Despite loan rejection, a brighter attitude

A Liberty woman got some federal funds but needs more money to fix her home.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;By TIM YOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- Lois Maksim says she's better off now than she was Aug. 13, when the 74-year-old sat on the back porch of her Keefer Road home and pondered the future.
She had just been flooded out for the third time within a couple of weeks, wasn't sure where she was going to live and faced her first chemotherapy treatment the next day.
She's now paying $550 monthly for a Girard apartment and has undergone two chemotherapy treatments. The retired restaurant manager also pays $400 a month on her house mortgage.
"My attitude is a lot better," Maksim said, her two dogs and two cats at her side. A nonalcoholic beer sits in front of her.
People who saw a Vindicator account of her plight have donated $250. Her sister gave her a dehumidifier, and an old friend contacted her after 30 years.
Rejected for loan
She got a $5,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. With it, she paid $600 for a new refrigerator and $700 for a security deposit on her apartment, and has put some aside.
Maksim was forced to get an apartment Sept. 1 with her daughter, Loraine, because of health problems. Maksim's doctor doesn't want her to stay in her home because of the odor and cold.
She has been rejected twice by the Small Business Administration, which handles the application process for the $33,000 low-interest loan she seeks to repair her house.
Maksim spends her days at her home -- where she'd rather be -- and nights at the apartment, where things can get rather lonely.
Maksim still needs the money to fix her home -- flooring, walls, plumbing and electric.
What happens if she's rejected for a loan again? "I haven't gone there," she said.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;yovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;