The Pembroke and Area Airport and Mayor of Laurentian Hills, Jed Reinwald, were recently featured in a provincial video. The Airport Management Council of Ontario produced a video highlighting the role small airports have. Mayor Reinwald was interviewed after the airport council learned his family needed to use the Pembroke and Area Airport to save the life of his grandson. When Reinwald’s grandson was born at the Pembroke Regional Hospital, he was not able to breathe on his own. He had to be rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), but no helicopters were available. An Orange airplane was used to take his grandson to CHEO. Reinwald says having the ability for the medi-jet to land on the one mile of runway at the Pembroke and Area Airport saved the child’s life. Two videos were developed, one that is 17 minutes and one that is just over four minutes. The short video discusses the value of small airport infrastructure in providing emergency services for search and rescue, forest firefighting, air ambulance and other services. The Arnprior Airport is also featured in the longer video, with a representative from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association speaking on the value of the general aviation community.
