‘Extreme Makeover’ gives Marine, family home

[thedrifter]

‘Extreme Makeover’ gives Marine, family home

By Beth Zimmerman - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 10, 2007 7:05:23 EST

Former Sgt. Jason Thomas didn’t care what happened to the rest of his house. He just wanted a flagpole and an American flag. In November, Thomas got his flagpole — along with a brand-new home — courtesy of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. His co-workers at the Supreme Court of Ohio nominated him because they knew he lived in substandard housing.

The show gave Thomas — who helped rescue two Port Authority police officers from the World Trade Center rubble Sept. 11, 2001 — his wife and their five kids a new home in Columbus featured in two back-to-back episodes slated to air Sunday, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Thomas was out of the Corps when the terrorist attacks occurred. He threw on his cammies and sped to the World Trade Center, where he, along with former Staff Sgt. David Karnes, helped rescue two police officers from a deep pit. After two weeks of helping at Ground Zero, Thomas left without looking back. He finally re-emerged last August, when he realized he had been portrayed in the film “World Trade Center,” starring Nicolas Cage.

The family’s homecoming was “such a cold and dreary day,” said Paula Imboden, a Marine mother who joined more than 10,000 people, including members of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, to welcome them to their new home Nov. 19. The show’s producers sent the family on vacation while the crew frantically built a new home.

But everything came together at the last minute, and when the Thomas family saw their new home, “It was just spectacular,” Imboden said.

And Thomas got his wish for a flag to go with the flagpole. In fact, he got three. On Nov. 17, Columbus-area recruiters arrived to present one of the show’s designers with three flags for Thomas. Annin & Co., which has manufactured flags for 160 years, donated an American and a Marine Corps flag, as well as a “hero” flag.

Though the cost of construction was not revealed, the builder created a housing fund to cover the family’s property taxes.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

9/11 hero’s donated home mainly a blessing, but ...
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Tim Feran
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

On the eve of the TV episode spotlighting their story, the Whitehall couple who received a new house courtesy of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is hoping for a happy ending to their real-life fairy tale.

Jason L. Thomas and his wife, Kirsti, have grown increasingly anxious about their finances since the cast and crew of the ABC reality show finished their rebuilding job in late November.

Mr. Thomas, a former Marine and a Sept. 11 hero, is concerned about being able to afford the house, which at 3,645 square feet is more than twice the size of his old one.

"You don’t think about those things until the cameras go away," he said. "Right now, the bills are due — so I’m nervous."

The family is still paying its old mortgage and faces sharply higher utility bills and, eventually, real-estate taxes.

Their electricity bill alone, for example, has more than doubled, to $300 last month. That’s a considerable jump for a couple raising five children on Mr. Thomas’ $40,505 annual salary as a security guard for the Ohio Supreme Court.

"Double the house, double the bills," said Mrs. Thomas, 33. It’s not that the Thomases are ungrateful.

"What has occurred is truly a blessing," Mr. Thomas stressed.

Their struggle has been more a matter of adjustment.

Extreme Makeover gathers a team of designers, contractors and several hundred workers to rebuild in seven days the home of a deserving family.

In the Thomases’ case, Columbusbased M/I Homes and many other area companies donated the labor and materials for the demolition of a 1,748-square-foot house and the construction of a six-bedroom replacement. The furnishings, too, were donated.

The family is expected to receive help next month from a fund established by M/I — a customary procedure for the home builder contributing to the project — aimed at paying off the couple’s mortgage (about $125,000). The idea is to free up money to pay for increases in utilities and real-estate taxes.

"We wanted to keep the account open until after the show airs," said Kenneth Waldrin, M/I’s creative director. "Then, about a month after, we’ll close it and give the family the money."

Beyond the utility bills, the Thomases are bracing for higher annual realestate taxes on the house, with an estimated value of $280,000.

Appraisers for Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa figured the couple’s new tax rate, payable in 2008, at $4,324 — almost double their old amount of $2,255.

Although higher bills can cause sticker shock among Extreme Makeover property owners, "we make them well aware that there could be an increase in the tax should the home be reassessed," said David Goldberg, president of Endemol USA, the show’s production company. "We’re very clear about that.

