Pool opening next Sunday; firmen's BBQ returns July 4

The Odessa Aquatic Recreation Center will open this coming Sunday, June 23. The later start to the swim season will allow the pool to be open one week longer in August when the weather is more likely to be nice and hot.

Odessa town council member Lois Harp heads the committee that hires the lifeguards, sees to their training and sets the schedule for swim times and lessons. College student Kolby Crossley has been hired as the pool manager, along with two assistants, Kira Powell, also a returning college student, and Carley Williams, who will be a high school senior next fall. The lifeguards are all high school students: Kayla Minaker, Davianne Minaker, Alexa Boss, Dakota Largent and Chelsea Fisher.

Swim lessons will be offered again this year, with two separate sessions scheduled for July 9-19 and July 23-August 2. The cost of lessons is $20 per child.

The pool will be closed Mondays. Open swimming on Tuesdays through Saturdays is from 1 to 5 p.m. and again from 6-7:30 p.m. Adults-only swimming is held from 5-6 p.m. every Tuesday through Friday. On Sundays, the pool is open only from 1 to 5 p.m. (no night swim).

The cost of a daily swim pass (good for afternoon and evening sessions on days when they are scheduled) is $2.50. A daily non-swimmer pass (for babysitters, parents, older siblings, etc.) is available for those wanting to monitor their children from inside the pool fence but not wanting to swim. The cost is $1. A swim pass for the entire summer is only $50, and a family pass is $125. Scholarships are sometimes made available by the Friends of the Pool, the fundraising group that helps to facilitate operation of the pool. Call Carmen Weishaar at 982-2092 for more information.

Outside its normal hours of operation, the Odessa pool can also be rented out by private individuals or groups for parties or special gatherings. Rental requires a $150 damage/cleanup deposit, plus $50 per hour of rental time (with a three-hour minimum time period). Also required is the hiring of at least two lifeguards at $12 per hour.

The pool will also be open from 1 to 5 p.m. on July 4, but there will be no night swim on that date. Also on July 4, the Odessa volunteer firefighters will be at Reiman Park cooking up barbecued burgers and hot dogs, plus chips, beverages, salads, beans and watermelon for sale to the members of the community.

The entire Odessa community is invited to join the firemen and visit with their friends and neighbors. Toward evening, personal fireworks will be allowed around town, although all are reminded to be careful and mindful of fire hazards.