Unexpected day off leaves some Corridor parents scrambling

The chase to get the day figured out started well before dawn Wednesday for many parents in Eastern Iowa.

As schools closed over concerns about the weather, mothers and fathers had to find care for their school-aged children, even if they couldn't see any problems on the roads yet.

“This morning, I couldn't figure it out,” Nissa Kunkel of Marion said. “The roads were perfect.”

Kunkel was picking up her 6-year-old daughter, Kaija Howard, from Apple Kids Child Care and Preschool of Marion. By that time, ice had covered the roads, and she admitted that closing the school was the right decision.

Her experience echoes those of many families where both parents work.

Parents had days to prepare for the major snowstorm that hit Eastern Iowa in the second week of December and knocked out school. Wednesday's concerns over icy roads, though, came as a surprise for some parents.

An unexpected day off can create domestic havoc in a hurry.

“It is mass panic,” Kunkel said. “We do not have family around here. We both have to scramble.”

Kunkel said she's lucky that her employer, Rockwell Collins, is flexible in such situations.

“The little kids should be home,” said Gary Smith of Marion as he held the hand of his 5-year-old granddaughter, Ashlen Johall. “I try and stay ahead of it all when it starts icing like this.”

Apple Kids was packed on Wednesday, with about 80 children spending time there, said Julie Boots, known as “Miss Julie” to the dozens of kids in the halls and classrooms. She said about twenty school-age children were there for the day.

But as police and the State Patrol warned drivers to stay off the roads, the child-care center closed early as well. Boots said it was the first time she remembered Apple Kids having to close early because of the weather.

“We had to call out parents and tell them we'd be closing at 2 o'clock,” Boots said.

Along with schools, other places that usually hold plenty of kids closed early on Wednesday. The Play Station, just off Collins Road NE in Cedar Rapids, closed at 1 p.m. Many area libraries shut their doors early as well.

School districts in the Corridor posted the news of Wednesday's closings on their respective Web sites. Some districts, such as Linn-Mar, already have a makeup date decided and posted. Wednesday's day off in the Cedar Rapids Community School District has now left administrators with a total of four days off this school year due to weather.

-- Chris Earl, KCRG-TV9