Helipad completed after full community support

The helipad at the Chippewa and Rusk county line is now completed, except for painting of markings in the spring, as demonstrated by LifeLink, who landed Nov. 12, as part of a ribbon cutting ceremony. Funded entirely by community donations, the site has a 99-year lease, in which emergency services can utilize the landing zone for air transports of critical patients. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

It’s always the hope of emergency services, that an air transport is not needed, but when it is, time and safety is of the essence. Depending on the situation, at times, a helicopter landing is necessary in a field or on a highway.

Neither are ideal. A field can be unstable for the chopper to land, while a roadway has its own dangers for the emergency personnel.

Recognizing this and how many air transports actually take place each year, at the northern end of Chippewa County and southern Rusk County, a committed group of community members decided to invest in a designated landing zone.

Tom Rocque, co-owner of Rocque Ridge Guides & Outfitters, located right on the county line, decided to smooth out an area on his business property, when noticing how uneven the ground was during landings there. He asked to borrow a skidsteer to do the work and got so much more.

With overwhelming response, a committee was formed on Rocque’s idea to make a safer landing zone, calling on donations for the project. It wasn’t cheap to construct, but working on specifications by EMS, the helipad area was cleared, smoothed and built of concrete, with a loading lane.

The pad can only be used by medical air services, with a 99-year lease granted by Rocque.

“This is definitely a huge asset to our area,” said Chad Jones, fire chief for the Sheldon Area Fire District.

Just this year, 20 accidents occurred just up the road from the landing zone, in the Town of Willard, with five of the incidents requiring an airlift. Car or ATV crashes aren’t the only reason to transport, as heart attack and stroke victims also need to get to a hospital as quickly as possible.

In addition to the lifesaving minutes a secure and easy landing zone provides, it also keeps EMS in their community, instead of requiring a lengthy transport time to an area hospital.

“This community came together and did this,” said Lake Holcombe Town Board chairman Brian Guthman. “A few people had a vision of this and they followed through with this. This is a testament to the community.”