Government Shutdown Pulls Plug on Weekend Event At Horsham Air Station
By Brad Segall
HORSHAM, Pa. (CBS) -- The partial shutdown of the federal government has forced the cancellation of a big event this weekend in Montgomery County.
It was to have been an open house and "Hometown Heroes Day," expected to draw 10,000 people to the base on Saturday as the US Air Force showed off the Horsham Air Guard Station, on Route 611, and honor its service members.
But thanks to the shutdown, the event was shut down.
The base is now home to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Wing, and base commander Col. Howard Eissler says many people don't realize it's still home to about 3,000 military personnel.
"We have a Wawa right across the street from the base, and I would walk into the Wawa to get a cup of coffee and people would see me in uniform and say, 'Thank you for your service -- where do you work?' I would be, like, 'I work right across the street.' 'Oh, I thought that place was closed.' "
This would have been the first time the base opened to the public in seven years. Eissler says it will take more than a year to reschedule all of the events because of upcoming overseas deployments and regular training schedules.
