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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 COMMUNITY Pool season nears as weather heats up Aquatic center prepping for summer swim season Hermiston Family Aquatic Center Open: June 10 to Aug. 27 Public swim: Preseason June 10-16 3:10 to 8 p.m. then regular season 1:10 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11:10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Rates: $4 for children under 13 and ac- tive military members, $5 for teenagers and seniors, $6 for adults and $20 for fam- ilies. Season passes: $50 youth and seniors, $60 adults, $150 families Additional information: For swim les- sons, cabana rentals and other information visit hermistonpool.com. By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer Hot weather has people itching to hit the pool, but they’ll have to wait at least a couple more weeks. Although the weather is ripe for swimming, lifeguards have to finish up their school year, pools need repainted and water slides buffed before municipal aquatic centers are ready to open for the season. “There’s a lot of cleaning up we have to do,” Hermiston parks and recreation director Larry Fetter said. Hermiston’s aquatic cen- ter opens June 10. A long checklist of items, from boil- er inspections to a software upgrade for the pool’s chem- ical control system, have al- ready allowed the center’s lap swimming pool to be filled. It took 12 hours to fill the pool from a fire hose, but three days to warm it up to a com- fortable temperature. On the multi-use pool side, crumbling tiles have been re- placed with a new cement lip, but the pool still needs pow- er-washed and repainted, and the water slides need some work too. Layers of dust, which are particularly bad this year due to construction at Good Shepherd Medical Center next door, have to be scrubbed away. EO FILE PHOTO Pool goers enjoy lazy river current portion of the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center in June, 2015. “Sometimes we get a year, sometimes we get two years out of the paint,” Fetter said. “On the slides, calcium de- posits form and slow it down, so you have to buff them out, then like with a car you wax them and get them speed-rac- er ready.” He said city employee Bri- an Fricke has done much of the work to get the pool ready for use. The concessions stand also has to be readied. Fetter said this year the people who run the Tiki Hut outside the spray park will also run the pool’s concessions stand, adding a selection of shaved ice to the stand’s traditional fare. Meanwhile Brandon Artz, the city’s new rec- reation director, has been busy coordinating training for 33 new lifeguards and 15 returning ones. Employ- ees must go through a 25- hour course of CPR, first aid and rescue techniques for unconscious and “ac- tive” victims, including be- ing able to dive down to the bottom of the deep end and pull an unconscious adult to the surface. “It’s a pretty intensive four days,” Artz said. This year most classes took place at Blue Mountain Com- munity College’s pool, but next year Hermiston is look- ing to move employee train- ings over to Boardman’s new pool set to open July 2, since BMCC’s pool may not reopen again after its summer mainte- nance closure on June 2. Once the four-day training course is over, employees are constantly being tested through ongoing inservice training, in- cluding test drills during the work day where lifeguards have to jump in and rescue dummies thrown into the pool. “It’s not just a one-time training, it’s an ongoing mea- sure of their preparedness,” Artz said. Some lifeguards are return- ing from college, but the ma- jority are high school students. Either way, the pool can’t open until they’re done with school, which is why it opens on June 10 this year. There are still a few spots left for swim lessons, but they’re filling up fast. Boardman Pool and Recreation Center Open: July 2 Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays Rates: Toddlers free, ages 4-18 $4, adults $5, seniors $4.50 Season Passes: Monthly and yearly passes to the pool and recreation center are available Additional information: The pool and recreation center will have a grand opening celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 1. Call Boardman parks and recreation at 541-481-7217 for more information. Willow Creek Water Park (Heppner) Open: June 10 Public swim: 1-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays Rates: $2 for ages 0-4 and senior citi- zens, $3 for ages 5-17, $4 for adults, $14 for families Season Passes: $75 for an individual and $140 per family Additional information: The pool will close on days cooler than 65 degrees or when there are fewer than 6 swimmers. Visit willowcreekpd.com/water-park for more information. MORE WINNERS. MORE OFTEN. W I N a q u a l i f y i n g d r a w i n g f o r MORE WINNERS. MORE OFTEN. e veeryy 3 0 miinuut es ! i n J u n e & J u l y J U N E 2017 W I N a q u a l i f y i n g d r a w i n g f o r e veeryy 3 0 miinuut es ! i n J u n e & J u l y four lucky winners a 2017 indian motorcycle guaranteed to win or dodge ram truck! FOOD, DRINK SPECIALS, DJ, EPIC LIGHT SHOW AND FUN! Ages 18+. Valid ID required. W I L D H O R S E 2 3 RD A N N U A L IN CONCERT bajo las estrellas SATURDAY - JULY 29 FOOD | DANCING | ALL AGES Tickets on sale now! 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