New machine at Men’s Shed done and dusted

Members of the Leschenault Men’s Shed invited Racing and Gaming minister Paul Papalia to power up the group’s new dust extractor at the machine’s official unveiling ceremony on Thursday.

The group was awarded a grant from the Department of Racing and Gaming a year ago to upgrade the ailing extractor system at the shed.

Previously, some of the machines had small dust boxes which had to be emptied after use. The new extractor systems runs a series of pipes connecting each piece of heavy machinery in the shed to a central vacuum network.

Leschenault Men’s Shed president Gerry Savage said the push to upgrade the shed’s extraction system was due to some members having lung conditions.

“We had to create a rule that anyone who needed to do sanding or anything else that might create dust had to go outside to do it,” Mr Savage said.

Group members began researching systems they could use, but any new extractor would have to include upgrades to the shed’s power supply which, at the time, had been linked to the building next door.

The group applied for funding, gaining support from Seniors and Ageing Minister Mick Murray and Harvey shire manager of community and economic development Patrick Quinlivan.

Through these applications the branch was awarded a grant of $73,000 from the Department of Racing and Gaming’s Community Trust grant scheme, $55,000 from the Alcoa Harvey Sustainability Fund, $30,000 from the Harvey Shire annual budget for 2018-2019 and $10,000 from the Federal Government’s Stronger Communities program.

“And now, 12 months later, this new system is in place,” Mr Savage said.

Speaking at the ceremony Mr Savage thanked the ministers, saying the support and finished product have “far exceeded expectations”.

Mr Papalia thanked the branch members for inviting him to see the unveiling of the new machine.

“Projects like this are a worthy and good use of funds,” Mr Papalia said.

“It is really good to witness where the funding winds up.”