first on decorahnews.com: Decorah High School contractor was also the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition contractor

A picture of several Larson Construction employees on site in West Union (Photo courtesy of NICC)

Life is just a little quieter for Eric Slessor these days.  Not that working on  $16 million worth of renovations and additions to Thomas Roberts High School and John Cline Elementary School doesn't have its moments.

Still, the project isn't as complicated as his previous project--as foreman of the 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. shift of the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" construction project in West Union.

Slessor says Larson Construction of Independence was told three months ago by EM:HE that it had been chosen as contractor for the project.  So even though Larson Construction had other projects--such as the ones in Decorah--the construction company was able to plan in advance for the week of construction of the house in West Union for the Gibbs family.

"We were proud and excited to be chosen," Slessor tells decorahnews.com. He says the project was so exciting that, despite the overnight hours of his shift, he didn't even need coffee to stay awake!

Slessor says there were always at least 15 employees from Larson Construction at the West Union site and at least 30 volunteers--even during the overnight shift.

As for the Decorah High School construction project during Slessor's one week absence, "everyone did very well here."  Slessor says three Larson Construction employees left the Decorah project for the week, but the next week three extra Larson employees were on site to make sure everything kept right on schedule.  "We caught right back up," Slessor says of the Decorah High School project.

The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house in West Union