To the Editor:

First of all, I am very excited to be a new member of the community of John Day and am encouraging you to vote yes on ballot measure 12-80. Joy! My authentic self comes alive in a pool with peace and the feeling of belonging to a community of people who believe in being healthy by healing the physical and emotional part of ourselves.

I am in full support of a new pool because the 64-year-old Gleason is in rough shape and is not ADA-compliant for people with disabilities. I was paralyzed in 1992 with Guillain-Barre and still have severe residual numbness and pain in my extremities and once I splash into the pool, pain can be replaced with freedom!

At times my pain and inability to enter the pool using a ladder or steps keeps me from entering a pool without the access of a handicapped chair to enter the pool with ease. I am currently involved with a community that supports a year-round pool and sees the benefits, including swimming and water safety lessons for all third-graders because we are surrounded by rivers and lakes that take children’s lives each year. A new pool could also offer aqua power sessions for all, including seniors, and there could also be master swim classes and swim team opportunities that bring other communities in for competitions. All these programs provide returns on investments.

This opportunity for a new pool invites a new and exciting presence and is vital for the thriving community of John Day. I sure hope you and others are thinking of the long-term benefits.

Please vote yes on bond measure 12-80.

Lorie Dix

Klamath Falls

Editor’s note: The author is in the process of relocating to John Day.