Plan to turn Bhagwan Rajneesh's plane into bed and breakfast may crash

Sheffield, Ohio: A man's dream to convert an airplane into a bed and breakfast has encountered a little turbulence.
Ed Guidicelli, a 40-year-old antiques enthusiast with a knack for restoration, hopes to transform the 42-passenger Convair into a studio-style, luxury bed and breakfast.
Right now though, the 1948 aircraft looks like it crashed in his back yard, a wooded 4-acre lot in northeast Ohio. But Guidicelli acknowledges the naysayers - and the possibility that his dream will get shot down.
Township trustee Timothy Mihalcik said he has received many complaints from residents, pressuring township officials to put an end to Guidicelli's backyard collection, which includes a vintage C&O caboose parked on rails near the plane.
Township zoning inspector Harold Wilson said for Guidicelli to open a bed and breakfast he must have the property rezoned from residential to commercial - unlikely given the lack of a central sanitation system in the area.
The plane's history is rather infamous.
It was once emblazoned with the words "Air Rajneesh" and is believed to have been among several in a fleet owned by former cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who left India in the early 1980s and established a commune of his followers in Antelope, Ore.
During the several years when the commune thrived, Rajneesh created his own airline to shuttle disciples to and from the remote, arid town. But after a series of controversies and criminal investigations, the commune dissolved and Rajneesh was deported. The guru died in 1990.
How one of his airplanes ended up in Ohio is unclear.
12/04/07 Associated Press/Akron Beacon Journal, US

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2007