SWEET HOME - If a man has one friend he is lucky. If he has three friends he is fortunate. Dirrell Harper says he is blessed to live in Sweet Home, where he has dozens of friends.

And those friends are building a new home for the former Sweet Home High School athlete - he was an all-state running back in the 1980s and on the varsity squad all four years - who now must use a wheelchair due to his body's overproduction of uric acid.

On Monday, volunteer Mike Melcher guided the arm of a huge excavator demolishing Harper's mid-1960s model mobile home to make room for a 1,200-square-foot fully handicapped accessible home at 3520 Kalmia St.

"It's overwhelming the generosity of what they have done," Harper said. "I can't even believe it. This community has rallied around so many different things. I never envisioned me being a reason for it. It's a little different being on this end. This town never disappoints. Whenever there is a need, the community steps up."

Ron Moore has been Harper's friend since they started playing baseball together at the age of 6. Moore is spearheading the project because the trailer didn't meet Harper's needs.

"He didn't have room to get around in it," Moore said. "The bathroom was falling apart and the electrical circuits were bad. It kept blowing fuses. In June, a tree fell on the back of it."

Moore said he couldn't see spending a lot of money on the antiquated trailer and decided to do something about it.

"I talked to Mike Melcher and his daughter-in-law, Wendi, and then a half-dozen contractors jumped in to help."

So far, volunteers have committed time, money and materials - including framing lumber, a heating and cooling system, hardwood flooring, insulation and more.

Moore hopes to bring the project in at about $60,000 with a value of more than $120,000. The completion target date is in October.

"We're going to set it on a slab to make it easier for him to get in and out of the house in his wheelchair," Moore said. "We're also going to build it with lowered cabinets and with fully accessible bathrooms.

Moore said Harper's condition began to worsen about eight years ago and he hopes making it easier for him to get around his home will have added health benefits.

"I'm excited, because living in a community like Sweet Home, people step up to help others who need it," Moore said. "He needs it. He's going to have a better quality of life and we hope he'll get healthier because of this. It won't take so much energy to get around his own home."

Frank Barazza is the lead contractor on the project. Other contractors who have signed on to help are Dan McCubbins, Keith Wooley, Gary Carper, Ken Kennon and Eric Frazier. Skip and Ted Stock are donating lumber. Melcher Logging, Phil Pollock, Robin Miller, Tom Hyer and Larry Blem are donating heavy equipment. Reliable Heating will provide the heating and air conditioning system, Skip and Michelle Marler have donated flooring, and Home Insulators of Tangent is providing insulation materials.

Moore said all donations would be appreciated. Contact him at (541) 409-4366.