Peyton hasn’t received this much attention since the Clinton-Ketterman gang robbed the Farmers State Bank back in 1920, making off with $11,500.This time the event was less notorious and actually brought money into the community, as Ty Pennington, star of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” descended on the Barrett household on July 10.Brent McPherson, the director of marketing for Keller Homes, said Extreme Makeover producers told him they receive about 2,000 videos a day from people who want a home built for their friends or relatives. Producers wade through the entries, selecting applicants based on merit and the need for a new home. After choosing a few families from different regions throughout the country, they review the tapes again and make their final selection.Billy Jack and Anne Barrett have two children by birth and adopted four children when they were ages considered “unadoptable.”Although the Barretts had good cause to be in the running, the odds of being chosen were phenomenal.McPherson said that ABC, without revealing the homeowners or the location of the project, contacted Dave and Pam Keller, owners of Keller Homes, at the beginning of June to see if they would like to participate in the project.”All anyone knew was the home would be built in El Paso County,” McPherson said. “The Keller’s had only a few days to make up their minds, and this is a daunting project. ABC insists the home be built in a week, when normally a house takes about 120 days to complete.”More than 2,000 volunteers had to be mobilized to complete the project, during a time when home building is booming throughout the county. The construction workers are only one piece of the puzzle.”Other pieces included the Falcon Fire Protection District, which was on hand to provide emergency first aid, and Colorado Springs Utilities, which delivered a water tank to the site. Keller Home’s Web site lists 243 businesses and organizations that donated money, products or time to build the 4,000 square-foot ranch home for the Barrett family.McPherson said there has been a “real sense of community on this project; everyone is pulling together to accomplish a goal, and regional building has had someone on the scene 24/7 so the project can continue without interruption.”
