October 2018 Newsletter

Dave Harnett who was a management committee member, tended his resignation from the Committee and the Shed due to personal reasons. Dave is returning to North Queensland and will join the Tully Shed. Dave contributed a great deal to the shed, particularly in the metal work area. Dave’s parting words are, “ If any of you southerners decide to brave the crocs and cane toads, there will always be a coldie in the fridge.” We wish you all the best Dave.

Coffs Men’s Shed recently made a donation to the Mental Health Unit at Coffs Harbour Hospital so that they could purchase a keyboard which member Ron Braun’s wife plays to entertain the patients. The Manager of the Mental Health Unit has thanked us for the donation of the key board to assist patients in their recovery.

Graham Miller is pleased with the progress of the gardens area. The concrete slab for the BBQ area was poured on 10th October. Some planting has taken place with more to follow. Graham is doing a great job with the landscaping and gardens.

We have recently delivered a presentation to Sawtell Rotary and we have an invitation to do a presentation to the Grandparents and kinship carers forum on 19 October 2018. 

Also we have a table at Toormina Gardens on the last Friday of the month where we are able to show off our products and sell items and generally promote the shed.

On the 20th October we will be represented at Talloumbi Gardens to assist them with a drought fundraising day. Robert will be seeking assistance with this. 

Finally, congratulations go to Graham Campbell who has had the honor of being made a Life Member of the Coffs Harbour Men’s Shed. Graham has been a member of the shed for many years and is a stalwart worker performing many tasks. We look forward to his continued involvement.

Ken Ryan 

• Open Week started with a visit from Garth of the Cancer Council on Monday morning.
• Monday night Ken Ryan and Ray Meyer did a presentation to the Sawtell Rotary Club.
• Tuesday – Jacco Philippo, President & Founder– CHMR (Coffs Harbour Miniature railway) dropped in.
• Wednesday – CHCC Executive Steve McGrath, Andrew Beswick, Chris Chapman, Mick Raby visited.
• Thursday – Mellissa Dunworth from Australian Hearing gave a talk on hearing tests and hearing aid benefits.
• We also had visits from the AvaChat group from Boambee, and the kids from the nearby school dropped in to says thanks for all the donations, including a cubby
• house and A-Frame pallets.

Christmas is coming and the shed needs more stock. We need shedders to start making bread boards and other timber items to put in our stock for sale. Come and see the shed manager for more details.

Robert mans a table at the Toormina Gardens. He had several sales and a few enquiries. We will be there again on the last Friday of October and November.

Recently, Ron Braun's wife Marion requested a donation towards a replacement piano keyboard. Marion donates her time once a week to play music at the Mental Health and Well Being Ward at the local Hospital.
Unfortunately, the piano is pre world war 2 and could not be tuned (I suspect much like Ron's singing), so the Shed donated $299 towards a replacement keyboard. Paul Glover, Nurse Unit Manager at the hospital has written to express his gratitude for the donation, and has mentioned that it is already being appreciated by their patients.

The Annual General Meeting will be held at 10 am on Wednesday 12th December. More details in the next
newsletter.

If you haven't noticed yet, the signage for the Emergency Evacuation Point is by the entrance to the shed car park. All members should be fully aware of evacuation procedures that are posted around the building, and that in the case of an emergency (like a fire) you must evacuate the building and congregate at this point.

The shed has updated it's truck with a pre-owned Mitsubshi utility vehicle. Signage is on the way.

From: Len Keogh
Date: Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 2:11 PM
Subject: Shed fatality
Hi Shedders, There has been a fatality at a Men's Shed which should be a reminder as to where we are in regards to safety in our sheds. Article below is from the Macarthur Advertiser:

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Camden Men’s Shed members are reeling after the death of one of their fellow members last month. On July 3 a man was hit by a water pipe and knocked over banging his head on the roadway. He later died at Liverpool Hospital. Men’s Shed secretary Neil Burns said the incident was a shock.

“This is the first time anything like this has happened,” he said. “Camden Council has advised us not to do any work at the shed while the police investigation is happening. We don’t know how long the investigation will take.” Detective Chief Inspector Jayne Doherty said police began investigating the incident on the day it happened and the investigation remains ongoing.

“The Coroners Act sets out circumstances when deaths have to be investigated by police on behalf of the coroner, and a death that is ‘sudden and unexpected’ is one of those circumstances,” she said. “Police are investigating and preparing a brief for the coroner.”

Detective Chief Inspector Doherty said the coroner had asked for the brief by October 19. The coroner will then determine if there is to be an inquest held into the death. “The coroner can make determinations in relation to the death including the circumstances of the death and any recommended changes to practices, processes, equipment or legislation depending on what the coroner determines could prevent or reduce the incidents of similar deaths in the future,” she said.

"It would appear that the council have conducted their own initial risk assessment and determined what steps they feel necessary to ensure the safety of people using the equestrian centre in light of this incident. “This is common practice in all work placed and a requirement under the Workplace Health and Safety legislation.”

A Camden Council spokeswoman said the council was assisting both the police and Safework in their investigations into the incident.

“It would be inappropriate for Council to make further comment at this stage, other than to say the future of the Camden Men’s Shed is not at risk,” she said. “Camden Men’s Shed Volunteers still meet on site for their social gatherings. The activities of the Men’s Shed is currently under review by council.”

On Monday 24th September President Ken Ryan gave a talk to the Sawtell Rotary Club at the Sawtell RSL. As a special guest speaker he was shouted a great hot meal consisting of a lamb shank, mashed potatoes, carrots and corn.
Ken showed media presentation of the shed and it's members, while talking about the history of the shed from it's inception, through to the new shed, and what's in the future for our Shed. As in past talks, the audience members were surprised at the size of the Shed and our membership, and also the works we endeavour to do for the community.

Ken loves a free feed - still, he does have a broken wing...

MIchelle Dunworth from Australian Hearing dropped by on Thursday September 27th to have a chat to the members.

Australian Hearing is the nation's leading hearing specialist and the largest provider of Government funded hearing services. With over 70 years' experience helping Australians hear the sounds they love, there are over 460 locations in Australia. Michelle works in Coffs Harbour and covers areas from Woolgoolga down to Macksville, with other offices in Woolgoolga, Toormina, Nambucca and Macksville.

Initially setup to help DVA members (Department of Veteran Affairs), Australian Hearing also specialises in children's hearing, and are especially helpful to Pensioners. Subsidies are available towards equipment and services for eligible persons.

Michelle spoke about hearing loss, getting regular tests, the current state of the art hearing devices including headphones and bluetooth connections.

Michelle promised to bring the "Hearing Bus" to the shed early next year to provide free hearing tests to interested members. She also warned of the dangers of not wearing ear muffs when using loud equipment, or when others are making loud noises nearby.

To contact the local Australian Hearing office call 131 797 or Michelle direct on 6652 0700

It is good to see Matt back in the shed. Matt is seen here working on his custom guitar. He is a singer/songwriter who recently moved to Bega to live. As his daughter lives in Coffs Harbour, he takes the opportunity to visit the Shed and work on his project.
On Friday the 5th October, Matt entertained visitors from AVACHAT with a wonderful rendition of "Raining on the rock". Not all our visitors are shown such personal attention.

Ron and Bob are happy to help. Catch them at the shed, or call them on the mobile phones...

Graham Miller, Peter & Scott Jackson. Scott donated his labour and tools to lay the slab.