SURE SIGN OF FALL: AREA POOLS CLOSING

SIKESTON -- As schools prepare to open their doors, local swimming pools are shutting down after a steamy summer. Saturday marked the last day of a season of swimming for the Sikeston and East Prairie public swimming pools.

Matt Bandermann, pool manager at the Sikeston public pool, said he had an increase of swimmers this summer.

"Compared with last year, business is up with the number of kids swimming," Bandermann said. "I would say the number of swimmers is up 10 or 15 percent."

However, the number of swimmers was not up everywhere. Michelle Cartwright, assistant manager of the East Prairie public pool, said there was a smaller number of swimmers this year at the East Prairie pool, because the price to swim went up.

"We have had fewer people than in years past because we had to raise our prices," Cartwright said. "We still had quite a few swimmers but we raised our prices from $1.50 to $3 in order for us to keep our pool open and that had some effect."

One thing that has drawn swimmers to the pools is the extreme heat and humidity Missouri has had this summer. Sometimes the heat would keep people away though. "There is a cutoff point to where it will be too hot for people to come out and swim," Bandermann said.

"We had our one cold spell about the middle of June, first of July, but other than that it has been pretty hot all summer long."

'Pretty hot' means good swimming weather and even though the temperatures continue to soar into the 90s, both East Prairie and Sikeston closed their pools Saturday as attendance began to decrease.

Cartwright said that many are preparing for school and are just too busy to swim and Bandermann agreed.

"People are going shopping and getting school clothes, just getting ready for school to start," Bandermann said. "We have the same problem with our staff."

Now, as the pools close those who want to swim must go to private swimming pools or wait those nine long months until next May when the swimming pools will reopen.

Either way, the signs of fall are approaching.