ACAP hosts open house
By Kathy McCarty
OFFICIAL OPENING — ACAP’s Childhood Development Center was the scene of a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 15. The Parsons Street facility, located at the former Gouldville school, offers the Early Head Start program and other programs designed for infants to pre-teens. Present for a photo op were, in front holding the ribbon, from left: Suzanne Sandusky, special project manager, ACAP; Susan Powers, center director, ACAP; Connie Sandstrom, executive director, ACAP; and Chuck Johnston, ACAP’s coordinator of facilities. The two children in front, from left: Alexander McKenney and Victoria Casey. Pictured behind, from left: Karen Campbell-Sawyer, holding Alise Harrison; Dwayne Green (not seen) holding Caleb Green (top of his head is visible); Connor Zubrick being held by Gail Clukey, Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce; teacher Amelia Thibodeau holding Olivia Parker; behind them are Heather Cray (not seen) holding Lanie Green; Aiden Hall being held by his grandfather, Calvin Hall, Presque Isle City Council; teacher Katie Akin holding Fiona Smith; Floyd Rockholt, PIACC; Nola Farley, president, PIACC; Billie Brodsky, PIACC; and Theresa Fowler, executive director, PIACC.
PRESQUE ISLE — The Aroostook County Action Program welcomed visitors to the Childhood Development Center for a tour and ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 15 to show off the work being done to improve the facility, including a new Early Head Start classroom.
City officials, including members of the City Council and Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce, joined ACAP staff in touring the former Gouldville School, traversing each floor to see what’s been done and what is planned for the facility.
“We applied for and received an expansion grant for two center-based classrooms, including one in Houlton,” said Susan Powers, director of the Park Street facility and senior manager of ACAP’s Leadership Team.
Powers said this was a great partnership and great use of resources.
“This classroom is state of the art. We’re really excited to offer child-sized features like the bathroom, tables and chairs,” she said. “This room is made for little people.”
Powers took the group from room to room, explaining how each section of the building serves varying ages, from 4 months to school-aged children.
“This facility stretches way beyond the classroom to meet the needs of families,” Powers explained.
“This tour helps ACAP fulfill a grant requirement for a CDBG grant,” said Kim Smith, ACAP’s resource developer, noting the tour and recent public hearing will help meet guidelines for receiving the grant.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
GRACE YU was recently named employee of the month at ACAP’s Childhood Development Center on Park Street in Presque Isle. Yu was hired to work with Asian children, serving as translator for some. Pictured, from left, are: Yu and Susan Powers, director of the center.
ACAP, through the city of Presque Isle, will be applying for a CDBG grant to obtain funds to repair and rehabilitate the Park Street facility. The building currently serves 122 children from infants to age 13 for Head Start, Early Head Start, Child Care and After-School programs.
“This building, which was built in the late 1920s, needs repairs to be a safe and accessible facility for our children. Needed repairs include roof repair, furnace replacement and the installation of an elevator to be fully handicap accessible,” said Powers.
The entire refurbishment will run approximately $650,000.
“About $256,000 will involve the boiler replacement and related upgrades to the heating system. Another $20,000 applies to the playground, parking area and bus access,” said Powers.
Another much-needed upgrade has been the kitchen.
“We used to have to transport lunches from Mapleton. Now we have a new kitchen, which makes keeping meals warm until they reach the children much easier. The only problem is getting them from the basement kitchen to rooms on higher levels. Once we have an elevator, it’ll be much easier,” said Smith.
“The CDBG will help us install the elevator,” added Powers.
The facility also houses a small library that children are allowed to borrow books from. Family service workers are on site to assist families who meet income guidelines. Classrooms are broken down by age, including after-school programs for older children.
“Buses also transport children and families as needed,” said Powers.
Roof damage had prevented some of the classroom space on upper levels from being used. Work was done to fix the leaks and now those rooms can be put to use.
“Now that they’re fixed, we’ll be able to offer more services,” said Smith.
Powers said the school-age program has grown rapidly.
“In recent years, we’ve seen more children attending full days through the summer. They receive homework help as needed and enjoy a lot of time on the playground,” Powers said.
“We’re also working on a computer lab to offer students a site to do homework electronically. That will be another grant project,” said Smith.
Hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Smith said ACAP encourages input on this project from the community. For more information or to make a comment, call Smith at 764-3721 ext. 630 or e-mail ksmith@acap-me.org.
