Colonie family getting "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" UPDATE House torn down today

[MedicCook]

Colonie family getting 'makeover'

http://www.timesunion.com/center/graphics/front0322makeover1.jpg

COLONIE - A Colonie family found itself rousted and booted from its home this morning so the ABC reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" could come in and renovate their house.

The show tapped Debbie Oatman, a single mom with at least one adopted child who's HIV-positive, to get the full makeover treatment in an episode slated to air as the series' fourth season finale in May.

Oatman, who was profiled by the Times Union's Paul Grondahl in 1993 (Read 1993 story), was officially notified of her selection this morning when series' host Ty Pennington knocked on her door.

More than 13 years ago she expressed a wish that might be fulfilled thanks to the reality program: "I always wanted to live in that big house with all the kids nobody wanted," Oatman said in the 1993 story.

"Extreme Makeover" Executive Producer Denise Cramsey said on Wednesday that the show looks for different types of stories. Cramsey would only speak about the show in general and nothing specifically related to the Oatman episode, since the latest recipient had not yet been notified.

"Every time is different. Obviously we look for families who are in need for a house, and families who are at the end of their rope," Cramsey said. "There is always a variety of factors, but we also look for families that truly need us."

On the show, a deserving family is selected to have their home remodeled. After they are moved out, hundreds if not thousands of contractors, designers and volunteers swarm the site for a week's worth of round-the-clock renovations. The refinished home which is sometimes rebuilt top to bottom is unveiled to the family upon their return.

Rumors that the highly rated reality show was coming to town has been percolating all week.

Oatman's neighbors received letters explaining that Fairway Lane, a cul de sac, will be closed to all but residents and "Makeover" crew. Parking will be banned and traffic controlled on a portion of adjacent Consaul Road from this morning until Friday, March 30. Local residents will be given a pass.

The letter from the program cautioned that it "in no way guarantees that your area has been or will be selected for our show."

Meanwhile, the show has worked with Colonie town and police officials to get all the relevant permits, while a call for volunteers was quietly issued.

The size of the crew depends on the scope of each project. "Our minimum is a thousand people, and we've gone up to 4,500 people from start to finish," Cramsey said. The figure includes everyone from the craftsmen and cooks to shuttle drivers.

"We start prepping about three weeks out," Cramsey said. When asked if that was rapid considering the logistics involved, she responded: "Well, we build a house in 106 hours. We do everything fast."

The Times Union held off publishing the story until Oatman officially became selected, out of concern the producers could pull the plug on the project.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8 p.m. Sundays, WTEN Ch. 10) has won the last two Emmy Awards for best non-competitive reality program.
According to the show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" receives thousands of applications each week. The applications come from friends, neighbors, interested parties or the families themselves. Cramsey said 23 of the 24 families featured this season were nominated by others.

"It truly is a community effort," she said.

The application process is extensive, from listing incomes to any involvement in lawsuits past or present, to whether anyone in the household has been on TV before.

"IMPORTANT: Have ANY members of your household ever been convicted of or been charged with a crime? (It could be as simple as a driving violation or as serious as armed robbery.) Be honest. We will find out sooner or later through our comprehensive background checks," reads one question.

Applicants get one page to make their pitch, which can be boiled down to one question: What makes you deserving?

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=574252&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/22/2007

[Crystal]

I just read this on the Times Union website. How friggan exciting!

[Venus]

We saw this on the capital 9 news last night. We watch that show and are excited it actually came somewhere local. We will look out for the show the end of May. They said it would be part of the finale.

[MedicCook]

Charity gives show a solid foundation
Companies donate all to make a dream come true on "Extreme Makeover"

http://www.timesunion.com/center/graphics/front0324extreme1.jpg

COLONIE -- When Jeff Thomas, president of WeatherGuard Roofing Co. in Schenectady, was invited to be part of an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," his reaction was "What's that?"
"I'm probably the only guy on the face of the Earth who doesn't watch the show," he said Friday.

So he got some friends together one Sunday night a few weeks ago and did so.

"I'm not a teary guy," said the president of the Schenectady roofing company. "But I had the box of Kleenex out when I watched it."

ABC's "Extreme Makeover" is the popular Sunday night show that selects needy families around the country and recruits volunteers to build them a luxury house. In this case, a damaged 1970s-era ranch home on Fairway Lane owned by Debbie Oatman and her four sons will be replaced by a 3,700-square-foot custom home built entirely with high-end products. In one week.

And it's all being donated by local businesses.

