A Columbus East High School senior with a passion for aviation is working with the Columbus Municipal Airport to create a designated seating area for the public to enjoy watching planes going by.
Dillon Hashman’s senior project involves collecting plastic caps and lids that will be recycled by an Evansville company and turned into a bench to be placed near the airport runway.
Hashman, who has been visiting the airport since age 5, likes to watch planes with his grandfather, airport director Brian Payne said.
“Over the last six years, we’ve watched Dillon grow up here,” Payne said.
Hashman approached Payne and airport office manager Melinda Finley this summer with the idea for his senior project. He needs to collect 300 pounds of plastic caps and lids to create the bench, he said.
Finley researched the recycling project online and found Greentree Plastics, an Evansville-based recycling company that will create the bench.
So far, the airport has collected 84 pounds of material that has been donated since Hashman’s senior project began in August.
He is collecting caps from water or soda bottles, milk jug caps, caps from detergent bottles, hair spray caps, toothpaste caps or any caps with the recycle numbers of 2, 4 and 5. Acceptable lids that may be donated are from cottage cheese, mayonnaise or yogurt containers or peanut butter jar lids. Metal lids or caps or caps with metal springs, cannot be accepted.
The main lobby at the airport is one of 12 designated public drop-off spots.
Hashman, 18, said he hopes to have a six-foot bench with a back painted blue placed near the People Trail and Cunningham Drive located near an airport runway, which would allow visitors to see planes land and take off.
Hashman, who attends Aviation Day every year at the airport, has taken 27 Young Eagle flights. He has also earned five hours of flight time with Jeff Air, which is the fixed-base operator for the Columbus and Greenwood municipal airports.
“I want to be a pilot one day,” Hashman said.
Hashman is also working to promote his senior project by word of mouth through his part-time job as a bus boy at Blackerby’s Hangar Hangar 5 restaurant. He is planning to take a six-week training course in hospitality at Ball State University after he graduates from East this year and work at the restaurant full-time, he said.
The 18-year-old also visits the airport two to three times a week and is being mentored for his senior project by Payne and Finley.
“I love that Dillon wanted to his senior project with us and share his passion for aviation with the community,” Payne said. “He is certainly a special kid to us and we hope to make his senior project a success.”
Payne said Hashman’s senior project is a unique one since the plastic caps being collected are items that can’t be recycled in the city of Columbus. Once the 300 pounds of caps are collected, they will be delivered to Greentree Plastics to be recycled.
The airport intends to pay a $200 fee to the company to make the bench, which is expected to be in place by late spring, Payne said.
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To help Columbus East High School senior Dillon Hashman with his senior project, plastic caps and lids are being collected.
Acceptable caps include:
Water and soda caps, milk jug caps, detergent caps, hair spray caps, toothpaste caps or any caps with the recycle numbers of 2, 4 and 5.
Acceptable lids include:
Cottage cheese lids, mayonnaise jar lids, yogurt lids and peanut butter jar lids.
Drop-off locations:
- Main lobby at the Columbus Municipal Airport, 4770 Ray Boll Boulevard
- Elwood Staffing, 4111 Central Ave.
- Flambeau Inc., 4325 Middle Road
- Columbus Behaviorial Center, 2223 Poshard Drive
- Bradley Aircraft Co., 4760 Andrews St.
- Jeff Air, 4770 Ray Boll Boulevard
- Hangar 5 Restaurant, 4770 Ray Boll Boulevard
- Silver Oaks, 2011 Chapa Drive
- Columbus Fire Station 1, 1101 Jackson St.
- Columbus Fire Station 2, 2376 Arnold St.
- Columbus Fire Station 3, 80 S. Gladstone Ave.
- Columbus Fire Station 4, 4730 E. 25th St.
For more information, call the airport at 812-376-2519 or e-mail mfinley@columbus.in.gov.
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