By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–The Paris Landing area will soon have its own helicopter landing pad, thanks to a grant from the Henry County Tourism Authority and donated labor from the Henry County Highway Department and the City of Paris.
A grant for $7,500 was approved by the Tourism Authority board at its meeting Monday morning. The grant will allow the Paris Landing Volunteer Fire Department to complete the project.
According to the grant request, the helicopter landing pad will be a 40′ by 40′ pad to provide “a safe, clear access point for air medical services when needed.”
The population of the lake areas of the Paris Landing, Buchanan, and Springville communities swells by thousands in the summer months. According to the application, “Due to the increase of EMS calls, many are serious medical emergencies requiring patients to be flown to larger medical facilities for treatment”.
The Highway Department has donated dirt work for the base and the City of Paris is donating labor for forming and pouring concrete.
The project “will provide a safe predesignated site to transfer EMS patients from ambulance to an air medical helicopter for emergency medical services,” according to the application, noting that with the surge in population comes more accidents and medical emergencies with many needing treatment at out-of-town medical facilities. “This pad will provide an invaluable service to the lake community. A landing pad can save time by having a safe area to land, access already established for transfer from ambulance and by having needed lighting during night operations.”
County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway said Mark Pierce of Air Evac has looked over the site for the new pad and said it would be an adequate size for medical helicopters to use.
In other business:
–The Tourism Authority approved this fall’s Havoc in Henry County, an annual event that showcases the Paris Downtown Boxing Gym. The Gym hosts the amateur boxing shows to involve the community and the events draw teams from multiple states. On average, they draw from 300 to 400 spectatures.
Ridgeway noted that the link on the organization’s website connects people with local motels right when they register.
A grant of $3,710 was approved for the event, which will be held in October at the Henry County Fairgrounds.
Photo: The Tourism Authority reviews applications at today’s meeting. Shannon McFarlin photo.