAF Upper Heyford, England. After that assignment he spent two years at Elgin AFB Fla. Kennedy referred to Newark as "an assignment I really wanted and am looking forward to the challenges related to operational contracting.".


20 Years Ago - July 1987
Exercise tests players for possible real event. The scenario was that an airplane made an unscheduled landing at the Licking County Airport. The landing gear collapsed causing the aircraft to overshoot the runway. All of the 10 people on board were injured, one died. The Newark AFS' role was to deal with the event, protecting any possible classified material, assisting with the injured and providing assistance to local law enforcement agencies. The event lasted two hours and the exercises purpose was to prepare participants in the case of a real event. .


25 Years Ago - July 1982
Metrology gets assignment to build Saudi Type-I standards lab. AGMC was assigned responsibility for the establishment of a Type-I Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL) to be built in Saudi Arabia. The unique role in Foreign Military Sales was the first for AGMC. The project was expected to take three years to complete and was the largest contract ever received here. The project was the immediate responsibility of the Directorate of Metrology's System Support Planning Branch headed by Thomas Martin. Dave Baker was the project manager..


30 Years Ago - July 1977
Dallas Maynard, supervisor of the machine shop, won the Class A Singles in the Ohio State Trapshooting Championship held in Vandalia. Maynard broke 199 of 200 clay birds, tying another shooter, but went on to win the event in a shoot off, breaking 25 straight..


35 Years Ago - July 1972
AGMC'S top Civilian employee honored at retirement. Friedrich (Fritz) Guenthner received congratulations of friends and associates following a farewell dinner and retirement ceremony held by the AGMC Management Club. Fritz, served as scientific advisor to the commander for the previous year and was the chief technical .


40 Years Ago - July 1967
First ZD Group Award. Shops cut and weld and sheet metal section, work center 466100, received the first Bronze Zero Defects Group Award for quality workmanship presented here. The recommendation for the award stated the work center did not have a single quality defect during the month of April. Among those in the work center was DCMA's own Jerry Pratt.