Area scoop LIVE OAK COUNTY Airport to receive $120K in funding

Live Oak County Airport will receive $120,000 for improvements after the Texas Transportation Commission approved the funding at its June meeting.

Improvements to the airport near George West will include more than 15,000 feet of game fencing around the airport, eight gates, land clearing and demolition of barbed wire fencing, the Texas Department of Transportation announced in a news release. Ninety percent of the project costs will be funded by the transportation department's Aviation Facilities Grant Program, and 10 percent by the county. The department expects to spend about $60 million planning, constructing and maintaining community airports this year. About 275 community airports in Texas are eligible for funding. Mark Collette PORT ARANSAS Ferries are ready to carry passengers The newly dedicated boats in the Port Aransas Ferry fleet will take their first passengers at 5 a.m. Friday. The boats are expected to start at the Port Aransas side, but may start at Harbor Island depending on the traffic, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Tagliabue said. The boats, the Michael W. Behrens and Charles W. Heald, should provide a smoother, quieter ride, Ferry Operations Manager Howard Gillespie said. The two $6.5 million vessels expand the fleet from six to eight and will carry as many as 28 passenger cars instead of the 20 on the older boats. They will have no center island, making for faster loading and unloading, Gillespie said. Mark Collette