Inside a sanctuary at the Unity of Faith Worship Center in Rocky Mount on Thursday, several Edgecombe County child care providers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle with linked hands, closed their eyes and turned their heads to the floor.

Martha McClellan - whose job is to help parents find child care - said working moms and dads have become so anxious about finding a spot, they're calling before they even have kids.

Hundreds of low-income Larimer County families could be eligible for assistance with their child-care costs next year through a change in county policy.

Stephanie Howle, director of First Impressions of Routt County, said  Tuesday that the biggest problem for local families seeking early  childhood education is not long waiting lists at overcrowded preschools - the biggest problem is cost.

No one has a solution for the serious shortage of preschools in San Miguel County.

There they were: a parade of tiny horribles in Halloween costumes. Lining one end of main street to the other, a children's crusade about the size of an army, a shocking number of parents with their children, a throng of little precious pirates and ghouls and fairy queens, all, despite the fun-filled fanfare, rolling by as evidence of just another heartbreaking social problem in a "maxed out" mountain resort community.