The Press and Tower

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Clara Ward gets her dream house today.

The story of a woman who has invested her time, talent, energy, and love to children in her neighborhood began on the rough east Erie streets but turns the page today with a chapter written in Hollywood. The big reveal, the “Move that bus!” moment comes for Clara Ward, the wheelchair-bound mom who makes sure that the kids around her have an opportunity to use their intelligence and creativity and advance their lives.

The new 3,700 square foot home will have plenty of room for Clara’s kids and a beautiful retreat for herself, with a design that reflects what homes in the area would have looked like when new, complete with covered porches on two stories.

If you want to go to the reveal here are the details from the latest release by the builder Maleno Development:

Reveal Should Take Place Between 1 and 2 p.m. Thursday

Spectators wanting to take part in the “Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition’s” “Move that Bus!” event should arrive at the site between 9 and 10 a.m. Thursday.

Builder John Maleno and his family will be on hand to see the reaction of Clara Ward and her family when they first see their new home.

The ABC crew will be filming crowd, bus and limousine shots for the television show beginning at 10 a.m. Spectators are encouraged to bring with them positive signs and their own water and snacks. They are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes since there will be long periods of waiting. And should there be rain in the forecast, they should bring with them raincoats and umbrellas.

Free spectator parking is available at Bayfront and State streets near the Erie Maritime Museum. A shuttle will run to and from the site beginning at 8 a.m. Spectators may take canned goods, children’s books and gently used toys with them on the shuttle as part of a suggested “Read & Feed Admission” to the event. The blood drive will continue Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon for spectators, vendors and volunteers to donate blood. The Community Blood Bank will have its mobile unit stationed at the volunteer check-in area, located at East 21st and Wallace streets.

During Thursday’s festivities, a raffle will take place naming four lucky winners who will receive a private tour of Clara’s home with builder John Maleno and production coordinator Rachel Kielborn. Since the extreme build began, volunteers have been selling $10 raffle tickets for the exclusive tour that will take place Friday, July 3. All proceeds will go to the Maleno Family-to-Family Fund established by the Maleno family to fund future building and renovation projects in Erie.

The handing over the keys to Clara is not the end of the story, however. As we enter a new chapter for her ministry to abused and neglected children, it is important that the community continue to support and resource her. It will be our responsibility to turn a one-week feel-good project into a catylist for real change in the heart of Erie.

WJET-TV’s Mike Gallagher has nearly “moved in” to Clara Ward’s new home at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build here in Erie. He’s getting major access to what is essentially a “closed set” because he is producing a behind-the-scenes documentary for both JET-TV and the builder on the job, Maleno Development.

During our live blog from the build Monday morning, I sat down with Mike to talk about the stories he is discovering from this project in Erie’s inner-city.

Julius Genachowski, FCC Chair

YourErie.com and WSEE’s Jacqueline Policastro are reporting that the new FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, will join Vice President Joe Biden in Erie on Wednesday.

Biden, Genachowski, along with Cabinet members Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will reportedly appear at Seneca High School at 12 noon Wednesday, discussing a national rural broadband initiative that is part of the economic stimulus package.

Tickets to attend the event at Seneca will be available at the Seneca High School library beginning at 4 PM Tuesday on a first-come, first-serve basis.

On Saturday morning, June 27th, P&T was able to witness the Braveheart Rush leading up to the demolition of Clara Ward’s old home on Erie’s east side. This podcast lets you hear from some of the volunteers, the Erie media covering the event, and actual audio instructions given to the children and talent involved in Saturday morning’s shooting of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build in Erie.

Download The Press and Tower Podcast for June 28, 2009 or listen below.

Like the newspaper headline screamed, “Erie’s going to Extremes!” The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build of Clara Ward’s new home on East 21st Street has every old and new media outlet buzzing. We will be posting every day this week through the reveal, giving you behind the scenes glances on what it takes to pull off an hour-long TV show, build a 2-3,000 square foot house, and change the course of a family’s and neighborhood’s reality.

If you have a comment to share, but it’s not appropriate to just “blurt out” e-mail me at joel@nataliemedia.com or tweet @pressandtower.

Embrace the Extreme Chaos!

UPDATE: Spectators can now park at Bayfront and State Streets by the Erie Maritime Museum. An EMTA shuttle will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to take spectators to the site to watch the build. Spectators may take canned goods and books for the “Reed and Feed” drive on the shuttle and drop them off at the site.

Demolition of Clara Ward’s east Erie home by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was slated for midday on Saturday. In preparation is what’s called the Braveheart Rush, and for the first time, the rush was led by dozens of children, many of whom have benefited from Clara’s ministry to the neighborhood kids.

Here’s some quick pictures behind the scenes from this morning, along with a YouTube video of Steadicam Operator Bob Berg, who excelled in his craft in the middle of an onslaught of excited children led by Ty Pennington.

[View with PicLens]

A podcast of interviews with volunteers and Erie media will be coming tomorrow. Spectators are welcome at the site after the demolition is completed this afternoon until 8 PM, then 8 to 8 daily.