Elkhart to have 1st Habitat home built

[March 11, 2010]  ELKHART -- Elkhart is almost as excited about the Habitat home build coming to their town as the family who will be the new homeowners. For example, the lot was donated to Habitat by Richard and Kathleen Kaesebier of Elkhart, and the Elkhart Christian Church plans to be very involved in the build.

The new home of Kurt and April Young and their children is Logan County's 14th Habitat home and will be constructed at 300 Stellar St. in Elkhart. Habitat welcomes the public to the official groundbreaking for the home at 3 p.m. on March 21. Tonita Reifsteck, president of Habitat for Humanity of Logan County, has said that "the groundbreaking will take place even if we have to use pickaxes to break the ground."

At the groundbreaking, two-by-fours will be sold for $5 each to help finance the house. Purchasers will be asked to sign their names on the two-by-fours, which will be used in the construction of the home. Each signed two-by-four will be a reminder of the community effort that has helped this family to have their own home.

Construction is scheduled to start the first of April, weather permitting.

Habitat builds homes by partnering with the recipient family and with the help of volunteers. The Young family will be working alongside all the volunteers who will lend their hands and talents in making this project a reality. Workdays will be on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Those who would like to furnish food for breaks and noon meals on workdays should contact the Elkhart Christian Church, which has selected a person to be in charge of scheduling the food for the workers. The church phone number is 217-947-2726. Habitat for Humanity, 217-732-6412, may also be contacted.

When construction begins, Habitat will post information on their Web site detailing the type of work to be done each day and a schedule for work crews who have signed up to help. Those who are not part of a work crew are welcome to just show up on a workday. Should construction have to be canceled on a scheduled day because of weather or some other cause, a notice will be posted on the Web site. This information is at www.hfhlogancounty.com under the "Build Schedule" tab. All volunteers are encouraged to check that site.

Lyle Fout, Harley Petri and Allen Shew are the coordinators of the Elkhart build.

[LDN]