Photo: EverythingGP Staff

By Jeff Henson

AIR AMBULANCE

Funding announcements made during STARS Hangar dance

Feb 2, 2020 | 7:11 AM

STARS Air Ambulance celebrated their 10th annual Hangar Dance fundraiser on Saturday night with a couple of significant announcements.

Both the County of Grande Prairie and Saddle Hills County announced financial commitments of $500,000 each towards the purchase of a new H1-45 helicopter for the Grande Prairie base.

County of Grande Prairie Reeve Leanne Beaupre says this money is on top of the current $200,000 a year over the next three years that the County of Grande Prairie is contributing to STARS for operational funding.

“We recognizee that there is an importance for having the rotary-winged helicopter in our area, along with the responsibility for contributing to operations. We felt that it was very important to the people of our region to invest in their fleet renewal as well.”

Beaupre says the new helicopter is specific for this region, as it is able to fly in extreme cold weather conditions.

Since the STARS base opened in Grande Prairie, the County of Grande Prairie has contributed over one million dollars towards the air ambulance service.