Letter to the Editor: Voting for pool

(Edited for length.)

I think Candy R. Wilson needs a happy pill.

My daughter was on the swim team years ago. The coaches and volunteers did an awesome job teaching the kids to swim, something I found very difficult. They put in a lot of hours and did not get thanked enough. The pool gives our kids a place to go as a positive outlet. The swim team has swim meets that bring in people from other towns, which bring money to our economy by hotel stays and restaurant costs.

I did not find it dirty. I did notice that the grouting in the tiles needed to be redone, a few paper towels needed picking up and the lawn watered. These are minor issues.

The toilets were clean and I never found mold. I saw the lifeguards keep kids safe by stopping running and jumping over people and if a kid had to be told twice, he or she was asked to leave.

The pool is packed at times, but that is because we have so many children. Remember a few years back when it was so hot – 115 in August? Without the pool, the ER will be full.

The Columbia River is beautiful, but I would not want to swim in it. I see garbage, the sewage treatment plant right next door, scum foaming at the sides and there are undercurrents. This is one of those things where it takes all of us to come together.

I am voting for the pool.

Barbara Nearing

The Dalles