Open the damned pool. Let the kids cool off.
That was our thought during the heat wave after Orville Wright pool was closed by CKRecreation due to a report of lifeguards being threatened by young adults, according to municipal officials.
Thankfully, that did happen…albeit six days after it was closed, including over a rather warm weekend.
When the pool opened July 16, families lined up to enter.
Why so long? There are tools in place to quickly address such matters.
The first element is the police. If the threats were serious enough, the alleged tough guys could be charged for uttering threats. It’s a criminal offense.
The alleged culprits can also be trespassed off the property, which is what seemed to be the plan for the municipality. Officials said they will be banned from all pools.
What about old-fashioned police presence? Keeping the pool open and putting an officer down there, or a special constable, on regular occasions would have served as a deterrent. Ditto for temporary CCTV cameras.
According to the chief of police, there are about four portable units that could be used at the park.
Surely these were better options than just closing the pool. By doing so, the municipality sent several signals, none of which were good.
First off, for six days, it let the alleged bullies win. We have the resources to stand up to such bullying in a very tangible manner.
Second, this was a case of the actions of a few, or perhaps just one person, ruining the pleasure of the many.
We were happy to see the pool reopen. We can only imagine how families in that area felt.
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Speaking of water, if what comes out of Lake Erie is good enough for the people of Chatham and South Kent, not to mention millions of people around the lake in Ontario and the bordering U.S. states to drink why wouldn’t it be for the people of Wallaceburg?
Council will have to make a decision on how to deliver potable water to Wallaceburg in the future, and building a new treatment plant in that community looks prohibitively expensive. If the Chatham plant has the capacity and is less expensive, that should be the end of the debate.
We are one big, happy(ish) municipality, right? All for one and one for all.
