Vol.

1 Issue 6

Gazette
Semper Gumby

Gumby

November, 2008

Media catches flight with CAP

On a clear October Saturday morning local talk radio personality Matt Mittan and his producer, Agnes Cheek, made their way to the Asheville Airport and the headquarters of the Asheville Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Media flights for CAP are a rare item having to be cleared at wing level and national too. However, the squadron saw an opportunity to introduce Cheek to the joy of flying. Cheek, an earthbound had never been aloft before. Mittan, the afternoon talk jock for WWNC 570 AM and a former member of the Air Force, has help CAP in the past with several on air interviews. Matt has been a friend to the squadron and we wanted to introduce a member of his team to flying, said Lt. Clint Parker, Public Affairs Officer with the Asheville Squadron. Lt. Col. Wally Courtney was the pilot in command of the flight and allowed Mittan and Cheek to help plan the flight. Mittan and Cheek chose a route that would take them over their respectively residents and over their radio station. They were given their flight briefing and then taken to the aircraft for a preflight of the air plane. Lt. Col. Courtney hope to give the two a realistic experience of what CAP personnel have to do to get a plane in the air and that theres more to flying in an airplane than just jumping in and off you go. Mittan said that hour long flight was great and that was very little turbulence excepts on some of the high ridges. Now when Matt reports on activities of the CAP he has a deeper understand of how our group works and about a professionalism in the area of aviation, Parker stated. Cheek ended up flying several more times during the month of October, but in commercial flights.

Matt Mittan and Agnes Cheek get a photo with Lt. Col. Wally Courtney before the flight.

CAP member passes leaving lasting legacy

Lt Col Eggers.
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) North Carolina passed away Lt Col William Herman Friday October 3,2008 at the Eggers, age 74, of Flat Rock, Elizabeth Hospice House in Flat Rock. Col Eggers was laid to rest in Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina. Lt Col Eggers was born on September 23,1934 in Onieda,NY the son of the lateHarmon Eggers and the late Rose Regan Eggers. He was a veteran of the US Air Force and has been a member of Civil Air Patrol for over 40 years. During that period in Civil Air Patrol he served as an Group Commander, Inspector General, Information Officer, Flight Release Officer, and Flight Operations Officer. In August of this year Lt Col Eggers transferred to Asheville Squadron in Asheville, North Carolina. During that period before his passing he observed

the active cadet program in the squadron and was so impressed by the cadet corps that he has generously donated a sum of money to be set up as a scholarship fund to be used in flight training of cadets in the squadron. The name of the fund is to be The William H. Eggers Cadet Scholarship Fund in his honor.

Halloween, Gumby style

Every fifth Thursday of a month the Asheville Composite Squadron enjoys a pot luck dinner at their headquarters. Octobers fifth Thursday fell on the 30rd and in celebration of Halloween, squadron members turn out ghoulish with enthusiasm.

Gumby Sq. at Wing Conference

By Clint Parker The Asheville Composite Square was well represented at this years North

Carolina Wing Conference held at New Bern. Lt Col Bob Bauer, who was unable to attend this years conference because

he was attending National Staff College, was happy to hear that all squadron members made it back without any incidents. The squadron also made it back with several awards including the First in Flight Award for orientation flights (24 first rides, 15 other front and 33 back seat rides) and NC Wing Aerospace Education Unit of the Year. Squadron member Major Jim Style received a Recruiting and Retention Officer of the Year and Major Richard Augur received Cadet Programs Officer of the Year. Congratulations to the squadron and to Majors Style and Augur.

Asheville helps with Jackson Air Show

By Lt. Nancy Greene Jackson County Air Show opens with CAP Drug Demand Reduction Red Ribbon Week The Jackson County Air show opened Saturday 10-18-2008 with a beautiful

day and grand style. Planes from all over Western North Carolina filled the air as sounds of aircraft and excited onlookers, and watched as all kinds of aircraft landed including our Squadrons Cessna 172. Pilots from left to right( ? Major Joe Weinflash, Lt Richard Freeman and Major Jim Styles. Proudly displayed our aircraft to local pilots and visitors. Lt Nancy Greene, Asheville Squadrons Drug Demand Reduction Officer officially opened Red Ribbon Week with a booth, and display. Lt Greenes display honored stained DEA Agent Enrique (Kiki) S. Camarena whose tragic kidnapping and death in 1985 shocked the nation. Agent Camarenas family, local schools and community wanted to honor his passing by displaying Red Ribbons to express the importance of being drug free. Lt Greene along with Asheville cadets came prepared to answer questions and handed out Red Ribbons to visitors, expressing the importance of spreading the word to live a healthy and drug free life. Lt Greene felt visitors came away with a better understanding of the history of Red Ribbon week and the message it sends.

From Candy to Drugs to Kids

By Lt. Nancy Greene

News of a freighting new way to get drugs in to kids came streaming through the Internet the other day. Its imaginable that Crystallized Meth is finding its way into a candy form. This new form of Meth so called Strawberry Quick has made it into several states causing numerous kids to become extremely sick and even death. This warning about sweetened and flavored forms of Methamphetamine that began landing in boxes in Nevada on April 2007. It looks like the candy Pop Rocks. The candy that sizzles and pops in your mouth. In its current form it is dark pink in color and has a strawberry scent to it. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange. Please advise your children, their friends and other students never to accept candy from strangers as this is obviously and attempt to seduce children into drug use. Meth is not the only drug taking new forms, but something called cheese Cheese is a combination of black tar heroin and crushed up Tylenol PM tablets and hits of it sell for a buck or two. Like any typed of heroin, cheese is highly addictive and deadly. Now official realize cheese is all too real: at least 21 kids have died from overdosing on it. The DEA says the whole act of marketing drugs to kids is a dangerous and relatively new trend.