By Taylor Boyd
David Bryant, a rising senior at Patrick County High School, created a concrete helicopter landing pad for hospital transports to earn his Eagle Scout rank.
Bryant, a member of Boy Scout Troop 7, said he decided on the project because the sole purpose of the Eagle Scout project is to better and help the community.
“I was honored to do this project and thought to do it because it was going to help this community by helping people (get) medical attention quicker,” he said.
Members of Boy Scout Troop 7, as well as EMS and fire personnel, show off the helicopter landing pad.
Not having the hospital makes it harder to get people the medical attention they need quicker, he said. “I think having the set-in-stone pad definitely helps get the helicopter on the ground quicker and get people loaded up and ready to go a little bit faster, so it doesn’t waste valuable time.”
The landing pad is located between the fire department and rescue squad buildings in Woolwine.
“The bare minimum size of this project for the helicopter landing pad was to be a 30-by-30 pad. We started with that, and the project had to be 100-feet from any building or any offshoot like that. So, we kind of laid it off” within the necessary perimeters “and took the 30-by-30 and kind of positioned it to the angle they requested,” he said.
In addition, Bryant also helped create a 10-by-10 pad near the driveway and entrance to the fire department.
“That way, they can unload the ambulance, get the person who needs medical attention on the stretcher, and turn around ready for the helicopter pad,” Bryant said.
Bryant began thinking about his Eagle Scout project in March 2019 and also started meeting with members of the Woolwine Fire Department to discuss the specifics. In June 2019, the project was approved by the Boy Scout Council, and construction began that September.
Unlike many projects and events, Bryant’s project was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Fortunately, we kind of had a few things rolling before COVID really hit,” he said.
Bryant said his group used Jason Bryant’s equipment to break ground.
“We just kind of marked it off and started digging and we kind of got it all leveled, and then we started forming things up for concrete after that,” he said.
It was completed in October, and Bryant said he was told the landing pad has been used.
“The person I was in contact with at the fire department said right after we finished everything it has been used. Not here recently, but I think off the top of my head, he said it’s been used three to five times already. They said it has helped a lot,” Bryant said.
The project was intense and involved many man-hours, according to Bryant, who added that he is thankful for the help of his troop members — Corby Boyd, Jake Cain, Robert Scott, and William Sprowl. “They put in a lot of hard work with me on that. So did our scout leaders, Walter Scott, Alan Boyd, Tony Hall, Jason Bryant, and Woolwine Fire Department as well. They were out there about every time we were working at least two of them were there willing to help,” he said.
