To the editor:

We have followed the planning and efforts to construct a new swimming pool complex in John Day.

In discussions and informal conversation, there has been a wide variety of opinions, from support to angry rejection. In more than 40 years of living in Grant County, with few exceptions, we have enjoyed the community compatibility and unity. We have also faced numbers of proposals which required bond or tax initiatives. Running a small farm has required, for us, strict frugality. Nevertheless, when proposals could improve the quality of living for everyone, we never failed to support them and pay our share.

For those who say, “I’d never use the pool, so I’ll vote no,” I might suggest that some benefits could be hidden there, beyond using the pool themselves. On a hot summer afternoon, a swimming pool full of happy, active children is a joy to them and us. Happy, active children do better in school and have stronger relationships with their peers. They are less likely to engage in mischief than if they are bored and lonely. Their positive behavior is an asset to the community, and people who will vote for the pool are providing the means.

Vic and Zola Pike

John Day