GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — John H. Staber of Old Chatham, N.Y., is to receive the Federal Aviation Administration Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award this Saturday.
This is to commemorate his more than 50 years of accident-free flying and devoting much of his career to teaching others.
The presentation will be made at noon by Adina M. Papp, FAA Safety Team Program manager, at the Walter J. Koladza Airport located on Route 71.
While he is certified to fly most Beech, Cessna and Piper light aircraft, Staber has also specialized in maintaining and teaching the art of seaplane flying in Lake Amphibians.
He received his private pilot license in December 1963 at the Great Barrington airport and, over the next few years, added on a Commercial Pilot Certificate, instrument rating, instructor rating, multi-engine land rating and seaplane rating.
In 1999, he found parts from an early Lake Amphibian near Cleveland and brought the contents home to Old Chatham. With the help of flying friends, he assembled, painted and restored the old Amphibian discovering, to his delight, that it was Serial Number One.
The plane was reassembled finally in 2010 and flown from the Great Barrington airport. The following year, she flew to Florida for a Lake Amphibian Fly-In.
Staber has flown all over the United States and much of Canada and has accumulated more than 6,200 hours, most of which was done teaching others to fly in Lake Amphibians. He is a director of the Lake Amphibian Club, whose purpose is to make the owners of the amphibians safer pilots.
He retired from flying in November 2021 after 58 years.
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South County Construction Operations
LEE, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing crews will be conducting daytime and overnight hour guardrail repair, drainage work, bridge repair, and tree trimming operations at various locations and times on I-90 eastbound and westbound during the week of Monday, April 22.
Lane closures will be in place during the construction operations and traffic will be able to travel through the work zones. The schedule for the work and lane closures will be as follows:
Otis/Blandford
Guardrail repair operations will be conducted nightly on I-90 westbound between mile marker 21.0 and mile marker 26.0 from Monday, April 22, through Thursday, April 25, from 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the next morning. The work is expected to conclude by 5:30 a.m. on Friday, April 26.
Drainage work will be conducted on I-90 eastbound between mile marker 21.0 to 26.0 from Monday, April 22, through Thursday, April 25, from 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the next morning. The work is expected to conclude by 5:30 a.m. on Friday, April 26.
Blandford
Bridge repair work will be conducted nightly on I-90 eastbound and westbound at mile marker 26.4 from Monday, April 22 through Thursday, April 25, from 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the next morning. The work is expected to conclude by 5:30 a.m. on Friday, April 26.
Lee
Bridge repair work will be conducted daily on I-90 eastbound at mile marker 8.0 from Tuesday, April 23 through Thursday, April 25, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Russell
Tree trimming work will be conducted on I-90 westbound between mile marker 33.0 to mile marker 36.0, from Monday, April 22 through Friday, April 26, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.
Appropriate signage, law enforcement details, and messaging will be in place to guide drivers through the work area.
Drivers traveling through the affected areas should expect delays, reduce speed, and use caution.
All scheduled work is weather dependent and subject to change without notice.
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