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Posted: January 28, 2010
(Used with the permission of the Bonner County Daily Bee)
SANDPOINT — The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the volunteer group promoting modest, self-build housing has just completed its 12th home. The new owners will be Chuck and Miranda Bowman and their children Charles (8), and Haley (6). Of course their dog and cat—Sindy and Kit Kat—came along too. The home is in the Schissler Meadows property in Kootenai, where Habitat has developed six home sites.
The Bowmans, who were selected for the house 19 months ago, have spent the past year working on their house alongside many volunteers, working under the direction of volunteer supervisor Dan Wimberly. They have exceeded the 500 hours of “sweat equity” required by the Habitat, working on every phase of the construction. “We’ve worked on everything,” says Miranda Bowman, “from the first step to the last step, so that if anything needs to be done, we pretty much know how to take care of it.”
“They were just a delight to work with,” supervisor Dan Wimberly says of the Bowmans. Helping Dan on construction has been Habitat leader Dick Ensminger, and many local volunteers, including groups from the Church of the Nazarene and State Farm Insurance.
Chuck and Miranda moved to Sandpoint from Butte, Montana in 2003, a rough town, they felt. “It was no place to raise children,” Chuck says. Chuck works for Sandpoint furniture, and Miranda does part-time work for Mountain Springs janitorial service. They are thrilled with their new 3-bedroom, 1,264 square foot home. It has a tile floor for the kitchen and family room area and is radiantly heated with a new inexpensive system that employs flexible plastic tubing. Asked about her reaction to the home, Miranda says, “We love everything about it.” Being a homeowner focuses attention on costs. “I’m very picky about lighting and energy. I don’t know how many times a day I turn lights off,” she adds, laughing.
The Idaho Panhandle chapter of Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1992 by local builder Mike Schissler, and has built eleven other houses. It gets no government funds and is entirely supported by donations, and by payments each Habitat family makes on a no-interest, 20-year loan on their house. The payments work out to be around $300 per month. Participating families are required to contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” work on their homes, as well as take a budget course, and build a modest savings prior to closing.
Miranda was asked who makes a good candidate for a Habitat family. Her reply: “Somebody who’s willing to work hard, somebody who’s earned it.”
The dedication of the Bowman home will be held on Saturday, February 6 at 10 AM.
For more information on the Idaho Panhandle Habitat for Humanity see www. iphfh.org or call 263-3564.
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