Area woman waiting for lights to come on

BROWNSVILLE - Maria D. Garcia had been waiting for months for her Christmas present to arrive: a new home courtesy of the Brownsville Community Development Corp.

Garcia was one of 10 Cameron Park residents who received new homes this fall from BCDC after the organization received a federal grant.

"If you give a person a decent place to live they're going to be able to do decent things with their life," BCDC board member the Rev. Mike Seifert said.

But as the holidays neared, Garcia was still living in a makeshift shanty, waiting for utilities to be installed in her new home. Winter came, and the cold sliced through gaps in Garcia's plywood walls. Child Protective Services told her it was an improper place to raise her two 15-year-old grandsons.

For six weeks, Garcia said, she waited for services. TXU Energy placed an installation order which was pushed back by AEP, the local electricity provider, she said.

"We did everything right. We put in the service order," said Sophia Stoller, a TXU spokeswoman. "(AEP) has their reasons for moving the date."

The BCDC home is now complete. But until utilities are installed, the BCDC will not allow Garcia to move in. Of the BCDC grantees, she is the only one who has not yet been able to move into her home.

"We call every other day," said Garcia's daughter Adriana. "They get annoyed, but what can we do? We want my mom to have something."

After a cold front came to Brownsville, Garcia's children took her to their homes in Austin and San Antonio. "We couldn't let her stay here," Adriana Garcia said. "Everyone was getting sick."

AEP is expected to install the services at some point next week.

"It's too bad," Seifert said. "It would have been a great Christmas present."