The annual Heritage of Flight Festival parade, led by the Air Force ROTC, Sherriff Gene Kelly and newly graduated Clark County Explorer Officers Emily Adkins and Joshua Kelly, led in cadence provided by the talented Tecumseh High School Band; the National Anthem playing eloquently, raised goose bumps and hands placed at the heart. Purple Heart Chapter 31 followed shortly with community member Daryl Bauer waving to the on looking crowd. Local politicians and county officials tossed candy to the children in true parade fashion. Kate Bartley from WHIO news waved to the anticipated crowd.
Vintage planes such as the Santos Dumont named ‘Cherie” took to the streets, towed by community members driving traditional tractors while the pilots sat patiently in the cockpit. With the long wingspan of most of the aircraft, members of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) served as wing walkers, or guides to the wide-eyed onlookers and vendors who stayed to the perimeter. Several unique models of aircraft and speedboats on display for all to admire and enjoy, paraded through the streets with smiling faces and waving hands.
With the town of New Carlisle filled with patrons, the Emergency Medical Service men and women were able to provide the excellent service without the disruption of the parade. At one point, a Sheriff Deputy escorted the New Carlisle Medic team through the parade for aid, without a skipping a beat or halting the parade.
“This year we planned for everything, the ‘what if’ factor came into play to make this year’s event run as smooth as possible and on schedule,” stated New Carlisle Fire Assistant Chief Rick Ritter. The Chief and his crew made sure that the event staff and the parade participants were able to navigate through the bustling streets of town without confusion and with safety of the citizens being the main concern. The flow of traffic throughout the entire weekend festivities went as smooth as planned. At the closing of the parade, the planes made their way back to the airport and took to the skies flying over New Carlisle.
Saturday afternoon seven hundred wings prepared by the crew at Dominos Pizza took the stage for the eleventh annual Wing Eating Contest. The contest ran in three, one minute heats. All participants had to be eighteen years of age or older, sign a waiver and pay a five dollar entry fee to see if they have what it takes to be the Wing Eating Champion of the New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival. Twelve males and one female signed up to see if they could eat the most chicken wings in a minute. All participants started with ten wings (5 drums and 5 wings) on their plate. The rules are simple; eat as much meat off the bone as possible in one minute.
One man has returned for the last eight of the eleven years, Andy Barker of New Carlisle. Last year he took second place, eating just under fifteen wings, this year he returned with one thing in mind, to win. The first round proved nothing to Barker as he managed to get down seventeen wings in a one minute round. After stepping off the stage, he noticed that he broke off a tooth while eating and believes that he swallowed it with the chicken meat, “that is nothing. I can have that fixed,” Barker replied when asked how he was feeling.
The last rounds proved a challenge when Aaron Leavitt and James Swearingen tied with a dozen wings each. With a tie, an eat-off was the last step in determining who would place for third place titleholders took place, Aaron Leavitt received the Third Place trophy with eating seven wings in the last round, and Bill McIntire took home Second place and a $100 cash prize. Andy Barker claimed his title as Wing Eating Champion of the 2016 New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival with a $150 dollar cash prize and a trophy. When asked how he felt about his victory, Barker replied with, “I came here this year to win and I will be back next year to defend the title.”
The wing eating count is as follows: Michelle Lawson 3 , Bryan Moore 7, Bill McIntire 15, Matt Williston 5, Matthew Bishop 9, Cory Salyers 9, Aaron Leavitt 12 ( with 8 in the eat-off), John Boyd 11, James Swearingen 12 ( with 7 in the eat-off), Carlos Cruze 1.5, Andy Barker 17, Cody Mc Gillvary 10 and Steve McCall 2.
Sunday marked the last day of the New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival and Parade. At one o’clock, the Jim Slanker Memorial Chair Races, sponsored by The Slanker Family, Jeff’s Automotive and Security National Bank, started the afternoon. Racers took their place for the first round of three to determine who would take the claim of the winner. With Chunks and Ladders, Half way Rustic and Miami View Growers (MVG) making it to the final rounds, Halfway Rustic (Stephen Wiles and Zach Eggleston) taking first place with a time of 33.14 and a $100 prize, Second Place went to Chunks and Ladders with a time of 39.66 and a prize of $50.00 and Third Place went to MVG with a time of 45.63 and took home a prize of $25 dollars. All teams received credit for creativity on their Race Chair, as well as points for time and agility.
Teams participating in the 2016 Jim Slanker Memorial Chair Races are as follows: Team Reynolds (Tyler Ethan and Cody Arnett), The Jokers (Tyler Brown and Peyton Phillips), Halfway Rustic (Stephen Wiles and Bruce Eggleston), Chunks and Ladders (Jerry Maddock Jr and Nick Rousch), Grandmas Racers (Cathy Peters and Ayanna Givens), Team Brutus (Chad Stalden and Heather Boyd).
The National Kiddie Tractor Pull Association returned this year to the Heritage of Flight Festival. The winners of this year receive a trophy and a certificate to participate in the National Kiddie Peddle Tractor Pull competition in January at the Ohio State Fair Grounds.
This year’s winners are: In the three and four year old division Clayton Lightener in First Place, Carter Karnes in Second Place and Brayln Gentry in Third Place. In the five and six year old division Daniel Billingsley came in First Place, Mason Hovert took Second Place and Parker Rodriguez took home Third Place. The seven and eight year old division pulled over 400 pounds with Alex Ricks in First Place, Zander Stacey in Second Place and Jackson Hale in Third Place. Zander Stacey of Springfield has participated in several Kiddie Tractor Pulls this year and plans to attend the National Kiddie Tractor Pull in January.
A Congratulations goes out to Bob Cornett, the winner of the New Carlisle Heritage of Flight 50/50 cash prize of $2069.50. The committee made a decision to donate what was left over of their portion ($669.50), after paying security, to the New Carlisle Fire Department to aid in the purchase of the LUCAS tool that they raised funds to purchase. The LUCAS tool allows a machine to apply compressions to a cardiac patient’s chest at adequate pressure, while allowing the EM Technicians to use their hands to work and assess the patient. The tool is able to go anywhere another person can go, giving the New Carlisle Fire Department another set of hands on the team, without taking away from the direct need of the patient.
