MARK WAITE / PVT Suzanne North walks a hallway lined with backpacks on hooks and children's art work. Advertisement

Carrousel Family Child Care co-owner Suzanne North said she put off sending out notices telling parents the facility would be closed as of Sept. 29 after a meeting with Nye County planning officials.

The child care facility at 220 E. Bronco St. was issued a suspension notice by the state Division of Child and Family Services Sept. 18 for violating Nye County planning regulations.

The county notified North Sept. 14 that Carrousel was in violation of 10 conditions of the use permit.

The county asked the child care owners to extend pavement in the circular driveway all the way to the street; ban off-street parking; limit their services to 12 children; apply for a permit for their sign; file plans for the converted garage with the building and safety department; prove the septic tank is certified for its current use and apply as an educational facility to the appropriate agencies.

North said she expanded from 12 children to 33 last May. She said the state license allows her to house up to 53 children, according to the square footage.

North said after meeting with county building and planning officials, she was given a hearing date of Nov. 14 to state her case before the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission. In the meantime, her conditional use permit will be continued.

County planners say the hearing date is dependent on North filing a conditional use permit application and a site-development plan.

Chrystal Main, acting spokesperson for Child and Family Services, said she hadn't received any word from Nye County by press time Thursday that would result in the division lifting the suspension notice.

North emphasized the suspension has nothing to do with any mistreatment of the children and is purely a zoning matter.

She took her case to County Commissioner Butch Borasky during a break in the Wednesday morning commission meeting, who wasn't sympathetic after recalling neighborhood protests over the granting of the conditional use permit in a residential area just west of Pahrump Valley High School.

Borasky told North she made some substantial changes to the business in increasing the number of children well beyond the 12 allowed in the permit without notifying the county. North said she didn't know child care owners had to do that.

"I'm devastated. I got 19 families that are going to be affected by this," North said.

Borasky said applicants for these permits, as well as those requesting zone changes, have to remember to read the conditions of approval.

"She's living between a bunch of homes near the high school that were totally against this from day one," Borasky said.

North again pleaded ignorance. She talked of a lack of communication among the town, county and state.

"As a citizen, I don't understand the town and planning are two different things," North said. "We are working to do whatever is required but we were told nothing is required."

North said they installed sprinklers and fire alarms.

She said they would comply with conditions like paving the driveway aprons all the way to the street, showing certified plans for the sprinklers, while the building inspector said they didn't have to have a permit for an addition.

Borasky said he would determine whether there is an avenue to keep the child care business open pending the hearing. North said if nothing else, she could maintain a facility for 12 children.

After the Wednesday afternoon meeting, North said, "everybody was in agreement I should be able to stay open until the hearing, and everybody agreed I should be able to keep the 12."

The converted home covers 3,700 square feet, North said. She described it as more of a learning center than a child care facility, where bedrooms have been converted into separate classrooms for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds who learn from the ABeka program, the same method of televised instruction shown at Community Christian Academy.

The education program includes a class period studying the King James Bible, North said. She boasted about the rave reviews her students received when they entered kindergarten in public schools. They learn cursive writing and reading skills while at Carrousel.

"When they did their testing for kindergarten, they were blown away at where they were at," North said.

Backpacks were lined up on hooks in a hallway. A bathtub was used for a rabbit's cage, complete with baby bunnies as a science project. Children were taking their afternoon naps in the living room, which also serves as a play area.

North said she needs 35 children to pay the mortgage and the bills. She tearfully told Borasky how she took a side job at Wal-Mart to keep the center afloat. North no longer lives at the child care facility but in a separate home.

When she only had 12 children, North said she had a waiting list of 43 families looking for child care. The expansion of her business helped eliminate that problem, until now.

North looked down the street toward her neighbors, pointing out that one neighbor did her insulation work, another is a sheriff's deputy, another neighbor works at the child care facility, while still another formerly had a child under her care.

North said she's been in the child care business since she received her degree in early childhood education in Canada in 1998. But she said in Canada and in Las Vegas, she never had such trouble with permitting regulations.