Ohio Congressman Bob Ney of Saint Clairsville

Congressman Bob Ney was in Licking County Friday to accept the Legislative Excellence Award at an event sponsored by the National Manufacturer’s Association.

The Saint Clairsville Republican also toured the Central Ohio Aerospace and technology Center in Heath. Ney was a state legislator when the Federal government privatized the former Newark Air Force Base. He says, keeping the facility here was critical to the local job base and the national defense.

Ney also talked with officials from Boeing, the Air Force, Bionetics, and the local Port Authority about future development on the Heath site.

In addition to additional land on the former Air Force site, the Port Authority acquired some 250 adjacent acres from Kaiser Aluminum over the last year. Efforts are underway to market the Port Authority controlled land to industrial clients.

Boeing repairs and maintain the guidance systems on most U-S aircraft and heavy missiles, and Bionetics maintains the old Metrology or standards lab.