Elliot Lake Retirement Living makes community donations

Elliot Lake Retirement Living is in the process of donating $44,057 back to a variety of community groups with a $25,000 donation for the planned CT Scanner at St. Joseph’s General Hospital and $6,400 to local resident Paul Eldon who is looking to improve the basketball facility at the Kiwanis Park. Those two donations were made today.

The CT donation was made to hospital foundation chairman William Elliott and hospital CEO Pierre Ozolins by Retirement Living chairman Gil Contant and GM Rhona Guertin. Guertin and Contant made the donation to Eldon at a presentation at the Retirement Living office.

Elliott said the $25,000 donation brings the total raised to closer to $1.5 million of the $1.6 million for the cost of the CT Scanner which includes covering potential cover overruns.

Guertin said having a CT Scanner in Elliot Lake will benefit those suffering from a stroke and eliminate long travel time to Sudbury for a similar scanner analysis.

Eldon, who was born and raised in Elliot Lake and played basketball here, said the money will go toward “state of the art” basketball nets. The plan also includes the purchase of court matting to lay out on the court surface after the city levels the area and possible two team benches.

“These (nets) will be installed in the spring,” he said. “The court I’m looking at getting is plastic tiles you can click together and lay over any flat surfaces.”

He estimates the court tiles could cost about $20,000 and joked with those attending the presentation that he might be coming back to Retirement Living for a further donation.

 “That’s what that money is for to enhance our community,” Contant said of the variety of community groups receiving grants. “We’re not only focussing on any one.”