Area fitness center raises money to stay open

A local fitness center embroiled in legal battles following an E. coli outbreak last year is struggling to keep its doors open.

Class Act Family Fitness held a fundraiser Thursday asking its clients to help it raise the $18,000 it needed to keep Montgomery Bank from initiating foreclosure proceedings on its 57,000-square-foot facility.

The event, which raised $2,300, included a silent auction and gymnastics performance by students at the center.

"We've been working on this for the last couple weeks. We have been taking donations from our customers who want to see us stay open. We've gotten donations from past customers, friends and family, from everyone," said Shawn McNally, the facility co-owner.

Friday morning, the center was about $2,000 short of the $18,000 it needed to avoid foreclosure proceedings.

"One of our customers loaned us the final $2,000 we needed," McNally said. "There is a whole group of people in the community that without their support we couldn't have made it. We didn't have any means to do it on our own."

Shelley Bell of Jackson, Mo. places a bid on a silent auction item Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 during a fundraising event at Class Act Gymnastics. Bell's daughter has been taking classes at Class Act for over two years. (Laura Simon)

McNally and his wife, Lynn, who both teach classes at Class Act, live in an apartment above the center with their four daughters and risked losing both their business and their home, he said.

McNally said with the center's debts basically erased, it can move forward toward financial stability.

"It's a big sigh of relief. Once you get caught up, it's not that hard to stay caught up," he said.

Class Act has seen a decrease in business since May 2010, McNally said, when the Missouri Department of Natural Resources began investigating the center after more than 30 people got sick from drinking or coming into contact with the water there. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services at that time confirmed that 15 of those affected had been infected by E. coli bacteria. The DNR then issued an emergency abatement order requiring the McNallys to immediately stop serving drinking water to the public. In response, they severed all connections to public drinking water fountains, hand-washing sinks and public showers within the fitness center. But they continue to provide toilet services to their customers and provide them with hand sanitizer gel and bottled water.

Earlier this year, Class Act was sued by the Missouri attorney general's office for allegedly violating the state's safe drinking water laws and by the parents of eight children who allegedly contracted E. coli after consuming water at Class Act.

According to court records, the children, ages 7 to 10, became ill requiring medical treatment and in some cases hospitalization. The children, who suffered from diarrhea, dehydration and injury to their internal organs, mental anguish and anxiety, incurred substantial medical bills and will have future bills for additional medical care, testing and rehabilitation as a result of their exposure to the contaminated water, court documents said.

In a response to the children's petition filed with the court, the McNallys' attorney, Cynthia Masterson of St. Louis, denied that water samples taken by DNR tested positive for E. coli and said the McNallys had no knowledge of or control over the children's alleged illnesses.

"Whatever injuries or damages plaintiffs may have suffered, if any, were the result of their own failure to exercise due care for their safety at the time and place in question," she said.

McNally said he has incurred "significant legal fees" as a result of the pending cases.

"We, very unfairly, got bad rap from the whole thing," McNally said. McNally maintains he has tried to comply with the Department of Natural Resources but that the department has been uncooperative and did not use proper procedures when testing his water.

Attorney John D. Harding of Cape Girardeau, who represents the children in the personal injury suit against Class Act, declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying that it is still in the discovery phase. The suit seeks more than $25,000 in punitive damages in additional to actual medical expenses.

A case review on both lawsuits is scheduled before Judge William Syler on Jan. 23.

In an effort to boost its revenue, the center, which offers gymnastics, cheerleading, dance and indoor tennis lessons as well as a fitness center, began offering rollerskating recently.

Class Act Skate Spot, inside Class Act Fitness, opened this fall, offering skating Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

"We've gotten a very good response. The skating rink is providing additional revenue. We think we can save our business," McNally said.

Class Act has operated in Jackson for nearly 25 years, serving hundreds of children every week, McNally said.

Shelley Bell, whose children have taken classes at Class Act for the past three years, attended Thursday's fundraiser because she said she wanted to help keep the McNallys' dream alive.

"I know the owners, and they have such great hearts," she said. "They're there for the children and they give their entire life, everything they have to the children and training the children.

mmiller@semisourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

2336 County Road 307, Jackson, MO