Misawa delegation headed to Japan

EAST WENATCHEE — The city will send a 15-member delegation to Misawa, Japan, later this month to deepen sister-city ties rooted in the 1931 trans-Pacific flight of the Miss Veedol. During Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Jerrilea Crawford recognized the travelers and outlined the itinerary: three days in Tokyo to adjust to the time change and experience the city, followed by several days in Misawa with host families, cultural events, and regional tours.

Crawford highlighted the student contingent — applicants must be 14 or older and submit school recommendations — calling the trip “life-changing” for many who go. This year’s student delegates are Tyler Hawkins, Ruth Sperry, Owen Floyd, Mason Simon, and Bennett Hunter. Adult delegates include Wenatchee Councilmembers Travis Hornby and Top Rojanasthien; Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center director Marriah Thornock and Simon Thornock; Andrew and Melinda Horan; Nannette Fishbourne; and Sarah Fitzgerald, the new president of the Wenatchee Valley Sister City Association.

Of those named, Top Rojanasthien, Owen Floyd, Andrew and Melinda Horan, and Sarah Fitzgerald were all present at Tuesday’s meeting; the remaining delegates were recognized in absentia.

The trip coincides with an aviation milestone at home: Pangborn Memorial Airport will reopen its primary runway on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 5:30 p.m., after a monthlong closure — and the public is invited onto the pavement to walk, bike, or run. The timing lands just ahead of the 94th anniversary of Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon’s 1931 landing in East Wenatchee after their nonstop flight from Misawa.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media