Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 22, 1995                   TAG: 9506220048
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

KIDS FIND RELIEF, BUT NOT IN COUNTY POOL

Any school kid like Matt Donnelley, 10, will tell you the first day of summer is the day after school lets out. So on hot and humid Wednesday at the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Summer Playcamp, the summer solstice is not an issue for him. Staying cool is.

"Yesterday, it was so hot, it felt like I was in an oven set at 500 degrees Fahrenheit," said 9-year-old camper Jesse Schuster.

Right now, Matt, Jesse and their compatriots are engaged in a water balloon toss.

Water balloon tosses will figure prominently in the plans of the Summer Playcamp, because for the second summer in a row the Montgomery County pool next door will not open. Damaged by a faulty valve and excessive groundwater pressure in the winter of 1994, the pool stayed closed last summer while county officials made plans for a new pool and negotiated with the insurance company over the amount of damage. After reaching a settlement this spring, the Department of Parks and Recreation asked for bids on the project, but received only two, both of which were much higher expected..

The county re-advertised the project and the bids must be in by June 29. "We're just hoping that it was the timing of the bid process the first time that made the bids come in so high," said Tom Bain, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. He hopes a fall project, when pool contractors have finished their main season and are looking for work, will make the price more competitive.

The loss of the pool is a hardship for the county. While unprofitable years do occur because of rainy weather, Bain said the pool usually makes a profit. More important is the number of people served by the resource.

Bain said in an average year, close to 800 people take swimming classes and 15,000 people use the pool in its Memorial Day through Labor Day season. He figured the playcamp's enrollment is off 30 percent to 40 percent because of no pool. While the camp will offer "pool hops," visiting other area pools, Bain said the lack of a pool does hamper the program.

When the pool is open, the Parks and Recreation Department offers swimming classes, water aerobic classes, lap clubs, pool rentals and general swimming. "Now all these things will have to wait until next year," he said.