BUBBLE BACK: POOL AT CENTRAL REOPENS TODAY

The grand opening planned in a few weeks is sure to be splashy, but the best news for area swimmers is that the bubble is back.

The Cape Girardeau Central High School municipal swimming pool reopened today, exactly three months after closing for renovations and replacement of the synthetic bubble which has enveloped the pool for the past 12 years.

"We are ready to roll," said Randy Barnhouse, aquatics coordinator for the city.

Barnhouse hopes the refurbishment and plans to introduce water sports leagues will draw more swimmers to the pool, which in past years has been lightly used during winter months.

The pool is open for fitness swimming from 5:30-7:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday, and for adult lap swimming from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. Public swims are scheduled from 5-8 p.m. weekdays and from 1-5 p.m. on weekends.

The reopening, originally planned for October, has been bedeviled by a series of delays that began with a hitch in securing a contract with the manufacturer of the bubble.

Thermo-Flex Inc. of Salina, Kan., expected to deliver the bubble by late October but ran into a production back-up that put the reopening on hold.

The bubble finally was inflated Nov. 18. The plan to reopen the facility last Friday fell through when a transformer blew in a new circulating pump. Maintenance workers had to take the water heater off line to fix the pump.

By Friday, the water temperature had only risen to a chilly 68 degrees. Eighty degrees is the preferred temperature for indoor swimming.

The Gators, Cape Girardeau's swimming team composed of 5-to-17-year-olds, challenged the cool waters last weekend anyway, but Barnhouse said the temperature should be more comfortable for today's reopening.

"I expect it to be a little cool (today)," he said.

Barnhouse, who was hired in September, is not disconcerted by the progression of mechanical starts and stops. "I can understand it," he said. "We have a lot of equipment sitting around that hadn't been used."

The new bubble is topped off by an 80-by-80-foot translucent patch that allows so much natural light through that the pool's eighteen 1,000-watt bulbs won't have to be used during the daytime.

The cost of the bubble and a new heater is $120,000. Barnhouse said the new thermostatically-controlled heater enables the pool staff to maintain the air inside the bubble at a warmer level.

Workers also have repainted the pool and bathhouse and have reconditioned much of the ancillary equipment during the wait.

The grand opening will occur within two weeks and will feature reduced-price or free admission and demonstrations of proposed league sports, including volleyball, basketball, water polo, inner-tube water polo and maybe even underwater hockey.

The last sport can be played with fins and snorkels or with scuba gear.

Aside from swimming teams, sports leagues have never been organized at the city pool before, Barnhouse said.

Admission to the pool is $2 for adults, $1.50 for seniors over 60 and $1 for children 13 and under. Coupons books are available with 25 admissions for a 20 percent discount.

Passes also can be obtained at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. One-year passes for Cape Girardeau residents are $160, or $200 for non-residents. One-year passes for seniors 60 and older are $120 for residents and $160 for non-residents.

Current half-year passes, which are at a reduced rate as an inducement to swim during the winter bubble months, are $70 for residents and $87 for non-residents. Half-year senior passes are $52.50 for residents and $70 for non-residents.

Barnhouse pointed out that anyone is welcome to use the pool, whether or not they are residents of Cape Girardeau.

After the bubble closed on Sept. 7, most recreation and fitness swimmers had to curtail their activities once cooler weather forced the Capaha Park pool to shut down in mid-September.

Barnhouse hope they all come back and are joined by many others looking for winter-months recreation in a good-as-new facility.

"Here it is," Barnhouse said. "When cabin fever strikes, you can enjoy this."