Central Valley Habitat For Humanity Home

Habitat House Update Volunteers gut South Street house and start over.  Written by Aaron Rognstad    Tracy Press

Mike Murray puts in new wood for the windows as crews work on the next Habitat for Humanity house on South Street Saturday morning. When all else fails, start over. Habitat for Humanity volunteers are doing just that to a 107-year-old South Street house. Instead of tearing down the entire structure to the foundation, a diligent group of citizens has gutted the house to rebuild everything but the frame. After finding toxic mold in the house in late June, the volunteers had a month-long delay before city planners determined to gut everything but the frame and start over. Since late last year, Habitat for Humanity has worked to get a home for a Tracy family of five who are living in a rat- and cockroach-infested home, complete with no air conditioning or heat and a septic tank that overflows. Pablo Juarez gets some help from Alex Olson as they work on plates for the foundation on the new garage and back room for the new Habitat for Humanity house.   Volunteers now hope to have the house on South Street ready for the Avalos family by the first of December. Volunteer Betsy Hite said she’s going to volunteer as much as possible on the weekends to see the project through.   “We’ve been at this for over a year,” she said. “If we just had a little more manpower, we’d get a bit more accomplished.” Betsy stressed the need for volunteers skilled in the construction trades to help. Crews removed the wood interior and siding, which had mold, on the next Habitat for Humanity home.   Covered in dirt and sweat, her husband, Larry Hite, said he felt confident the group could have the house done by the Dec. 1 deadline, with the siding on the house up within the next month.  “I really enjoy giving back to the community, and I’ve always liked construction work,” Larry said. “Everybody comes out and has a good time and people get to learn stuff about construction, especially kids like Alex over there.” Twelve-year-old Alex Olsen, an eighth-grader at Williams Middle School, could’ve been playing baseball or video games like other middle-schoolers on the weekends, but instead he was helping out at a construction site Saturay. He said that as long as he keeps his grades up, he’ll keep helping.Crews work on finishing the next Habitat for Humanity home. “It’s really fun; I like helping other people,” he said smiling. “I’ve been in their (the Avalos’) situation.” Alex said he wants to make flyers and put them up at his school to try to recruit people to the construction site. Habitat for Humanity especially needs skilled electricians, plumbers, heating and air-conditioning technicians and painters. For information: 740-7211.

CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty

(209) 239-7979
wwwCentralValleyHomes.com