Hays man among those in Chapman's extreme makeover
By GAYLE WEBER
The construction of a new city park in Chapman is due, in part, to the handiwork of Hays native Ryan Windholz.
Windholz, along with about a dozen other Kansas State University Horticulture Club members, traveled to Chapman during the past week to revamp the park in conjunction with other projects being constructed by the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew.
There was little to the park after a tornado hit Chapman on June 11.
"Basketball court, that was it," Windholz said on his first observation.
So he and others who responded to an e-mail set to work building retaining walls and a patio which leads through the park.
"We did that to add a little bit of depth to the park because it was just so flat," Windholz said.
The club installed a 100-foot walkway made out of recycled concrete from destroyed structures following the tornado. A berm was constructed out of an old limestone building. Park benches and landscaping also were included in the project.
Horticulture Club members were contacted Nov. 11 about volunteering some time to the project. They met with architects the following day and began work Thursday.
The project required long hours. His group worked most of Thursday and Friday into the wee hours of Saturday morning on the hardscape construction of the park while another crew from the Horticulture Club came in to finish up the project, laying sod and planting greenery Sunday and Monday.
Windholz said he had not visited Chapman since the summer tornado but did remember visiting Hoisington following its tornado in 2001.
"It's pretty devastating," he said of Chapman. "You see houses that are pretty much abandoned."
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" constructed a 2,500-square-foot home for Army Spc. Patrick Tutwiler's family. The city park and a few other homes' renovations became part of the project when the crew got to town.
Windholz said he was amazed by the progress on the Tutwiler's home because construction was completed in less than a week.
"You talk about people moving fast," Windholz said. "There was a large, large number of people working."
He said volunteers had the house roofed and sided in just hours.
Most of the materials for both the house project and the park were donated from area contractors and construction companies.
"It was nice to see people actually working together," Windholz said.
Windholz is a 2007 Hays High School graduate and a K-State sophomore majoring in horticulture and landscape maintenance.
The show is slated to air Jan. 25 on ABC.