"Amazing - Unbelievable"

Weekend Warriors Raise House in Three Days for Field of Dreams Campaign

Hugh Hebert, a carpenter with the Canadian Salt Company, volunteered his time and shortly after 7:00 a.m. last Friday morning he was cutting pieces to fit the window and door frames of a stud wall.

Less than six hours after the first nail was driven, roof trusses were going up and bricklayers had a good start on their portion of the job. Inside, basement walls had been strapped, electrical wiring was being run and plumbing was being installed.

As promised, the house at 169 Fairview Avenue West was up for sale Monday morning with only a few finishing touches still to be done.

"Never have we seen anything like this." Those words are just a few used by an awe-struck Nancy Gibbons from the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre Foundation as an army of carpenters, construction workers and homebuilders poured onto a building lot at the corner of Hanlan Street and Fairview Avenue early Friday. The lot was vacant except for a pre-poured foundation and driveway and, at 7:00 a.m. sharp, the first sound of a hammer striking a nail signalled the start of a race - a race to build and finish a home in three days, running parallel to a race to wipe out cancer with early diagnosis and precise treatment.

As the sound of power saws and power nail guns joined the chorus of hammers, it was organized chaos as volunteers from companies that normally compete against each other worked in sweat-drenched T-shirts under the guidance of foremen in their distinctive lemon yellow shirts. But the chaos served its purpose as, exactly 41 minutes after they started, the front and side stud walls of the garage were up and being checked for plumb. Fifty minutes later, the back wall of the house, which was assembled on an adjoining lot, was lifted into place by a crane.

Looking on was a happy and satisfied Mike Dinchik, head of the Greater Windsor Homebuilders Association. Dinchik first led a delegation to Essex Town Council to explain the idea of building a house in three days with volunteer tradespeople and homebuilders using donated materials and equipment. The purpose was to sell the house and donate the money to the Field of Dreams campaign to get an MRI machine for the dedicated use of the Cancer Centre.

Dinchik explained the lot had been donated and they were asking the town to get on board by waiving development charges, building permit fees and sewer hook-up charges. At first, despite an overwhelming majority of council being in favour, they ran afoul of the town's newly adopted policy on providing grants and waiving fees. However, through a plan that asked councillors, town staff and anyone else who wanted to make a donation, the Homebuilders Association and the Cancer Centre got what they needed.

Breaking his enthusiasm for just a moment Monday morning, Dinchik took a shot at provincial governments past and present for failing to provide an MRI machine. "It's disappointing the government wasn't there as we pay our fair share of taxes. But there have not been too many people who have not been touched by cancer, so when we asked, the community came through," he said.

Windsor and Essex County is presently served by one MRI machine at Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital that is working at maximum capacity. When it's used for cancer patients, they have to be transferred from the Cancer Centre at Windsor Regional Metropolitan campus. This practice ties up ambulances and nurses who accompany the patients.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, is recognized as one the most advanced tools in existence for precise diagnostic and treatment purposes. The machine and the facility to house it will cost about $3.5 million. The provincial Health Ministry has said it would pay the $1 million annual operating costs, if Windsor and Essex County raised the money to buy the machine and a facility. From there the Field of Dreams Campaign was launched.

Sunday night workers were putting the finishing touches on the house and Monday, Remax Realty put its "For Sale" sign on the lawn. Dinchik says not only did Remax want the exclusive right to sell the house without taking a commission, it also made a substantial donation to the Field of Dreams Campaign to get it.

It is expected that the sale of the house will provide in excess of $200,000 for the Field of Dreams campaign. That will be added to the $3 million Gibbons says is in the bank right now bringing that MRI machine very close and letting Nancy Gibbons continue to say, "The people here are so great. They just keep giving and giving."

Article Link The Essex Free Press  -  Brian Penstone, July 27, 2005