MOUNT VERNON — A local child-care center is thriving in its new location in the west end of the city.
Chris Wythe moved her Christian-based child-care center, Absolute Love Learning Center, to a building at 1200 W. Chestnut St. Since October 2006, she ran the center at 7 E. Sugar St., sharing the same building with Christian Star Academy, but, needed more space to meet demand.
Earlier this year, Mount Vernon City Council voted to rezone the former church building for general business use.
“God is in control. It wasn’t my plan (to expand). I wanted a tiny place with maybe 12 children and maybe a second group, but people just kept calling. We have families that started with us when we opened who are still with us. That’s exciting.
“The phone rings all the time with prospective parents wanting services and I have to keep saying, ‘Sorry but we can add you to the waiting list,” Wythe said.
She said the center focuses on education and cognitive development for the children enrolled. The ages range from 18 months to 14 years old.
Since the move, the number of children enrolled has jumped from 28 to 43, with the maximum number being 81. There are a variety of activities for children to engage in, many of which have an educational and social bent. Children ages 4 and 5 can enroll in a full morning preschool educational program. Children in first grade or beyond are taught about topics such as problem solving, nutrition and exercise. There is a homework club in which children get a chance to do their homework, if they choose, and there is a teacher on hand to help them.
Wythe has an associate degree in early childhood education with a Pre-K licensure attached which qualifies her to teach. She has 17 years of experience in child care and education, and, the staff, which includes one teacher, has an educational background in child care. The center is licensed as a child-care facility through the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.
In other business news, a popular local sandwich shop closed recently. In a written statement, Gayle Reber said she and her husband, Tom, owners of W.g. Grinders on Coshocton Avenue, closed the restaurant on Feb. 10.
“Tom and I have made the tough decision to close W.g. Grinders,” she wrote. “The economic times, increased food and payroll costs have caused this industry not to be a viable market.”
Reber also wrote that the only way to overcome increased costs would have been to pass costs on to customers, which they have chosen not to do.
“We want to thank our friends, loyal customers and the community for recognizing our contributions. We will miss you all,” she wrote.
W.g. Grinders is an Ohio-based chain; the Rebers opened the local franchise in 2004. In January, they received the local Chamber of Commerce’s Best Small Business of the Year award.
In Martinsburg, a popular restaurant that has been in the village for over 20 years recently came under new ownership. Rick and Judy Cantrell officially took over Printz’s Hot Spot at 18 S. Market St. the first of February. Rick Cantrell said he has no plans to make any changes.
“This is something we always wanted to do,” Rick Cantrell said. “It came up for sale and we decided to give it a try.”
There are a wide variety of dishes and desserts on the menu, including 45 different types of sandwiches, including the Big Levi, a double hamburger with everything on it, homemade pies, and many varieties of ice cream. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available all year round except in the summer. In the summer, the restaurant’s busiest season, only lunch and dinner is served.
Cantrell said this is his and his wife’s first venture into the restaurant business. He has been a paramedic for the Mount Vernon Fire Department for nearly 25 years. Judy Cantrell worked at Knox Community Hospital for 23 years and worked for a local dentist for the past eight years. She has now devoted herself full time to the restaurant.
“[Printz’s Hot Spot] means a lot to the village,” Rick Cantrell said. “A lot of people from the Martinsburg area come here.”
He said visitors from far away visit, and, on Friday, people from Virginia stopped in to eat.
