ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9609030049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
LIFEGUARDS HAVE BEEN FOUND to work at two city pools that otherwise would have been closed for most of the weekend.
Thanks to Roanoke-area lifeguards who came to the rescue, two city-owned pools will remain open through the Labor Day weekend.
More than 20 lifeguards from as far away as Botetourt County and Rocky Mount responded to a public appeal the city issued for lifeguards to work at its short-staffed public swimming pools in Fallon Park and Washington Park for three days.
That means both pools will be open from noon to 8 p.m. today and Sunday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday, said Michelle Bono, a city spokeswoman.
"We really appreciate the outstanding response, and we are delighted this recreational opportunity will now be available all weekend," Bono said.
The lifeguards were needed to fill vacancies created when many summer lifeguards quit to return to college. Without the replacements, the city would have had to close each of the pools for two days out of the three-day weekend.
To encourage certified lifeguards to work the weekend, the city offered to pay them $7.50 per hour - $1.50 per hour more than it normally pays.
Each of the replacements will have to bring proof of certification to the pool, and they will have to take a short swimming and rescue skills test. DAN CASEY
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