Thursday, July 15, 1999
Day care is cautious after great toy truck escape
BY TOM McCANN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FAIRFIELD — With its image somewhat tarnished by a 6-year-old's daring escape on a getaway toy truck, Kiddie Kampus Pre-School and Day Care Center in Fairfield is tak ing extra precautions with its children and trying to control any damage to their parents' trust.
Kiddie Kampus installed loud electronic bells this week on all its doors to make sure no other little ones decide to make a break for freedom. But many parents have no complaints with how the center has educated and supervised their children.
“I'm not frightened at all because it was just a fluke,” said Yvonne Hoskins, whose sons Mike, 7, and Brian, 3, have attended Kiddie Kampus for a year. “They've made precautions now, and they've kept the parents informed. And kids are unpredictable: Every day care has a story. Things happen.”
Tammy McIntyre and her 8-year-old daughter, Cindy, also haven't lost respect for the center.
“They're normally very strict in supervising the kids,” Ms. McIntyre said. “They've always done a good job, and my daughter loves it here.”
Owner Jan Milazzo declined to comment on why employees didn't notice that 6-year-old John Carpenter was gone, but she said that the center had not been neglectful.
It was lunchtime Monday when John sneaked out the door without center employees noticing. He had been sitting alone in the corner while everyone else was having lunch, his punishment for fighting with another boy. He walked for about a mile before hot- wiring a toy monster truck at a toy store and powerwheeling it onto Ohio 4, a highway some adults fear to drive.
John's escape and Dennis-the-Menace brand of naughtiness has the combination of cuteness and oddity to make him a national media darling.
Calls from Extra and Inside Edition, supermarket tabloids, Canadian newspapers, and radio stations in Delaware and Texas jam his family's answering machine.
He might appear with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.
John's mother, Tonya Carpenter of Hamilton, could not be reached for comment.
The Ohio Department of Human Services (ODHS) and the Butler County Children Services Board will investigate whether Kiddie Kampus was negligent or violated any rules.
ODHS inspects each day care twice a year, once unannounced. Kiddie Kampus has had only minor violations.
Fairfield police will not pursue criminal charges.
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