Heat Out Again At Troubled Terrell Apartment Complex

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TERRELL (CBSDFW.COM) - In Terrell, the busted heat at the Virginia Anne apartments has become something of a broken record.

"Oh, it's incredibly frustrating," says Desiree Hollis, "when they tell you things are changing, and nothing changes."

For nearly a month now we've been chronicling residents' efforts to stay warm as one break after another crippled the aging system. As soon as one break is repaired in the underground boiler pipes, another springs up somewhere else. Bottom line, says Hollis, "We still have no heat. It's crazy."

One tenant, who did not want her name used, says the heat in her unit hasn't worked all winter. And she's now resorting to risky measures to stay warm.

"I pull the mattress in the living room… and we all, my husband and two kids sleep on the mattress with the oven down and a heater in the front." With one and 3 year old sons, she admits that heating the apartment with an open oven is a dangerous move. But, told CBS 11 "What else can I do?"

A spokesperson for the apartment management company says they, too, are frustrated with the seemingly endless series of temporary repairs and are moving forward with plans to install a new heating and cooling system. However, the upgrades will likely take months to complete. A spokesperson told me that they are offering heaters to tenants that request them, and a break on the rent.

Terrell City officials echo that frustration and say they are monitoring the situation closely and will impose fines for every day that the complex is without heat.

Last month, a CBS 11 viewer stepped in to help the Hollis family—dropping off blankets and heaters. The family has since paid that generosity forward—sharing a heater with another family. But, they hope their next step forward will take them to a better place to live.

"We are looking," says Hollis. "We are actively looking. We are tired."

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