Area municipal pools open for summer this week

City pools in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will open this week.

Patrick Watson, Cape Girardeau's aquatics supervisor, said snow days that extended the school year have hampered staffing.

"Ninety percent of my staff is still in high school," he said. But Capaha Park Pool opens at 1 p.m. Friday; Central Municipal Pool opens with a 9 to 11 a.m. fitness swim, followed by public swimming from 1 to 8 p.m.

The pool's dress code is simply "wear proper swim attire, no cutoffs," he said.

Watson said he loves his job because "no day is ever like the one before."

But he notes that nearly every day during swim season, parents are called to either pick up or supervise their children younger than 14.

"We get a fair amount of people who drop 8-, 9-, 10-year-olds off. We're not babysitters. We're there to ensure public safety," he said. "The first step to taking care of an accident is preventing it from happening."

Jackson's municipal pool, 1003 N. High St., opens at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"The water is in. but it's a bit chilly," said Shane Anderson, Jackson's parks and recreation director.

Anderson said Jackson's 5,772-square-foot main pool has a capacity of 300 people. The city's junior pool can hold 55, and the wading pool is limited to 10 people.

He recommended that people with a large group of swimmers call ahead.

"We try to direct them toward a pool party or a time of day when we don't have multiple day cares visiting," he said. "We just want to make sure everyone can enjoy the use of the pool."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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