Local Pools Have Solid Attendance

WAITSBURG - Despite some recent cold, wet weather, attendance numbers at the public swimming pools in Prescott, Waitsburg and Day- ton are holding steady.

Len Conlee, the manager at the Prescott pool, said the facility opened on June 9 and "we've been doing pretty well."

The pool offers swim les- sons and water aerobics and is open seven days a week. The pool is averaging 15 to 20 swimmers during open swim each day, he said. And on a hot day, the pool has seen as many as 125 swim- mers.

"It depends on the temperatures," Conlee said. "We have about a dozen who will swim in the rain."

And while the number of swimmers is not an issue, there has been some vandal- ism and a recent harassment issue at the Prescott pool already this season. Conlee said some soda machines were vandalized and the sheriff's deputies were able to locate one group of van- dals, but not another. There is a 7-foot cyclone fence around the pool, but he said if vandals wanted to get into the pool area they wouldn't have to go to extreme lengths to do so. Vandalism is an issue the pool has dealt with regularly in the past, he added.

Last week it was reported that a 20-year-old man had been harassing juvenile fe- males at the Prescott pool. Conlee said the lifeguards on duty full-time alerted management of the harassment and even some of the pool patrons confronted the man.

"Our goal is to provide a safe environment," Conlee said. "I hope this is an ex- tremely isolated case."

Dayton's pool Manager Sarah Adams said when she began working at the Dayton pool six years ago, located by the tennis courts in the City Park, there was a problem with vandalism. But, those issues have petered out the past two or three years. She said the pool is kept under lock and key by the managers and every hour a pool staff member patrols the grounds to make sure everything is in order.

"It's pretty hard to get in (after hours)," Adams said.

Dayton's pool opened June 13 and has had a great turnout so far, averaging 80 to 100 kids during open swim. She said the solar panels are keeping the water warm, swim lessons have started and swim meets are set to begin in August. The home meets in Dayton will be at about 4 p.m. on July 12, 19 and 26.

The pool is open seven days a week and in July there is a free recreation swim from 1 to 4 p.m. each Sunday.

Kelly Steinhoff, the city clerk in Waitsburg, said the swimming lessons at the Waitsburg pool have changed. The lessons will be from 10 a.m. to noon, July 2 through 13, for half-hour intervals. Steinhoff said the lessons are free and the city is still looking for kids to sign up.

"I would love to have more kids take advantage (of this service)," Steinhoff said.

The Waitsburg pool opened June 18 and she said on June 25 the pool had 80 swimmers. The pool aver- ages 60 to 80 kids each week day. There has not been any reported vandalism or picnic tables going in the pool yet, she said.

The pool did get a bit of a late start this year though. Steinhoff said last year the pool opened on June 13.

"The weather hasn't been the greatest but there's still kids coming down there,"