Mar 13, 2005
Students At Home In Aiding TV Makeover Project
By ANGELA DELGADO
adelgado@tampatrib.com <
ST PETERSBURG - East Lake High School students made up some of the youngest volunteers in the ``Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' house project Saturday, as they worked on designing and building pieces for a child's room.
Roughly 24 students in the class were assigned 12-year- old Charlie Dolan's robotic- themed bedroom. They're constructing two desks made of material used to build robots, several small robots and a remote-controlled robotic arm that extends 6 to 8 feet.
Charlie is the son of James Dolan, 30, who was blinded in an apparently random shooting Nov. 18 at a St. Petersburg Radio Shack, where he was a manager. The ``Extreme Makeover'' show is building the Dolans a 4,487-square-foot, five- bedroom, three-bath house. The finished product, located on 99th Way North, will be revealed today to the family.
``To be able to give something back to someone less fortunate, this will be something these kids will remember for a lifetime,'' said Paul Wahnish, teacher and team leader for the Tarpon Springs high school's introduction to engineering design class.
Gov. Jeb Bush visited the Dolans' new home Saturday afternoon to thank the volunteers and TV show employees for their hard work. He spent about 20 minutes greeting workers and touring the home and then risked a spoiler.
Bush ``leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, `Mom, trust me, it's gorgeous,' '' said Cathey Dolan, James Dolan's mother. The family hasn't been allowed to see the inside.
East Lake's involvement with the ``Extreme Makeover'' project came after a friend mentioned Wahnish's class to the show's producers. The producers contacted Wahnish, asked him to help, and he and his design company AdvanTec immediately began designing ideas.
Saturday, the students labored on the projects under a tent. They had 16 to 18 hours to complete their theme.
``It's really awesome that we're getting to do all of this and help out,'' said team member Chris Martin, 14.
Wahnish said the class plans to watch the show at the family sports bar Varsity Club. The date hasn't been announced.
``We're gonna have a big party,'' he said.
Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (727) 451-2333.
This story can be found at: http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBLJ9JK86E.html
And as for Woodside, it would be wrong to Jeb to override Michael and invite himself in...probably against the law. Jeb is not a king.
But it would have been spectacular if he has visited the folks outside at the vigil (don't know the timeframe, here, or if it was even possible).