Document text
Child care center opens downtown Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Matt Waldrop spends quality time daily with his 12-week-old son Jonah, even during work, thanks to the new Sarah Corson Child Care Center. Waldrop works upstairs from the center at Eighth and Grape streets, so Jonah is just a few steps away. The new center offers a convenient option for parents who work downtown. By MELISSA MARTIN Parents who work downtown are applauding the recent opening of the Sarah Corson Child Care and Learning Center in Medford. First Presbyterian Church operates the child care center in the former Labor Temple building on the corner of Grape and Eighth streets. "I come down once or twice a day to see how Jonah is doing," said Matt Waldrop, the father of a 12-week-old. He works at Oregon Pacific Financial Advisors, which is upstairs in the same building as the day-care center. Rates The Sarah Corson Child Care and Learning Center takes children ages 6 weeks through school-age. Rates are $500 per month for infants and toddlers for 30 hours a week or more. The cost for 3- to 5-year-olds is $430 per month for 35 to 50 hours a week, $350 per month for 26-34 hours and $280 per month for 20-25 hours. Part-time care is $3 per hour for a 41/2 hour minimum. Parents with more than one child at the center get a 20 percent discount, as do church members. There is a $30 annual registration fee. More information is available by calling 779-1711. "This works perfect for us because my wife just went back to work and we drop off our 7-year-old, Kahler, at Roosevelt School and bring Jonah here," Waldrop said. The downtown center welcomes parents coming and going throughout the day, said director Cindy Lind, who ran child-care centers in Seattle's financial district and in downtown Portland. "They miss their kids during the day so they stop by," Lind said. "We have just as many dads that spend breaks with their kids, playing ball with them, feeding them and rocking them to sleep." The center has an open floor plan, a dozen windows, blue walls and bright orange and yellow furniture. There's a section for infants ages 6 weeks to 1 year, a section for toddlers 1 to 21/2 years and a classroom for 3-year-olds. "I like the design," said Janet Stang, a retired educator who volunteers at the center by reading stories or helping with lunch. "This is the world I've always loved, working with little people." The day-care center has some unusual fixtures - a six-child high-chair table, toddler-size toilets and sinks and storage cubbies crafted by church members. The center is named after Sarah Nicole Corson, the daughter of orthopedic surgeon John Corson, and his wife, Janet, who helped start the First Presbyterian Preschool, which has been operating in downtown Medford for 46 years. Sarah was killed by a train in Japan at the age of 23. She taught swim lessons and baby-sat frequently during her years growing up in Medford. "I think Sarah would be delighted with it," John Corson said. "Families have a safe, affordable place where they can take their children." It's also convenient, said Christine Perkins, the young adult librarian at the Medford library. She only has to walk a block to nurse her daughter, 10-month-old Katie Grace Perkins. "It's been amazing," Perkins said. "I see her twice a day, we get to play a little, and I know she's eating well." For Tiffany Roehl, one of the center's 10 employees, taking care of infants is rewarding. "I love seeing the kids smile and get huge grins on their faces because they are so happy," Roehl said. "It makes you feel good about what you are doing." The $1.5 million day-care center is a mission of the church, said the Rev. Joyce DeGraaff. Most of the members who made donations won't benefit directly because they don't have young children, she said. "They are doing this for the community," DeGraaff said. This is not the church's first time to turn an old edifice into something useful, said Don Burt, director of Medford Urban Renewal. First Presbyterian purchased and remodeled the old gas company building on the corner of Holly and Main, where the original church was built in 1880. "It's a significant addition," Burt said. "With all the employment we have downtown, day care is a real need." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.