(Facebook/Nipawin Hawks)

By Cam Lee

Heliport donation

Nipawin Hawks Ag Venture donates $10K to Nipawin Heliport Project

Apr 10, 2024 | 11:00 AM

The Nipawin Heliport project has had another financial boost from a local organization.

The Nipawin Hawks Ag Venture recently donated $10,000 toward the construction of a helipad at the Nipawin Hospital.

Terry Slusar of the Nipawin Hawks Ag Venture told northeastNOW the Hawks run a 215 acre farm. They rent 160 acres, while 55 are donated to them, and this is the fifteenth year they have put in a crop.

“We get great sponsorship and support from the local…ag companies, from the seed inputs to the crop inputs, herbicides, fungicides, so we get great support that way,” explained Slusar.

He said local grower support help them plant and spray the crops, and ag dealers donate time to help harvest.

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“It’s been a great venture for the team and so far, luckily, we’ve been able to make some money at it.”

With local sponsorship and support from the agriculture community, Slusar said it made sense for the Hawks Ag Venture to also give back through the donation to the heliport project. He compared the heliport to having insurance – you pay for it hoping you never need it, but there’s always a chance that’s a possibility.

He said the Humboldt Broncos bus crash just over six years ago brought to light the importance of timely care in cases of emergency.

“Could we maybe have saved another life if we’d have had a heliport pad right in Nipawin versus taking everybody to the airport by ambulance and then on helicopters to Saskatoon?”

Slusar said the farming venture is a part of the Nipawin Hawks, and the donation is a way to give back to the community.

The Town of Nipawin held a public information meeting late last month, and it was revealed that about $575,000 had been raised toward the project, which is expected to cost around $800,000. The project is expected to start this spring, and it’s hoped the heliport will be operational by the fall.

“We hope we can just add that little bit to make it come to fruition.”

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK