A SECOND OPINION

Thanking officials for reopening public pools

— The sound of laughter and happy splashing once again gives a break to the heavy heat in Decatur and Gravette these days. Both cities closed their pools last year and both reopened them this summer.

I want to thank officials from both towns for reopening the pools when cities across the country are shutting public pools because of tight budgets.

A news article by Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press states that pools from New York City to Sacramento, Calif., are being closed for good.

While many families have pools at home or belong to private clubs, people that can’t afford those luxuries will suffer the most, Collins points out.

More than 1,000 municipal pools were built as public works projects during the Great Depression. During modern day tough times many pools are doing just the opposite and closing, Collins wrote.

Decatur’s pool lost between $7,000 and $10,000 a year during 2008 and 2009 and often suffered from a lack of attendance. But those amounts are just a drop in the bucket compared to the $244,000 the public pool in Grand Traverse County, Mich., lost last year.

Gravette’s swimming pool expects to operate at a loss, but was closed because it was in need of repairs, according to Allyson Ransom. The city council decided to spend the money on more pressing matters and the pool was closed during the summer of 2010, she said.

Ransom applied for a GIS Rural Community Development Grant and Gravette was awarded $40,000 for the repairs. Teasley Drug also made a donation to buy an American Disabilities Association approved chair lift for the pool, Ransom said. In Decatur, council members decided to give the pool one more chance after newly elected Mayor Charles Linam donated $2,000 of his own money to the project.

We are lucky to see our community pools reopen. In Sacramento, a city of more than 465,000 residents, only three public pools are open. A decade ago there were 13, according to Collins’ statistics.

Some of my best childhood memories were made at both the Decatur and Gravette pools. As a younger child, I was a member of the Gravette Sea Lions Swim Team. I think I was the worst and slowest (and also youngest) swimmer, but I still loved it.

I spent many, many summer days during my middle school years at the Decatur pool. In those days, the poolwas the place to be and I hope it can become that popular again.

Public pools offer young people a fun way to get active and have social recreation instead of spending time in front of the TV or video games. They allow everyone to have the luxury of swimming, give kids a safe place to practice their skills and create great memories.

On the safety note, I am always concerned to see people, especially small children, swimming in Crystal Lake. Those who saw that lake drained a number of years ago know the bottom quickly drops off and it is very deep. If a young child or toddler slipped under the water it would be impossible to find them before it was too late.

I am excited that the parents in the community, including myself, no longer have to drive to Bentonville or Siloam Springs to take our kids swimming. I am grateful to the city officials who have worked to reopen the pools, and I hope the community will give them plenty of support so we can continue to have public swimming pools for many years to come.

Janelle Jessen is a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer and a longtime resident of the Decatur area. She may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

Community News, Pages 7 on 06/22/2011