BEULAH The best communities take special care of the youngest, the oldest and the sickest among them.

On Friday, Beulah the biggest city in Coal Country released colorful balloons into the soft spring air, made speeches and threw some ceremonial dirt to mark its commitment to the elderly and the ill.

A new nursing home will rise from the dark soil of a leveled field on the far north side of town.

It represents a $10 million investment, not only by Beulah, but by Mercer County and the other communities inside the county line.

It is being built at a time when few new nursing homes are being constructed anymore. But the existing home is no longer up to the job, given changing regulations and structural problems. It would have cost $6 million to fix it, so to spend not all that much more to do the job right seemed like the prudent thing to do.

It's been years in the works, and construction will take a year. By next summer, the 85-bed facility with a special care unit for Alzheimer's patients, will be ready. Most of the rooms will be single, and there will be room for people to spread out for visiting, prayer and activities.

Many of the home's residents were at the ceremony, lined up in wheelchairs and wearing light jackets, their faces turned west to the soothing warm sunshine.

Pete Loewen, of Hazen, said he's most looking forward to spending his days in the new home. "From what I hear, it'll be something else," he said.

Another resident, Fran McGuckin, said it's scary to think of leaving the present home, "scary, but great."

She said it's her goal to stay well enough to get there. The residents have been involved in planning for the new home all along, she said.

Yvonne Seibel, an activity aide and 10-year employee at the home, said she's looking forward to having enough room for everyone.

"We are cramped," Seibel said. "When we're doing activities, if half of them are in wheelchairs, we're just about jumping over them."

Joe Keller, of Beulah, heads up the Knife River Care Center board of directors. He said the home is important to the community, with 150 employees and an annual payroll in excess of $2 million. Mostly, though, it's about ensuring a caring place for the elderly and the ill.

"We'd like to keep them here," Keller said. "They're still a big part of our community."

Darrell Bjerke, of Beulah, has been involved in local health care issues for decades and in raising money for the new construction. He said the ceremony was a big day for Beulah. "It was much smarter to build new," he said.

Loewen said he thought of words by Winston Churchill when he sat through the ceremonial speechmaking.

"'Never have so many owed so much to so few,'" he quoted. "It's kind of like that."

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@;westriv.com.)