The First Presbyterian Church in Perry will offer daycare services beginning in March if preparations stay on track.
The Rev. Lynne Hanna, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, said preparations are in process, and a March opening is currently the target.
“It’s official, but we’re not exactly sure of the starting date,” Hanna said. “It will probably be mid March before we actually are able to open the doors.”
“I’ve only been in town for about two-and-a-half months,” Hanna said, “so I’m coming into this kind of from afar. I haven’t been in on much of the planning at this point.”
Lynn Weiser has been active for more than a year in planning the program.
“I kind of headed it up and tried to keep things organized,” Weiser said. “We know there’s a great need for it in Perry, and we’re accepting infants up through preschool. If they’re too young for kindergarten, then they would be eligible for daycare.”
She said the pieces are falling into place as far as hiring a director, securing the various approvals needed, such as from the State Fire Marshal, and the like.
“We’ve had to make some changes in the building to meet codes, and we’re still working on that,” Weiser said. Along with changing the basement layout for bathrooms and building a snack area, “we’re and making sure we have what we need for infants. That’s going to be a real emphasis because from what we understand there’s a huge need for infant care especially.”
Hanna said she was happy to be a new figure in the Perry community.
“We love it here,” she said. She spent the last eight years at the First Presbyterian Church in the Hardin County town of Ackley, with its population of about 1,300. “One of the things that drew both my husband and myself to Perry was the diversity in town,” she said.
Hanna’s husband, John Hanna, is retired from the pulpit, she said, and drives a bus for CIT transit company out of Ames.
For more information or to inquire about enrolling children in the daycare, call the First Presbyterian Church at 515-465-3168.
