It takes a village to raise new roof

Many people have called about donating items and services, the builder said.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Chris Abraham's phone has been ringing almost nonstop since word spread of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," coming to town.
Everyone wants to pitch in, said the co-owner of TC Quality Homes of Canfield.
"That says a lot about our community," Abraham said.
The company, which Abraham co-owns with his brother-in-law, Tony Esposito, is working with the show to build a new home on Arlene Avenue for Jeff Novak and his three daughters, Zoey, 6; Harley, 2; and Presley, 6 months.
Jackie Novak, 28, Novak's wife and the girls' mother, died of a pulmonary embolism on Mother's Day.
Getting involved
"There are probably over 2,000 people involved with this," Abraham said. "We have volunteers, skilled trades, PR people, restaurant owners and bus drivers."
Other companies have been calling to donate items and services to the Novak family.
Some of the contributors and sponsors are KraftMaid Cabinetry of Middlefield, Sears, Ford, Owens Corning, Kohler-Weyerheauser, 84 Lumber, Lumber Liquidators and Nations Rent.
"There are lists of things to give to the family that will help this young father to raise his three children," Abraham said.
Demolition of the 76-year-old three-bedroom Dutch-style house which suffers from sewage back-up in the basement during heavy rain was expected to begin this morning.
Once that's done, building can begin. The house is to be ready for the family's return from a Florida vacation Wednesday.
"We've built a house in four months, but we've never done it in four days," Abraham said. "They tell us to think like every day is a minute and every hour is a week."
Details of the house design are being kept secret until the family returns.
"There's incredible symbolism that's associated with the design," Abraham hinted.
The show's producers initially contacted the Canfield company about four weeks ago, asking for participation.
Abraham said he and Esposito agreed because "Getting is good, but giving is better, and that's what we had the opportunity to do."
Spectators converge
Although action on the show was fairly muted Thursday morning, it didn't keep the spectators away.
Linda and Bob Yarian of New Waterford stopped to take in the lights and cameras in between errands and lunch.
"I like the show, but it makes me cry every time I watch it," Linda Yarian said.
She expects the episode being filmed will produce the same result.
"I can't imagine what the family is thinking," she said. "They're getting a whole new house."
Harriet Deeds of Sciota Avenue, a few streets over from Arlene, and her daughter-in-law, Theresa Thompson of Poland, watched show production for eight hours Wednesday and returned for more Thursday morning.
They even persuaded one of the show's designers, Paul DiMeo, to pose for a photograph and sign an autograph. Deeds was disappointed, though, when her camera battery died just as the show's star, Ty Pennington, made his first appearance.
Thompson's daughter, Kayla, 9, loves Pennington.
Deeds wanted to return Wednesday evening, but she couldn't persuade anyone to make the walk with her.
"I'm going to come every day," Deeds said, adding that she's going to create a scrapbook of articles and pictures about the show.
Thompson said Kayla called her mother's cell phone every couple of minutes for updates on the show and Ty sightings.
"She was telling all of her friends, 'My mom got her picture taken with Paul, and she got his autograph,'" Thompson said.
Sunday is the only night Thompson allows her children to stay up until 9 p.m. because they enjoy "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
"I think it's so exciting that something like this in our community is happening," Deeds said.