Courthouse Square Troubles

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An outspoken ex-missionary, Darcy has made herself an unofficial advocate for tenants afraid to confront the management on their own. "My door's open twenty-four hours," she says. She blasts First Centrum for many things, starting with failing to screen tenants well enough. "They have people here who are street people," Darcy complains. "They don't check their records."

Apologizing for the "stereotypes," she says some people would describe the problem tenants as "white trash or black ghetto types--low income, low education" who "make a lot of noise and attack people verbally and some physically. So far, no guns. We do need a guard."

Darcy also says the building's managers don't check in on fragile older residents as often as they should. She says she told them that if someone dies as a result, "You're murderers." No wonder, then, that they tried to evict her--an effort Darcy thwarted with help from her son and a lawyer. "I'm staying here until I die or the building dies," she vows.