Firehouse Kids center will close

After nine years of serving the Glade Creek community, the Firehouse Kids program, which primarily serves 3- and 4-year-old children, will be closing its doors effective May 14.

The program, which began about 2000, is operated under the auspices of the Alleghany Partnership for Children. Kim Shaw, executive director of the Alleghany Partnership for Children, on Tuesday morning submitted a letter to the newspaper regarding the upcoming closure.

"It is with mixed feelings and a heavy heart that we have to announce that we will be closing the doors of the Firehouse Kids program…at the end of this school year," she wrote.

In an interview that same day, Shaw said there were several factors that came into play in the closure, including the program's attendance, the loss of the license on the program and less need for the program with the addition of the More at Four programs now being offered at the county schools.

The license issue came to pass when a sanitation inspector noted that the water source was too close to the building during a recent inspection. "There hadn't been any problems with the water, but it didn't meet the regulatory requirements," she noted.

That resulted in the program losing its star rating and not being able to get the necessary licenses. Many avenues were

 

Get the whole story - read this week's edition of The Alleghany News!