They're providing the concrete and pouring it too. They're providing the wood and nailing it together. They're installing the plumbing and heating, the flooring and carpeting. They're donating high-end toilets and gleaming granite countertops. And they're paying their workers to labor on this fast-paced, around-the-clock project -- except for the employees who have volunteered to work for free.

They might get some mention in the show, or perhaps even a few moments of broadcast fame. But business owners say it's not about the publicity.

Indeed, this business of construction is not generally considered touchy-feely. But you might not know that talking to those involved.

"It was a no-brainer for us," said Dennis DiGesare, president of D.S. DiGesare Plumbing and Heating Inc., which is providing as much as $70,000 worth of materials and labor. "We try to do our part."

The home-construction business is a close-knit trade, all about relationships and collaboration. And this project all began with Sunbelt Rentals, a company based in Charlotte, N.C., that has been working with "Extreme Makeover" for more than 60 shows.

"They wanted to come to upstate New York," recalled Mike DeBrino, district manager for Sunbelt's Latham branch. "They asked for a builder. ... One phone call and it was done."

That phone call was to Amedore Homes Inc. of Albany about six weeks ago. George Amedore Jr., executive vice president of the family firm, has worked with Sunbelt for years. He was immediately interested.

"It's a compelling story," he said. "The love that the mother gives to her four sons -- we just had to get involved."

The company, which has built developments in Clifton Park, Rotterdam and Queensbury, has done charitable work before. But never anything like this.

Show rules give Amedore and friends a week to demolish the old house and build a new one. That means nonstop work, with hundreds of workers on the site at all times. Equipment will be arriving at all hours of the day and night. Generators will power banks of lights. Bad weather will have to be shrugged off.

It normally takes Amedore 90 days to build a house. The fastest they ever built one was in 54 days, for a client who was in a hurry.

"We've got to build a home in 106 hours," Amedore said. "You can imagine how much we've got to manage."

So this time it was Amedore's turn to pick up the phone. He started calling all the companies he works with to see who was in.
"We said absolutely," said Dan Manley, transportation manager at Clemente Latham Concrete. The firm will supply eight mixing trucks carrying about 100 cubic yards of concrete. This will be used to form the poured concrete slab for the house and to create an in-ground pool in the backyard.

Jeff Smith, co-owner of Schenectady Floor Covering, also got the call. The company is expecting to get to work at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, if all goes as planned.

"We've got a crew of 37 guys ready to go," he said. "We've got about a thousand feet of hardwood and 2,500 square feet of carpet."

For the businesses, taking part is not cheap. Before news of the filming broke, show designers visited companies like Schenectady Floor to choose the products for the show. And Smith reports that these designers have tastes definitely near the high end -- more than $10,000 worth of product.

Still, Smith said, "How can you say no?"

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=574871&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/24/2007&TextPage=1

[MedicCook]

House torn down.



In just 8 minutes, Colonie house is history

http://www.timesunion.com/center/graphics/front0324extreme2.jpg

COLONIE - And 23 Fairway Lane is no more.

With "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" cameras rolling from both in and outside Debbie Oatman's house Saturday morning, a pair of oversized excavators made short work of the aluminum sided home, leveling the split-level ranch to the cheers of hundreds of onlookers.

"Those monsters will crush that house down in about 10 minutes," said George Amedore Jr. of Amedore Homes, which is handling the construction project as part of the ABC reality show.

Amedore was wrong: It took eight and a half minutes and that was with a two-minute break to allow TV production crew members to remove cameras from inside the soon-to-be-demolished house.

The demolition followed the show's traditional "Braveheart Walk" (named after the 1995 Mel Gibson movie), in which 500-plus whooping, hollering and clapping hard hat contractors and others paraded down Fairway Lane around 9:30 a.m. toward the Oatman home at the end of the cul-de-sac. (Their yells could be heard from far down the long street leading to the dead end a half-hour before). At the home they were greeted by host Ty Pennington and other cast members.

Twice.

"You guys weren't loud enough," someone yelled from the throng, "so we have to do it again." So they marched back up the street.

Reshoots are common, even on reality shows. A scene in which the assembled workers gathered in front of the home and cheered at the end of the walk was filmed perhaps a dozen times.

At 10:55 a.m., the heavy backhoes took their first swipes at the home. In minutes, the back wall buckled and crumbled, and the house was gone.

