Employees greeted by scum on water; no arrests made
Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press
Kortnie Hicks, manager at Hyde Park Pool, fills buckets with chlorine Monday afternoon to add to the pool. The facility was closed for the day due to vandalism.
Vandals closed Hyde Park pool Monday. Pool personnel locked the gate and posted a vandalism notice Monday morning as temperatures climbed into the 80-degree range.
Someone broke through a fence Sunday and kicked in the metal door to the pump and filtration room at the pool, said Bill McKinney, the city’s director of parks, recreation and civic facilities. The break-in wasn’t discovered until Monday morning, Mr. McKinney said.
“The good news is they didn’t damage the pumps,” he said.
Someone turned a wheel that closed the pipe that carries filtered water back into the pool, Mr. McKinney said.
Heat combined with the non-circulating water to produce a green scum of algae that greeted employees arriving Monday.
The only way to bring the water back to a safe level is to dump large amounts of chlorine into the water and restart the pumps, Mr. McKinney said. If the pumps aren’t shut down again, the water should be clean and safe for swimmers today, he said.
The pool is located at 6208 S. Ninth St. The city’s other pools are the Aquatic Park at Messanie Street and Noyes Boulevard and Krug Pool at 4209 St. Joseph Ave.
St. Joseph police have not made any arrests in the case.
Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.
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Let's introduce corporal punishment for vandals. We can do it behind city hall. Paddlepalooza every weekend. I would be glad to volunteer as a guest paddler.
Posted by apmastrangelo on July 15, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)Along with 12 hours per day, 7 days a week, for 90 days, of scrubbing the pool and deck with a toothbrush!
Posted by Mr_America on July 15, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)I think that sounds like an effective plan.
Posted by familyguy on July 15, 2008 at 11:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)Sign me up. Vandals are the scum of the earth.
It's too bad we can't have cameras at the pool to try and catch these people on tape. I'm sure KQ2 would air the video at 6 and 10.
Posted by apmastrangelo on July 15, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)familyguy - In this day and age it can be done and for very little expense. Motivation just needs to be applied in the right place.
Posted by jiraii on July 15, 2008 at 11:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)Is it me, or has there been a lot more vandalisim in these last few months?
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