Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

School’s out and the temperature is rising. Kids need to spend some time outside, no matter how hot it may get. It is in their nature. They also want to have some fun at the same time. One way for kids to have their cake and eat it too is to spend some fun time in a pool. The city is offering swimming lessons at two of the city’s community pools for the summer. The two community pools are at Henrietta Johnson Rec Center at 2238 Burg Jones Lane and Lillie Marbles Rec Center on Renwick Street next to Miller Funeral Home. Before the fun could begin, a concerned citizen contacted the Monroe Dispatch saying that kids that were supposed to utilize the pool at Henrietta Johnson were taken to the pool at Marbles because the pool at Johnson needed some repair work. The alleged confusion came about when parents’ kids who utilize Emily P. Robinson Rec were supposed to be sent to Henrietta but were supposedly re-routed to Marbles, allegedly without parents’ knowledge or permission. The summer program for swimming lessons for those who need them and for those who already know how to swim is slated to begin Tuesday, June 6, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Tuesday-Saturday, and Sunday, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Swimming lessons, according to the city’s Facebook website, were slated to start Saturday, June 10, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM. Kids in grades K-12 can participate, and the lessons are free. The lesson is supposed to be given at Johnson Rec. Center, which may be confusing because some say the pool at Johnson is not ready for use, according to sources. If this is true, there must be some confusion somewhere in communications from the city to concerned parents that is not reflected on the city website. Parents should know ahead of time just where their kids will be under city supervision in the event that they are needed. We want our kids to enjoy their time away from school, but we also want them to be safe. When parents sign consent forms on where their kids are supposed to be, confusion is the last thing they expect. Summer only comes but once a year.