"But it’s a very small amount of money when you think about what they’re getting in return," he added.

Like other Makeover beneficiaries, the Thomases — thanks to a loophole that tax experts found for the production company — received a stately house on which they pay no federal and state income taxes.

"This show is about benevolence," Goldberg told a gathering of TV critics in 2004, a year after Extreme Makeover: Home Edition made its debut. "It’s about making people’s dream of owning a home come true.

"It isn’t about duping them and then leaving them riddled with a bunch of tax bills."

Beyond the financial implications, the biggest issue for the Thomas family since their home makeover has been prying eyes.

"We’ve had some interesting people come up ... and look in," said Mr. Thomas, 33.

To maintain some privacy for the family, the builders left the windows covered with sheets of dark plastic.

"If the plastic wasn’t there," Mr. Thomas said, "curtains would be."

Despite his uneasiness about the family finances, Mr. Thomas said the help they’ve received is a dream come true.

On the recommendation of some of Mr. Thomas’ co-workers, Extreme Makeover chose the family for the show, in large part because of his heroism Sept. 11, 2001.

Fresh out of the Marines and living in New York, he and another man rescued two Port Authority police officers trapped in the debris from the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center.

The Thomases plan to watch the show Sunday at a private gathering at the Arena Grand Theatre.

"We’re excited, nervous," Mr. Thomas said.

They’re also curious.

"They took so many hours of footage. We’re wondering how they’re going to be put together."

Mr. Thomas said he and his wife worry that they can’t thank all the people who deserve their gratitude.

"Everything is working; everything is brand-new; everything is very nice," he said.

"How do you say thank you to everyone who showed support, helped out with building, gave up their yards for that week?

"How do you say thank you when you don’t know who all helped out? "

tferan@dispatch.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

TELEVISION
Extreme' team gives home to 9/11 rescuer from Ohio
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Mark Dawidziak
Plain Dealer Television Critic

The title could be "Home for a Hero."

Jason Thomas, a 9/11 hero living in Columbus, receives a new home built in seven days by Ty Pennington and the gang in an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" airing at 7 tonight on WEWS Channel 5. An ex-Marine, Thomas risked his life to help save two Port Authority police officers trapped in debris at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The rescue was dramatized by director Oliver Stone for the 2006 film "World Trade Center."

Thomas, a native of Hempstead, New York, was living on Long Island at the time of the terrorist attacks. While dropping off his daughter at his mother's Long Island home, he heard about planes hitting the World Trade Center.

Although he left active duty a year earlier, Thomas had his Marine uniform in the trunk of his car. Skipping the criminal justice class he was taking, Thomas put on the uniform and headed for the Twin Towers. He arrived just as one of the towers collapsed.

Heading into the ash cloud, he encountered Dave Karnes, another Marine who recently had left active duty. Searching for survivors, they found and rescued police officers John McLaughlin and Will Jimeno.

Thomas left Ground Zero suffering from exhaustion but returned to the site for more than two weeks, helping in any way he could. Moving to Columbus and believing he deserved no special recognition, Thomas kept his heroic actions a secret, even from his five children. He was unaware that, for five years, detectives were trying to find him.

Those at the scene only knew that someone calling himself Sgt. Thomas had assisted in the officers' rescue.

He decided to come forward after seeing a commercial for Stone's "World Trade Center," which depicts the rescue of McLaughlin (played by Nicholas Cage) and Jimeno (Michael Pena).

Watching television, Thomas saw a scene of two Marines hunting for survivors at Ground Zero. He suddenly realized, in his words, "That's us."

The film's producers have said that, without Thomas to guide them, they got some details wrong. They cast a white actor, William Mapother, to play Thomas, who is black.

The Thomas home in Columbus was demolished and rebuilt in seven days for tonight's episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The furnishings for inside the house were donated by Cleveland retailer Arhaus Furniture.

Specializing in handcrafted, custom-designed home furnishings, Arhaus sent several bedroom sets, living and dining room furniture and accessories to the new Thomas home. They were delivered by a semitruck in November.

In addition to the presentation of the new house to Thomas and his family, the episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" includes footage of Pennington with McLaughlin and Jimeno.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

mdawidziak@plaind.com , 216-999-4249

Ellie