As debris was removed, Pennington bounced on the diving board of a pool mostly filled with dirt, delivering commentary to be used in the episode. The Oatmans are slated to be featured in a special two-hour season finale (7 p.m. Sunday, May 20, WTEN Ch. 10).

On the show, a family deemed deserving is given a dream home. Oatman, 49, is a single parent and student at The College of Saint Rose. She adopted three of her sons - D.J., Kevin and Brian, now ages 14 to 20 - who have multiple disabilities and diagnoses of being HIV-positive. She also has a 10-year-old biological son, Scout.

Around-the-clock construction has begun, starting with this morning's demolition and clearing of debris, and is slated to continue through Wednesday.

The "reveal" - where the family is shown their brand-new home for the first time - is slated for Thursday. The Oatmans left Friday for a cruise aboard a private yacht in the British Virgin Islands.

If there has been any problem with the television production or construction, it's been a pleasant one: There are too many volunteers. Far too many. As in by a factor of three.

"I gotta tell you, this Capital Region is such a generous community," George Amedore Jr. said.

He said 3,000 to 5,000 people applied to be volunteers, but only 1,200 are needed.

"If everybody hangs tight and has some patience, we will get to as many people as possible," he said.
People are still welcome to come as spectators, or donate to the cause through the Web site - but do not report as a volunteer unless you are called. "We don't want to ignore you," George Amedore Sr. said.

"We've been inundated," George Amedore Sr. said. "It's just mind boggling for us. It's very moving."

Even those associated with the show have been taken back by the support this effort has received.

"This builder has more support than any builder I've worked with," assistant location manager Steve Croley said.

For neighbors, there's certainly an inconvenience, but also the spectacle. Neighbor Mike Tomik watched the action from a second-floor window across the street with his girlfriend, Lauren Schultz. Tonight, Tomik will be put up by the show at a nearby hotel, away from the lights that will illuminate construction over the next five days.

"I get my own suite," he said. Room service? "I hope so."

Next door to the Oatmans lives Veronica Bowman, whose backyard has been turned into a VIP and media area. "It's pretty exciting to see it all happening." she said. The downside: She is not getting a lot of sleep, and this is her busy season at work.

She's a tax preparer.

"I'm going to a hotel tonight," she said.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=574970&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/24/2007

[sws4420]

Holy balls.

[MedicCook]

dej51ivCFvU

[sws4420]

I have no idea where that road even is.

[MedicCook]

That video is pretty cool.

[trojanmiro]

i noticed an amedore homes flag in the beginning. ive built houses for them before.

[sws4420]

Amy knows this family. Apparently the story is being a bit oversensationalized for tv.

[MedicCook]

Update


Home makeover is a gift given by hundreds
Volunteers across the region vied for chance to contribute to project

COLONIE -- Jill Bonesteel checked her e-mail every hour for a message saying she had been selected as an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" volunteer. The Web site where she signed up told her it would work that way.

Instead, her family was having a late dinner on Friday when one of her daughters handed her the phone. Could she report to the work site at 10 a.m. Saturday?

Bonesteel watches the show every Sunday night with her daughters, a box of tissues always in arm's reach, and she's always the first to cry. Her favorite episode -- she's easily watched it twice -- was when the crew built a house for a tornado victim who'd shielded her two young boys with her own body during the storm.

So on Saturday, she wore her electric-blue "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" T-shirt and paced the perimeter of the spectator area with a trash bag, gathering up wrappers and cans during her six-hour shift.

Maybe something stitched into our humanity compels us to reach out. Maybe we're taken in by the magic of a television show that can build an exquisite home and a new life for a family in just days. Maybe we just want to be a part of something big, something special, an event that can turn a town upside-down and then neatly disappear, barely leaving backhoe tracks in its wake but perhaps changing a community's spirit forever.

Whatever it is, volunteers came in overwhelming numbers. As many as 5,000 signed up to work on Debbie Oatman's Colonie home when only 1,200 were needed. The earliest volunteers, those recruited by local chambers of commerce, knew they were signing up to help with an event. Only later did they know it was for a television show.

The Oatmans, and their home at 23 Fairway Lane, will be featured in a special two-hour season finale (7 p.m., May 20, WTEN Ch. 10).

On the show, a family considered deserving is given a dream home. Oatman, 49, is a single parent and early childhood education student at The College of Saint Rose. She has three adopted sons with multiple disabilities, two of whom are HIV-positive, and a biological son without special needs.

Bonesteel, who stood holding a trash bag Saturday, is a parent volunteer at Green Meadow Elementary School in the East Greenbush Central School District, where Oatman was paired with a third-grade teacher as part of her student-teaching requirements.

