No sweat; Dixons get new home

NORWALK — Nobody ever said it was going to be easy. It took years and a lot of "sweat equity," but it all finally paid off Sunday afternoon with the dedication of Habit for Humanity's house 111 for new owner Miranda Dixon and her four girls — Loralie, Kierah, Juliana and Delilah. The home is located at 23 Woodlawn Ave. in Norwalk. "It's great," Dixon said. "It means a lot. We don't have to struggle anymore moving from place to place. Very excited. Very appreciative for everybody right now who helped us. It means a lot." Dixon said one of the things the family is looking forward to is putting up a Christmas tree. Mike McCall, executive director of Habitat who is retiring Dec. 23, said this is house No. 111 for the organization that covers Huron and Erie counties. "This is my 32nd house," said McCall, who spent 10 years with the group. "This girl, when her sister got a house, she started trying to get a house for five years. She worked financially to qualify. Once she qualified she has been working the last two years getting sweat equity." Sweat equity is time spent working on the house and other Habitat houses. You need 400 hours of sweat equity and Dixon put in 550 hours. McCall said the new house is appraised at $125,000 — the most ever spent on a Habitat house due to the rising costs. Dixon gets an interest-free, 25-year loan. With taxes and insurance her payment will be $575 a month. "It's a new house," McCall stressed. "You can't beat this. The best days in this job is handing the keys over. Excited to see her get her dream home. She earned it." During Sunday's brief ceremony McCall presented Dixon with a Bible, while construction coordinator Mark Boggs presented her with a key to the house. Donna Swackhammer, Dixon's mentor on the project, spoke then Dixon spoke and thanked everybody for the special day. "Thank-you for your partnership with Habitat and we wish you many happy years in this house," McCall said.