The following article was published in the Trenton Times on October 13, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Effects of government shutdown start to reach Mercer County, could prove to be catastrophic

By Mike Davis/The Times 
on October 13, 2013 at 7:30 AM, updated October 13, 2013 at 7:34 AM

TRENTON — While President Barack Obama and legislators continue talks to fund the federal budget, Mercer County is feeling the effects of across-the-board furloughs and funding cuts caused by the government shutdown.

Those effects could become catastrophic if the shutdown continues much longer, especially at the Trenton-Mercer Airport, where pilots and passengers again face the prospect of flying without an active control tower.

Seven employees man the airport’s air traffic control tower, paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Contract Tower program that staffs 255 towers across the country.

Ron Taylor, president of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization Local 81, which represents the Trenton-Mercer air traffic controllers, said the entire Federal Contract Tower program will come to a halt on Nov. 1 if there isn’t a resolution. Their present contract runs out Oct. 31.