KINDERCARE CLOSING DAY CARE IN CAPE GIRARDEAU

KinderCare, a child care center located at 113 South Silver Springs Road for almost two decades, will close next month."This decision did not come easy," said Lori Ruppert, St. Louis area manager of KinderCare Learning Centers.

KinderCare Learning Centers Inc. announced the closing late Monday in letters to parents of the youngsters attending the center."We realize the impact the closing will have on our staff, children and families of the center," said Ruppert. The closing date has been set for Dec. 17.

KinderCare will be providing names and phone numbers of centers in the area that have space available, said Jill Eiland, director of public relations for KinderCare, headquartered in Portland, Ore.

Eiland explained the reason for closing as an economic one."Unfortunately some of our older centers have to be remodeled on occasion, to bring them properly up to the standards of our new centers," she said. "This is a large investment."The company, which has more than 1,150 KinderCare centers in 39 states, including 47 in the St. Louis metropolitan area, determined that the day care market in Cape Girardeau didn't warrant the investment."It's just not a good economic development at this time," said Eiland.

Some parents were disappointed in the news they received when picking up their children this week."KinderCare is a great facility," said one parent. "They really take an interest in the children, and we liked it. We're going to have look for another child care center now. There's a lot of child care centers in the area, but the children will have to become acquainted with new faces."Debbie Eudy agreed. Eudy has used KinderCare a number of years."It's a good facility," she said. "I don't where we'll go now."Lisa Clement, assistant director of the center, will be assisting in the day-to-day operations of the center until closure, said Ruppert.

KinderCare's first center was opened 30 years ago at Montgomery, Ala., in July, 1969. The company moved corporate headquarters to Portland, Ore., in 1987.

The Cape Girardeau facility opened in 1970. Licensed for 100 students, the facility was at near-capacity until the early-to-mid-1990s. Attendance now is about half that.