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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pools are big parts of small towns

Rebecca Nappi The Spokesman-Review

I swam in nine rural pools over three recent afternoons. My crusade this summer is to get the dialogue going about Spokane’s looming pool crisis. City residents will be asked soon to figure out the future of swimming in Spokane – and pay for it.

Here’s what I learned in these rural towns about supporting vital pool programs:

“Tekoa (population 825): Four small towns south of the Spokane Valley – Rockford, Fairfield, Waverly and Latah – do not have pools. But adults there remember how hot summer afternoons can feel to kids in small towns with nothing to do. So townspeople pay for a Thursday pool bus. Kids get picked up in their towns and delivered to Tekoa for the afternoon.

The Tekoa pool has been updated to include spouting water features for the wee ones and plenty of jumping and swimming water for the bigger kids.

“All of these towns, they are not wealthy, but people here have a lot of pride,” said Kynda Browning, who oversees the weekly bus trips.

“Oakesdale (population 420): The changing room and pool were spotless, but the pool’s heater was broken. Pools are a maintenance nightmare, and this is a reality a community must accept and agree to pay for.

“Rosalia (population 650): At 2 p.m., Sandi Nereim arrived at the pool with packages of cheese and crackers. She’s in charge of a summer program that feeds the town’s kids, because more than half of them qualify for reduced-price lunches during the school year.

Remember how ravenous you got as a child after swimming? The pool and the snacks send this message to Rosalia’s kids: We’re looking out for you year-round.

“Colfax (population 2,840): The pool is popular with the town’s 12- and 13-year-olds. As I swam laps, I discreetly observed their flirting rituals. A boy nabbed a girl’s flip-flop and threw it into the pool. The girl flipped her hair and looked bored. Pools provide a gathering spot where adults can keep an eye on this age group, without appearing to do so.

“Endicott (population 620): It’s harvest time. This wheatland town seemed deserted, and a bit sad, when I drove in. I heard the children before I saw them. They were playing the age-old pool game “Marco Polo.” The town came alive in that pool.

“LaCrosse (population 380) and St. John (population 550): I’m lumping these two pools together because they look similar. They are long, unadorned concrete pools popular in the 1950s. Also, the lifeguards I met in these two towns were all young women. The young men, they explained, work harvest.

The rural pools are staffed almost entirely by teens and young people in their early 20s. These summer jobs provide them with leadership skills, because they truly are in charge.

“Washtucna (population 260): The town’s adorable pool features a whale mural, a tiny tunnel slide and a natural basalt outcropping on the hill above. The pool opens the day school gets out and closes the day before school opens again.

“Where else are they going to go?” asked Mary Rose St. Hilaire, 21, the pool’s co-manager. She grew up in Washtucna and swam every day.

“Ritzville (population 1,735): Ritzville condemned its old pool five years ago, and residents approved a $1.7 million bond issue to build a water park. Each year, they pass a $75,000 levy to pay for the pool’s upkeep.

The large pool boasts two water slides, a lap pool and wading area. It draws people of all ages from throughout Adams County – and beyond. Kids pay $3. The other rural pools charge between $1 and $2, but the money collected covers only a small portion of what it costs to keep pools vital.

These small towns have decided their kids are worth it. What will Spokane decide?