Sunday's work included installing lighting and pouring concrete.

Sunday's work included installing lighting and pouring concrete.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The head of the Western Reserve Film Commission says the economic boost that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" has brought to the community proves what he has been saying.
"A television crew brings about $80,000 per day into a community," said Richard Ouzounian. "A feature film crew spends $100,000 per day."
The crews eat at area restaurants, stay in hotels and buy supplies, bolstering the local economy, he said.
In August, the Mahoning County Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau gave the film commission $60,000 for the remainder of this year to try to bring filmmakers to Mahoning County.
The TV show in town also called the film commission, looking for people to work as production assistants during the filming, Ouzounian said.
"We got some local people jobs working on the crew," he said.
Getting to work
The popular ABC television show came to the Arlene Avenue home of Jeff Novak and his three young daughters Wednesday, sent the family on a vacation and started work to tear down their 76-year-old house and replace it with a larger one.
Novak's wife, Jackie, 28, died in May of a pulmonary embolism. Family members have said that the couple were big fans of the show and that watching it was the last thing they did together the night that Jackie died.
The old house, which had a leaky shower and a basement that backed up with sewage during heavy rain, was torn down Friday, and by Saturday morning, the frame of the new house stood in its place.
When the family returns Wednesday, all of the work will be done and the house will be ready, show representatives have said.
TC Quality Homes of Canfield is the lead builder for the project.
Chuck Rudge, a senior account executive with Prodigal Media of Poland, the company providing media relations during the show's Mahoning Valley visit, said work is progressing ahead of schedule.
The house was framed in 5 1/2 hours early Saturday. Much of the work Sunday was done on the interior of the structure.
Chris Abraham, who co-owns the construction company with his brother-in-law, Tony Esposito, said the kitchen cabinets, which were provided by KraftMaid Cabinetry of Middlefield, had been installed and crews were working to put ceramic fixtures into the bathrooms.
Workers also poured concrete for the driveway, installed lighting fixtures and did preparation work for the landscaping.
"There's a tremendous amount of cooperation going on in there," Abraham said.
Pitching in
About 30 firefighters from Boardman, Warren and Youngstown showed up Sunday to pitch in with the work.
Cooler weather and occasional light rain didn't deter spectators, who came out by the hundreds to watch the progress Sunday.
Township police have said that the spectator area is open only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day of production. Parking is available at Southern Park Mall, and shuttles will transport people to the site.
Today's schedule calls for drywall installation, painting and other work.