Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991                   TAG: 9104190648
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PROPOSED CHILD-CARE CENTER TARGETS WORKERS AT 4 BUSINESSES

She plans to build a day-care center near four Salem businesses in response to that need.

Williams opened Home Style Day Care Center at West Main and Chestnut streets in downtown Salem three years ago. The center has thrived and currently enrolls nearly 30 children ages 2 1/2-12.

Last year, Williams and husband, Tony, approached Graham-White Manufacturing Co. about purchasing a half-acre site on Colorado Street. The property - near Graham-White, Rowe Furniture Corp., Mechanical Development Co. and the former Tweeds distribution center, soon to be an order-fulfillment operation for the Joan Cook Inc. mail-order company - was a prime location for Home Style's expansion, Williams said.

"Salem does not have a lot of property," she said. "We were looking around, saw that property and thought it was worth a try."

With four businesses in close proximity, the center would have a built-in clientele, she said.

Salem City Council on Monday will consider granting Williams a special-use permit that would allow her to build a day-care center on the property, three times the size of the current center. The Planning Commission recommended last week that the permit be granted.

"I see a need for industrial day care," said Williams, a licensed nurse. "It's the thing for the '90s, and a lot of companies are recognizing it. When day care is on site at a business, it improves tardiness and productivity."

Graham-White employees, since the company owned the property, would be given the first opportunity to enroll their children. The company circulated a survey to gauge interest in a near-site day-care center.

The response was good, said William Laub, vice president and general manager of Graham-White.

"We hope employees make use of it and take advantage of it," Laub said.

Other businesses expressed similar interest.

The center would have the capacity for 125 children - from age 16 months to 12 years, Williams said. Current fees of $57 a week for a full-time preschooler will rise slightly but Williams declined to say by how much.

She is unsure whether the present Home Style center will remain open.

"Having children helped me recognize a need," said Williams, the mother of Chastity, 17; Sidney, 12; and Aaron, 10.

"Day care on site is really comforting to a mother."

And it's a plus for the businesses "to draw good people in," Tony Williams said. "It shows these businesses are concerned."