City should strive for growth
To the Editor:
Our city has needed a new swimming pool for several years and all we have done is patch up the old one. My main concern is why the pool has not been made handicapped accessible? I love to swim and have been driving out of town to a pool I can get into easily. I also have a son who is handicapped and cannot get in the Marion pool.
I have been reading about Hillsboro building a new aquatic center for $2.5 million and we can't get enough money to build a new swimming pool?
Our town is slowly dying and most people are content to just sit by and watch. I know many people, including senior citizens and special needs groups, who travel to Newton to use the indoor pool at the recreation center. That pool offers classes for all age groups from babies to senior citizens all day long.
This year Marion did offer an adult aerobic class in the evening and I know there were women who would have liked to attend but they couldn't get in and out of the pool because ladders are the only entry.
All other public facilities have had to make changes to meet the needs of the handicapped. Why not the pool? We need a pool to meet the needs of all age groups and a pool that could be used year-round.
There are surrounding communities that have wonderful recreation centers that offer all types of activities meeting the needs of each member of that community.
Why can't Marion be aggressive and strive for the growth of the "Best Town I've Seen."
Judy Christensen
Marion