"I just think it's amazing. What's amazing for me is they're building these houses for people who need them, but it's (also) the homebuilders, who are giving 120 percent, and all the volunteers who help out. ... There's a lot of good people out there, all the way around," Bonesteel said. "Hopefully, when I get home they'll call again so I can do it again tomorrow."

Joanne Wheaton, a volunteer for Amedore Homes, the Albany-based builder leading the construction, was working until midnight Friday, making sure the 40 volunteers needed to cover each six-hour shift were in place for the first couple pf days. It's a 24-hour operation, and she thought the overnight shift -- 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. -- would be difficult to fill.

It was not. People quickly shucked weekend plans to help.

A retired cab driver volunteered to drive a shuttle bus on the graveyard shift every night. A CEO was willing to serve as a gopher. People were eager to do whatever was needed -- picking up garbage, as Bonesteel did, staffing sign-in tables or making sure refreshment areas were stocked.
Lori Fealey stood in the cul-de-sac Saturday wearing a pink hard hat and waiting to meet with the rest of her crew. Her husband works for General Electric and received a notice saying the project was looking for skilled workers.

Fealey owns L. Fealey Construction in Sloansville, Schoharie County, and is also a fan of the show.

"It's right up my alley. First of all, it is the greatest thing anybody could do for a family. It's indescribable, actually," she said.

She was scheduled to work until 5 p.m. that day.

"I'm going to see if I can pull some doubles. I don't know if they're going to let me. I'm going to do whatever I can because that's why I'm here."

Mark Campito, the chief executive of Marktech Optoelectronics in Latham, signed up to volunteer through the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce's leadership group. At the time, he didn't know it was for the popular television show. But that didn't much matter.

He's never watched the show. Someone had to explain what it was.

On Saturday, he served as a gopher. When he arrived at the volunteer check-in at 5 a.m., he figured he'd be one of the few. Instead, Chipshots, the restaurant and sports bar at the Town of Colonie Golf Course that had become a staging area for refreshments and a volunteer sign-in area, was packed.

People stood elbow-to-elbow in the building, where the smell of fresh coffee wasn't the only thing adding energy to the surroundings.

"I'm kind of groggy, and I'm looking around, and the enthusiasm -- they were handing out T-shirts and helmets -- everybody was waiting to see how they were going to participate in this," he said. "You could just feel it. It was just in the air, the excitement."

Later that day, behind the counter at Chipshots, Barbara Deso and her husband, Ralph Deso, the business's co-owners, were losing track of time. They'd been frantically calling restaurants looking for food donations to keep the volunteers and crew members fed, and watching as group after group of spectators and volunteers were shuttled in by bus.

They'd had to reschedule a party to open the restaurant to the staff and volunteers, but they were eager to do what they could, as the show is Barbara Deso's "weekly cry." Sponsor sheets for a "Bowl to the Extreme" event at Redwood Lanes in Colonie were on the counter, a fundraiser they pulled together on the fly to raise money for Oatman and her sons.

"When is there a chance of something of this magnitude coming to the area and giving us a chance to participate?" Barbara Deso asked.

And maybe that's why so many answered the call.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=575243&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/26/2007

[MedicCook]

Update



Construction continues through the downpour

http://www.timesunion.com/center/graphics/front0326makeover1.jpg

When you're building a house in a week, there is no time to pause for the elements.

Fifty extra volunteers were on hand overnight to hold a tarp over a newly poured foundation slab for Debbie Oatman's Extreme Makeover home. The quick-dry concrete takes three hours to dry but it won't set in the rain. The volunteers arrived around 11 p.m. Saturday and held the tarp through the wee hours of Sunday morning until it was solid.

Those who arrived at the site early Sunday morning found something new: a pool. Overnight, volunteers installed the shell of the curvy basin.

By 11 a.m. on Sunday, volunteers had framed the first floor of the house and dozens were working on the second. They expected to finish framing by sunset and then complete the interior plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems.

-- Cathleen F. Crowley

Bowlathon raises funds for makeover beneficiary

Redwood Lanes, at 1541 Central Ave. in Colonie, is hosting a bowlathon to raise money for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" recipient Debbie Oatman and her sons.

To participate, pick up a sponsor sheet at the bowling alley and collect donations based on a flat rate or per pin knocked down. Take the sheet and donations to Redwood Lanes and bowl between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. today through Wednesday. For more information, call 869-3581.

