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A house for Paul
October 21, 2001 - Sarasota
Herald-Tribune - Dorothy Stockbridge-Pratt
Paul Salter is excited about the house he has been watching
going up for almost a year.
Contractor John King and dozens of members of the building trades have
built the house to meet the needs of Salter, the 15-year-old
Riverview High 10th-grader who was paralyzed from the neck down during a
youth baseball practice in 1999. The 2,200-square-foot home at 4920
Camphor Ave. has a large open kitchen, an uncluttered great room, a 5- by
8-foot roll-in shower and a generator to run his ventilator in the event
of a power failure. Paul will be able to wheel around outside on
concrete paths, and even go swimming in a pool, complete with wheelchair
ramp, donated by Lee Wetherington's swimming pool company, Lee Sure Pools.
"We'll turn it over to the Salters with no debt. Every single
thing has been donated, supplied or paid for by donations," said
King, president of Rampart Homes and a former president of Home Builders
Association of Sarasota County. The home is a project of the HBA and
Rampart Homes. King says he built the house because "it was the right
thing to do."
"It's fantastic, and so is John to step forward like this," Paul
said, "I've met some of the volunteers, and everybody deserves a lot
of credit." King says Paul's attitude "is super.
His spirit is up, and that is what energized and motivated me." King
believes the house gives his whole family a feeling of hope.
For King, it was a year of work beyond his own busy construction business.
He donated his profit, overhead and time, and nothing was simple.
"On a normal job, I'd call someone, get a proposal and they'd come.
Here, two people would agree to donate sod. I'd find another to haul it
and someone else to lay it," King said. "People would have good
intentions, but then they couldn't get there and we'd have to
reschedule."
Despite the delays, the Salters are thrilled with the house.
"It's beautiful. Everyone has done such a wonderful job," said Paul's
mother, Gail Salter. His father, Glenn, likes the kitchen best
because it's big enough for the whole family to gather around. Their
daughter Dixie, 21 and Jason, 18, also will live there and help care for Paul.
"We always hang out in the kitchen. I'm glad it's big," added Paul,
who also is excited about the pool. His bedroom has French doors to the
pool and lots of room for his puff- and voice-activated computer. He'll
test a special control for a television that will hang in the bedroom
corner. All the home's doors are extra wide for his electric wheelchair.
The family lived on the same site in a frame house that Glenn's
grandfather built in the 1940s out of materials recycled from World War II
barracks. King was approached by his neighbor, whose son also played
football in Paul's league, about remodeling the Salters'
home to meet Paul's needs, but the old house was unsuitable. It
also was subject to flooding.
So after King and the HBA adopted the new home project and began
soliciting labor and materials, the old house was demolished and hauled
away. The Salters moved to a small rental house nearby last
October. Then 1,600 yards of fill were brought in to build up the site.
When the time came to install the trusses, power lines and trees blocked
access from Camphor Avenue. So a neighbor allowed the crane to enter from
the back - and Paul was there all of that chilly January day. He
has been on site almost daily since the driveway was completed.
As more people got on board the project, the house acquired an impressive
list of features and upgrades. "It started as a basic house and
turned out high-end," said Ron Gill, president of Paragon Electric.
Gill donated his labor and the copper wire and asked his suppliers for
other materials. There's even a separate air-conditioner that will run on
the generator in Paul's room.
For energy efficiency, the roof has a radiant barrier, and there's a solar
water heater. The house has a monitored security system, an intercom,
central vacuum, in-wall pest control, storm shutters, closet systems,
Corian counters with a rolling island and custom cabinets from Cooks'
Design Studio/Custom Cabinetry. Outside, a new well and irrigation system
will keep the lawn and landscaping healthy. Garage doors are extra high to
accommodate Paul's transport van. Extra laundry facilities are in
the caretaker bath adjoining Paul's room.
Since a nursing-care benefit ran out Sept. 6, his family has been handling
all his care except for a therapist who comes by before school. Paul
rides a bus to Riverview High School, where a school aide helps him
throughout the day.
His favorite subject is history, and he's working to improve his computer
skills.
"He does good in school. He's a remarkable little guy," said his
mother, who works at LE Communications Aviation Recorders. "We have
good neighbors, and Paul still has friends who pop in." His
father, a plumber, was given time by his employer to work on the home.
King calls Paul "a very courageous young man."
"We tried to do something that will make Paul's life easier
and help his family," King said. "My wife, Didi, played a major
part handling all the phone calls and rescheduling. It was hard for our
volunteers to find the time because we've all been so busy trying to keep
up with our own work."
It was a labor of love, said King, who is now trying to get new
furnishings. Checks are still needed, payable to Sarasota Bank, Paul
Salter Construction Escrow Account, 2 N. Tamiami Trail, Suite 100,
Sarasota FL 34236.
Salter House contributors
The following firms and individuals donated materials, labor or money to
the effort to build a house for the Salter family.
