Tofield School hosts Show and Shine event PAGE 9
Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 105 Issue 40
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Wednesday, June 7, 2023 s
Ryley Pool re-opening soon after mechanical problems Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
Happy children enjoying swimming lessons at Ryley Pool in 2021. The pool has been closed since mid-May 2023 due to mechanical issues and may re-open by the end of June.
After weeks of closure, due to a downed pump, the Ryley Pool could be re-opening by the end of June. Pool manager Susie Williams said the $10,000 pump is being made and could be ready in the next couple of weeks. “The pump is seven years old and runs 24/7, so it wore out,” she said. “This year we are changing from a cast iron pump to a stainless steel one so it will last longer.” Williams said the community pool has been in operation since 1976 and is paid for largely through grant funding and generous donations from local organization such as Busy B Bargains, UFA, Nutrien, Clean Harbors, Claystone Waste, the Ryley Lions Club, Dodds Coal, and the Village of Ryley. She said it costs $243,000 each year to run the pool. “We’re lucky sometimes that every three years we get a casino and it helps out,” she said. “We’re searching for money all the time.” Williams said one thing some organizations do is sponsor a free community swim time for $250. “It gets free swimming from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.,” she said. “It’s really good. (It’s surprising) how many people come for the free
swim that we don’t see any other time.” While the pool employs up to 20 staff, the board which run the organization is made up of volunteers. Williams said the pool has a 150-person capacity and attracts swimmers from as far away as Edmonton. “We have a lot of kids that come for lessons, 400 kids in a summer. We get kids from Sherwood Park, Camrose, and Edmonton because there are so many kids and not enough pools for lessons,” she said. Williams said that while summer is by far the busiest time of the year for the pool, winter is not nearly as busy and sometimes the pool has to be closed due to lack of business and safety for staff travelling on poor road conditions. She remembered one year the pool was closed for nearly a year due to needing a new pool liner and increased gas costs. “We’ve had our setbacks for sure. We were closed from Sept. to June one year and (it was a celebration when we could finally re-open),” she said. Meanwhile, Williams said she is grateful for the community support. “We are very fortunate because (of our donors),” she said. “We also have a very great Beaver Heritage Agriculture Board. Everybody pitches in and helps and everyone works so well together.”
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