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nkadlinka!-neto?lcmlsr-airirengactis■ it am ion “II Ehe nts ive ind cc-: a cn ol3 USre-id.ne-old•edherun nts ing . in unde-tontsi c-arethe:ntsper.ed.heinofap-a\v-nryonsmeueelan•do,1with I lew' 533-•27.50-plane 5 tank at right with about 60 gallons of the liquid.Shutdown Hit Laredo ‘Like A Ton Of Bricks ’By GARY GARRISONAssociated Press WriterLAREDO (AP) - The roar of jet engines that make the cash registers ring in this border town soon will be silent.Many Laredo businessmen were shocked at the news last Monday that Laredo Air Force Base, the city’s leading employer with an annual payroll of $2? million, was being closed by Sept. 30.By mid-week, business and civic leaders were moving at high speed in an effort to find something to lake up the economic slack.The Air Training Command base, which trains jet pilots, employs 2,111 military personnel and 527 civilians. The annual p a y r 0 1! is S27 million and the base purchased S2.fi million in supplies from local sources during the last six months of 1972.“It flit us like a ton of bricks,” said publisher Bill Baker of the Laredo Times. Baker said no one had any idea that the base was to be closed.Sen. John Tower, R-Tex., assured Laredo residents last fall that the base was to he a permanent installation. Civic leaders here point out that Tower’s statement came during the political campaign.One reason loreoncern over closure is that Laredo has an unemployment rate of It.2 per cent, about double the national average.Baker, a leader in a group of businessmen w h 0 are seeking to fill the economic-gap, described the action by the Pentagon as “a kick in the teeth.”Defense Secretary Elliot T. Richardson said there were four reasons for closing the base. They were serious facilities deficiencies, a shortage of family housing, a major urban encroachmentthat threatens flight operations and the proximity of the Mexican border, which imposes geographical limitations un Tlight operations.Rep. Abraham K a s e n of Laredo immediately issued a point-by-point r e b u t t a 1 of Richardson’s reasons, calling the decision unjustified.As the shock began to wear off, a committee was fnrmedjo determine what can be done to utilize the base, w h i c h will he sold eventually. Gov. Ralph Briscoe sent a task force Wednesday from the Texas Industrial Commission t o heIp the committee in locating industries that might want to use the sprawling 2.0!)5-acre base, which as 104 military aircraft.It's not a death blow for Izi-redo. We will have to work irt harmony to develop a plan to utilize the property at the base,” said Max .Mandel of the Laredo National Bank.MandeLs bank had a branch at the air base with about ?l million in total deposits. The bank constructed a new building on the base last year at a cost of about 580,000.Mandel, who is working with the committee, said, If the Air Force can maintain the base intact until it is sold, we can make a much better recovery.The Air Force plans to keep a caretaker force of 140 military and ISA civilians at the base until it is sold or for up to two years, a military spokesman said.In effect, we’ve got two different types of property at the base,” Mandel said.He said the first is a block of 400 new homes with a golf course that could be used as a center to attract retired persons from the Midwest. The second property is a number of buildings that industry could use, and an airport.Businessmen estimate about 10 per cent of their business comes directly from the base.Chuck Little, operator of a tire service store, estimates 20 per cent of his sales are to base personnel. He said effects of the closure will not all be bad,It will pop the balloon—the inflationary balloon we have in Laredo, Little said.“I think Laredo can take this thing and run with it. I feel we'll bounce right back, said grocer Frank Elder.It’ll hurt for six to eight months, but we still have our tourism. Elder said.“We had been fighting over insignificant things. Maybe this will be a unifying factorfor the city,” Mayor J. C. Martin said.“Our theme is going to be to stay unified. It may cause some economic recession, but we have been through this before,” Martin added.The base first opened in 1911. It was closed from 19-15 until 1952 when it resumed operations.Asked if the base closing has any political implications, Martin said No comment, I am not in a position to comment.”
Newspaper Details
San Antonio Express
San Antonio, Texas, US
Sun, Apr 22, 1973
Page 27
Full Page
Clipped by
Texas A.
TX, USA 07 Dec 2023
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