Sunday not a day of rest for 'Extreme Makeover' crews

By Andrew Pridgen

Appeal Staff Writer

... And the walls came tumbling down.

Shortly before noon Sunday, demolition crews were in place to take down the erstwhile structures belonging to Stagecoach's Boettcher family.

The crews, including biker buddies of Steve Boettcher, worked with haste from the inside out; and with much fanfare of volunteers and onlookers by the hundreds - the family's home came crashing down.

A pair of 700-foot structures, one a 1972 single-wide mobile home and the other a small garage that served as the rec center for the family's middle and high school youth group meetings of Soul'd Out Ministries, gave way to what in five days time will purportedly become the family's dream compound.

"We're going full-steam," said West Haven Development Group volunteer coordinator Cynthia Osborn.

With the old home resting in a pile of dust and debris soon to be swept away from the family's acre lot on Stagecoach's Apache Drive Sunday afternoon, the Boettchers, Steve and Marry, 20-year-old daughter, Stephanie, and her 18-month-old son, Joshua - who was born with respiratory problems and requires a tracheotomy tube and oxygen - were somewhere on a Kona beach, sipping tropical drinks and thinking of what may be upon their return.

The family was rousted from their slumber Friday to the voice of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host Ty Pennington shouting for them leave on his bullhorn.

The Boettchers were all-too-glad to oblige and soon boarded a plane to paradise.

During the following 48 hours, crews from Reno-based West Haven worked with the show's own builders to finalize the most effective way of tearing down two aging structures and building a dream in their place.

"We have a short amount of time as anyone who's familiar with the show knows," said Lou Borrego, CEO of West Haven on the eve of the home's demolition and subsequent rebuilding. "We handle residential, commercial and custom-home projects - so, in a sense, we're going to be combining all of those (skills) in the re-construction of a home and a rec center."

Production assistants on the "set" of the Boettcher home were mum Sunday over what may sprout over the next five days - but hinted it will be a landmark for the successful series, now in its fifth season.

As soon as the dust settled from the demolition, shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, building crews went to work.

Though the show is edited into segments featuring host Pennington and his celebrity crew of builders and designers, the behind-the-scenes work of construction workers and volunteers will involve more than 300, one production assistant said.

"We're excited to get into the thick of things here," builder Borrego said. "What I know about the family is they help youth stay off drugs and alcohol. I know their grandson has a medical condition.

"What we're here to do - and when I say 'we', I mean the entire community - is to give them the home they deserve."

West Haven has only 15 employees, but production assistants said volunteers have been signing up online and via telephone at a steady clip through the weekend.

Those who want to help raise the walls of the Boettchers' new home still can volunteer as crews will continue to work around-the-clock through Friday morning.

"People can go online and absolutely, they can show up," said volunteer coordinator Osborn. "We need people with a wide-array of skills."

Borrego said he hoped to see thousands at 2 p.m. Friday, when the family returns to Nevada from a week's vacation in Hawaii for the big "reveal."

"A small town in Wisconsin of 60 got, what? 17,000 people," he said. "We can get 20,000-plus here in Stagecoach. I know we can.

"This will be a celebration for all of Northern Nevada to share. We want to show the nation what we're about here."

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature host Pennington and designers Rib Hills, Tanya McQueen, Eduardo Xol and John Littlefield.

• Contract reporter Andrew Pridgen at apridgen@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.

TO HELP OUT

• To contribute to the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" benefiting the Boettcher family, go to any Northern Nevada Wells Fargo and ask to donate to the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" account No. 3393936103. Checks should be made payable to West Haven Development Group and all funds go directly toward the Boettcher home project. Any remaining funds will be used for the Boettcher family benefit after construction is complete.

• For information on volunteering during the "Extreme Build," now through Friday, contact Cynthia Osborn, West Haven Development, at 850-7999.

• For information on the "Extreme Build," log on to www.NevadaExtremeHome.com or call 850-7999. For details on West Haven Development Group, visit www.WestHavenDG.com.