Abbotts' Back-Hoe Service; Access of Sarasota; Action Signs; Alfa Tile; Al
Harris Pest Control; All American Signs & Graphics; Alvin Sommers
Masonry; Anchor Builders of Southwest Florida; Architectural Marble;
Ardaman & Associates; Armstrong Auto Sales; Arne Carlson Insurance
Agency; Atlas Insurance Agency; At Your Service Cleaning Group; Avalon
Flooring; Bayside Sod; B.B.C. Painting; BFM Home Designers & Builders;
Bishop's Aluminum Service; B.O.S.S. Portable Toilets; Bradco Supply
Corporation; Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems; C&B Cabinets;
C&M Road Builders; Carefree Design Center; Casey King; CED/Raybro
Electrical Supplies; Centex Hometeam Pest Control; CES/Rexell Electric ;
Charles A. Roy Roofing; Chaze Wustin; Chris & Sandy Albright; Church
of the Palms; Commercial Surroundings; Construction Wholesale; Cook's
Design Studio; Cox Lumber Company; Custom Air Heating & Air
Conditioning; D.A. Milford Enterprises (pool tile); D&D Air
Conditioning; Daniel King Electric Service; Daniel Muffley Construction;
Daniel King; Danny Baker Trucking; Danny Hull; Darrell E. Gerken, PSM;
DeHart Alarm Systems; Derek Stottlemeyer; Diane's Tractor & Loading;
Distinctive Surfaces; Don Vos Sprinkler Co.; Dream Home Designs; Dunlap
& Moran, PA; Ed Mockaitis; Ed's Reliable Lawn Service; Elite Weiler
Pools; Environmental Designs Unlimited; Ervin Miller Construction;
Eslinger Homes; FPL; Fackler Painting; Fastening Systems; Flex Bon Paint;
Floors by Design; Florida Blueprint of Sarasota; Florida Fence; Florida
Rock Concrete; Forest Products; Franklin Lighting; Gingerbread Trim Co.;
Golfcoast Masonry; Gorman Company; Graybar Electric; Green Acres Sod;
Greenlaw Solar Group; Grego Demolitions; Greg Whittier Trucking & Sod;
Gulfcoast Drywall; Gulfside Supply ; Gulf to Bay Plumbing; Hayward Pool
Products; Holmes Brothers (Cement Drive & Walkway); Home Improvement
& Masonry; Home Town Tree Service; Hughes Supply; J. Elliott
Enterprises; JJ Crane Service; JL Concrete Design; James R. O'Gorman,
Creative Surroundings; Jansen Gale Industries; Jay DeFeo; Johnsons
Electric; Jim Hess; Kevin Briggs Painting; Kimal Lumber Co.; Kimley-Horn
& Associates; Kurt Locke's Pool Prepping; LH Custom Homes; L.P.
Carpentry; Lakehill Supply; Lawrence Cabinets; Leads Lumber; Lee Sure
Water Pools; Lee Wetherington Homes; Lemon Bay Builders ; Leo Swinson;
Lighting Galleries of Sarasota; LoLo's Blind Factory; LUV Tile
Enterprises; M&T Loading & Hauling; Maranatha Builders ; Marble
Specialists; Mark Caputo, Custom Carpentry; McCoy Services; Mermaid
Water; Michael Saunders & Company; Mike Sileo; Millstone Form &
Pour; Miradeck; Mullet's Aluminum Products; Overhead Door Company of
Sarasota; PDF Roofing; PGT Industrices; PSI; Paragon Electric Service;
Peter Glunk Construction; Pool One Plastering Division; Prestige Gunite of
Port Charlotte; Ralph Plank Excavating; R and D Painting; Rampart Homes;
Randy's Phone Service; Ranger American of Florida; Raymond Building
Supply; Reed W. Mapes; Reflections Glass and Mirror; Residential
Construction Specialties; Richard Perry; Robin Johnson Plastering &
Stucco; Sampey & Burchett Surveyors; Sarasota Bank; Sarasota Home
Builders Association; Sarasota Pre-Cast Products; Sarasota Wholesale
Flooring; Scott Mynatt Tile; Scott Paint Company; Scott Westheimer;
Scotty's Lumber; Shaw Industries; Sherwin Williams Paint Co.; Shewski
Roofing; Singeltary Concrete Products; 60 Minute Photo Magic; Southdown
Concrete; Stark Truss; Stockyard Feed & Western Wear; Suncoast Roofing
of Bradenton; Syprett, Meshad, Resnick, Lieb, Dumbaugh, Jones & Krotec,
PA; Taylor Woodrow Communities; Terry Armentrout, CPA; The Baby Safe
Company; Thermal Conversion Technology; Tim Warren Tile; Tivoli Homes;
Todd Johnston Homes; Trent Culleny Landscape Contractor; Venice Area Board
of Realtors; Verizon Florida; WeatherTight Building Products; Wellness
Seminars; West Florida Distributors; Whetstone Homes; Whirlpool Corp.;
Winsome Painting; WSI Warning Systems; Yarnall
Warehouse (United Van Lines); Yvonne R. Yekaitis, L.A.; Yonker's Tractor
Service; Young's Sod; Younkman's Bamboo Gardens.
All
content © 2001 Herald-Tribune Corp. and may not be republished without
permission.
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