Editor:
I am asking all the voters in Sweet Home area to vote to keep the pool open.
I live in Lebanon and cannot vote, so please remember me and many others who benefit greatly from the Sweet Home Pool.
Although I cannot vote, I support the pool in every way I can.
For the past three years, two of my children have swum on the high school swim team, for the past seven years I have been an assistant swim coach for the Sweet Home Swim Club, and my oldest son has served as an assistant coach for the past three years. He has also been an assistant coach for the high school swim team for the past two years. For the past seven years, all four of my children have swam for the Swim Club, and three of my children are swim instructors and lifeguards at the pool.
It doesn’t stop there.
I am a caregiver for a 28-year-old with very severe cerebral palsy, who has the mind of a 1-year-old. The only time he can walk is when he is in the pool. Already his swim times have been taken away because of budget and program cuts.
I also am a caregiver for an 8-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome. He lives in Lebanon but because of the high-quality swim lesson program in Sweet Home, he has taken swim lessons there. In the summer of 2010 this little boy came close to a drowning accident while out boating with his grandpa. He had leaned over on the edge of the dock before the boating trip had even begun, and fell into the water. This little boy remained calm, crossed his arms in front of his chest, rolled over onto his back and floated there until help could get to him.
Where did he learn this lifesaving skill? None other place than the Sweet Home Pool. Even if only one life is saved it is worth keeping the pool open.
Please vote yes for the sake of those that can’t vote but are impacted by your vote.
Renee Gunselman
Lebanon