news-record.com

EDEN — Parents whose children attend the Morehead Academy Child Development Center must scramble to find another child care service after learning this week the center will close until further notice.

Morehead Memorial Hospital, which operates the academy as a service to its employees, notified parents on Tuesday that it would close the center the day after state officials advised employees that the water-damaged building was not safe for children, said Kerry Faunce, director of marketing and public relations at the hospital.

More than 100 children, from infancy to age 12, were enrolled in the academy. Earlier this month, inspectors with the city of Eden and the Rockingham County Department of Public Health found a leaky roof and mold in the building, which is in the Eden Mall on East Meadow Road.

A Nov. 19 letter from the health department to Morehead Academy required that the roof be repaired and affected ceiling tiles, carpet and drywall replaced.

“Based on that mold being detected, it was decided that it was in the best interest to close the facility so we could get the repairs done,” Faunce said.

Jim Koffarnus, managing partner for the mall, said Wednesday the roof should be fixed in about two weeks.

Parents will need to place their children in other child care centers in the short term while the hospital finds an alternative site, Faunce said.

“We have not yet determined what will happen with the (academy) employees,” he said.

“It will probably be Monday before we can sort this all out.”

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 627-4881, Ext. 119, or morgan.josey@news-record.com