Little Rock businesses are reporting a widespread shortage of toilet paper across the city following missed shipments and a second winter storm in 4 days.
Stores began reporting the shortages Sunday afternoon after residents began flooding the super markets in anticipation of a second winter storm. Most stores were able to stock adequate amounts of typical items that are in high demand such as bread and milk, but quickly ran out of toilet paper.
“Most popular brands were gone by noon, by three we had cleared out the cheap 1-ply stuff that no one ever buys,” Heights Kroger manager Joe Gayetty tells us. “They cleaned out baby wipes, Kleenex, and napkins. I even had one guy come in and buy up all the tissue paper used for gift wrapping when we told him that we were out of toilet paper.”
Many area stores receive shipments from the same paper goods provider. The weekly delivery trucks became stranded on the Interstate 430 bridge Friday night during the winter weather storm across the metro. The trucks were towed and in lockup over the weekend, unable to deliver.
“We have heard reports of widespread looting of public bathrooms throughout the night and this morning,” Little Rock Police spokesperson Kim Clark tells us. “We have arrested one man last night for stealing toilet paper from Bass Pro Shops. This morning we went to release him and found that he stole the majority of the toilet paper from the jail.”
Police are urging residents to conserve toilet paper for the remainder of the week. A strict four-sheet limit is in effect until Thursday or until the local weathermen agree on a snow forecast for the week.
1 Comment
I went to the store the other day and walked just being happy that I still subscribe to the newspaper. Sadly it will have to do…