Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Special Edition - EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION - AFTER THE STORM, TEXAS - Helps Rebuild A Town

Season Finale EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION Rebuilds Beloved Community Touchstones In Hurricane-Ravaged Sabine Pass, Texas, Including The Town's Only Firehouse And Its Theatre

Rock Group the Goo Goo Dolls Throw a Surprise Concert for the Town

Sabine Pass, Texas, a small oil town of just 600 people, hammered by Hurricane Rita, is the focus of the fourth one-hour special, EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION -- AFTER THE STORM, airing Thursday, April 13 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The team helps restore the town´s sole firehouse and local theatre in an attempt to bring back life and hope to this extraordinary town. In addition, team captain Ty Pennington takes local families on a shopping spree at a nearby Sears for much-needed necessities, culminating in a surprise free concert for the town given by the Goo Goo Dolls.

Firehouse No. 4 was the town´s only engine serving its population of 600 in emergencies. During the storm, the heroic firefighters worked a grueling 36-hour shift to save many lives before returning to their ravaged firehouse, only to find that this home away from home had been completely destroyed. Design team members Paul DiMeo and Michael Moloney, along with local builder Trevino Group and scores of volunteers, rebuild the community´s firehouse and present the town with a surprise gift -- a brand new, state-of-the-art fire truck worth $300,000.

Though Texas may be football country, Sabine Pass is theatre country. The theatre is a town focal point and headquarters to the school's drama club, where students compete in statewide competitions. Now designers Preston Sharp and fellow Texan Tanya McQueen, along with local construction workers and scores of volunteers, rehab the theatre while the kids are sent on an once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City with Daniel Kucan to learn about the acting business and see the lights on Broadway. When the children return, they perform the new theatre´s first production - in their own words - about their experiences during the hurricane, when almost every one of them lost a family home.

Since the hurricane, 95% of the population of Sabine Pass, Texas live in FEMA trailers, most without many basic daily necessities. With the help from Sears American Dream, Ty will help local families by taking them on a shopping spree to the local Sears so they can purchase basic necessities such as clothes, space heaters, blankets, etc. Then Ty gathers the entire town together for a free concert by surprise musical guests the Goo Goo Dolls, as they sing their hit song "Better Days."

The design team for EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION -- AFTER THE STORM, TEXAS will feature team leader Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo, Michael Moloney, Preston Sharp, Tanya McQueen and Daniel Kucan.