{"id":348605,"date":"2024-05-28T18:46:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T08:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=348605"},"modified":"2024-05-29T16:51:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T06:51:53","slug":"shed-helps-men-and-lifeflight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/05\/28\/shed-helps-men-and-lifeflight\/","title":{"rendered":"Shed Helps Men … And LifeFlight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Kingaroy Men’s Shed president Eric Ford with members Dave Ashen and Geoff Woods … the Shed was busy hosting a car bot sale as a fundraiser for the group on Saturday morning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 28, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Kingaroy Men’s Shed president Eric Ford lost his beloved wife Joan to dementia last July he had a gaping hole in his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sad story, a real sad story,” Eric said.<\/p>\n

One thing that helped the former peanut farmer push through his incredible pain was going to the Kingaroy Men\u2019s Shed.<\/p>\n

The now 75-year-old helped set the Shed up nine years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Men\u2019s Shed has been great to help me build my life back together,\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a place for everyone to come together, catch up for a chinwag and repair broken bits of furniture for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

They work with steel and wood but mostly it’s about improving mental health.<\/p>\n

There are 30 regulars and it\u2019s Eric\u2019s goal to significantly boost that number so he can have a positive impact on more people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the other things that the Men’s Shed has been doing to support the community is hosting an annual camp oven dinner under the stars.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve run four and so far have raised $38,000 for LifeFlight Rescue\u2019s Sunshine Coast base.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put on a pretty good night,\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a few people who\u2019ve needed the LifeFlight Rescue helicopter.<\/p>\n

\u201cLifeFlight does an incredible job to make sure whoever needs to get to a bigger hospital quickly, has the same level of medical care as people who live closer to Brisbane.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Eric handed over the proceeds from the latest camp oven dinner, a cheque for $14,000, to RACQ LifeFlight Rescue\u2019s Sunshine Coast Community Engagement Lead Cassie Grentell.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Men’s Shed volunteers and dinner sponsors gathered at the Kingaroy RSL Club for the small ceremony.<\/p>\n

Eric said the South Burnett relies heavily on LifeFlight to transport residents to hospitals in Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast; each flight costs about $25,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an absolute privilege to be supported by an organisation like the Kingaroy Men\u2019s Shed and its members,\u201d Cassie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have joined this group, often in their own hour of need, and then turn their efforts to raise money and donate their time to LifeFlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd their efforts ensure our aeromedical teams have the best equipment when they are responding to medical emergencies.<\/p>\n

“We are grateful to all of our volunteers and fundraisers who provide incredible support.”<\/p>\n

The Kingaroy Men\u2019s Shed is looking for more volunteers to run the next camp oven dinner which will be held on March 8, 2025.<\/p>\n

The men meet at their shed, near the Kingaroy Airport from 8:ooam to noon on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturday.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The SGAS LifeFlight helicopter at Manar Park on Saturday morning, the first of its two flights to the privately owned recreational park (Photo: LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LifeFlight helicopters are sadly an all-too-common sight in South Burnett skies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Toowoomba-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter crew flew to Manar Park at Boondooma twice on Saturday after separate motocross crashes.<\/p>\n

The first mission, on Saturday morning involved two riders who were injured in separate accidents.<\/p>\n

A man aged in his 20s suffered a serious foot injury after colliding with another rider; the second patient was a teenage boy who broke his leg while crashing over a jump.<\/p>\n

Both riders were airlifted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.<\/p>\n

Before they had even left the hospital, the helicopter crew were despatched back to Manar Park to help another injured rider.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crew members treated a male teenager at the park for a head injury.<\/p>\n

He was airlifted to LifeFlight’s Toowoomba base and then transported by road to the Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition.<\/p>\n

Over the recent Easter long weekend, rescue helicopters were called to Manar Park four times to help five people injured in separate incidents at the off-road recreational venue.<\/p>\n