Swimming is vital; help keep the YMCA pool open

This Saturday is free fishing and park entry day in Nebraska, and we'd encourage readers to take the family out for a day of enjoying the outdoors. Who knows? Perhaps you'll like it so much you'll invest in a fishing permit and park stamp to keep at it for the rest of the year.

But if you do take out the boat or jet ski, make sure you and your passengers are wearing proper floatation devices, and everyone can swim. That's something that's important in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, once called Prairie Lakes Country.

Do you know how to swim? How about your children?

If the answer is "yes," there's a good chance you have the YMCA to thank.

Yes, many of us learned to swim in the McCook municipal pool, but the outdoor season is painfully short, and there's a good chance some of the same people who teach swimming at the McCook 'Y' were involved.

The tradition goes back to 1925, when the old YMCA was built at what is now E Street and Norris Avenue. You may have read about the good old swimming pool days there in Walt Sehnert's recent "From Days Gone By," column (available online at http://mccookgazette.com/story/ 1398226.html).

The tradition was transferred to the current YMCA when it was built in 1981, and the pool has played an increasingly important role in the community over the years. Exercise classes, competitive YMCA teams and McCook High School teams all depend on the pool for their activities.

But the years have caught up with some of the mundane equipment that makes operating a modern swimming pool possible.

As Ronda Graff wrote in a special story Thursday, the high humidity associated with the pool has created health and other concerns, including rusty beams, mold, viruses, bacteria and fungi -- endangering members and staff.

Fixing the problems won't be cheap. The YMCA expects to pay $155,750 for a new dehumidifier, $52,000 for a pool filter, vacuum and chlorinator, $15,000 for wall painting and graphics, $12,000 for new lighting, $7,000 for a new slide, lifeguard chair and automatic external defibrillator, $3,500 for sealing and joint repair, $140,000 for an ongoing aquatics facility fund, $24,525 for contingencies and escalation, $4,500 for fund raising and donor recognition and $20,000 for pledge shortfalls.

Hats off to executive director Mike Gonzales, drive chairman Jeff Shaddock and all the other board members and staff, who have already raised $320,000 toward making the improvements necessary to continue operation of the pool.

But another $114,000 is still needed to complete the project properly. Consider just how much the YMCA has done for your family and community, and give generously to this worthy project.

For more information, call (308) 345-6228, fax (308) 345-2692 or visit the Ed Thomas YMCA at 901 West E Street in McCook.