[sws4420]

A lot of these families get a shitload of money at the end of the show anyway. Seems a little drawn out to me.

[MedicCook]

http://www.timesunion.com/center/graphics/front0326makeover2.jpg

[Donna]

I don't know how comfortable I'd be living in a house that was built in a week in bad weather..........

[sws4420]

I've worked with a lot of the contractors that are volunteering. They're pretty good.

[MedicCook]

u95YIsthJ4k

[Cutesunshine]

http://www.amedorehomes.com/extreme/

There's a buttload of pics on this website. The volunteer application was posted on our work website for like 2-3 days before the announcement.

[trojanmiro]

i just dont get how this lady got this house for free. they tore down a 200 thousand dollar house to build this. i think they coulda found much needier people to do that for, say someone who didnt own a home at all.

[MedicCook]

i just dont get how this lady got this house for free. they tore down a 200 thousand dollar house to build this. i think they coulda found much needier people to do that for, say someone who didnt own a home at all.

She got it because she has adopted 3 or 4 black kids one of them who has HIV form one of the articles I saw.

[sws4420]

i just dont get how this lady got this house for free. they tore down a 200 thousand dollar house to build this. i think they coulda found much needier people to do that for, say someone who didnt own a home at all.They mentioned something about the roof having problems and the basement having problems, which were both causing mold. My question is this: didn't she have a home inspection done before she moved in? Roofs don't just sag. Mold doesn't just up and sprout overnight. From what I gather, she hasn't lived there all that long.

[Cutesunshine]

I honestly agree with you Mike. Mainly because I know the family and know them pretty well. Sad you havent heard from any of her family, right? Or her ex husband?
She adopted her oldest child, Dwayne, when she lived in Ravena, way back in the late 80's. This child was a demon. She claims to have been discriminated against because she adopted a child who had HIV. She was treated poorly because this child would bite other children on the playground. Back then, we didnt know a whole lot about HIV, and everyone felt unsafe around him.
She moved away to Florida when She met her husband. Lived there for several years. Had her own son, adopted a couple more. Moved up here when they split up, I believe anyway.
She recieves SSI for those children, and she had to pay to adopt them, so obviously she is financially secure enough to buy kids, so she's able to have her house repaired.
She's an absolute douchebag, and I would have liked to see anyone else in the area recieve such a gift than her. There are plenty of people out there who are needy and suffering.

[MedicCook]

I would be happy to have somewhere to store Melissa's car until we can get it back on the road.

[sws4420]

What's wrong with it?

[MedicCook]

All it needs is a battery and to have the tire replaced and to get a good detailing. The problem is that we don't have the money to get it registerd, inspected, and insured right now. It has to be out of the garage by the end of the month as per management. Everyone that said they could store it on their property has backed out.

[MedicCook]

Updated


Bounty for makeover homeowner grows

COLONIE - Now Debbie Oatman knows what it feels like to hit the lottery.

The luxurious 3,700-square-foot custom home built for her by local volunteers as part of ABC's season finale show of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was only the beginning.

The gifts continued to flow fast and furious Friday, with cash, goods and donated services climbing into the $1 million neighborhood of estimated value.

Capital Communication Federal Credit Union announced it has raised enough cash donations to pay off Oatman's mortgage. There will also be money left over to establish a trust fund for her four sons, three of whom are adopted, including two who are HIV-positive and have special needs. Her youngest is a biological son.

Hannaford Supermarkets kicked in a check for $6,000 to buy her family's groceries for the rest of the year.

Siena College dropped off four four-year scholarships for her sons. The College of Saint Rose brought a check to cover Oatman's graduate school tuition.

One after another the gifts were presented, an embarrassment of riches that had Oatman wiping away tears and hugging benefactors.

Not a bad way to cushion the blow of turning 49 years old, which she did Thursday night by celebrating at Jillian's with classmates from Saint Rose, where she is a senior on the dean's list majoring in childhood education.

"It's incredible. I'm so grateful," Oatman said. "It felt like I was on the outside looking in. It's like we haven't woke up yet. This is not normal. We need time to de-escalate and get back to being a normal family."

Surrounded by such extensive and lavish donations, Oatman paused to consider a tin can covered in construction paper and hearts drawn by a young boy named Ryan. The can rattled with coins, Ryan's donation to Oatman and her sons from his allowance.

"I feel we're truly blessed," Oatman said, before walking into her new home for good.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=576648&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/30/2007