Children by the hundreds are rushing to Donner Aquatic Center to spend the first part of their summer break poolside.
After an unexpected maintenance delay twice prevented the facility from opening as planned Memorial Day weekend, the pool finally kicked off its new season Monday, nine days beyond the original start date.
“I get excited getting the pool filled, getting the lifeguards ready, seeing the kids and families from the year before,” aquatics center manager Jim Lemke said.
Children, teenagers and parents lined up outside the entrance on opening day, eager to kick off the summer in the water. That day alone, 690 people visited the park.
Two of the first people in line were Gabriella Graham and Kandice Seward, who both just wrapped up sixth grade.
“I have been coming here since I was little. This is where I learned to swim,” Seward said.
The pool is a favorite summer location for children and their families — for lessons or leisure. This week, it’s been a respite from temperatures that have been running in the upper 80s.
“A lot of kids buy pool passes and come every day,” Lemke said. “This will be their summer hangout.”
That describes middle school student Samia Hatton and her friends, who spend their summers together at the pool and enjoy the social aspect of it.
“There’s so many people here,” Hatton said. “You meet new people and see people you haven’t seen in a while.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
