To the Editor,
I hear people saying “why get a new pool if the city can not staff the current pool?” The current pool is going to fail at some stage and if that happens we will not get a pool for many years. This will be a real loss to our town and the people—young and old—that use this facility.
To address the issue of the new aquatic centre I think we should look at the bigger picture. Firstly we would like to attract younger families to Port Alberni to continue to work in places like our hospital, for example, where we also deal with staff shortages. Part of this is a facility where you can have swim lessons and fun in a pool year round. Most, if not all bigger communities in Canada have access to a public swimming pool.
Secondly - we live on an island. The ability to swim should be a life skill for everyone that lives here and not for a privileged few.
We just experienced the tragic loss of life of a young and healthy teenager in Sproat Lake this last month. Drowning is a real and tragic event for young children and their families.
Not only is it the lakes on the Island we use but also the ocean: how many people take their children and grandchildren down the Alberni Inlet to fish? We should all be able to swim and self rescue in any body of water.
My three children learned to swim in the Echo Pool and my wife and I will always be thankful for that. The confidence they got to be able to swim and enjoy Sproat Lake is something that brings joy to us. They could self-rescue and more importantly not panic, which can get you in trouble.
We should consider the far reaching effects to this community if we should lose this pool—from the old that use it for health reasons to the young that need to swim. We do not want to miss opportunities to teach and attract families to the Alberni Valley.
What value are we willing to put on the life of our children?
Owen Brown,
Port Alberni
