Refurbished home makes a difference

Lisa Snedeker

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998 | 11:38 a.m.

Lillian Waitman and Mary Kindell don't have to dread rain showers anymore.

The roof on their North Las Vegas home on East Hickey Avenue was in such disrepair that there were 17 leaks in the bedroom alone.

"I used to love the rain, but I came to hate it because of all the leaks," said Kindell, 71. "When it rained it was like a waterfall in the living room."

That all changed on Saturday when subcontractors hired by Real Property Services showed up and went to work as part of the annual "Make a Difference Day."

Workers installed a new roof on the house, which was built in 1954. They also put in new ceiling tiles, painted walls, cleaned out the heating and cooling ducts and installed new vents and bathroom fixtures in addition to landscaping the backyard and placing security lighting in the front and back.

Electrical repairs, a water heater and a garbage disposal were donated as well.

The finishing touch was inserting a new window air conditioner unit in the bedroom.

The rehabilitation project started with City Councilwoman Paula Brown, who estimated about $20,000 worth of materials and labor have gone into the home this week.

"The subcontractors that worked on this (house) were told they would be paid overtime and they all refused," Brown said.

Alan Bird and Arnie Stalk of Real Property Services organized the subcontractors through RSP's nonprofit arm, Angels in the Community, according to Brown.

Brown discovered the mother and daughter when she called St. Christopher's Catholic Church and asked who in the parish most needed their home refurbished. In her quest, she also stumbled upon the oldest parishioner -- Waitman is a 101.

Waitman, who was once a secretary to Col. Leslie MacDill, for whom MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., was named, said she was very pleased with her "new" home.

"It's very comfortable," she said.

When she moved to the Las Vegas Valley in 1937 Waitman said she thought "this was the place God forgot."

The mother of three, Waitman's home is owned by her son Don who lives in Montana.

Kindell, who is also a mother of three, said she is in shock over the renovations.

"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I still think I'm going to wake up and none of this will be true," she said. "It's like a whole new house. They can't tell me that God doesn't answer prayers."

The pair, along with their black Labrador, Heidi, was going to be forced to move soon, Kindell said.

"I love this house and I was getting almost despondent because I knew we were going to have to move," she said.

Both on fixed incomes, Kindell said she couldn't find anything for rent that was handicapped accessible for less than $600 a month.

"I don't get $600 a month (from Social Security)," she said.