Visitor schedule
All visitors must take a scheduled transportation bus from Lincoln Mall in Freeport, 1265 W. Galena Ave.
The bus to the site will run continuously as there are no scheduled departure times.
Spectator hours:
• 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 10 to 15
• 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 16, when the home will be revealed. No visitors will be allowed Sept. 17.
For more information www.haskenconstruction.com.
LENA, Ill. - "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and its throngs of volunteers, fans, contractors and filming crews descended on rural Lena Wednesday to give the Stott family a new home.
Representatives of the show gave the family a "door knock" Wednesday morning to let them know they would be featured.
Local contractors, volunteers and crew members from the ABC television show will spend 106 hours, which began Wednesday, to build the home for the family.
The Stott family, Joey, Phillip and their three children Kaila, 18, Jonathon, 16, and Michael, 15, live on U.S. 20 between Freeport and Stockton west of Lena. The section of U.S. 20 near the site will be closed for duration of the build.
In the spring, the family's home on a small farm called Spring View Acres, was destroyed in a fire while Phillip was working a night shift. The floor in the 100-year-old farm house started to shake, according to a statement provided by the show.
Joey saw electrical outlets sparking and exploding. She quickly got the children and ran to the barn where the family was able to look back to see explosions inside the house. They called the local fire department, but they did not arrive before irreparable damage had been done to the house. Walls were knocked down in fighting the fire, leaving holes. Much of the furniture was destroyed. The insurance company would not cover the damage or replacement of the wiring.
Since the fire, the Stotts have lived in Joey's father's 28-foot, one-bedroom trailer, which is parked behind the barn.
The farm also includes a chicken coop, pig-pen, other out-buildings, 30 Shetland sheep, three dogs rescued from abusive owners, and the fire-damaged farmhouse.
The fire wasn't the first hardship to strike the family, the statement said.
Only three months after purchasing the farm and less than a year after Joey and Phillip married, Joey got what the family thought was the flu, but her condition continued to worsen. Eventually, the Stott family learned she had myeloid leukemia. The only cure was a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor. The chances of finding a match were slim, but an anonymous donor was found in October 2004. Joey spent most of the next two years in the hospital, missing the first two spring seasons on the farm. Medical costs drained all of the family money meant for fixing the farmhouse, improving the land, and setting up college funds for the kids.
Following her recovery, Joey went back to school at Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill. At her graduation this May, she was awarded the Citizenship Award, a award given to only one student each year to honor their service to the college and his or her community. Joey has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville this fall, where she will finish her education by studying for her bachelor's degree.
The Stotts were selected for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" following nomination for the program by area family friends. Hasken Construction, an Illinois-based building firm and a team of volunteers were asked to help the Stott family.
Representatives of the show gave the family a "door knock" Wednesday morning to let them know they would be featured.
Local contractors, volunteers and crew members from the ABC television show will spend 106 hours, which began Wednesday, to build the home for the family.
The Stott family, Joey, Phillip and their three children Kaila, 18, Jonathon, 16, and Michael, 15, live on U.S. 20 between Freeport and Stockton west of Lena. The section of U.S. 20 near the site will be closed for duration of the build.
In the spring, the family's home on a small farm called Spring View Acres, was destroyed in a fire while Phillip was working a night shift. The floor in the 100-year-old farm house started to shake, according to a statement provided by the show.
Joey saw electrical outlets sparking and exploding. She quickly got the children and ran to the barn where the family was able to look back to see explosions inside the house. They called the local fire department, but they did not arrive before irreparable damage had been done to the house. Walls were knocked down in fighting the fire, leaving holes. Much of the furniture was destroyed. The insurance company would not cover the damage or replacement of the wiring.
Since the fire, the Stotts have lived in Joey's father's 28-foot, one-bedroom trailer, which is parked behind the barn.
The farm also includes a chicken coop, pig-pen, other out-buildings, 30 Shetland sheep, three dogs rescued from abusive owners, and the fire-damaged farmhouse.
The fire wasn't the first hardship to strike the family, the statement said.
Only three months after purchasing the farm and less than a year after Joey and Phillip married, Joey got what the family thought was the flu, but her condition continued to worsen. Eventually, the Stott family learned she had myeloid leukemia. The only cure was a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor. The chances of finding a match were slim, but an anonymous donor was found in October 2004. Joey spent most of the next two years in the hospital, missing the first two spring seasons on the farm. Medical costs drained all of the family money meant for fixing the farmhouse, improving the land, and setting up college funds for the kids.
Following her recovery, Joey went back to school at Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill. At her graduation this May, she was awarded the Citizenship Award, a award given to only one student each year to honor their service to the college and his or her community. Joey has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville this fall, where she will finish her education by studying for her bachelor's degree.
The Stotts were selected for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" following nomination for the program by area family friends. Hasken Construction, an Illinois-based building firm and a team of volunteers were asked to help the Stott family.