Senator visits child care center
Staff writer
Senator Roger Marshall visited Hillsboro Community Child Care Center and Barkman Honey on Aug. 27.
At the child care center, he spoke with director Micah Wilkins, board members Chisholm Trail extension agent Tristen Cope, Safe Kids coordinator Erin Hein, city administrator Matt Stiles, Mayor Lou Thurston, and others.
Marshall asked questions about capacity of the center, which is licensed for 99 children.
Marshall asked whether some parents struggle to afford to place their children there.
Cope said that there were, and the center did what it could to work with those parents.
“We have to run it as a business,” Cope said.
She said the center’s next step would be to develop after-school programs.
Housed in a renovated building donated when Trinity Mennonite Church disbanded, the center opened Aug. 4.
Playground equipment was installed three weeks ago. The playground is still being finished.
The center was financed by Hillsboro Community Foundation, a $600,000 community development grant, a matching private pledge, a $67,834 Patterson Family Foundation grant, a $45,000 Child Care Aware grant, and $500,702 in private donations. Estimated cost was $2,668,752.
“It’s been a labor of love,” Thurston said.
After half an hour at the child care center, Marshall toured Barkman Honey, then recorded a segment of Lou Thurston’s “Coffee with the Mayor” show.
The show will be released Sept. 12 on YouTube and Spotify.
Marshall’s appearance in Hillsboro was one of three that day. He also visited McPherson and Sedgwick counties.
The stops were part of a 23-day tour that included more than 100 stops.