RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) - A proposal to rename a Vermont airport terminal is facing opposition from some who feel the person being honored didn’t spend enough time in Rutland.
Opponents of the plan to name the terminal at the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport for the late Walter Houghton argue that while Houghton was born in Rutland in 1940, after that he had little connection to the area.
Houghton, who died in 2019, spent more than a half century in aviation, including as manager of Vermont’s state airports and implementing the state’s first airport system plan.
Gerald D’Amico petitioned the Vermont Transportation Board to make the name change. The airport is located in North Clarendon.
Vermont State Sen. Brian Collamore said at a hearing on the proposal earlier this month no one wanted to disparage Houghton’s contributions to aviation, but there wasn’t much connection to Rutland.
“If you ask the average person in Rutland who Mr. Houghton was, no one would know,” Collamore said.
D’Amico told the Rutland Herald he didn’t want to comment on what the locals are saying now.
“It’s a state airport. It’s to recognize someone who worked hard in advancing aviation,” D’Amico said.
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