An ever-larger number of residents at the Housing Authority of Bowling Green are running short of a fundamental necessity, but many are embarrassed to seek others’ help. So the authority itself is asking for donations to distribute to those in need.

It’s toilet paper. That’s the greatest need, though they could also use some basic cleaning supplies, said Darla Lash of the housing authority.

“We have so many people who have no income – they just have food stamps,” she said.

Items like toilet paper can’t be bought with food stamps, reducing some residents to begging rolls from the agency – two came to her office on Wednesday alone, Lash said. Yet it’s easy to see how embarrassing it would be for people to ask for items like that, she said.

At the authority’s Hospitality House for elderly residents, a roll of toilet paper is often the prize in daily games, according to Lash.

There are more people on the waiting list for apartments at the housing authority than ever before, more than 120, said Executive Director Abraham Williams. He attributes the growth in need to a worsening economy, particularly local layoffs at Huish Detergent and Eagle Industries; many of those former employees and their families are seeking space at the housing authority, he said.

Lee Square

The housing authority’s final five houses in the Lee Square Development on the 200 block between State and College streets will be ready for a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Oct. 2, said modernization coordinator Dale Eichelberger. The houses – about two dozen altogether, with half built by the housing authority and half by fellow nonprofit Housing Assistance and Development Services – are designed to match the historic look of downtown Bowling Green and marketed as single-family, owner-occupied homes for low- to moderate-income residents.

Accountant

The authority will stick with its current auditor, Shelton & Associates, for another year, board members decided unanimously.

Staff sent out six or seven notices, and got only two bids in return, Williams said. One was from Shelton, while the other – slightly cheaper – bid came from a one-man office near St. Louis, said finance director Nancy Becker. That firm had good references, but staff were concerned that it would be too big a task for one person and that travel expenses would run up the cost, she said. The board decided to rebid the job next year.

To donate toilet paper or cleaning supplies, call the housing authority office at 843-6071 and ask for Darla Lash, bring them to the office at 247 Double Springs Road, or call Hilda Sarver at Miss Annie’s Place, 842-8051.