Save the pools
The YWCA pool began 2013 with $49,000 received through generous donations from a December fundraiser. Even with Christmas buying, this large sum was raised in a short time by our community, showing how much we value and support the pool.
Between January and July, pool activities included water aerobics, lap swimming, family swimming, pool parties, swimming lessons, and scheduled use by preschool and summer-fun classes. Then, on July 25, swimmers were notified the pool would be closed. Two days later, a front-page article in the Tribune-Herald indicated the outside pool would be filled in.
There are two pools at YWCA. One is a covered therapy pool, the only one of its kind on this island. A group of 70 people used it for therapy purposes. Second is the outside pool. It is a solar-heated, salt-water-treated pool. Built-in steps give safe, easy access for preschoolers and swimmers who have difficulty climbing down or pulling up on ladders attached to the sides.
Talking with swimmers, you’ll hear “my cholesterol levels are lower,” “my blood pressure is down,” “I’ve lost weight,” “after surgery I can exercise my shoulder, hip, etc.,” and “it keeps me limber even with arthritis.”
What can be done to develop funding to keep these two pools operating? Is there someone — a “fairy godmother” — who can help? The public has shown its support. Hopefully, the YWCA administration will give the community a chance and not fill in the pool.
Ingrid Nishimoto
Ninole
Defending pope
This is in reply to Mr. Dennis Chaquette’s letter, “Pope’s pimp ride,” Tribune-Herald, July 30, which I consider very demeaning. However, to answer your convictions, you perhaps should have asked ex-President John F. Kennedy, had he survived the assassin’s bullet that killed him while riding in an unarmored automobile.
And insofar as you equating Jesus Christ with your subject matter, I would offer: During Christ’s time here on Earth, the high-powered rifles and AK-47s, along with the demented persons who use them for murder, weren’t around yet!
Question: How much did you contribute to the cost of the pope’s “pimp” vehicle? You may dislike the pope, and that is your right, but ask yourself, “How has he personally affected me in an adverse manner?”
Ron Baptista
Mountain View
