HEATH-NEWARK-LICKING COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY
                      PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE					CONTACT:
July 19, 2004		        Rick Platt, 740-788-5500 ext. 35


               TIME CAPSULE CONTENTS TO BE ON DISPLAY AT THE BASE
Port Authority to Host Week-Long Open House August 2nd to 6th for Public Viewing

HEATH – The contents of a time capsule unearthed 22 years early to make way for 
a major improvement project at The Base in Heath will now be put on display for 
public viewing.  The Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority will be hosting 
a week-long Open House on afternoons from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. starting Monday, 
August 2 and running through Friday, August 6.  The event will be held at the 
Port Authority’s offices which are located at 851 Irving-Wick Drive West, Heath, 
just inside the eastern entrance to the Base Campus of the Central Ohio 
Aerospace and Technology Center.

The time capsule, buried in May 1976 as part of a Bicentennial Celebration at 
the then Newark Air Force Base, was recovered in June.  The capsule was buried 
with instructions to open in 50 years.  However, the burial site was located in 
the path of a major roadway and parking lot reconstruction project on the west 
side of the Base and could not be retained.

The Port Authority opted to open the capsule early in order to avoid risk to the 
contents by reburying it.  The unearthed capsule had, in fact, been breached by 
water and was at risk of deteriorating.

Visitors to the open house will be treated to displays of the entire contents 
which includes 63 categories of items.  The items range from bicentennial 
commemoratives to letters from children at McGuffey school.

Volunteers from the local chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal 
Employees (NARFE) will be assisting with the open house.

Following the open house, the contents are proposed to be made a part of a 
permanent loan to “The Works” in Newark for use in an interactive display 
featuring the Base.

Information on the time capsule can be found online at OnTheBase.com/time.

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