To the Editor:

We need a public swimming pool because we have Magone Lake. Last summer my parents would take me and my sister up to Magone Lake to play. It gets really hot in the summer. My sister, still a learning swimmer, would stay near the shore catching crawdads while wearing her life jacket. I would swim without my life jacket unless I decided to swim out to the log, then I would put it on. But for a lot of our friends who are not swimmers their way of staying safe was to not even go to Magone. Their parents would just tell them, “It’s not worth the drive to Magone if you can’t swim.” But, if you are prepared and practiced, swimming in that lake is a lot of fun!

We get practice from swimming teachers at public swimming pools, but now we don’t have one. I can’t imagine what it would be like to need to save a drowning swimmer like I read about in last week’s paper. It is not fair to say that a pool is a want and not a need. Parents “need” to prepare their kids for life and part of that is learning to stay safe in water. I hope that everybody who swims knows they are ready.

American Red Cross says starting swim lessons as early as possible will save lives, and that it is never too late for someone to learn to swim. Please vote for a pool to return to John Day. Thanks.

Artemis McKnab, 10

Canyon City