Heart BEAT

Swimming Pools Offer Services For All Families

WAITSBURG - The bout of warm, sunny weather in the Touchet River Valley made us long for summer days to come and the summertime recreation involved.

The residents in the Touchet Valley are extremely lucky because we have three city pools our families can spend the day at all summer. They offer lap swim, swim lessons, water aerobics and simply a place we can cool off when the mercury rises.

Even better is that our local pools offer free services to help out our low-income families.

At the Waitsburg City Pool, local children can sign up for free swimming lessons. The Hevel Family has provided the city with an endowment to make sure all children have access to learning this important skill.

City Clerk Kelly Steinhoff said about 60 children enroll in free swim lessons each summer in levels one through four. If after signups there are still spots open, Steinhoff said the city can add a few kids to the roster who aren't in the Waitsburg area, but maybe live in Prescott or Dayton.

"We try to include as many as possible," she said.

The swim classes are taught by lifeguards the city has hired for the summer and typically run in two, two-week sessions. No goggles or equipment is needed for these lessons. The city has kick boards, noodles and bubbles of Styrofoam that strap to little swimmers' backs to keep them afloat as they progress.

About 15 years ago, Waitsburg suffered a big flood that left the city pool full of mud. Laura Jean Hevel said the city had to re-do the pool and make many repairs. In 2002, the city talked about closing the pool because it was so costly, but the people of the town came together and raised enough money to keep it up and running. That was when Hevel and her family got involved.

Both Hevel and her husband Roger are swimmers and they brought up their children to love the water as well, she said. The family wanted to be able to contribute to the pool but still keep it under the responsibilities of the city.

She said her family considered different needs of the pool, including adding solar panels to help heat the water. But that seemed a bit too costly. So, they started an endowment called Friends of the Waitsburg Pool in 2006. In 2007, they also started offering the free swim lessons.

"Times are hard for families and some kids didn't get swim lessons," Hevel said.

She read in the newspapers about children drowning in local rivers and she believes providing the lessons could reduce these tragedies.

Those interested in helping out the Hevels with their endowment to provide upkeep and lessons for local kids can donate as a memorial and should contact the Blue Mountain Community Foundation, Hevel said.

The Waitsburg pool opens the first Monday after school is out and closes in the middle of August. Open swim is tentatively set for 1 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on weekdays. It is closed on the weekends. Open swim is $1.50 and season passes are $75 per family.

In Prescott, the pool is usually available for open swim in the summer from 1 to 5 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m. daily. Last summer, some were allowed to work at the pool to cover swimming costs.

In Dayton, an anonymous donor provides funding each year for low-income families to purchase day use passes and season swim passes. In the past, St. Timothy's and other organizations also helped cover this cost.

Mayor Craig George said it is easy for families to obtain the free passes - simply provide names to City Hall. He said the city does evaluate the legitimacy of the need, but they don't want anyone to not be able to afford to swim.

"The city does not turn down anybody who wants to swim," George said.

The pool opens the day after school gets out and closes when school begins again. It is open six days a week and not on Sundays. Open swim is tentatively scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. An individual pass for the whole season will cost $50 and a family pass is $85.

George said the pool offers many ways to stay fit and cool in the summertime, including jazzercise, swim team and swim lessons.

"We feel every kid in town needs to be busy this summer," George added. "They can't use the excuse that they can't afford to swim."

He added that the pool is not a venture out to make money and it does benefit from taxpayers. It is a true community service.

" That's Dayton and that's the way it has always been," George said.